**Watanare Anime Afterword: Episode 0**

Hello there, everyone. This is Mikami Teren.
To briefly introduce myself for those who are new here: I'm an author who primarily writes light novels, though I also occasionally work on original stories for manga, game scenarios, and anime screenplays.

To coincide with the Summer 2025 anime adaptation of the girls' love comedy, *There's No Freaking Way I'll be Your Lover! Unless...*, I'd like to use this "afterword" space to share some miscellaneous thoughts and stories about each episode as it airs. End of explanation!

Now then, I know I said these would be posted right after each episode airs, but I'm breaking that rule right off the bat. For this special "Episode 0," I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk a little about how "Watanare" came into being before the anime broadcast begins.

**1: It was originally a novel.**
The project for "Watanare" began six years ago. It was a time when getting a yuri project approved was much more difficult than it is now. It all started when I thought to myself, "Man, I want to read more yuri light novels... Wait a minute. If *I* write a bestseller, maybe that will lead to more yuri light novels being published...?" And that's what motivated me to start writing.

Up until that point, I had been self-publishing yuri novels as a hobby, releasing about eight books through doujinshi under the ridiculously named label, "Mikami Teren Bunko."

"Watanare" was the first project I meticulously planned and poured all my effort into with the goal of a commercial release.

That said, I can only write the kind of yuri that I myself enjoy. So, to give it the best chance of succeeding commercially, I had to think long and hard about absolutely everything, from the characters to the plot structure and beyond.

At the time, my doujinshi yuri novels were selling reasonably well, so I felt this self-imposed, trembling sense of mission: "If I fail with this, it'll just reinforce the idea that yuri light novels don't sell... and if that happens, there won't be any new ones for me to read, and I'll just shrivel up and die..."

And so, this is where the most crucial piece of the "Watanare" puzzle falls into place.
Yes, I'm sure you can guess. It's Takeshima Eku-sensei.

**2: Takeshima Eku**

When you talk about Takeshima-san, you're talking about the author of *Whisper Me a Love Song*. She's now a household name among yuri fans, and also the most skilled yuri manga artist in Japan (*that's just my personal, biased opinion, of course).

When I approached her to do the illustrations for "Watanare," she was already active in doujinshi and commercial manga, but she had only just released her short story collection, *I Want You to Say You Love Me*, in Yuri Hime. In terms of our careers, we were both still relative newcomers.

But the thing is, even back then, Takeshima-san's art was on another level.

As a manga artist, her black-and-white illustrations were masterful. On top of that, she was a yuri author who could create cover art that wouldn't look out of place in a bookstore sitting right next to work by top-tier illustrators. Convinced of this, I decided she *had* to be the illustrator and built the entire project plan around her.

Her gentle expressions, the blissful atmosphere she could create, and above all, her incredible range and charming way with comedic faces—I was certain it would all be a perfect fit for the "girls' love comedy" genre I was aiming to write.

And while I was mulling all this over, Takeshima-san's new series, "SasaKoi," began in Yuri Hime, and before I knew it, she was on her way to becoming the greatest yuri manga artist of all time——.

**3: And Then Came the Anime Adaptation**

Of course, I poured my heart and soul into writing the story, but I truly believe that "Watanare" managed to make it to an anime adaptation largely thanks to the strength of Takeshima Eku-sensei's contributions.

And so, I'd like to take this moment to once again express my gratitude.

Thank you, as always, for providing such catchy illustrations that make the series' selling points instantly obvious to everyone. The thought of seeing all *those* scenes, the ones Takeshima-san drew for the novel's illustrations and color inserts, finally moving and alive in the anime... it's just so exciting...!

What scene is everyone looking forward to? As for me... ufufu, all of them, I think!

With that said, I sincerely hope I can count on your continued support going forward!
This was Mikami Teren