Reiji Miyajima's manga series Rent-A-Girlfriend has always been a fan favorite. However, the original manga's dragging plot, which even saw protagonist Kazuya get rejected after a date with Mizuhara, has sparked a ton of discussion. Recently, it even became a hot topic when a netizen sarcastically pointed out its volume count was catching up to "Dragon Ball."
Well, all that online chatter didn't escape creator Reiji Miyajima's notice. He's now chimed in with his own take on why the series has been such a long haul.
Miyajima posted this morning (10/8) addressing the fan criticisms. His response? "The characters' personalities and actions have developed beyond my control; before I knew it, I'd already drawn this many volumes."
So, regarding the fan complaints about the slow, drawn-out plot, his explanation basically boils down to, "I can't control it; it just ended up being this many volumes."
Naturally, plenty of fans flooded the comments with encouragement for Miyajima-sensei, urging him not to let the "haters" get to him and to keep drawing the story he wants. Positive responses were definitely abundant.
But where there are oyster fans (a play on words for "true fans"), there are also "anti-fans" who piled on, jokingly asking if this was now the "Dark Continent Arc" or the "Namek Saga," referencing the famously long arcs from "Hunter x Hunter" and "Dragon Ball." They found it absurd that a romance and slice-of-life series could stretch its plot out to such an extent, rivaling these battle-heavy epics.
Despite the drama, "Rent-A-Girlfriend" remains a hugely popular series. Its fourth anime season just wrapped up this September, with a fifth season slated for 2026.
However, Miyajima-sensei's claim that "character development is beyond my control" still feels a bit unconvincing. After all, he's the original creator! Is it because the plot has stretched so far it's become unmanageable, or is there another reason? We just hope Miyajima-sensei doesn't get another scolding from his mom back home, LOL.