English Dub Review: Though I Am an Inept Villainess “Though I Am an Inept Villainess”

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Overview (Spoilers Below):
On the night of the Double Sevens Festival, Maiden Kou Reirin is forced to swap bodies with the much-hated Shu Keigetsu.  However, Reirin rejoices about the fact…?

Our Take:
When someone is jealous of one’s beauty, it usually leads to them getting karma for their actions.  For someone like Shu Keigetsu, the discriminated princess and sorcerer from one of the five noble families, her jealousy resulted in her switching bodies with the more beautiful Kou Reirin.  Unfortunately for Shu, the result didn’t turn out the way she had hoped, as Reirin didn’t mind being in Shu’s body due to her original body being fragile.  Despite the harassment she’ll end up facing, Reirin seems to believe that it’s less painful than having to deal with the fragility of her previous body.  Keigetsu, on the other hand, ends up having to face the consequence of her jealousy, mainly living in Reirin’s frail body.  Even worse is that a spell prevents them from telling the truth about the swap, making the dilemma even more difficult.
“Though I Am an Inept Villainess” is another case of the show wasting no time in introducing its concept straightaway.  It’s another anime where a protagonist becomes a villainess in a world where practically everyone despises her guts.  However, instead of combining it with another isekai/reincarnation trope like the others, the anime uses the body-switching premise to showcase a kindhearted princess stepping into the shoes of a vile one.  In a way, it’s more of a historical fantasy version of “Freaky Friday” than another typical reincarnation/villainess anime.  Given a couple of isekai villainess anime I watched, this premise was a nice change of pace that should allow the show to take advantage of its humor involving the body-swapping and villainess-turned-good shenanigans.  While not a great start, the first episode showed some promise of being a suitable watch, thanks to its surprisingly gorgeous animation and decent voice cast.