Archive for the I’m in Love With the Villainess Category


First Look at I’m In Love With The Villainess Anime

October 2nd, 2023

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for! I’m In Love With The Villainess anime has premiered on Crunchyroll. With an English dub, as well as the Japanese audio track.

As I said in a comment on the first episode, this is the Yuriest anime that has ever been made, since it is literally centered around the romantic relationship of two women right from the first moments. As those of us  who have read the novels know, it also becomes progressively queerer as it unfolds. We should find out next episode how much of that is retained. For these things alone, I would love this anime.

The narrative  – especially in these early scenes – are wholly character-driven, so it’s a pleasure to know that the voice cast really made it all work. I actually laughed out loud twice watching this first episode, even though I anticipated the gags. inori-sensei commented on her Pixiv Fanbox that at the live premier event in Japan, she was worried that people might not react to the jokes, but there was plenty of laughter. The funny bits were, genuinely, funny. I’m going to rewatch the episode later this week as a dub and see how the jokes land.

Serizawa Yuu as Rae and Nanami Karen as Claire have really dug deep on these characters and made them come to life. Of course the supporting cast is also terrific and it felt very comfortable to hear the three Princes, Pipi, Loretta and Misha all sound, well, like they sounded in my head, honestly.  Kenn’s Rod Bauer was so full of bonhomie, I kinda sympathized with Rae’s dislike of him. ^_^

The one real weak spot of this anime is the animation. I have a number of thoughts about that. First, let’s just acknowledge that there’s a good chance that it simply was given a limited budget. That happens and I would not hold it against them any more than usual. I’d rather the animators get more time and money every time, but no one asks me. That said, we can do some justification …and projection…without too many mental calisthenics.

To begin with, this story begins in the world of an otome game, so the animation might be reflective of that. Otome games are, like other sims, usually pretty flatly animated in a puppet show kind of way. The backgrounds here are often ignored for sound effects and other gimmicks, which are, yes, money savers, but also give this early phase a gag manga feel. It would be kind of cool if, as the story developed, so did the animation. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’d love to see it.

We can see a little bit of the initial arc of the story from the opening credits. At the very least we can see that the Commoner Movement arc will be included and, with the addition of Mizuki Nana to the cast as Manaria, it’s a good bet that it will go through the Scales of Love arc. That means we’re definitely getting into more serious territory before the season ends. And here, I am going to digress, but I will be back to conjecture further.

Today on Twitter, the official wataoshi account announced that Blu-Ray Box pre-orders are available at various Japanese anime outlets. (That link will take you direct to King Records to pre-order.) Different stores have different extras, as usual, and folks who pre-order will get a special copy of “Rae’s doujinshi” story that she wrote for Revolution, of course, written by inori.-sensei herself. The BD box is slated for a February 2024 release, so that’s an extremely early pre-order period. inori.-sensei commented on Twitter that expectations for success were very high so the BD Box was arranged even though the anime had not yet aired.

So, back to conjecture. I think that pre-orders for the box set may well be used to determine if a second season will bring it to the end of the Revolution arc. Sales for that could determine whether we ever see a Nur or DQ arc – highly unlikely, but not wholly impossible. Sure, the anime also may exist in part to bump up sales of the ongoing manga and the print volumes of the novel and I hope they do! There’s nothing wrong with that. Ichijinsha’s done a decent job extending the life of several series that way.

Definitely give the series a watch. It’s fun and goofy and deep and serious and very queer and we’ve never seen an anime like this before, really. As we discussed on the Okazu Discord as I typed, if you want to get someone into Yuri, this would be a good place to start! Like isekai? We have series for you! How about high fantasy?  We got you covered. Looking for LGBTQ+ anime – it’s here. Oh…you like Sci-fi….well, sit down and let me tell you….  Looking for something with social consciousness? This is what you’re looking for !

So grab your friends and get them aboard the Yuri train with I’m in Love With the Villainess, streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 9
Characters – 100
Yuri – 8
Service  – This is a complicated question… Let’s take a look at it again later

Overall – 9

A fun start to what I hope will be a story that takes audiences to very gay places they have never been before. ^_^

Next up for us, would be to pressure Crunchyroll to provide us with premium BD box sets so we can get that doujinshi, too!  I mean, I can see myself pre-ordering the JP set just for that….please don’t make me do that, Crunchyroll.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 3 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-)

September 10th, 2023

Two girls in fanciful school uniforms with red jackets, frilly white blouses and black skirts smile, arms linked.This week inori.-sensei announced a brand new fantasy series and it seemed like a fitting place to squeeze in one more review of the series that was her breakout hit. So today I am reviewing the third  – and so far, final – print volume of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 3 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-).  Quick recap: WataOshi was originally serialized as a web novel, then picked up for digital release from GL Bunko. Then the novels were licensed here in English by Seven Seas as I’m In Love With The Villainess and other countries, and then licensed as a print series in Japan. This is the print volume of the third volume of the light novel in Japanese, from Ichijinsha. 

This third novel covers the entirety of the Revolution arc, as Rae seeks to remake the plotline of the otome game “Revolution ” and save Claire’s life…and how she fails. Rae and Claire uncover the evil forces behind the de-stabilization of the Bauer Kingdom and pull the forces for equality together to save it.

The final third of the book is post-revolution, as Rae and Claire become accustomed to their new lives as commoners and as partners. We meet their adopted daughters Aleah and Mei. One of the most poignant stories in the final third of the book is how those two children come in to their lives. Other shorts catch us up on former-Cardinal Lily’s travels as she seeks to expiate her crimes, even though she was literally not in her right mind when she committed them. And we see the power of the ritual known as “a wedding ceremony.” Despite Bauer’s new government’s refusal to acknowledge same-sex partnerships, Rae and Claire declare their love for one another in front of friends and family. 

There is no question that Hanagata’s art has improved since the first few illustrations. The art in this volume has more motion and depth and is far more relevant to the scene than earlier static portraits, which is visible when one does comparisons between newer and older images in this volume.

The manga for this series is ongoing, and the anime is premiering at the end of this month with a special ticketed event in Ikebukuro, so we’re not saying goodbye just yet. However, I see no hint that a Volume 4 is coming out in print, so we may be saying farewell and thank you – at least for the moment –  to this original novel series that has brought us so many hours of joy.

Art – 7
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 10
LGBTQ –10
Service –  Let’s still say 2

Overall – 9

I still  hope for an epilogue some day in which Claire and Rae are allowed to legalize their marriage as my wife and I were able. It was a pretty damn powerful moment to have a certificate that just read “marriage” without any conditions. One day we can hope that there will be marriage for all in Japan.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 6 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

June 22nd, 2023

A girl with medium-length brown hair in a maid's outfit, lifts a blonde with big banana curls wearing an orange dress, in her arms. Green flowers blooms, a bird flies overhead, a water-blob creature wear scuba mask on the brown-haired girl's head. Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 6 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) manga covers a pivotal moment. Yes, Claire and Rae are on vacation and yes, Claire is finally getting a literal taste of commoner life and finding it, unsurprisingly, unpalatable. She meets Rae’s family, and some folks who knew her back in the day…and the mystery of Rae Taylor is no less mysterious for all that.

But then the story takes a a turn. A ship of the Undead has arrived, which is bad enough, but there is something much more malevolent at work here. One of Rae’s old acquaintances turns against them – an act of desperation, but also with a clear mission of stopping Rae Taylor and Claire François. Who is pulling the strings?

Rae and Claire prevail, but the truth of Lui’s decision further radicalizes Claire to hate income inequality. A hero has begun to be born, only she doesn’t know it yet. And we are looking at the beginning of a revolution. There are still some arcs to go, yet, however. Next up, we will meet Lily and the Church will become a piece on the board. The volume ends with a few short scenes, and a short story from Misha’s point of view.

inori-sensei’s story gets better every time I read it. I’m free to pay attention to smaller and smaller details each time. And Aonoshimo-sensei has shown themselves to as deft with big action scenes as they are scenes of domestic joy – i.e., Claire finally getting food she can eat – or beach pinups.  Always, this series is a delight. We’ll be getting Volume 5 in English from Seven Seas in October, so look forward to that.

Ratings:

Art – 9 The fight scenes are quite excellent
Story – 9 It’s starting to get serious
Characters – 9
Yuri – 5
Service – Bathing and bathing suits

I had a thought today – this mostly medieval society has bikinis. Huh.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 5 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

March 6th, 2023

Before we start today’s review, I want to let you know that until May my reviews are going to be less regular. I have a relentless schedule for March and April, but at the end of it, I hope I have a lot of fun stuff to share with you all.

Today, to get this new schedule off with a bang, we’re looking at Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 5 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) In the aftermath of the Commoner Movement and the resulting loss, Claire is depressed and Rae is desperately trying to cheer her up. But when Claire does cheer up, it is because Rae’s only real rival is arriving – Manaria, the crown princess of the neighboring country Susse. Manaria is good-looking, popular, accomplished and worst of all, she’s the only quadcaster in the world. She’s top-level at all four elements, to boot. Even worse than worst, Claire has a childhood crush on her “oneesama.” Manaria is an understandably popular character, but in the real world, she’d be insufferable. ^_^

Now it’s Rae’s turn to feel loss…and have her worldview challenged. Manaria pushes Rae to be honest about her feelings for Claire, then destroys her in a duel. But when Rae gets back up and challenges Manaria to an epic battle of vows of love, it will change everyone in the story. This is one of the most popular arcs of the original series, according to inori.-sensei. For good reason. There’s a lot of nail-bitingly good stuff here.

Art-wise, this book is phenomenal. From the tension on the spectators’ faces during Rae and Manaria’s duel to the incredible climax of the Scales of Love contest, there are whole volumes in Claire’s eyebrows. ^_^

This arc is a breather before the story takes a darker turn – a breather that is still quite intense. It’s also the first time Rae is able to meet someone in this world who admits to being queer…a remarkable thing that heralds many other remarkable occurrences in the series, as well as laying some foundations down for future arcs.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 7
Service – Manaria is a kind of service. ^_^

Overall – 9

This volume does not yet have a English-language release date, but when it does, don’t hesitate – it is wonderful. ^_^





I’m In Love With The Villainess Manga, Volume 4

February 16th, 2023

On a background of yellow lilies, A girl with long, blonde hair with a big red bow, looks up and away from the center, a girl in a maid's outfit, clutched a plate looking down and away in the opposite direction. Black letters read "art by Aonishimo, story by Inori., character design by Hanagata." "Manga 4" is set inside a solid pink compass-rose shaped sigil. It’s already been 5 months since I read the fourth manga volume of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. This volume is as I said in that review, “highly emotional and action-packed.” And now we are able to read I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 4  of the manga in English and the volume packs the same gut punches over again.

In this volume, the Commoner Movement arc comes to an end with a betrayal. And a redemption. And seeds of more betrayal and further redemption. At the risk of lazy writing, I want to quote myself from my review of the Japanese volume:

This is the volume where everything, all of the goofy light-hearted comedic moment fall away and what remains is social justice withheld, love perverted into betrayal and a new, unpredictable, danger. We finally meet Salas, the King’s right-hand man, a key player in the oncoming storm. I mention him because it is often stated how attractive he is in the novels – in fact, without him being attractive, his character fails to make sense…so I was really interested in seeing how he was portrayed. Not at all coincidentally, we also meet Lily, the nun, who also become a major player in the narrative, for the first time. I believe now all the primary pieces are on the board. The game begins with a huge loss. If you’ve read the novels, you know how huge a blow it will be for Claire, and as the end of the volume comes with a letter from Susse, what that means to Rae having to battle for her.

In this volume we learn how much Claire has lost, and how often her loss has come back to haunt her. For one brief flash, Claire will rely on Rae. Again, it sets seeds for the next arc, which will irrevocably change their relationship

Again and again, I am blown away by Aonoshimo-sensei’s art for this series. A turn of the eyebrow makes all the difference here. When we get Rae and Claire dressed up to speak to the King, phew! Those clothing choices slay. I appreciate an artist who can draw great clothing. Joshua Hardy’s translation has given us a solid “voice” for our characters, a voice I know we’re all looking forward to seeing be reproduced in animated form. Courtney Willams gives us solid lettering that really conveys the tone and depth of these emotional scenes.  Another fine volume from the team at Seven Seas.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6, since it’s not the focus. But it soon will be.
Service – Rae in that outfit at the end is definitely service. Hope we get a standee of those looks.

Overall – 9

As I move back and forth between the Japanese manga, the print volumes of the novels, the spin-off series and the English editions, I have to tell you that this series doesn’t not lose it’s power with re-reading. It might even be more impactful every time, as I have the chance to catch one more thing than I did the last.