Manga artist Reiji Miyajima's hit series, Rent-A-Girlfriend, has always been a fan favorite thanks to its unique characters and plot twists. However, the original manga's notoriously slow pacing, especially after protagonist Kazuya's confession to Mizuhara was rejected, has stirred up a storm of discussion.
Recently, a Japanese X (formerly Twitter) user pointed out a mind-boggling fact: Rent-A-Girlfriend's collected volume count has now caught up to the long-finished legendary series, Dragon Ball! It's truly wild that a romance-themed series could run for so long. This comparison has sparked a massive debate among netizens, becoming a hot topic online.
The user's post read, "Rent-A-Girlfriend's volume count has actually caught up to Dragon Ball... Seeing this, I truly feel the decline of this country, and tears well up in my eyes."
This hilarious take on the comparison left many netizens stunned, realizing that the two series' volume counts are now neck and neck—a surprising yet intriguing revelation for many.
The post resonated with many users. Given that Rent-A-Girlfriend is a romantic comedy, one netizen quoted Mizuki Kawashita, the creator of another rom-com classic, Strawberry 100%, from a 2017 post:
"Actually, when you're serializing a long-running romantic comedy, there's one thing that's harder than battle manga or passionate sports manga. And that is—you can't change the final boss (referring to the heroine or love interest)." This comment highlights that for a rom-com to run this long, Rent-A-Girlfriend is, in some ways, incredibly impressive.
Other netizens couldn't help but poke fun, saying they never imagined this manga would run for so long. "Seriously, what kind of plot does a romantic comedy need to have to reach its 42nd volume? Are there fight scenes or battle sequences thrown in somewhere?"
Many readers also expressed frustration over Rent-A-Girlfriend's painfully slow plot progression. While it certainly delves into Kazuya's interactions with the various female characters and builds out the story, Kazuya himself seems to have made zero progress after all this time. The main relationship is still stuck in limbo, leaving many feeling utterly hopeless.
Some even pointed out that they only buy the books now because Reiji Miyajima's artwork is absolutely stunning, with each volume cover being a collector's dream—but the plot? It's thin as paper.
But let's be real, Rent-A-Girlfriend isn't even the longest-running rom-com out there. One Japanese netizen brought up Katsu Aki's Couple x Cuddle (Futari Ecchi), which has been serialized since 1997 and boasts over 93 volumes!
Of course, Rent-A-Girlfriend remains a hugely popular series, with its fourth anime season just wrapping up this past September, and a fifth season slated for 2026. How will the story unfold to keep fans from grumbling? We'll just have to wait and see what Miyajima-sensei has in store! XD