Original interview from Monthly Newtype (September 2025), original interviewer: Hisashi Maeda; genga from studio ClowerWorks’s official Twitter account.

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A Season 2 I would find “fun” myself

— Many of the people who worked on Season 1 are participating in Season 2 as well.

It’s something I’m truly grateful for. Since they already know the work’s atmosphere, I don’t need to explain much, and it makes it easier to request episodes that lean more into the series’ specific taste. Anime production is a very fluid environment and it’s hard for staff members to stick with a particular project, but this time they relatively did. Since everyone’s highly motivated and talented, if we prioritize creating high-quality and fun works, there’s hardly any reason to leave, is there? The communication is very lively, so I believe those who fit well together feel at home here.

— That’s all thanks to your charisma and power to attract people, Director Shinohara!

No, I don’t think that’s the case… But I’d be very happy if I could be even just one factor in keeping people around. The animators participating in this project are all extremely skillful, but talented animators usually tend to choose production environments with other talented people, or with brilliant episode and series directors. Objectively speaking, I don’t have the kind of directing talent that can draw people in like that. What I wish to achieve is to offer these very talented people a comfortable and free environment to work in, and capture the charm of the original work on the screen.
Regarding Episode 13, I believe we managed to create something fun. However, it wasn’t exactly a relaxed process for everyone. On top of requiring a lot of precision and carefulness, it was a tremendous amount of work. That episode was made possible by imposing excessive demands on the staff for a TV series. The accuracy even in the in-between animation and the photography was really outstanding, and I’m truly impressed we could reach that level of quality with almost no need for retakes.

— That’s very nice to hear. I was surprised that Episode 13 started off with an episode of the in-universe show.

Following the original manga’s flow, I initially meant to start with the encounter with (Himeno) Amane, but that way it didn’t feel like “KiseKoi was back”. I really like the story in Amane’s episodes, but I felt it would have been too emotional as an opener. Changing the order a bit and starting with the TsuCom (“We’re the Tsukiyono♡Company”) episode, this second season could open with Marin and Wakana’s costume-making endeavors, and I felt that was more like KiseKoi.
Also, I’m really glad I was able to ask Ikarashi Kai-kun to handle the designs and key-animation for the TsuCom part.

— He really went all out with it.

For TsuCom, I wanted visuals that would both convey its cuteness and have a strong initial impact. Ikarashi-kun handled both aspect really well, and apparently he’s a fan of the series too, so he was the perfect fit.
Fans who follow the staff might view him as someone with a distinctive style, but he’s a rare talent who not only accurately grasps the director’s intent, but also creates richer visuals beyond expectations. We’re friends, but I’m also a big fan of his.

— I’d also like to hear about your storyboard work for the TsuCom part.

TsuCom was rather condensed in the original work, so we added more content during the storyboard stage. However, I worked only the very first rough draft, then I had Assistant Director (Yuusuke) Yamamoto-kun cleaning it up and adding ideas. He balanced out the parts that felt overdone in my original draft, making it easier for the audience to follow. Without Yamamoto-kun’s help, I don’t think Gojo-kun would’ve found it “so fun”.

— The tempo for the dynamite gag was perfect, it really made me laugh.

I’m really glad you liked it. While staying true to the elements in the original work, we wanted to overwhelm the audience with visuals fully packed of information. I believe we somewhat succeeded. Something like, “It was fun, but what the heck was that…?”.

— Speaking of inside-shows, “The Student Council President is the No.1 Host” must have been pretty challenging.

In-universe series like that are always a lot of work.

— I thought so. In terms of settei, it must be like creating an entirely different anime.

PrezHost took up about half an episode worth of screen-time, right…? When it comes to in-universe shows like that, the most difficult part is making a complete change in style. “Flower Princess Blaze!!” was playful and easy to make in Season 1, but then the number of series grew, and we couldn’t just re-use the same assets every time, so we sort of ran out of ideas. There are more coming up later in this season, so I hope you look forward to them.

— Even in the direction for the actual story, I really the strobe effect on Marin for example. It made me realize how rich an anime this is.

That’s the scene on the stairs in Episode 13, right? Thank you very much.
I wanted to make Season 2 feel “even richer”. In a TV series, I believe including expressions that aren’t necessarily realistic lets the creators enjoy the process more, and makes it more entertaining for viewers too. It’s not like Season 1 was strictly realistic either, but this time, I wanted to go for a more expressive approach.
Even at the script stage for Episode 13, leaving aside the karaoke scene, it felt kind of like a repetition of Season 1. I thought it might have been more enjoyable if we added a little extra creativity in how it was presented. Also, Yamamoto-kun was really overflowing with ideas and he came up with things I would have never thought of myself, which was really a huge help.
For Episode 15, we focused on more down-to-earth approach, and (Tomoki) Yoshikawa-san handled the drama-oriented direction, which I think made the series feel tighter and more polished. It’s a little reminiscent of the more tender episodes from Season 1.

— So, fundamentally, you’re still following the flow of Season 1, but are there any aspects you intentionally changed?

It connects to what I was saying earlier, but most importantly, I wanted to make it more fun. On top of that, I took on various personal challenges. For Episode 13, I tried to approach the storyboard with a particular style of acting that you don’t often see in TV series. Rather than aiming for a more realistic feel, I wanted to build the characters’ acting around the idea that people sometimes move in unexpectedly funny ways. But I didn’t want to simply over-exaggerate it, nor to use stylized or caricatured movements. The animators had to devote themselves entirely to drawing the character acting, so I think it was really challenging.
Then, the tempo. There’s always a gap between the pacing you carefully worked out on paper and how it actually appears on screen, so I’ve been trying various approaches to better match the ideal sense of pacing.
Visually, the art direction and color palette has also changed from Season 1. For the background art, I asked for a solid amount of detail, but made sure not to overdo it. I’ve been asking to simplify and remove elements from the drawings, so that the characters won’t disappear into the background. Thinking about this while drawing takes a lot of consideration, so it’s truly a demanding task for the background artists.

— Lastly, what do you, Director Shinohara, think are the highlights of this Season 2 to look forward to?

Of course the story is one of them, but we’re also aiming to create an anime that’s fun and enjoyable just to watch. As of right now (when the interview was conducted) the PrezHost part in Episode 16 hasn’t aired yet, so I feel a little anxious. By the time this interview will be out, the very popular cultural festival arc from the manga will already be underway, so I hope viewers will keep their expectations high for the story’s exciting moments as well.
I believe it’s a fun anime all the way to the end, so I’d be very happy if you could look forward to it until then.