As I said of the Japanese edition of I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 3, “We’ve already established that all norms are off the table in this series, so the plot here is a little bit of everything – school drama, romance, socio-political drama, and some other things and then the demons arrive. From this point on the book is spinning plates and juggling balls and then an axe or two on a high-wire.”
And indeed, we are handwaved into an idyll that will be shattered, trod upon, and sliced and diced and none of it – not one word – hit me as hard as the final scene in a throwaway side story. (T_T)
Former daughter of the nobility and school villainess, Claire Francois and her wife, the supernaturally powerful and gifted protagonist of the game Revolution, Rae Taylor, are living a reasonably comfortable life. Given that this life was built in the ruins of a revolution to take down a monarchy, it’s a very sweet life. Their adopted daughters are energetic and precocious. They have jobs. Why would anyone give up all that they have carved out for themselves?
The answer is of course that Claire believes in her upbringing – that, as a (former) noble, she has standards and serving her country is the core of her beliefs. That her country is, maybe less worthy than she hoped, is a given. Instead of rethinking society into a more equal structure, all the government wants to do is create a new kind of second-class citizen of women and queer folks. That’s only just about 100% likely.
But instead of wrestling with rich men’s refusal to share power, we head off to the Nur Kingdom. At which point, I would like to digress and discuss my personal interpretation of the country names. As I see it, they are as follows: Bauer is kind of Germany; Alpes is Austria; Sousse is Switzerland. That’s kind of straightforward.
Okay let’s do Nur. In Japanese its written as ナー, so more like “Naa”
What country might that be? Hm, I wonder what aggressive militaristic country is threatening to Japan right now. It’s not hard to see that Nur is China, and Rusha (Russia) is “north” of that.
I want to note that Frieda, who affects a fake French accent here is from Melica, or, as I think of it, ‘Merika. Because ‘Xico and Nacada (or something like that) will get a mention next book and there will be reasons. So, while this is my interpretation and not at ALL a criticism of the translation, I think of Frieda as a really annoying American. For reasons.
As I thought of all this, I realized that, in the smallest and most tedious way possible, I’m kind of in Rae’s position. I know what’s coming, but I don’t know how it might turn out, only how it has turned out, when it’s over. So gosh, how irritating for Rae. ^_^;
In any case, as with Volume 1, Volume 3 is mostly introduction and set up and I will also say that not every question posed here will be answered in V4. Which is why I stare with longing at GL Bunko’s listings waiting for a V5 to be listed. inori-sensei has also posted all the final chapters of this arc and her story from Claire’s perspective on pixiv fanbox and I hope that will bring up the page count enough for the next volume soon.
Now I will return to reading the manga for my fix. And waiting for V5 in Japanese or V4 in English, neither of which have a date as of yet. In the meantime, we may enjoy the sweet scenes of domestic bliss, holidays and celebrations and what will pass (for now, eff you new government) as their wedding. And that’s still not the queerest part of the book.
I mentioned that the emotional impact here for me was, rather than the childrens’ trials, the final chapter where Claire experiences a Rae who does not love her and how bereft her life becomes. That one got me in the gut.
Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Service – Kind of, but I’m alright with any and all of it.
Yuri – 10
Queer – 10
Overall – 10
There are STILL questions I have even after Volume 4. In the meantime, I have one question for you – what did you think of Dorothea? I adored her, as you might imagine and need a lot of fanart of her. ^_^ Sadly she’s too cool and competent (and adult /eyeroll/) for most fan artists, who seem to prefer Lily or Philene. Sigh. Poor me.
