Rent-A-Girlfriend Celebrates 8 Years, But Readers Call for Its Conclusion

On July 12, 2017, Reiji Miyajima launched Rent-A-Girlfriend, a romantic comedy manga that quickly gained popularity for its unusual premise and colorful cast. Now, eight years and over 380 chapters later, the series continues to be serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine, with a total of 41 volumes published.

To commemorate the 8th anniversary, Miyajima shared a celebratory illustration featuring the main couple, Kazuya and Chizuru, surrounded by the rest of the cast in a vibrant mosaic layout. The post received a wave of attention from fans — but not all of it was positive.

Rent-A-Girlfriend Celebrates 8 Years, But Readers Call for Its Conclusion

While some praised the milestone and thanked the author for his work, a significant number of replies expressed dissatisfaction with the manga’s pacing and lack of development. Many fans used the opportunity to criticize how little has changed in the story since its debut.

Here are some reactions from fans on Reiji post:

• “Just end it already! It’s basically the same thing over and over.”
• “A romantic comedy with more than 40 volumes? That’s just excessive.”
• “Even Kimi ni Todoke wrapped up in 30 volumes. My Dress-Up Darling ended with 15. What is this dragging on for?”
• “I read this manga 7 years ago, and nothing has changed. I thought the author took a break — turns out he’s been drawing the same thing nonstop.”
• “Even Hunter x Hunter has made more story progress than this!”
• “Congrats on the 8th anniversary, but it’s really time to end it. It’s just gone on for too long.”
• “Have you read Fullmetal Alchemist or Death Note? Not every series needs to be endless. Try being concise like those.”
• “If this all ends with Kazuya getting dumped after everything, it’ll be unbearable. Please end it with some dignity!”

Despite the criticism, Rent-A-Girlfriend remains a massive commercial success, currently airing its fourth anime season. The anime’s opening visual are widely praised, and the franchise continues to generate strong sales and fan engagement.

Even if the series is polarizing, it undeniably holds a major place in the romantic comedy genre — and that may be why it’s still going strong eight years later.