Guest review by Paul S. Enns

When the Villainess Seduces the Main Heroine, Volume 1 by Kasai Fujii, is a ridiculous bit of fluff, ending with an equally ridiculous story.

It’s about the Villainess, Akuya Krei Jou, seducing the Heroine, Sei Hi Roin, away from the Prince, San Punkan. All of which happens in the prologue, a whole four pages.

After the prologue, the next hundred pages are 90% lovey-dovey day-to-day activities of two women deeply in love with each other and the other 10% what Yaaba (Akuya’s housekeeper and instructor) and Stray (the stray cat that loves watching lesbian love) think of that.

Then it goes dark.

That’s where story happens, and it really changes the mood. It’s where Sei shows that she can get out of trouble and not just depend on her partner to rescue her. It’s where Akuya gets to show off how villainous she can be to protect Sei. It’s where… No. I’m not going to spoil it. But it did induce some squick in me.

While there is plenty of service, there’s no actual genitalia shown. Breasts and discussion of what Akuya will do to Sei and Sei’s reactions cover it.

As a whole, I enjoyed the fluff of the beginning. The story felt like it was from a different writer writing in the first half’s style. The jarring difference was too much. If it made up its mind and was one or the other, it would work better. I say “first half”, but the story part is half as long. Still sticks in my memory better than the fluff.

My favorite short would have to be the one that deals with consent. It’s an important topic to me.

The translation feels solid. Every gesture and sound is given a translation. Nothing jarring in the text to signal problems. Another stellar job by Yen Press.

Looking at the original review of the Japanese version, I must sadly say that none of the punny names come through in English.

Ratings:

Art: 7 Better like long eyelashes.
Story: What story? But I’ll give the story part a 3.
Characters: 7 No denying that Akuya and Sei are lovely together. Stray gets some good humor, too.
Service: 7 I’ll not rate higher without genitalia shown.
Yuri: 9.5 To be 10 there wouldn’t be any sex with men, right?

Overall: 5

It should have been just the shorts, but would this be Volume 1 without the story? It does end with “To be continued…”. I don’t know which would be better: more shorts or more story. It doesn’t leave me optimistic. We’ll find out when Volume 2 arrives in the new year.