It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since July 2017, and has been compiled into thirty-nine tankōbon volumes as of January 2025.
The series is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA, which released the first volume in English in June 2020.
Kazuya continues renting Chizuru in order to keep up appearances with his family and friends, but things get complicated when they discover they are next-door apartment neighbors and attend the same college.
Later, other girls from the rental girlfriend business also join in, along with Kazuya's ex-girlfriend, who seems intent on ending this fake relationship.
Written and illustrated by Reiji Miyajima, the series began serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on July 12, 2017.
)-Girlfriend (彼女、人見知ります, Kanojo, Hitomishirimasu), also written and illustrated by Miyajima, has been serialized in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app since June 21, 2020.
[54] The game follows an original story, which is an alternate scenario set during the third season of the anime, and features all main characters.
The limited edition of the game is bundled with a four-disc drama CD and an original soundtrack album, featuring over 30 tracks, including the game's theme song "Cider no Mukō" (サイダーの向こう, "Beyond the Cider") by Sora Amamiya, Aoi Yūki, Nao Tōyama, Rie Takahashi, and Yū Serizawa.
Joe Ballard of Comic Book Resources (CBR) described the anime adaptation as a "hot mess" with sluggish pacing but also an "intriguing, action-packed rom-com and a semi-developing love story".
[62] Meanwhile, Ethan Wescoatt of CBR praised the story, which he called "mature" for a harem anime, in addition to the male and female leads, noting that Chizuru was an intriguing character due to hiding her true, multidimensional personality behind her perfect girlfriend façade and that Kazuya's struggles were relatable to the audience.
[1] Alex Henderson of Anime Feminist described the series premiere as "comedy of errors with a horny streak" but noted that but it also hinted at deeper themes.
Henderson praised the anime for touching on the social implications of the rental girlfriend business, treating Chizuru with respect and highlighting her agency.
However, Dee criticized the reveal of Mami's manipulative and abusive behavior in the third episode, stating it "suck all the joy out of the series".
[64] Nicholas Dupree of Anime News Network described the first two seasons as being tedious, with an interesting conflict introduced only at the last minute, while the preceding episodes were filled with repetitive and uninteresting rom-com antics.
He added that while expectations for season three were low, the series "surprisingly" delivered a compelling romantic dramedy that addressed the flaws of Kazuya and found a "solid" narrative focus.
He noted that despite flaws, the third season offered the best material in a while, addressing key issues and delivering a compelling story.