English Dub Season Review: I’m in Love with the Villainess Season One

Based on the Japanese light novel series written by Inori and illustrated by Hanagata. The story follows a young corporate drone Rae Oohashi, a typical 21st-century office lady, who experiences an unexpected twist of fate when she wakes up as Rae Taylor, the heroine in her favorite otome (Dating Sim) game, Revolution. Rae is elated at the opportunity to court Claire François, the game’s villainess and the object of her affection. Armed with her knowledge of the game and events to come, Rae sets out to make Claire fall for her. But how will the villainess take Rae’s romantic advances?

This anime adaptation was produced by Platinum Vision and directed by Hideaki Ōba, with scripts written by Ayumu Hisao, character designs handled by Yōko Satō, and music composed by Noriyuki Asakura and Usagi to Uma. The opening theme song is “Raise Y/Our Hands!!”, while the ending theme song is “O.C. Optimum Combination”, both performed by Yu Serizawa and Karin Nanami.

In the oversaturated market of the anime “Isekai” genre, I’ve seen a bunch of shows that in unique and unusual ways, attempt to set themselves apart in non-traditional ways that help them stand out. Often it’s the forgettable generic ones that don’t always follow a familiar cliche formula/direction on a narrative level. You’ll most likely count how many romance/isekai anime shows that were inspired by dating sim-type games with the grossly contrived end goal to romance a prince, or one involving hot dudes like Romantic Killer. But this one is different…

Not only is the female protagonist Rae openly gay, but she’s romantically attracted to Claire, the antagonistic “mean girl” of the game she’s somehow reincarnated in who for some reason strangely resembles Karin Kanzuki from Street Fighter Alpha 3, right down to her hairstyle and distinctively loud laugh. And while most would want to slam Claire’s head on a table for being the goddamn insufferable bully she is, Rae is the hyper-focused extreme opposite who is very honest and direct with her desires, mostly to a fault. The show wants you to root for Rae, but her hyperactive antics could make audiences easily feel uncomfortable. Not because of her open lesbianism, but because her methods of affection come across as predatory, borderline psychotic, stalker-like behavior.

Rae wants nothing more than for Claire to be happy even if she doesn’t always reciprocate her feelings and refuses to take the hint as she frequently misinterprets Claire’s every action when Rae proceeds to take gleeful masochistic pleasure in Claire’s bullying which is all kinds of wacky, weird and cringy in it’s own way. At the very least, later episodes attempt to humanize Claire as a deeply flawed character which is sometimes effective as some of Claire’s character moments give her depth, pathos, regrets, and repressed feelings of her own.

The side characters almost do nothing in the main story. The three princes are all brothers who are varying degrees of bland, Rae’s best friend is a bit bland, and the magic system is mostly limited to the four elements and whether or not you an anomaly who is born with the mastery & control of using more than one element with their Harry Potter-like wands. In later storylines beyond the “magic school” aspect, the narrative even attempts to get topical, especially when it delves into complex issues such as classism, politics, and even LGBTQ issues. Yet it doesn’t lead anywhere with those issues other than the possibility of, Rae sacrificing her chances of a relationship for the sake of Claire’s happiness, showing her selflessness which is a topic that would come back at the end of the season.

The animation is top-notch from Platinum Vision whose track record is okay in terms of quality with other Anime shows they’ve previously done such as Love of Kill. The European-inspired building backgrounds, lush garden scenery, and the magical duel spell scenes are all well animated and one of the few strong points of the show. And I can appreciate that they didn’t slack off with what was presented.

Overall, I’m in Love with the Villainess is an okay entry as an Isekai, but it heavily stumbles in a bit when it comes to the subcategory of Yuri (lesbian) romance stories. At times, it can deliver the romantic aspect, but other times a lot of the proceedings felt cringey and uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons. It’s hard to root for a protagonist who comes off a bit too strong with their feelings to the point of psychotic obsession. You can argue that her openness has a level of sincerity and bravery, but love is also about respecting boundaries. And multiple times, it feels like she’s crossing certain lines yet nearly everyone in the show treats it like a joke. In terms of background plot, we have the usual aristocratic drama and political intrigue that may or not have a payoff in later storylines. At the time of this review, there’s no word if a Season 2 will happen, but with the tease it had in the final episode of Rae knowing more than she’s telling people, I’m curious where this might go next…