Get ready for absolute peak fiction! On September 9, 2026, the official release of “Daisuki♡ Zutto Eien ni♡ / Kore Koi, Itare Ai” drops, featuring the OP/ED themes for Season 3 of the TV anime “The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You” alongside the insert song from Episode 28 (Season 3, Episode 4). To celebrate this massive release, we’re kicking off a series of roundtable interviews with the brilliant creators behind the music! For our very first volume, we sit down with the trio who crafted the OP theme “Daisuki♡ Zutto Eien ni♡”: lyricist Sasa Ando, and composers Maoki Yamamoto (TRYTONELABO) and Shunsuke Takizawa (TRYTONELABO). Let’s dive deep into the behind-the-scenes secrets of this chaotic track!
A Relay-Race OP Theme Built on Mutual Inspiration
—First off, what shocked you the most about “The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You”?
Sasa Ando (hereafter, Ando): If we’re talking about pure shock value, I’d have to say it was the very beginning where God actually makes a mistake. (laughs) Also, I was pleasantly surprised that the confession scenes are taken completely seriously!
At first glance, I assumed it was just your standard harem anime, but it really belongs in a league of its own. I think the reason it’s so convincing is ultimately down to Rentaro’s incredibly earnest gaze.
Shunsuke Takizawa (hereafter, Takizawa): The title alone packs such a massive punch, so I obviously figured 100 girlfriends would show up eventually. But I couldn’t help wondering how the character dynamics would even work once there were around 10 of them. Yet, Rentaro’s character somehow just makes it all work. It was genuinely refreshing to watch someone be that devoted to so many women at once. The sheer realization of “Wow, they can actually pull this off!” was a huge shock to me.
—After all, they eventually form the Rentaro Family.
Takizawa: Yeah, you honestly just stop being surprised when another girlfriend gets added to the roster…
Maoki Yamamoto (hereafter, Yamamoto): For me, I was absolutely blown away by how they manage to distinctly flesh out the unique traits of every single character! It’s also incredible how well they develop those traits within a rom-com setting. In a standard rom-com, you usually cap out at around five heroines, right? I was wondering how on earth they’d differentiate 100 girls, but the world-building is just so delightfully unhinged that you totally believe they can pull it off.
Plus, whenever you’re reading and feel the urge to point out something totally meta, a character in the story beats you to the punchline. It feels so incredibly satisfying—there’s a real sense of exhilaration when reading it.
—There definitely is a ton of meta-humor. Even the narration delivers solid punchlines, though it feels like Karane Inda has her work cut out for her as the straight man.
Ando: Kurumi Haraga is definitely holding her own out there too!
—Let’s shift gears to the Season 3 OP theme, “Daisuki♡ Zutto Eien ni♡.” What kind of creative process actually gives birth to a track like this?
Takizawa: It all started with Tabuchi-san’s idea, right?
Yamamoto: Yep, Tabuchi-san handled the chorus melody. He came up with the initial chorus, the intro, and the melody leading right up to the A-melody. From there, I took over the chord progressions and arrangement, and then composed the arrangement and melody for the A-melody itself. Next, I tossed the baton to Takky-san (Takizawa), who wrote the B-melody and its arrangement, and then he adapted the chord progression for the chorus to fit Tabuchi-san’s original chorus melody.
After that, I worked out everything from the interlude to the D-melody. I also did the melody for the second A-melody, but Takky-san handled its chord progression. Heading into the next interlude, Takky-san took full control all the way through the guitar solo, and once we hit the bridge chorus, it went right back to Tabuchi-san…
For the massive final chorus right after the bridge, Takky-san cooked up the chord progression, and from the final “LALALA…” section onwards, I jumped back in for the melody and chords. Nearing the very end, Takky-san wrapped it all up with the outro. That was basically how we divided the workload!
—Honestly, just listening to that makes me wonder how many melody sections this song actually has… (laughs)
Yamamoto: I mean, right?! (laughs) But that’s exactly how it felt—like we were running a musical relay race. In terms of arrangement, we generally split it so that I handled the electronic sounds while Takky-san took care of the acoustic instruments.
—With a production process that complex, how did you guys even communicate with each other?
Takizawa: It was 100% just a LINE group chat. (laughs)
Yamamoto: We’d literally just drop a file in the chat like, “Hey, just finished the A-melody,” and then the next person would jump in to make the B-melody.
Takizawa: And to make things crazier, we were simultaneously working on the ED theme in that exact same group chat! Sometimes, data for the ED theme would pop up, and listening to it actually gave us a fresh burst of inspiration.
—Has this always been your usual workflow?
Takizawa: Pretty much! It’s been this way for as long as I can remember.
—You’re all incredibly talented and perfectly capable of composing a track entirely on your own. What do you find so appealing about this “pass the baton” method?
Takizawa: Honestly, it’s just pure excitement. It’s fun when you pass your part along, and it’s just as fun hearing the music come back from the others. Although, for me, there’s definitely a massive amount of pressure. Everyone else is churning out such absolute bangers that you can’t just phone it in with an “eh, this is good enough.” I actually found myself stressing over it quite a bit.
—Wouldn’t you naturally just come up with the B-melody while writing the A-melody? Does that not happen?
Yamamoto: There’s actually a sense of freedom in not having to worry about that. For example, at the end of the A-melody, I ended it with a key change—but I had absolutely zero blueprint for what would come next. (laughs) Usually, when I compose everything myself, I calculate all of that because I have a specific key I want to reach. But here, I can just casually toss it over with a lighthearted “Eh, Takky-san will figure it out!” It’s incredibly fun.
—There’s a lot of mutual trust there, then.
Yamamoto: Absolutely. And he really did pick it up beautifully, which was a huge lifesaver.
Takizawa: No, no, no. You handed me something amazing, so I couldn’t exactly afford to ruin it, right? I was literally fighting for my life trying to elevate it even further! (laughs)
—So when you receive a track with a sudden key change, do you take that as a subliminal message from the music saying, “Alright, make this work”?
Takizawa: That’s exactly it! Back when we were working on the OP themes for Season 1 (“Daidaidaidaidaisuki na Kimi e♡”) and Season 2 (“Arigato, Daisuki ni Natte Kurete”), I had a chat with Tabuchi-san where I mentioned I could transition into any key. Before I knew it, that just became my established character. (laughs) Everyone just assumes that if they toss it to Takky, I can take it into any key and safely bring it back, so I know I have to deliver on that expectation.
—So you essentially became the “Key Change Guy.”
Takizawa: Pretty much!
—Does Tabuchi-san’s initial chorus generally dictate the overall vibe of the song?
Takizawa: Once the chorus is locked in, the tempo and general feel are established, so you definitely get a clear view of the overall atmosphere.
Yamamoto: But honestly, when it came to the A and B-melodies, we were totally just doing whatever we wanted.
Takizawa: We also had the legacy of the Season 1 and Season 2 themes to consider, so I felt we should definitely honor that trajectory. I was very conscious about injecting that signature blend of cuteness and beauty into the track.
—Considering the ED theme “Kore Koi, Itare Ai” is a full-blown metal track, this one definitely feels much more like a traditional anime OP when you listen to the TV-sized cut.
Takizawa: The ED theme goes incredibly hard, which honestly makes the OP theme feel kind of normal by comparison! (laughs)
Yamamoto: The OP is actually super unhinged in its own right, but when you’re listening to everything in the LINE chat, the ED is just so mind-blowingly chaotic that it makes you start second-guessing yourself like, “Wait, is the OP too normal?” It really messes with your head. (laughs)
Takizawa: Exactly!
Yamamoto: I promise, the OP is plenty crazy. But because the ED transcends logic, the OP might genuinely come across as a perfectly sane, grounded song.
—The OP theme is undeniably aggressive when you listen to the full version. What was it like asking someone to write lyrics for such a wild track?
Takizawa: Personally, I have nothing but absolute faith in Ando-san. She really can do it all. In the lyrics for “Arigato, Daisuki ni Natte Kurete,” (Thank you for falling in love with me.) there’s the phrase “Eternal Daishukkiss”—and I literally thought, “What on earth do you have to eat to come up with lyrics like that?” A normal mind just doesn’t produce that. I realized you absolutely need someone with her unique sensibilities to write lyrics that can hold their own against the sheer power of the original manga. So, going into this, I was fully confident she could handle anything we threw at her.
Ando: No, no, no. Honestly, writing for the OP was way harder than the ED!
Takizawa: Wait, really?!
Ando: It was incredibly difficult! It felt like there was just so much to write. When a song has this many shifts in progression, you start wondering how to fit in everything you want to say. Usually, if the track cools down a bit in the B-melody, you can explode with a huge “BUT HERE’S HOW I FEEL!!” in the chorus—but that standard formula really didn’t apply here. Plus, since there was a key change right at the A-prime section, I was left scratching my head over what to do for the B-melody… I really had to agonize over the lyrical structure for this one.
—How about you, Yamamoto-san?
Yamamoto: Actually, right before this track, she wrote the lyrics for “HAKOBUNE ~100-nin Nottemo Daijoubu~.” After seeing how perfectly that turned out, I trusted her completely. This song has a ton of bizarre syllable groupings, but I just handed it over without giving her any specific notes. For example, there’s a part where “Rentaro” is sung in a round (like, “Rentaro! Rentaro!”). I had a vague idea of how she might handle it, but her lyrics absolutely blew my expectations out of the water. I was so thrilled.
Ando: Since I worked on the insert songs “HAKOBUNE ~100-nin Nottemo Daijoubu~” and “Kyun Chi♡!” first, part of me wanted to save some of my best ideas for the OP and ED. But because the vibes of the tracks were so completely different, I was able to just write without holding anything back! (laughs)
Writing Lyrics is Like Searching for the Composer’s True Intentions
—What specifically made the OP theme so challenging to work on?
Ando: Definitely the structure. You start by writing for the 89-second TV edit, so you end up burning through all your energy right out of the gate. But then, when it expands into the full-size version and you’re hit with even weirder melodies, the pressure is on to outdo the TV cut! It was incredibly tough. Thankfully, I had endless things I wanted to say—like the line, “This love is Guinness-tier! A National Honor Award!” I’m actually really fond of that part.
Takizawa: I absolutely love that line. Pure genius.
Ando: For me, writing lyrics is essentially a process of searching for the composer’s underlying intent. I write with the mindset that I’m translating “what everyone was already thinking” into words.
Takizawa: Whoa, really?! From our perspective, it honestly sounds like the melody was tailor-made specifically for your lyrics!
Yamamoto: It really does.
Ando: That’s exactly why the opening shout of “\ Rentaro Aijo! /” is there too.
Takizawa: That part is incredible! We hadn’t planned for that at all, but it fits so flawlessly. (laughs)
—The name “Rentaro” has popped up in previous lyrics too, right?
Ando: I actually don’t think it was used that much. We first dropped it in “Unmei?” with the line “Rentaro! Top of boyfriends!”, but that was more of a background shout rather than part of the main vocal melody. So, this time, I decided to formally weave it into the actual melody. Plus, we managed to get his full name in there, which feels super fresh!
Well, that is if you exclude Hahari Hanazono’s iconic “Rentarooo-chaaan” from “Kyo no Ending wa Watashi ga Kaitotta kara Suki ni Shite Ii wa yo ne♡”, of course! (laughs)
—Were you consciously trying to sprinkle in “100 Girlfriends”-specific buzzwords like “Rentaro” or “100” wherever possible?
Ando: I always aim to include “100” somewhere. Since this is an anime OP, I really want listeners to instantly recognize it as the anthem for this specific show. The line “Taking 100 days! (Fuu fuu!)” from this track can be interpreted in a lot of fun ways, so I’m always proactive about sliding the number “100” into the lyrics.
—So, did the melody essentially “call out” for Rentaro’s name to be used so frequently this time?
Ando: Absolutely. The melody was definitely calling for him. (laughs) It practically demanded “Rentaro Aijo.”
—Yamamoto-san mentioned he had a round-singing vibe in mind for that section, but did you already have the specific word picked out too?
Yamamoto: I was actually picturing a word like “Daisuki” (I love you) or something similar being stacked up over and over when I wrote the melody. I didn’t leave any specific instructions for the lyrics, but when it came back to me filled with “Rentaro”, it just clicked perfectly. I was like, “Yep, of course that’s what it should be!” (laughs)
—With all those key changes, this track must be incredibly tough to sing.
Ando: I’d say the whole thing is brutally difficult across the board! Even the cast members were talking on the radio about how tough it was.
Takizawa: The thing is, when it comes to “100 Girlfriends,” I’ve started to realize you can’t worry about stuff like that. If we go too far, somebody will stop us, right? (laughs) In my experience, the moment you start overthinking things, you end up putting limitations on the track. So, I fundamentally reject the mindset of “this is too hard to sing, let’s tone it down.”
Yamamoto: I completely agree. Season 3 is my first time participating as a composer, but I played drums on the tracks for Season 1 and Season 2, so I was already well-acquainted with the absolute chaos of this franchise. I went in with the mindset of “this is the kind of project where anything goes,” so I didn’t hold back either. Honestly, if you put a limit on it, it stops being “100 Girlfriends”. I was mostly driven by the desire to rip off the limiters I usually operate under and just create something wildly entertaining.
Takizawa: We’re basically just taking advantage of the cast’s incredible vocal chops, and the songs just keep getting harder because of it.
Ando: I completely understand! (laughs)
Yamamoto: I’ve literally never composed a track with so little regard for the people who actually have to sing it…
Takizawa: There’s also the factor that it’s a massive group number. If it were a solo track, it would be a nightmare, but when you have a huge ensemble singing together, you figure the brutal key changes might somehow just blend into the chaos.
—So, how did it feel to finally listen to the finished track?
Ando: My first thought was just pure awe—like, “How are they actually singing this?!” I try to sing a rough demo version myself while writing, but it’s physically impossible to sing alone, and my tongue just gets completely tied in knots. Seiyuu truly have a superhuman skill set.
Takizawa: I always have a blueprint in my head of how it’ll sound, but once the cast’s voices and dialogue are actually layered in, it transforms into an entirely different beast. We obviously compose with that final result in mind, but when it fully materializes, it’s this incredibly validating moment of, “Yes, exactly! This is the monster we were building!”
Yamamoto: While you’re producing it, you’re hearing it through the filter of “my own song.” It’s just music blasting out of your PC. But the moment you can physically feel the characters singing it, that’s when you finally hear the music belonging to the world of “100 Girlfriends.” That raw emotion only happens because the cast breathes life into it. It feels like the track is being delivered directly from the universe of the show itself. Realizing the song has finally left the nest and set off on its own journey is an incredibly rewarding feeling.
Includes Full Instrumentals! Ready for Your School Festival Performances?!
—Could you each share the specific lyric or phrase that really hit the sweet spot for you?
Takizawa: For me, it’s got to be “Otometical.” (laughs)
Ando: Ah yes, “Otometical”! It’s like a critical-hit maiden vibe.
Takizawa: It’s one of those phrases you just feel in your soul. It’s a completely made-up word, yet it slips right into your brain effortlessly. By the way, going back to “Eternal Daishukkiss”—I feel like “Eternal Daisuki” (Eternal Love) is something anyone could come up with, but pushing it all the way to “kiss” is just brilliant. It really captures that relentless, aggressive energy right to the very end!
Ando: I always want to write lyrics that feel like something they’d say in the original manga. However, if I just write exactly what they say, it borders on simple recycling. Striking that balance is surprisingly tricky, because I try to avoid just copy-pasting their lines word-for-word.
—Since you’ve been writing lyrics for the series for so long now, it feels like you’re perfectly tuned to the “100 Girlfriends” frequency. Your wordplay genuinely sounds like it could be pulled straight from the manga.
Ando: You might be right! (laughs) It definitely has that authentic manga flavor. Honestly, just like the composers, I feel like this series lets me do things I’d never get away with normally.
—What about lyrics like “Nirvana” (Nehan)?
Ando: “Nirvana” is actually a word I use pretty often.
Takizawa: Even in the OP animation, Rentaro looks like he’s forging some kind of spiritual connection.
Ando: He really does. But let’s be real, Rentaro is practically a god (or a Buddha) at this point! I feel like the word just naturally spawned from his divine aura.
Yamamoto: The phrasing of “So chaotic it’s actually Nirvana” fits the rhythm so beautifully that I didn’t even realize it was Japanese at first! I was like, “Wait, what are they even singing?” Then I checked the lyrics, and it was one of those “this makes no sense, but it makes perfect sense” moments. (laughs) The lyrical flow is just immaculate.
Ando: Despite all that, I was genuinely trying to write chorus lyrics that wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic idol song!
Yamamoto: Personally, I absolutely love the word “Mikan” (Unpublished/Incomplete).
Ando: Oh, I love that part too!
Yamamoto: Musically speaking, that exact section actually feels “incomplete” for a split second. From there, it builds up to deliver the real message. The fact that she picked up on that musical cue—that moment where the song holds its breath before spilling its guts—and paired it perfectly with “Mikan” is just beautiful. It links to the track flawlessly.
Ando: True, though if you don’t look at the lyrics, you might just assume they’re singing about oranges (“Mikan”).
Yamamoto: But the melody naturally forces the intonation of “Unpublished”, so it perfectly aligns anyway. That’s what makes it so brilliant.
—I’m also a huge fan of “Genesis of Daisuki” (Genesis of Love).
Takizawa: That’s another one that makes zero sense, yet absolute perfect sense! (laughs)
Yamamoto: The entire song is packed with stuff like that.
Ando: For Season 3, we’re tossing around words like “Nirvana” and “Genesis,” literally elevating things to godhood. The scale of the story feels like it’s expanding so much… I can’t even imagine where we go from here. The animation was incredibly epic, too! I wrote the lyrics anticipating something grand, so it’s validating to see that everyone was on the exact same wavelength!
—Well, they literally go to space at the end.
Takizawa: Yeah, suddenly we’re just in outer space…
Yamamoto: The sheer scale was astronomical.
Takizawa: I handled the pre-chorus, which includes a phrase reminiscent of the Wedding March and transitions into this holy choir-like chorus. I originally envisioned some seriously divine imagery for that part, and the animation team picked up on that perfectly. I was grinning ear-to-ear while watching it! Sometimes it aligns flawlessly with your vision, and other times they hit you with something you could never have predicted. It’s such a fun process.
Ando: I mean, none of us expected Rentaro to turn into an actual monkey in Season 2, right?! (laughs)
—The jump from the “Theory of Human Evolution” lyric was wild! (laughs) Finally, the single “Daisuki♡ Zutto Eien ni♡ / Kore Koi, Itare Ai” officially drops on September 9th. Could you each leave a final message for the fans about the release?
Ando: This release includes the insert tracks and features full instrumentals for every song, so you can totally cover them at your own school festivals!
Takizawa: Doing this interview really reminded me how much raw passion everyone poured into the music—matching the sheer intensity of the series itself—and I think that really shines through. We’ve crafted something we’re incredibly proud of, so I hope you all blast it on repeat and purely enjoy it as a fantastic piece of music!
Yamamoto: “100 Girlfriends” is so incredible because it features a massive cast of girlfriends whose diverse personalities constantly collide. The music production is just as uniquely chaotic—it’s not just one person writing a track, but multiple composers essentially battling it out. I truly believe that deliberate sense of imbalance is what defines the sound of “100 Girlfriends.” And then you have Ando-san, who ties all that beautiful madness together perfectly with her lyrics. The bizarre chemical reactions in our creative process mirror the world of the show perfectly, so I hope you keep that in mind while enjoying the songs!
[Article by Junichi Tsukagoshi]
Anime Information
Synopsis
After racking up 100 rejections in middle school, Rentaro Aijo visits a shrine to pray for a girlfriend in high school. Suddenly, the God of Love appears and drops a bombshell: “You will meet 100 soulmates in high school.”
However, there’s a deadly catch. According to God, once a person meets their soulmate, they must love each other and find happiness—or else they will die…
With a relentless barrage of destined encounters waiting for him, what will Rentaro do? And what will become of his 100 girlfriends?!
Cast
Rentaro Aijo: Wataru Kato
Hakari Hanazono: Kaede Hondo
Karane Inda: Miyu Tomita
Shizuka Yoshimoto: Maria Naganawa
Nano Eiai: Asami Seto
Kusuri Yakuzen: Ayaka Asai
Hahari Hanazono: Sumire Uesaka
Kurumi Haraga: Amane Shindo
Mei Meido: Suzuko Mimori
Iku Sudo: Rie Takahashi
Mimimi Utsukushisugi: Lynn
Meme Kakure: Kanon Takao
Chiyo Iin: Kaori Ishihara
Naddy: Ayana Taketatsu
Yamame Yasashiki: Hana Tamegai
Momiji Momi: Aoi Koga
Yaku Yakuzen: Rie Kugimiya
Kishika Torotoro: Yumika Yano
God: Shigeru Chiba
Narration: Yuji Ueda
© Rikito Nakamura, Yukiko Nozawa / Shueisha, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Production Committee
*Some parts of this text have been translated using machine translation
