The second season of the TV anime "Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You?), based on the manga by Mitsui Haruka currently serialized in the monthly girls' manga magazine Nakayoshi (Kodansha), will air on TBS from 1:28 AM on January 8th and on BS11 from 11:30 PM on January 11th. The series is a school-themed coming-of-age story depicting the heart-pounding romance and youthful experiences of four childhood friends - Hazawa Teruzuki, Kashiwagi Shin, Izumi Ai, and Hoshikawa Shugo - who grew up like family in a seaside town, and the protagonist Nishino Miho. The first season aired from January to March 2025. The heroine, Nishino Miho, will be played by Sakura Shinfuku Sakura. Shinpuku is a new voice actress who made her debut in "The Hero Died!", which aired in 2023, and will be playing the heroine for the first time in "Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" We spoke to her about her thoughts on the series, behind-the-scenes recording, and highlights of the second season.
◇ Her first attempt at a heroine role: Raising the tension and expressing the energy of high school students
The first season begins in the summer of 2020, when second-year high school student Mizuho faces the worst possible 17th birthday yet: her chance to get closer to the senior she admires is gone, her parents forget her birthday, and an unknown infectious disease outbreak cancels club competitions and school trips. Then, her childhood friend Teruzuki suddenly declares himself a potential boyfriend, and Teruzuki's actions prompt Miku to confess his feelings to her. Ai and Shugo also begin to move toward their own love lives, and the relationships between the five begin to crumble...
When Shinpuku was chosen to play the heroine Mizuho, she was surprised, saying, "I never thought I'd be able to play the role." She felt pressure, saying, "At first, my biggest worry was whether I could really do it," but after reading the script before recording, she recalls, "I was able to do the dubbing without any pressure."
"I think it's very rare in anime. However, at the time I didn't even know that it was rare, and I thought, 'If you become a main cast member in an anime, you have to do a read-through first,' but when I asked the other main cast members, they said, 'I've never done it,' which surprised me. I had very detailed discussions with the director and the original author about creating the character, and I was able to solidify my mindset for playing the role, such as what kind of girl Mizuho is. I was able to really give it my all during the dubbing itself. I realized that Mizuho comes together by not thinking about difficult things and just throwing my all into what I think."
Mizuho is the only girl among her childhood friends, but Shinpuku herself says, "I'm not conscious of being the only girl."
"Maybe because Mizuho has been with four other boys since she was little, she has a vibe that makes it seem like she's in a group of five boys. In fact, being the only girl among the boys doesn't seem like an annoyance, and I was very conscious of not wanting girls to dislike Mizuho when they saw her, so I acted in a boyish way, especially in the everyday scenes."
In order to express the high energy that only high school students have, they apparently went to karaoke before recording.
"At the beginning of the recording of the first season, I was directed to 'raise the energy a little more,' and I felt like I was performing with the maximum high school student vibe and energy, but before I knew it, I realized that 'I had become unable to keep up with the high school student energy' (laughs). I thought I had to somehow raise the voltage to go to the recording, so I would get up really early, go to karaoke by myself, and sing about five really exciting songs with all my might before going to the recording."
In the first season, Mizuho is shown confessing her feelings to Terutsuki and Fukami, and becoming conscious of romance.
"It was extremely difficult to strike a balance between making him not the kind of guy that girls would dislike, and also making sure to emphasize the excitement and heart-pounding feeling he gets when Terutsuki approaches him. I didn't want him to be too effeminate, but at the same time, he's not used to romance, so I had to go through a lot of trial and error. The staff also gave me direction like, 'Please be a bit more girly,' and 'It's a bit too cute, so please tone it down a bit,' so I kept making fine adjustments."
◇Even adult Mizuho hasn't forgotten her true self. Will there be plenty of heart-pounding scenes in season 2?
"IAnyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" focuses on the characters' high school years, but the story also includes what happens after they become adults. At the end of the first season, Teruzuki, who has now grown up and disappeared from his childhood friend's sight, appears at the airport. Mizuho is shaken when Teruzuki appears before her for the first time in three years. Shinpuku said that when he read the script for the second season, he felt that "the content has become much more mature."
"In the first season, we alternate between stories from their high school days and their adulthood, and it will be a season that fills in the gaps and parts that were unclear, such as 'Mizuho and Terutsuki seemed to get along well in high school, but why are they separated when they become adults?' and 'Why is there such a tense atmosphere between them?' There were difficult parts to act in, but this is also a season where you will see that their high school days and adulthood are connected, so I hope you will be prepared to watch. Also, perhaps because there are more adult parts in the second season, there are many sweet parts and some heart-pounding scenes that are a little more intense, so I hope you will look forward to it."
Compared to the first season, there are more scenes in the second season where she plays the adult Mizuho. However, she was conscious of Mizuho's unique style, saying, "I want to make sure I don't forget that Mizuho is still Mizuho, even as an adult."
"As time passes, she experiences many things, meets many different people, and maybe she's maturing on the inside, but Mizuho is still incredibly straightforward no matter what, she never runs away from facing people's feelings head-on, and she's still a bit of a glutton. I was conscious of the fact that the parts of Mizuho that make her Mizuho haven't changed at all. However, I felt that the lines spoken by the adult Mizuho are more complex than when she was in high school, and that there are probably a few more hidden elements in her words, so I was acting with that in mind."
◇The acting of the childhood friends cast is full of love
One of the charms of "IAnyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" is the relationship between the childhood friends, most of whom have romantic feelings for Mizuho, but still care for each other. In an interview with Kazuki Ura, who plays Terutsuki, he described this relationship as a "miracle."
"I also think it's a miracle. It's rare and difficult for childhood friends to stay in touch and meet up occasionally even as adults, even between people of the same sex. But for a group of guys and girls to be so close and support each other so much is something that wouldn't last without extraordinary effort from each individual. So I think they really love each other."
The second season will also feature scenes in which these childhood friends clash.
"Even so, the bond between the five of them never breaks. There are lines that may seem hurtful at first glance, but perhaps it's the power of the actors, but even in those lines you can feel a great deal of love. They communicate in a way that makes it very clear that 'this person is being spoken to for them.' No matter what happens, I don't think the relationship between those five will ever deteriorate, and I think they'll continue to get along well even when they become grandparents. I think it's truly a miracle."
Shinpuku recorded with Ura, who plays Terutsuki, Shoya Chiba, who plays Fukami, Chiba Shoya, who plays Ai, and Inomata Keiji, who plays Shugo, and said he often felt that they were "truly amazing."
"All four of the cast members are really amazing, but in the second season, the stories of Terutsuki, Misaki, Ai, and Shugo are all really tear-jerking (laughs). I'm going to sound like an otaku, but each one makes you cry for a different reason. I'm sure that from the actors' perspective, there are times when they feel frustrated, regretful, and like, 'Why this girl?', but they really take it all on their shoulders. 'Koishima' is a story about a series of events that arise because the characters care about each other, so they really understand that, and you can really feel the love they have for each character as they play them."
Regarding the dialogue with Ura-san, with whom he shared many scenes, he said, "I felt a kind of passion that can only be generated through dialogue, and I felt like we were able to hear each other's lines more clearly than in the first season, so I was very grateful." With the accumulated experience from the first season, he said with a smile, "I think our teamwork has definitely deepened."
◇The second season sees lively discussions about who is your favorite character. Who is Shinfuku Sakura's favorite character?
Perhaps it is because Shinpuku and the other voice actors put so much love into their performances of the series and characters that the childhood friends appear even more precious to viewers.
We once again asked Shinfuku about the appeal of "Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You"
"Even though it is a shoujo manga, I think it's amazing how it is filled with messages that resonate with people of all ages. As a reader, there are many scenes that really touched my heart, and many things that I feel I have learned from. Also, all the characters are fascinating, so I think that for women in particular, deciding who their favorite is will be a lifelong topic of discussion (laughs). For those who watched the first season, I think that discussion will become even more lively once they watch the second season. There are plenty of heart-pounding and heartbreaking scenes, so I hope you will watch it to the end."
By the way, Shinpuku himself is a fan of Shugo.
"I love everyone, and after watching it five times, I'm now a Shugo fan. In the second season, Shugo's charm will be portrayed in a richer way, so I think the number of Shugo fans will increase even more. How can I put it, I like sad men (laughs). However, I think what happens after watching it five times is really different for each person, so I'd love to talk to a variety of people about it!"
The second phase will begin at the beginning of 2026. Shinpuku himself says that 2025 was "a year in which I worked desperately."
"I want 2026 to be a year in which I can truly enjoy expression. Of course, I will approach each and every expression seriously, but I also hope to enjoy the act of expression itself."
"IAnyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" In the second season, we'll be paying close attention to the youthful vibes expressed by Shinpuku and the other voice actors. (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
