Official Report from the Advance Screening
On June 28, an advance screening was held at Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro in Tokyo. At the advance screening, the world premiere of Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2 took place. Furthermore, Wataru Katō (voice of Rentaro Aijo), Kanon Takao (voice of Meme Kakure), and Kaori Ishihara (voice of Chiyo Iin) took the stage, holding a talk show full of love for the series alongside MC Yuma Aoki.
<The Cast Talks About Their Expectations for Season 3>
Prompted by MC Yuma Aoki, Kato, Takao, and Ishihara took the stage. Welcomed by thunderous applause from the venue, the speakers first gave their opening greetings.
Wataru Kato, playing Rentaro Aijo, greeted the audience with, "Everyone, do you have your motion sickness medicine?" This hinted at the raging developments of Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2, raising expectations in the venue. Next, Kanon Takao, playing Meme Kakure, also called out, "Is everyone ready to have your hearts throb?" pumping up the venue ahead of the screening.
Then, Kaori Ishihara, who joins from Season 3 as Chiyo Iin, had previously appeared on stage at AnimeJapan 2026, but that was a surprise appearance. This marks her first opportunity to appear after being announced in advance, and she expressed her joy, saying, "I'm so happy to meet you all like this!"
The first talk topic was a look back at Seasons 1 and 2 of the TV anime. Season 2 aired from January to March 2025, making this Season 3 advance screening a long-awaited opportunity for both fans and cast members. When it was mentioned that over a year had passed since the broadcast of Season 2, Kato and Takao looked back, noting that it felt long yet went by in a flash.
Kato commented, "Knowing how busy Bibury Animation Studios is, I was wondering when it would be... but it came faster than I thought (lol)." He shared that the developments rolled out at a speed that would also delight fans who had been eagerly waiting for Season 3 to air.
Additionally, Takao, who also appeared at the event where the production of Season 3 was announced, mentioned the reaction of the venue at the time of that announcement. She felt that "hearing the cheers that almost sounded like roars when the production of Season 3 was announced, it makes sense that the decision to make a sequel was finalized so quickly."
On the other hand, Ishihara, who joins this series from Season 3, looked back on her surprise regarding "The 100 Girlfriends," thinking, "Does an anime like this really exist?" and "They're doing this kind of parody?" Even at the voice recording studio, the cast members newly joining from Season 3 were occasionally bewildered, asking, "What on earth is this scene supposed to be? (lol)" However, Ishihara said, "Strangely enough, I found myself getting used to it," showing how she gradually synchronized with the unique momentum of the series.
<Aiming for Rentaro, Taking on the "Love Speech" Challenge!>
Moving on, as the first project, a challenge event titled "Aim for Rentaro! The 100-Second 'Love Speech' Challenge" was held with the fans in the venue to look back at the charms of the heroines who appeared up to Season 2.
In this project, the 11 girlfriends of Rentaro who appeared up to Season 2 were projected on the screen one by one, and Ishihara, Takao, and Kato took turns explaining the charm of each heroine. The rule was that every time Kato answered, the screen would switch to the next heroine, and if they could finish speaking about the charms of all heroines within 100 seconds, they would succeed.
Once the rules were explained, each member of the cast pumped themselves up, though they showed signs of nervousness due to the high hurdle of describing the charms of 11 people within 100 seconds. With the venue's expectations rising, the challenge started at Aoki's signal.
As the challenge began, Ishihara and Takao described their charms one after another in alignment with the heroines projected on the screen. In contrast to the rushing Ishihara and Takao, Kato took his time to thoroughly explain the charm of each heroine without worrying about the time limit, making the fans in the venue laugh.
In the end, they couldn't introduce all the heroines within the time limit, but it became a challenge filled with love for the series.
<Introducing 5 New Heroines Joining from Season 3>
In the next corner, the new heroines appearing from Season 3 were introduced.
First up was Chiyo Iin, played by Kaori Ishihara. Chiyo is a first-year middle school class representative who happens to be Rentaro's cousin. She has a reliable personality, and when she spots a breach of public morals, she groans "Urrrgh!" while scowling, attempting to correct it.
When Chiyo's profile was projected on the screen, Ishihara mentioned that Chiyo is Rentaro's cousin, commenting, "For now, we've received approval from the production committee (lol)." Laughter erupted from the venue at this bold character trait typical of "The 100 Girlfriends."
Furthermore, when asked by Aoki about her impressions of actually playing Chiyo, Ishihara said, "I have a bit of a scatterbrained side, but Chiyo-chan observes her surroundings very well." She mentioned that playing a character with a side she doesn't possess makes it worth playing, and she seemed charmed by Chiyo's reliable nature and her attitude of paying attention to those around her.
The next character introduced was Nadi, played by Ayana Taketatsu. Nadi is an "Ameee-rican" Japanese language teacher characterized by a cowboy hat and a Stars and Stripes patterned scarf. She was introduced as a character who speaks "Nadi-go" (Nadi-speak), which sounds like English, and is completely free-spirited in both appearance and behavior. On stage, a talk unfolded regarding Nadi's intense personality and how she would be depicted in Season 3.
The third person introduced, Yamame Yasashiki, is an overly kind gardening club member who has a butterfly living on her head. Although she used to have a complex about her large body, she is now proud of her sturdy frame that allows her to protect natural living things.
Regarding Yamame, Kato shared an anecdote from the voice recording session. When playing Rentaro, he changes his manner of speaking and sense of distance according to the character he is conversing with. In his conversations with Yamame, he played the role with the image of looking up slightly, keeping her size in mind. However, the sound director chimed in regarding that performance, saying, "Your assumption of her size is way too big," which brought laughter from the venue.
Next to be introduced was Momiji Momi. Momiji is one of Rentaro's girlfriends and a third-year middle schooler whose massage skills are top-notch. She usually has half-lidded eyes and pouted lips, making her look expressionless, but she actually possesses a rich emotional side.
In this corner, the intonations for pronouncing the names of Yamame, Momiji, and Kishika were also revealed for the first time. When the intonation envisioned by the original author, Rikito Nakamura, was disclosed, Kato described it by saying, "Momiji Momi has the same intonation as a certain national character," drawing laughter from the venue. A talk also unfolded regarding Momiji's go-my-own-way atmosphere and her emotional richness, which is hard to tell from her expressions.
Rounding out the introduction of the new heroines was Kishika Torotoro. Kishika is a third-year high school student who serves as the captain of the girls' kendo club, possessing a proud personality just like a "female knight" leaped straight out of a storybook world. She never skips her daily training and is highly respected by her club members. The cast shared their respective impressions while touching upon Kishika's dignity and caring nature. However, during this segment, faint laughter could be heard from members of the audience who seemed to be fans of the original manga... It was a moment that offered a glimpse into Kishika's personality, which has a quirk or two that cannot be fully captured by a simple character description.
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