Summary
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3, Episode 8, “Family and Girlfriend,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationshipmay be at a stalemate, but that certainly doesn’t mean other aspects of their lives are also at a standstill. With the movie screening right around the corner, tensions for the two are at an all-time high, and Granny Sayuri’s ailing health has further exacerbated matters. Sayuri possibly being on her deathbed has shaken upRent-a-Girlfriend’snarrative as it showed the holes in Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationship.
While Sayuri’s death hasn’t been confirmed, the show has heavily implied that her time is short. The thought of fulfilling her grandmother’s wishes may finally lead to Chizuru to acknowledge her feelings, but it also runs the risk of everything falling apart for the two.
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Gratitude for Kazuya
Grandma Sayuri has been confined to the hospital for the most part of the show, making this one of the few episodes where she gets to play a major role. Chizuru brings her along to show her the venue for the screening, a cinema in Itabashi with a capacity of over 200 viewers. The sight of the venue and the thought ofChizuru’s movie being playedon the big screen brings her to tears, a first for her character.
Since her emotions were already bursting out, she expresses her gratitude to Kazuya for making the movie a success and bringing Chizuru’s dreams to fruition. The heart-touching moment served as a reminder to Kazuya that he has been putting up a facade in front of her, as the two have kept her in the dark about thetruth of their fake relationship.
While Kazuya has always felt awful about lying to Sayori and his own grandmother, this heartfelt moment served as a wake-up call for him about the entire deceitful scenario. Knowing that he has beenlying to such a kind-hearted womanmade him feel guilty about his actions, ones that were only for the sake of his own gratification.
Sayuri’s Deathbed
Sayuri’s health has been going south since the beginning of Season 3, and Chizuru herself had outright stated that her grandmother doesn’t have much time left. This indicates that Sayuri has some sort of chronic illness and her demise is imminent. However, Chizuru believed that Sayuri would still have some time, but she was mistaken as she found her grandmother’s almost-lifeless body on the ground.
Sayuri’s sudden health condition has stirred up the narrative quite a bitas Kazuya and Chizuruare at odds once more. Knowing that she doesn’t have much time left, Kazuya wishes to come clean and tell Sayuri about the fake relationship. His desire stems from the guilt he bears for lying to her for so long, along with the realization that Chizuru would also regret keeping this secret till the very end.
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While Chizuru rebukes with the argument that telling her would only make her hate the two for all eternity, Kazuya remains hellbent on the idea of telling her the truth. Chizuru’s flustered response to whether or not she would be able to get over it clearly stated the obvious – her own regret over lying to Sayuri. However, she remains adamant on keeping the secret, forcing Kazuya to look elsewhere to help Chizuru.
A Final Act of Kindness
Kazuya couldn’t see Chizuru in such a helpless state, forcing him to take action as usual. While the scene cuts off at the end, it’s implied that the editing for the movie is completed and Kazuya has run off to get the copy from the editor. It’s clear that his intentions are to screen the movie for Sayuri so that she could seeChizuru fulfilling her dreamsbefore it’s too late.
The two went through the entire movie-making process so that Sayuri could see her granddaughter on the grand stage. With her passing away before the screening, all their hard work and effort would have been for nothing. Fully aware of Chizuru’s regret over not having the movie screened on time, Kazuya is now on a race against time to retrieve the edited copy of the movie and screen it for Sayuri.
If Kazuya is successful in this bold act, Chizuru would surely experience a surge of emotions for him. However, it’s clear that this act of kindness is not out of the thought of winning Chizuru over, rather it’s his own calling to do the right thing. The first two seasons ofRent-a-Girlfriendhave lackedproper development for Kazuya, but this scene represents how much he has grown since the beginning of the series. While the guilt and regret of lying to Sayuri might also be at play here, it still doesn’t negate the fact that Kazuya is willing to go to such lengths without the thought of winning over Chizuru’s sentiments.
