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


I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 5

November 14th, 2022

I have already read, enjoyed and reviewed this volume twice previously. The first time in Japanese and the second time in digital format, because I did not want to wait for the print edition. Now, at last, I have the print edition in English, from Seven Seas of I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 5.

Why did I read it again? Because as much as I love digital books for their convenience and accessibility, I find that I actually do read print differently. My eyes tire at a faster rate when I read text on paper than words on a screen, so a print book is a chance for me to slow down, take time with the words, the emotions, the feel of the story, rather than rushing through it for the content of the story.

In this final volume of the Demon Queen arc, we learn the Truth of The World. So many of the fragments we have been told suddenly make sense.  What was at first a grand, epic, high-fantasy tale, has become something far more complex…and far more interesting because of it.

When I read this book this first time, I reviewed it thusly, “What if you had the chance to remake the entire world in order to save the person you love…and learned that the world was never what it seemed?”

And when I read this series the second time, I said, “Stories in which communities come together to build a better tomorrow. The fact that the leaders of this particular community are queer women is delicious icing on this sweet and satisfying narrative cake.”

In between these two things is a fascinatingly complex series of connections that use everything we have learned in the first 4 volumes, but almost without exception, use them in ways we could not have expected. Things that seemed like they might have become a whole side quest on their own are resolved almost offhandedly, but only to allow space for something far more interesting and relevant. In the end, this is a series about how people form relationships and how complicated it is to make space in the world for those relationships to thrive.

Ratings:

Art – 9 hanagata presents characters as cute and moe, but the art is visibly improved from the first volume
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Service – Very little, for perfectly good reasons
Yuri – 10
Queer – 10

Overall – 10

The worst thing about this series is that it ends. It had nerve making us care so much about fictitious characters and situations. Luckily for the ILTV fandom our enthusiasm has made the series more popular now than ever. If you’d like to lend a hand, drop into the voting for the “Next Light Novel Award” which will begin at 13:00 JT on November 16th and give your vote to inori-sensei’s work – the LNs could use a little love in Japan.

Thanks to the Seven Seas team, and especially to translator Keven Ishizaka for making this book very readable.

 





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-)

November 10th, 2022

As we all wait breathlessly for the formal announcement of an anime for I’m in Love With the Villainess, today I am looking at the Japanese print edition of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-). As a reminder, this series came out in print in English before it made it to print in Japan. So the edition you have read is the English translation of the webnovel which was put out digitally by GL Bunko. The series was licensed for print by Ichijinsha. Volume 1 of the JP print edition was reviewed here on Okazu last spring.

This will make the third time I have read this volume, having read it in the GL Bunko novel and English language editions. Because this is a new, deluxe version, with extra stories that have been written since the webnovel was initially licensed, there was quite a bit of new material tucked in between things with which we are already familiar.

There are several key elements to this content, even aside from the new content.  Lily becomes a major player on the board and we eventually learn several secrets regarding the Royal Family and their advisors. Rae explains her former life and tragic first love to her friends. Claire’s class consciousness is awakened when they visit Rae’s hometown. Manaria arrives and forces Rae and Claire’s relationship to change during the Scales of Love arc, which coincidentally completed in the December issue of Comic Yuri Hime as grandly as I had hoped. ^_^

So while the Yuri goes up significantly, with the addition of Manaria and her boyish charm, as well as the Love Scales, the LGBTQ rating stays high with open discussion of complicated queer lives, once again.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Still portraits of the people rather than the scenes.
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 10
LGBTQ –10
Service – Rae’s obsession about Claire shifts more to her moods than her body, but there’s still some body commentary, Let’s still say 2

Overall – 9

The board is set now for what is to come. In Volume 3, what is to come will be…revolution.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Manga, Volume 4 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

September 15th, 2022

Grab a hankie, it’s time to read, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 4 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) In this pivotal issue, the Commoner Movement arc develops quickly and comes to a climax, one that specifically affects Claire. Not only is she a noble, and thus stands in opposition to the commoners, but the collateral damage of this arc will damage her, personally. And, while the commoner’s movement is quelled, we are given to understand that it was also covering up a larger plot, one that will engulf everyone in the cast.

This is the volume where everything, all of the goofy light-hearted comedic moments, 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 Rei having to battle for her.

That’s about all I can say without spoiling anything in this highly emotional and action-packed volume. Aonoshimo-sensei’s art is really just fantastic. Everything, from Salas’ cold beauty to Relaire’s adorable jiggles, is just so good. inori-sensei’s characters come alive in these manga volumes. I hope this series can continue through to the final LN volume, because so many reasons! Nur, the dance, the *wedding*, Dorothea, the Demon Queen, that ending. Let’s all keep telling Ichijinsha how much we love this manga series!

Now that we’re past this volume, I can set aside the handkerchief and get ready for the coming of butchy Manaria-sama, and Rei’s greatest trial for Clarie’s love – until the next one. ^_^

Ratings:

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

Overall – 9

I am reading the exact same same scene in this month’s Comic Yuri Hime and in Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou -Revolution-, Volume 2 , so that’s kind of fun, getting the scene described, then seeing it drawn.

Volume 3 of I’m in Love With the Villainess manga, in English will be hitting shelves this month!





Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 1 (平民癖に生意気な！)

May 15th, 2022

We’ve all read the “other perspective” Light Novel by now, haven’t we? My Next Life as a Villainess, for instance, ends every chapter with the same story from the other person’s perspective and, while cute, it doesn’t add that much to the narrative.

Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 1 (平民癖に生意気な！) is once again a brilliant exception to a Light Novel rule. This volume covers the same story as the first novel of I’m in Love With the Villainess, but has so much original content and such a completely different perspective on key dramatic elements. That said, that’s not the only reason it’s worth reading – as usual, it’s the characters that put it over the top for me. Including a new character who never appeared in the original story and, plausibly, has several solid reasons for not doing so.

Claire François, the only daughter of the Bauer Kingdom’s Minister of Finance, is a young woman of extraordinary privilege. She knows this, in a theoretical sense. In a not-theoretical sense, Claire believes in the nobility – that they have an important place in society and that she has both rights and responsibilities because of that role.  When a commoner in her class suddenly confesses her love, Claire has no comprehension as to why? Why her? Why this…? Claire hopes to shake her off but her best friends, Pipi and Loretta, dissuade her by imagining much more severe bullying tactics. When the commoner manages to becomes Claire’s maid, everything starts to change. 

Educated by her new maid and her old one, Lene, Claire begins to see the world from the perspective of the commoners and she’s deeply put off by what she has learned. As Bauer fights internal and external strife, Claire François starts to understand the values she holds may not be up to the strain.  But – importantly – Claire herself is up to the challenge. Her belief in her position, her power and her friends makes this book an outstanding read.

We learn so much about Claire’s apparent henchchicks in this novel that they never again will appear to me as merely hangers-on. Pipi and Loretta get not just backstories, but massive character development, especially in volume 2 of this series. In actual fact, it is a scene with them that has made me cry in this go round. I’m also leaving out everything about the new character, because I don’t wish to spoil anything at all about that.

As a result of my experience with other LNs, I was deeply unsure that this book would offer anything worth reading. It has blown me out of the water. Everything in it is worth reading. Not only do we get a much better idea of who Claire is, but we can see something that Rae herself could not – how effectively Rae hid herself in the first novel…and when that disguise slipped. Claire turns out to be remarkably insightful in a lot of ways and a very good friend to the people she cares about. This book was so good, I read it very slowly and carefully, so I wouldn’t miss a word. inori-sensei’s writing has absolutely leveled up. hangata-sensei’s art is still quite cute and is a little less portrait-y than it was in previous LNs, but still focuses on the figures over the action….typical of Light Novels.

This book has once again been released by GL Bunko in digital form and, like other GL Bunko novels, you can get this on US Kindle in Japanese. I will of course be writing GL Bunko(info@glnovel.com) to ask them to please continue the series. There are so many stories yet to tell.

Another way to read this novel is to support Inori-sensei on Pixiv Fanbox and read the sanctioned fan translation, which is released in English and Korean. And, of course, please let Seven Seas know that you’d like to see She’s Such a Cheeky Commoner! in print in English. I know I would. It was really good.

Ratings:

Art – 7 hanagata’s art is so much more confident now
Story – 10 Outstanding writing never mades me feel like it’s the same thing over again
Characters – 10 I cannot express to you how *good* the characters are here
Service – 3? 4? A bit, sometimes
Yuri/LGBTQ+ – Super complicated question! Rae’s feeling are not returned, but the queer content is still totally there.

Overall – 10

This is nothing like the typical “other perspective” trope. While you would have to have read Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 1 at least, readers are well-rewarded in this volume for their time. It’s really an excellent book.

 

 





Interview With inori, Creator of I’m In Love With the Villainess

April 16th, 2022

I'm in Love With the Villainess Light Novel Volume 1Hello and welcome to an exciting interview. Today we welcome inori-sensei, creator of the I’m in Love With the Villainess series.

Over the years, I’ve been pleased to have interviewed some extraordinary creators here on Okazu. I’m especially pleased today because  ILTV, is a ground-breaking series. Riding the wave of isekai popularity, this series takes time to talk about very real issues in queer lives in Japan, and how queer folks have to deal with those issues.

It’s especially exciting to me that Comic Yuri Hime is running the manga of this series and choosing to engage with those issues. I’ve been reading Yuri for a long time, and it finally feels like CYH is ready to talk about queer people – and, even more importantly, show us in the Yuri stories we love.. ^_^

I hope you will please welcome inori-sensei with a warn Okazu welcome!

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q1: Please Tell Us About Yourself

——————————————————————————————–

I: Thank you for giving me this valuable opportunity. My name is inori, the author of I’m in Love with the Villainess. (ILTV)

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q2: How did you become a writer? Was it something you wanted to do since you were young?

——————————————————————————————–

I'm in Love With the Villainess Light Novel Volume 2I:  My becoming a writer was rather accidental. For health reasons, I was always taking care of my parents in a state close to being a NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), but the novel I wrote as a hobby was published commercially, and as a result I got a job as a writer.

…Even so, I have always wanted to be a writer since I was a student, and I have applied for a newcomer award sponsored by a light novel publisher.

The first time I applied, my work came in third for a fairly large award. “Maybe I have the aptitude” is what I have always thought.

Now that I can manage to eat just by writing, I’m really glad I can do that.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q3: Why did you begin writing Yuri?

——————————————————————————————–

I:  There is no particular reason for me to write Yuri work; for some reason, when I try to write something, it naturally becomes a relationship between women. I have written a heterosexual story with a male protagonist, but it didn’t quite fit.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q4: Which artists have influenced you?

——————————————————————————————–

I'm in Love With the Villainess Light Novel Volume 3I:  I’m not familiar with so-called general literary arts, but I’ve been reading light novels since I was a junior high school student. In particular, the work of a light novel writer named Shinobu Saeki has had a huge impact on me. She’s quite different from me in her style, but if I hadn’t read her work, I would never have been a writer like this now. Her work is still cherished on my bookshelf and I read it again from time to time.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q5: If you were not a novelist what kind of work would you be doing?

——————————————————————————————–

I:  To be honest, I’m not very strong, so it would be quite difficult to work outside of being a writer. If ILTV hadn’t been published, I would still be dependent on my parents.

Since the world is a big place, I think I might have been able to so some kind of work but, in any case, I think I would have been forced to live a poorer life than I am now.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q6: Please tell us a little about your creative process. How long does it take to write a chapter?

——————————————————————————————–

I:  As a commercial writer, my writing speed is uneven, and the time it takes to write one chapter is extremely unstable.

In the case of ILTV and She’s Such a Cheeky Commoner (SSCC), one chapter is about 30,000 to 40,000 characters in Japanese, but one chapter might have taken one week at the fastest and three months at the slowest. The maximum number of characters I have written in one day is about 100 sheets of 400-character manuscript paper.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q7: You began writing webnovels, ILTV is now a manga and a print novel. Can you tell us how it felt becoming popular?

——————————————————————————————–

I'm in Love With the Villainess Light Novel Volume 4I:  At the beginning, ILTV seemed to be more popular overseas than in Japan. The very first commercial publication was, of course, in Japan, but it was only an ebook and was not well known, and sales were not particularly good.

After a while, English-speaking people such as Jingle and Angela, and Korean-speaking people such as 와타 오시 번역 did fan translation, and the readers who read them formed a fandom and supported them. Thanks to you, it has become more popular overseas.

These fandoms worked with publishers to release print novels in South Korea and then in North America. ILTV is now translated in 8 countries around the world. Against the background of this popularity, Comic Yuri Hime decided to serialize it – a great manga  with the power of a wonderful manga artist named Aonoshimo-sensei. As a result, it seems that the popularity of the series in Japan is gradually increasing, and in 2021 it was ranked 5th in the “Manga Ranking I Want to See Animated” at Anime Japan, one of the largest anime-related events in Japan.

At the end of last year, a long-awaited print novel in Japan was also released. In this way, the existence of ILTV is due to the fandom who supports me both at home and abroad. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all again.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q8: Many fans wrote in to ask a question: How do you come up with ideas for characters? Fans were especially interested in the Demon Queen.

(This answer contain slight spoilers for Volume 5 of the series)

——————————————————————————————–

Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyak Reijou, Volume 5I:  I think it’s a famous story for everyone who sees this interview, but the main character Rae has a model. My partner is Aki-san. She’s a very humorous person, so my first motivation was that I thought it would be fun to write a novel with such a person as the main character.

The next character to be born was Claire, who was in line with the genre of “villainess” that was used on the novel posting site Syousetsuka ni Narou (Let’s Become a Novelist) at that time. However, I didn’t think it would be fun for her to simply be a villain, so she was written as a character with conviction and aesthetics as a villain. Many of the other characters were created due to the needs of the story.

The Demon Queen you asked about was created as the most suitable character for writing Chapter 17 “The Truth of the World”. As a prototype, there was “Demon Queen” that appeared in my other work that was not released, but Demon Queen of ILTV was created as a character who burns themselves up from a love without salvation. The idea is that there is a gadget called “Looping World” came first, and from that gadget was born a cast that functions most effectively for the story, that is, “Daemon Queen” of ILTV.

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q9: Do you read any Yuri? What kind of series do you read? ——————————————————————————————–

I:  I may not have read as much as you can imagine, but I think I have read a fair amount. I  read Maria-sama ga Miteru, which is famous as a classic, Bloom Into You, which sparked the recent Yuri boom, and Revolutionary Girl Utena in the old days.

Recently, I’m paying attention to The Demon Girl Next Door (まちカドまぞく, which is streaming on HIDIVE) by Izumo Ito. At first glance, it’s a loose four-frame manga, but in reality, it’s a very readable manga with a bold story hidden in the base. The second season of the anime The Demon Girl Next Door 2-chome (まちカドまぞく　２丁目) will also be broadcast this season, so please pay attention to it.

 

——————————————————————————————–

 Q10: Do you have anything you’d like to ask your overseas fans?

——————————————————————————————–

I would like to ask you: What do you want from the ILTV series and me?

Especially for the former, I sometimes hear requests for a promotional video, CD drama, animation, etc., but I haven’t really reached out to know how many of those voices are. I would be grateful if you could send what you want from the ILTV series to the Yuri Hime editorial department and GL Bunko. Here is the contact information, so please do not hesitate to contact them when your time and passion allow:

Yuri Hime editorial department: https://ichijinsha.co.jp/inquiry/yurihime/

 (Enter your name, email address, type of inquiry (* opinions / requests to the editorial department), inquiries from the top Contents) The form looks like this:

And you can write GL Bunko here: info@glnovel.com

 

——————————————————————————————–

Q11: Your series has been translated in to many languages. Do you have a message for overseas fans?

——————————————————————————————–

Thank you for your continued support. I’m really happy that “your support” is not a metaphor or mere flattery. There is a line in the commercial of the famous Japanese painkiller Bufferin that “half of Bufferin is made of kindness,” but, definitely “half of inori is made with the support of fans.”

ILTV Has come to a close, SSCC will continue a little longer. I would like to try new works, so please continue to support me.

***

Thank you very much Sensei! I have written Comic Yuri Hime to tell them I would like an ILTV anime, and I hear that a lot of other people have done that, as well. We will continue to ask for that and other media. And of course support any new projects you start.

 

If readers want to offer direct support, also please consider subscribing to inori-sensei on Pixiv Fanbox: https://inori-0.fanbox.cc/.

And of course, you can support I’m in Love With the Villainess by buying both the light novels and manga from legitimate sources. Volume 5 of the Light Novels is on the way in late summer from Seven Seas! I can’t wait for you to read it. ^_^