This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Stories about young love are everywhere—but what about the characters whose love goes unreturned? Too Many Losing Heroines (Makeine) follows three such girls: Anna Yanami, the childhood friend overlooked for her rival; Lemon Yakishio, the athlete whose crush already has a girlfriend; and Chika Komari, the shy writer rejected after confessing her feelings. While the narrative labels them “losers,” to ordinary teenager Kazuhiko Nukumizu, they’re heroines in their own right. Could this be the start of a new story for them all?
The 2024 anime adaptation of Takibi Amamori’s light novel series blends comedy, melancholy, and realism. Directed by Shotaro Kitamura with character designs by Lycoris Recoil’s Imigimuru, the series also lovingly recreates Toyohashi City, Amamori’s hometown.
Comics Beat spoke with director Shotaro Kitamura, production coordinator Yutaro Ito, author Takibi Amamori, illustrator Imigimuru, and editor Kentaro Iwaasa about bringing Makeine to life.
Making the world real
ADAM WESCOTT: Kitamura-san, nearly every scene in Makeine has strong shading—even at the beach. Why was this choice important?
SHOTARO KITAMURA: I’m a photographer, so I naturally think about lighting. For Makeine, realism mattered. The lighting helps make the world feel authentic.
WESCOTT: Before this, you directed children’s shows like Zoids Wild. What did that experience teach you?
KITAMURA: Zoids Wild was lighthearted, which isn’t my natural style—I tend to tell darker stories. It was a valuable learning experience for making brighter, more playful narratives.
WESCOTT: Ito-san, what’s a production manager’s most important responsibility?
YUTARO ITO: For Makeine, it was portraying Toyohashi as a real place, making it feel like Nukumizu and his friends truly live there. The hardest part was getting approval to travel from Tokyo to Toyohashi ten times for location surveys.
The kind of youth life I wanted to live
WESCOTT: Amamori-sensei, why did you choose Nukumizu as narrator rather than Anna?
TAKIBI AMAMORI: Light novels often use a male narrator like Nukumizu. I also wanted readers to see the heroines from a neutral perspective.
WESCOTT: Did you join any clubs in high school, like the characters?
AMAMORI: Not at all. (laughs) Makeine is the kind of youth I wished I had.
WESCOTT: Iwaasa-san, six years ago, critics said romantic comedies dominated light novels. Is that still true?
KENTARO IWAASA: Yes—stories of youth are still popular. We’ve had waves of battle stories, but today’s “meta” is a balance between isekai and rom-coms.
WESCOTT: Imigimuru-sensei, what was unique about designing Makeine’s characters compared to your manga work?
IMIGIMURU: With manga, readers constantly see the characters. Light novels don’t have that luxury, so I made their designs—hair, silhouettes—especially distinctive and memorable.
A very gratifying feeling
WESCOTT: A year later, how do you feel about the anime’s success?
AMAMORI: The love for Makeine has been deeply moving. Seeing Toyohashi support the series was especially gratifying.
IMIGIMURU: I’ve received so much feedback and new opportunities since. Now that a second season is coming, I’m just another fan looking forward to it.
IWAASA: In Toyohashi, fans still hold birthday parties for the characters. Sharing those celebrations is incredibly rewarding.
KITAMURA: We’ve gained new friends and fans through Makeine. For season two, we want to create something even fresher.
ITO: The series relies heavily on seasonal depictions. In season one, we showed everything but winter. For season two, I want to focus on portraying winter in this world.
For more coverage on Otakon 2025, you can find it right here in the Otakon 2025 archive on The Beat!
