{"id":749309,"date":"2026-10-18T21:05:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/interview-buying-a-classmate-once-a-week-author-usa-haneda-on-their-codependence-yuri-series\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T21:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T18:05:22","slug":"interview-buying-a-classmate-once-a-week-author-usa-haneda-on-their-codependence-yuri-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/interview-buying-a-classmate-once-a-week-author-usa-haneda-on-their-codependence-yuri-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Buying A Classmate Once A Week Author Usa Haneda on Their \u201cCodependence Yuri\u201d Series"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Yuri light novel series<\/a> <\/span>Buying A Classmate Once A Week<\/span><\/i>, which depicts a complicated relationship between two people with deep wounds from their respective family environments, made its official English debut earlier this week. Prior to the English launch, Anime<\/a> Trending was able to ask author <\/span>Usa Haneda<\/b>, who <\/span>describes their creation<\/span><\/a> as a \u201ccodependence yuri\u201d involving two \u201cpain-in-the-neck\u201d girls, about the addictive series and Haneda themself via email.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the light novel-related questions are not completely restricted to Volume 1, there are no detailed or specific spoilers from any particular volume. KADOKAWA provided the translations for Haneda\u2019s responses.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Anime Trending: What inspired you to write yuri fiction?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda:<\/b> What got me started writing was the thought, \u201cThere\u2019s no yuri of the kind I want to read, so I\u2019ll write it myself!\u201d I live by the spirit of \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t exist, make it yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How were you introduced to reading and the yuri genre?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>I\u2019ve loved books since I was a child. I\u2019d get so absorbed in reading that I couldn\u2019t hear my parents when they called out to me. If I went to a bookstore, I\u2019d be gone for hours, and my parents even came to pick me up because they were worried. As for yuri, I started reading it naturally without realizing it, so I don\u2019t think there was any particular moment that got me into it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Buying A Classmate Once A Week<\/i><\/b> finally has an official English translation. How would you describe the concept to those discovering the light novels for the first time?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda:<\/b> Buying A Classmate Once A Week<\/span><\/i> is a light novel in a genre commonly known as yuri. The first volume is built around the theme<\/a> of \u201corders,\u201d depicting the relationship between two girls, Miyagi and Sendai, through these \u201corders\u201d and the five thousand yen associated with them. I began writing the story with the aim of creating something that could be enjoyed not only by people who regularly read yuri, but also by those who have no particular interest in the genre.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Buying
The English version cover of Buying A Classmate Once A Week<\/em>\u2018s first volume, featuring protagonists Shiori Miyagi (left) and Hazuki Sendai (right). The two girls have a secret relationship involving orders that evolves into something more complex and intimate.<\/p>\n

Image source: Amazon<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Shiori Miyagi and Hazuki Sendai\u2019s complicated and unorthodox relationship is the core of the series. What inspired you to tackle a story about two broken people whose wounds and loneliness, caused by their respective family circumstances, draw them to each other while also impeding their relationship\u2019s progress?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>For <\/span>Buying A Classmate Once A Week<\/span><\/i>, elements such as the title, giving orders, and buying a classmate\u2019s time with money were established from the outset. I then considered why one girl would buy her classmate\u2019s time and give her orders, and why the other would continue to have her time bought and given orders. This led to a story about two girls who are each missing something and gradually change through their influence on each other. The idea that what they were missing was \u201cfamily\u201d was influenced by my interest in the relationship between family, home environment, and personality.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, you mentioned that you initially thought of writing a \u201clight\u201d yuri story that would interest even people who usually don\u2019t read yuri before <\/b>Buying A Classmate Once A Week <\/i><\/b>got its current form. Could you elaborate on this early evolution of the story?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>I wanted <\/span>Buying A Classmate Once A Week <\/span><\/i>to appeal not only to people who regularly read yuri, but also to those who don\u2019t, so my initial plan was to write a light, easy-to-read story about the relationship between two girls, with orders at its center.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, after considering the personalities and family backgrounds of the protagonists, Miyagi and Sendai, I concluded that it would be difficult to keep the story within the bounds of light yuri.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, I still wanted people who weren\u2019t interested in yuri to read it, so I reconsidered the structure. In the early part of the story, rather than focusing on the yuri aspect, I chose to focus on the idea of someone at the bottom of the school hierarchy giving orders to someone at the top, as well as the content of those orders. I wanted to see whether readers would accept the dynamic between Miyagi and Sendai in this early part of the story. If they did, I planned to gradually delve deeper into their relationship as it evolved. That\u2019s how the story gradually developed into its current form.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The idea that what they were missing was \u201cfamily\u201d was influenced by my interest in the relationship between family, home environment, and personality. \u2013 Usa Haneda<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How did you settle on Miyagi and Sendai\u2019s characters, especially with Miyagi being a bit of a violent tsundere whose fears and distrust influence Sendai\u2019s approach to getting closer?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>I conceived Miyagi and Sendai as two characters who seem to have nothing in common at first glance, but share certain points of connection. I originally planned to make Miyagi more talkative and arrogant, and Sendai more of a gyaru than she is now, but when I actually wrote them, those versions didn\u2019t feel quite right, so I changed them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Miyagi\u2019s personality is strongly shaped by her past with her family, and I\u2019ve brought her more timid and distrustful sides to the forefront. Rather than a typical tsundere, I imagine her as a character under a curse that prevents her from being honest about her feelings, making it difficult for her to reveal her true thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sendai\u2019s personality, on the other hand, is strongly shaped by her current family circumstances. As a counterpart to Miyagi, I envision her as more straightforward and proactive in comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, these traits don\u2019t define everything about them. They both have bright and dark sides, and which aspects come to the fore depends on the people they interact with and the situations they find themselves in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you think Sendai has unlimited tolerance for Miyagi?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>I\u2019ll leave that for readers to discover in the novel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Things between Miyagi and Sendai are still complicated, but there\u2019s a lot more wholesomeness today while things were rather messier at the start. What were the challenges of depicting their relationship then and now?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Usa Haneda: <\/b>In Volume 10, which will be released in Japan in October [on the 20th], the relationship between the two has certainly changed considerably compared to Volume 1, but I had very little difficulty writing that development. I see it as the two arriving at the relationship they were meant to have at the right time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n