Rent-A-Girlfriend but lesbians is basically saying to me "that weird and terrible cuck series but lesbians", and while some would definitely enjoy that (more power to em) it still wouldn't be my thing no matter how that cake is sliced lol

This. When I think Rent a Girlfriend but yuri I just think of My Girlfriend is not here today lol.

But as already mentioned the biggest reason this is an improvement already is just by simply dropping Kazuya from the series.

I'm sorry but comparing My Girlfriend's Not Here Today to Rent a Girlfriend is just offensive. Idc how trashy you think the story is, there's nothing in that manga that's even close to being as bad as Rent a Girlfriend.

I'm team Fuuko so if this ends up being a wake up call to Yuni and she goes through an arc of finally realizing she loves Fuuko and not her current GF, I'd be satisfied. The most obvious path this could go down is this new girl serving as an obstacle that makes her realize this, along with more Fuuko backstory.

Same, I want Fuuko and Yuni to fix each other and become a healthy couple.

But forget all of that, what the hell did they mean with that Crown of Thorns imagery? I'm a sucker for religious symbolism and this could mean a dozen different things, especially because it's being PUT on her. I know this will sound goofy but...is Fuuko meant to represent Jesus in this story? No I'm being completely serious.

I doubt the average Japanese author has in-depth knowledge of Christian imagery, and if they did it's weird that they would start using them only halfway through the story. I think they did it "because it looks cool".

Maybe not the average Japanese person, but there's plenty of Japanese authors I've read that do have in depth knowledge of Christianity, so it isn't out of the question. Plus, you can have surface level knowledge of it and still use it as symbolism in your story. Fuuko might not literally be an allegory for Jesus (although I find that parallel hilarious, so I'm going to stick with it), but it's obviously communicating suffering and sacrifice.

I'm team Fuuko so if this ends up being a wake up call to Yuni and she goes through an arc of finally realizing she loves Fuuko and not her current GF, I'd be satisfied. The most obvious path this could go down is this new girl serving as an obstacle that makes her realize this, along with more Fuuko backstory.

But forget all of that, what the hell did they mean with that Crown of Thorns imagery? I'm a sucker for religious symbolism and this could mean a dozen different things, especially because it's being PUT on her. I know this will sound goofy but...is Fuuko meant to represent Jesus in this story? No I'm being completely serious.