Sora Amamiya:"Rent-A-Girlfriend" Season 5 Interview: Clash with "Formidable Rival" Mami - "The moment you lose focus, you lose."

The fifth season of the TV anime " Rent-A-Girlfriend , Okarishimasu), based on the romantic comedy manga by Reiji Miyajima serialized in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha), will begin airing on April 10th at 2:23 AM in the late-night anime block "Animeism" on MBS, TBS, CBC, and other channels. The fourth season entered the popular Hawaiianz arc from the original manga, and its thrilling and suspenseful developments became a hot topic. The fifth season will continue the Hawaiianz arc, and it is said that an even more shocking development awaits, with a battle against a "formidable enemy." We asked Sora Amamiya, who plays the heroine Chizuru Mizuhara, to look back on the thrilling fourth season and to talk about the fifth season.

◇Chizuru's "revenge turn" begins

"Kanojo, Okarishimasu" (Rent-A-Girlfriend) tells the story of Kazuya, a hopeless college student who gets dumped by his girlfriend, and his encounter with Chizuru, a beautiful girl who works as a rental girlfriend. The manga began serialization in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" in 2017. The first season of the TV anime aired from July to September 2020, the second season from July to September 2022, the third season from July to September 2023, and the fourth season from July to September 2025.

In the fourth season, Nanami Mami, a mischievous ex-girlfriend who knows the "true" relationship between Kinoshita Kazuya and Mizuhara Chizuru, suddenly gets close to Chizuru, leading to a series of tense scenes that became a hot topic. Whenever Mami appears, tense music plays and an unsettling atmosphere permeates the air. Although Mami is one of the heroines, she is also a character who disrupts the situation.

"When I arrived at Hawaiianz, Mami was there, and at that moment I simply felt 'That's scary!' but at the same time, I also felt 'I've been waiting for this!' There was a sense of 'Mami-lessness' up until the third season, and of course, I expected that something would happen when she came. Of course, I knew what was going to happen, but when I watched the broadcast, I got chills from Aoi-san's (Aoi Yuki, who plays Mami) voice. During recording, I'm focused on my acting, but when I'm watching the broadcast, I'm in a defenseless state... Mami has an addictive charm. The fourth season lets you experience Mami's scary side once again, but there was also a swimsuit episode, I laughed at the underwater telepathy, and there were gag scenes, so I was on the edge of my seat and enjoyed it in many ways."

Asami tries to expose to Kazuya that Chizuru is a "rental girlfriend." In the fourth season, she tries to unsettle and manipulate Chizuru. Amamiya said that after watching the fourth season, there were times when she didn't quite understand what Asami was thinking.

"You never know what he's going to do. Sometimes he acts like a 'nice guy' to stir up your guilt, and other times he's like the final boss. Season 5 is even more exciting than Season 4. He starts to break through his 'nice guy' facade and shows his presence as the final boss, so I hope everyone who's been excitedly saying 'He's scary!' will look forward to it. In Season 4, Chizuru is constantly getting beaten up, but in Season 5, she gets a bit of a turn for revenge. When they're playing in the pool, they act like they're on good terms, but...it's a pretty intense situation, isn't it? If it were me, I think I'd just go home. It's a pretty tough situation."

◇Don't let Asami swallow you up

Season 5 marks the beginning of a turning point where Chizuru confronts Mami with her pent-up emotions. This is a major highlight of the Hawaiianz arc and one of the turning points in the series itself.

"Season 5 was difficult. In the released PV, there's a scene where Mami grabs Chizuru by the collar and says, 'Stop making a fool of me!' Mami and Chizuru have a heated argument. When playing Chizuru, I couldn't let her emotions get the better of me, but if I retorted emotionally, it would turn into a catfight, so finding the right balance was difficult. Chizuru retorts because she has her own sense of justice, her arguments are well thought out, and she has accumulated feelings, so she doesn't want to argue. It was difficult to get the right temperature to convey her feelings properly while arguing. If I was too weak, Mami would completely overwhelm me, and if I became emotional and started yelling, I wouldn't be Chizuru anymore. I tried to act while cherishing the rational core of Chizuru."

The clash of acting styles between Amamiya and Yuuki, who plays Asami, is attracting attention.

"The moment you lose your concentration, you lose. I feel like Ao-san, who plays Mami, is subtly changing her tension. When we argue, she doesn't just go for it with sheer force, but changes the tone and tempo within her long lines, so I try to accept that while making sure not to get emotional. It's a battle against a really formidable opponent. That's why there are parts that I don't remember very well. I was so focused that all I remember is my stance in playing Chizuru. It was that overwhelmingly powerful. At AnimeJapan 2026 the other day, Nao-san (Toyama Nao, who plays Nao Toyama) said to me, 'Neither of you make mistakes,' and even in the argument scenes with incredible tempo, Ao-san doesn't make any mistakes. So I couldn't make any mistakes either. I think I was able to act with a really good tension. It wasn't a scene that we repeated many times, so I think you can feel the raw, intense feeling."

◇ Extraordinary enthusiasm for the opening theme

It has also become a topic of discussion that Amamiya's new song, "Non-Scenario Etude," which she wrote and composed herself, will be the opening theme for the fifth season.

"When I was offered the opportunity to be in charge of the opening theme for the fifth season, it wasn't decided that I would write the lyrics and compose the music myself. Having played Chizuru in 'Rent-A-Girlfriend' up to this point, I thought there might be something that only I could create, so I suggested that I write the lyrics and compose the music myself. It's a very important work to me, so even though the schedule was hectic, I made three songs to start with. 'Rent-A-Girlfriend' has many elements, such as suspense, romantic comedy, the bond between Kazuya and Chizuru, and human drama, so I made three completely different songs. 'Non-Scenario Etude' has a romantic comedy feel, and then there's a more mature song with the theme of "accomplice" to match the fifth season, and a refreshing youthful song, for a total of three songs, and in the end, 'Non-Scenario Etude' was chosen. That's how much effort I put into this song."

I also put my feelings for "Kanojo, Okarishimasu" into the lyrics.

"I drew inspiration from the original work and extracted elements to create this song, so I think that when you read the lyrics, you'll probably understand that it's referring to a specific scene. I really want everyone to listen to the full version. If you listen to the full version after watching season 5, you'll probably notice new things. I put a lot of thought and effort into creating this song, giving it everything I can do right now."

This is a song by Amamiya-san, and not a typical character song.

"Not just with this song, but consistently, I try to fully embody the protagonist of the song. Although the lyrics for this song are written from Chizuru's perspective, I made sure it wasn't Chizuru's character song. My natural voice is similar to the voice I use when playing Chizuru, but I tried to create differences in expression by singing in a cutesy or comical way."

What I'm curious about is which song wasn't chosen as the opening theme.

"The EP 'Non-Scenario Etude' will include a song with the theme of 'accomplice.' Initially, I had only written the first verse, so I considered whether to continue with lyrics that evoke 'Kanojo, Okarishimasu' or go in a completely different direction. However, I took the liberty of writing the entire song from Chizuru's perspective. I've poured my feelings from playing Chizuru into this song as well."

◇The lyrics coincidentally contain the number "5th generation"!

Chizuru's way of life and her high level of professionalism seem to have some similarities to Amamiya's.

"I also value doing my best so that I don't have any regrets, and preparing for that. I want to steadily build up what I can do, one step at a time. However, I'm not as wonderful as Chizuru (laughs)."

Approximately six years have passed since the first season of the TV anime began in 2020, and it has continued for five seasons, becoming a long-loved work.

"It's the 5th generation, isn't it... The number '5' is significant. There's a lyric at the beginning of the song that says 'Please look forward to it,' and while I was writing the song, I kept thinking, 'It's the 5th generation...' so I unconsciously made a pun on 'please look forward to it' and '5th generation' (laughs). It was a coincidence. When a staff member pointed it out, I was like, 'Oh!' and thought, 'Well, I guess that's how it is...' (laughs)."

Amamiya poured her feelings for Chizuru into the recording and also composed the opening theme. Please pay attention to how the battle against the "formidable opponent" unfolds. (Manami Anima/MANTANWEB)