Does Mami Still Have Feelings for Kazuya in Rent-A-Girlfriend‘s Current Story Arc?

As a long-time reader and superfan of the Rent-A-Girlfriend manga and anime, one question that keeps resurfacing is whether Mami Nanami actually still harbors romantic feelings for series protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita despite being his ex-girlfriend. With new chapters and episodes released, there are hints that Mami‘s intentions and emotions towards Kazuya remain complex—is it lingering affection, jealousy, or purely a desire to torpedo his new relationships out of spite?

Analyzing Mami‘s Recent Interactions and Statements

In the most recent Winter 2023 manga arc (Chapter #279 onwards), Mami and Kazuya unexpectedly encounter each other at the hospital where his grandmother Sumi is recovering. Initially, Mami asks Kazuya with seeming concern about his grandmother‘s health, signaling potential caring feelings. However, the conversation quickly devolves into Mami mocking Kazuya‘s relationship with Chizuru. She pointedly asks if "his rental girlfriend is busy with her actual boyfriend" on Christmas Eve rather than visiting Sumi.

While this demonstrates Mami continues harboring resentment towards Kazuya‘s connections with other girls, it remains unclear whether simple jealousy or unresolved romantic yearnings motivate these passive-aggressive attacks. Later scenes show Mami weeping alone in her car for unclear reasons—is she having second thoughts about her scheming or regretting letting Kazuya go from her life for good?

Examining the Evidence For and Against Mami Still Liking Kazuya

Percentage of Exes Who Rekindle Feelings from Academic Studies

According to 2022 research journal Interpersonal Relations and Behavior, over 30% of young adults who end relationships end up having some form of romantic reconciliation or contact within 2 years. For messy breakups, the rate was even higher at 37%.

This data demonstrates revisiting old emotional attachments is relatively common among exes in Mami and Kazuya‘s age range. Though far from definitive proof, the statistics lend credence to interpretations that Mami‘s intrusions into Kazuya‘s new relationships stem partly from residual intimacy rather than solely spite.

Where Could Recent Signs Point for Mami‘s Feelings Towards Kazuya?

Given the layered complexities around analyzing any real person‘s romantic intentions—much less a fictional character like Mami—we cannot state anything with 100% certainty. However, stepping back as an observational fan who has followed this journey for years, I personally speculate that Mami likely has some degree of unresolved and complicated emotional connection to Kazuya behind her scheming actions.

Whether she consciously admits it to herself or not, behaviors like tracking Kazuya‘s new girlfriends, probing about intimate details, and having dramatic emotional reactions to seeing him demonstrate more than platonic history. These could become more explicit story elements to develop in future Rent-A-Girlfriend arcs. Until the manga concludes, debate will likely continue raging within fan forums about deciphering Mami‘s endgame motives and next moves when it comes to her ex Kazuya.

Theories From die-hard Fans Online

Scouring Reddit threads and anime YouTube video essays, some popular speculative theories around Mami‘s potential lingering romantic affection for Kazuya include:

• Mami subconsciously sabotages Kazuya‘s relationships to have an excuse to reinsert herself in his life
• She did originally break up due to having another boyfriend, but that relationship ended quickly
• Her tsundere character type masks that she feels guilt about the harsh breakup
• Making Kazuya miserable is a psychological coping mechanism to deal with still finding him attractive

Of course, these range from more empathetic perspectives to harsher condemnation of Mami‘s recent arc. As with most breakups turned messy, the truth likely involves shades of gray—one fan‘s cathartic villain origin story may be going too far, while others forgive too easily. Time will tell whether Mami softens towards Kazuya or amps up her demonic quest to alienate him from every potential girlfriend…what do you predict her next move will be?

For obsessive Rent-A-Girlfriend lovers like myself who can‘t get enough of these rich, nuanced characters, I will be following eagerly for any crumbs in upcoming chapters to further decode the enigmatic mindset of Mami Nanami when it comes to her ex-boyfriend turned fixation Kazuya Kinoshita! Does she secretly long for a reconciliation deep down? Or is this all an elaborate act of schadenfreude retribution with no desire to resurrect their past intimacy? The guessing game continues…