Renai Daikou
 

Name: Renai Daikou
Alternative Name: Love Agency
Author: Akasaka Aka
Artist: 5mm Nishizawa
Status: Ongoing

https://vocesabianime.com/wp-content...ka_800x418.jpg

I really need to drop this series but it has somehow replaced Kanokari as my go to hate read. I'm not sure how long I can go on though... as much as I despise the main ship Aka doesn't seem to have the balls to explore Pon and Mari, and Kon is off playing with penguins for god knows how long.

So looks like Aka hasn't achieved success with another romcom :eyespin:?

My pet theory is that Aka at some point saw the success of Rent-A-Girlfriend and basically said "hold my beer!" when coming up with this. The relationships are all shallow, none of the cast is particularly likable, and they all hold fairly toxic views on love and romance - especially the "love agents" Pon and Kon. Its so bad I'd be amazed if any of the couples they've gotten together lasted longer than a week. For a while I hoped the series would turn a corner but it never seems to... I'm not even sure why I'm still reading at this point but I can't seem to stop. :frustrated:

You could say the same about Kaguya and they managed to learn. The series is only 20 or so chapters in after all.

I dunno man I still think RAG/Kanokari is the better comparison. Renai Daikou feels too different from Kaguya or even OnK to compare 1:1 and it doesn't go for comedy like early Kaguya either. Actually more than RAG it makes me think of Seinfeld except the bizarro version where the cast is mostly rewarded for their shitty attitudes towards dating and relationships. Its just kind of bonkers to me. See you next week.:sad:

Why though? Renai's plot is way more similar to Kaguya with people scheming around to create relationship, this one just adds another layer of complexity with the two love agents. Literally doesn't remind of Kanokari at all other than being a romcom.

I mostly make the comparison because of the paid romance and shitty people; Seinfeld is probably more apt. I mean the first 10 chapters or so were Pon convincing Seki to pretend to be someone else entirely (an introverted bookworm) then it spends a few chapters more having Kon berating Mari for not wanting to get involved with the guy who has been lying to her from the start and making it all about her issues. The armchair psychology is probably my least favorite aspect of the series -- occasionally its somewhat interesting but usually it ranges between creepy and revolting.

Meanwhile the series stays committed to its ships and somehow now Pon has lost ~16 kg (~35 lbs) in a month which I think proves Aka has gone full retard or just doesn't give a fuck anymore. Actually I see people on Dex and elsewhere saying PonXSeki is the true ship of the series after chapter 28 and its honestly better than any of the others. If you like it that's your prerogative I guess but 24-30 chapters is already an average one cour anime.

I guess, Kanokari stopped really caring about that long ago whereas this is still relevant. Even the love agent thing is less relevant than the whole scheming for love business.

Just to note but this is not impossible. Very difficult, dangerous if not done properly but not completely impossible.

You'd lose as much muscle as fat and gain a decent amount of fat back once you started eating properly. You'd probably be incredibly dehydrated as well.

Anyway I have no idea what's going on anymore... Seki and Mari are suddenly best buds and seemingly don't need love agents anymore while coaching Pon for Kon's return. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the manga were to end this volume.

That was a... heartwarming mother's day chapter... :twitch:

Its joever!

I guess I'll echo my sentiments from the OnK thread:


I'm not really sure if Aka having two simultaneous serializations was part of the issue but IMO Renai Daikou just had nothing interesting to say. I guess some people liked it but the cast felt shallow, the relationships somewhat toxic, and the humor just wasn't funny. Moreover the pop psychology stuff was a really big turn off. I kept expecting the series to somehow subvert the really weird takes on romance the characters (especially Pon and Kon) had but more and more the series tried to play it straight. I did sort of like the art overall though, hopefully Nishizawa 5mm lands on her feet.