Rent-A-Girlfriend: Ruka Proves She's Ready to Fight HARD For Kazuya (2024)

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 1, Episode 9, "Lies and Girlfriend," streaming now on Crunchyroll.

After last episode's Christmas shenanigans led to an exceptionally tender moment between Kazuya and Chizuru, the spotlight now shifts over to Ruka and firmly establishes her role in the series. Although she is Kazuya's legitimate girlfriend, she's mainly been portrayed as a nuisance to his and Chizuru's efforts to keep their secrets. Now, as she passionately pushes to win Kazuya's affections and get Chizuru out of the picture, she's forcing both of them to confront hard decisionsabout their past and future.

It's important to note there's no malice behind Ruka's actions. She's very serious in wanting a future with Kazuya and goes to great lengths to show it. Several awkward situations are navigated as an initial rush to show her romanticdesires inadvertently results in Ruka joining Chizuru and the Kinosh*ta family for their New Year shrine visit. Poor Kazuya is sweating even more bullets than usual.

Kazuya is absolutely fawning over Chizuru's Christmas gift, which leads her to ask him if he's in love with her. Kazuya denies it. Chizuru insists that gift-giving is part of her rental girlfriend job and that they must keep their relationship strictly professional. Ruka catches them together and explodes at Kazuya, who had told her he had "other plans" but failed to mention who they were with. Ruka insists on some alone time and takes him to, of all places, a love hotel.

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There, Ruka simultaneously tries to seduce him while reasoning that she is his real girlfriend and Chizuru's rental dates no longer serve a purpose. Kazuya explains his family's attachment to Chizuru, particularly his grandmother Nagomi. He can't just break their hearts while showing up with another girl in tow. In another sign of Kazuya's true feelings,his thoughts of Chizuru help him not to give in to Ruka's seduction. To her credit, Ruka also reassesses and realizes she's trying too hard to rush things, showing how serious she is as well.

Later, Kazuya and Chizuru join his parents and grandmother for a New Year's holiday trip. All looks set to proceed as normal until Ruka shows up and throws everything into chaos by explicitly revealing she is Kazuya's girlfriend. Nagomi is confused while Kazuya and Chizuru are alarmed. This could have been the turning point where Kazuya comes clean about Chizuru, but instead he ironically claims that Ruka is a mutual friend of theirs who has an unfortunate habit of lying.

Meanwhile, Ruka and Chizuru head into the restaurant to talk, where Rukareaffirmsher stance. She is in love and wants toshare a future with Kazuya. If Chizuru cannot say the same, she should leave him and his family alone. It's a remarkably strong and passionate argument from Ruka, who is his actual (if provisional) girlfriend after all. A flustered Chizuru responds that they have to keep lying forthe sake of their grandmothers -- and to keep her rental girlfriend job a secret -- but it comes off as weak in the face of Ruka's straightforward logic. It's a timely reminderof the consequences of lying and all thepeople and feelings that are nowon the line because of them. Why not figure out a way for Chizuru to come clean, thus allowing Ruka to take her place as Kazuya's actual girlfriend? Deep down Chizuru knows all this, and Ruka knows that she knows, leading her to ask if Chizuru issticking around because she likes Kazuya. This again leads to a weak denial.

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Underlying all of this are constant hints that Kazuya and Chizuru do indeed have feelings for each other despite claiming otherwise. This is the effect of Ruka's determination to deepen her relationship with Kazuya. By pushing them both to end their charades, it sets the stage for matters to grow more serious as Kazuya and Chizuru must decide what they really want from one another.

As determined as Ruka is to win the hearts of Kazuya and his family, a private conversation with Nagomi makes it crystal clear just how far she has to go. Just as Ruka resolves toreveal the truth about everything, Nagomi starts asking her a variety of questions -- all about Chizuru. Nagomi holds Chizuru in such high regard that Ruka can't bring herself to do it -- for now. Her efforts are having an effect though.In a nod to the previous episode where Kazuya spies on Chizuru with her male acquaintance,now it's Chizuruhiding while closelyobservingRuka with Kazuya.

As sound asRuka's logic is, it still hasn't won her any romantic progress with Kazuya himself. He continues to resist her more serious advances and is only in the relationship at all to protect Chizuru's secret. But if Chizurucan't admit her own feelings, will Kazuya be more tempted to accept the girl who is passionately pursuing him? It feels like a critical point in the story as Ruka's role moving forward -- a refreshingly honest girl in a series defined by lies -- ismore clearlyestablished.

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