Watari was born on 24 January 1987 in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture. He graduated from high school in March 2005[2] before attending and graduating from the Information and Communication Faculty of Meiji University in March 2009.[5]
He debuted with his novel Ayakashigatari (あやかしがたり) in May of the same year, which won the 3rd ShogakukanGagaga Bunko Light Novel Award.
In March 2011, the first volume of his most known work, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, as I Expected, was published by Gagaga Bunko. This series received its first anime adaptation in April 2013, followed by a continuation in April 2015 before concluding with a final season in 2020.
His next work, Kazu to Kinka no Qualidea (クズと金貨のクオリディア) was published in January 2015. This novel alongside its sequels written by Kōshi Tachibana and Sō Sagara were adapted into an anime in July 2016. Dōdemo Ii Sekai Nante: Qualidea Code, a further novel written by Watari, was released during the airing of the anime.
Watari's next major project, Girlish Number, started as a serial novel in March 2016 and ended in July 2017. He also wrote the manga and the anime adaptation in 2016.
Personal life
He currently lives in his hometown of Chiba.[2] During high school, Watari joined a volleyball club but after witnessing the social hierarchy found in many clubs, he quit[6] and from that point on decided to forgo high school clubs and instead work part-time in local family restaurants and Convenience stores. Due to this, he made little friends and lived a modest high school life.
When his debut work Ayakashigatari won the 3rd ShogakukanGagaga Bunko Light Novel Award in 2009, a judge for the award, Romeo Tanaka, described Watari's style as "well-structured, well-thought-out, well-written, and sharp-witted," and the work itself as "masterful writing and highly polished."[7]
Watari states that the reason for becoming a light novelist was fueled by difficulties in finding job at the time; when he heard of the ShogkaukanLight Novel Awards, he felt like he could do it and that he was interested in the publishing world.[2] Currently, he works as an office worker during the day and writes during the night,[8] and has no plans in becoming a full-time writer.[9]
He is close friends with fellow light novelists Sō Sagara and Kōshi Tachibana; together, they formed the writing group Speakeasy.[8] Watari and Sagara co-authored the light novel Kazu to Kinka no Qualidea; the main heroine, Yuu Chigusa, is modeled after Watari.[8] Watari is also close friends with voice actors Takuya Eguchi and Chado Horii, and has participated in their event Eguwatachado and DVD.[10]
Haganai Universe (Bocchi wa Henkakyū ga Nagerarenai) (November 2011) (Published by MFBunko J, original story by Yomi Hirasaka, illustrated by Ponkan8, ISBN 9784040664682)
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected: Anthology 1, Yukino Side (Kakushite, Kare no Mae ni Aratana Teki wa Arawareru) (March 2020) (Published by Gagaga Bunko, ISBN 9784094518351)
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected: Anthology 2, On Parade (Yahari Imōto Saerebaii) (March 2020) (Published by Gagaga Bunko, ISBN 9784094518368)
