Highlights
- "I'm in Love With the Villainess" kicks off the Fall season with a fast-paced and refreshing Otome anime that doesn't beat around the bush in introducing its same-sex storyline.
- Protagonist Rae Taylor's obsession with wooing the Villainess Claire Francois sets the stage for an unconventional love story, with Rae taking pleasure in being belittled and pushing Claire to be more cruel.
- Despite Rae's focus on Claire, the game's three original routes featuring the princes of the Bauer noble family create an odd love triangle that could pose hurdles for Rae and Claire's romance.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for I’m in Love With the Villainess, Episode 1, "Rushing Headlong into Life in Another World," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
I’m in Love With the Villainess has kicked off 2023's Fall season with its first episode, bringing the in-depth Otome world to vivid frames. The light novel’s positive reception led to the confirmation of an anime adaptation, and fans have high hopes from this fast-paced media format to do the story justice. I’m in Love With the Villainess doesn’t beat around the bush as the premise becomes obvious within the first few minutes, with the main characters jumping right into action.
As an Otome anime, the series features the protagonist Rae Taylor who finds herself transmigrated to her favorite dating sim, Revolution. Instead of following the game’s traditional route of the three princes, Rae has plans of wooing the Villainess, Claire Francois. The series is quite blunt with its Yuri narrative as it acquaints viewers with the same-sex storyline right off the bat. While this subgenre may restrict the show to a niche audience, it certainly offers the Otome genre a refreshing perspective.
An Otome Bliss
Akin to any other Otome anime, I’m in Love With the Villainess’ main character is an overworked Japanese woman obsessed with a dating sim called Revolution. Her obsession with the game lands her inside the dating sim’s fantasy-like world, transmigrating her to take the place of the game’s protagonist. The protagonist’s name is Rae Taylor, with ‘Taylor’ as the game’s own preset surname and ‘Rae’ being the young woman’s username in the game.
I’m in Love With the Villainess’ approach to the Otome transmigration is rather nonchalant as Rae instantly realizes that she has been reincarnated into the game. However, she immediately adjusts to the new world and seems gleeful to have escaped from her previous life. Without giving it a second thought, she gladly accepts her fate and moves on to her predetermined goal – winning over the villainess.
Love at First Sight?
The series jumps right into the Yuri aspects of the show as Rae’s very first words in the new world are “I love you,” as she immediately expressed her sentiments to Claire Francois. While the series may initially make it seem like a love-at-first-sight type of situation, the reality is that Rae had been inclined towards Claire even before being reincarnated in the game’s world.
Rae’s reasoning is that the villainess is simply a misunderstood character, and her actions only stem from her need to belong. With this mindset, Rae has dived right into winning Claire over, although her methods of doing so might be a bit unorthodox. Since the villainess’ job is to bully the protagonist, Rae takes pleasure in being belittled by Claire, even forcing her to be more cruel and torturous.
The entirety of the first episode revolves around Rae pushing Claire to up the ante and be more harsh towards her. Claire, on the other hand, is creeped out by Rae’s aggressive advances and outward expressions of love. Even if Rae’s sentiments are pure, her method seems more of a way to rile up the villainess even more. She also risks pushing Claire away with her odd antics, meaning she will have to find a new way to express her emotions with sincerity.
The Game’s Three Original Routes
Rae Taylor’s obsession with Claire might make it seem like these two are the game’s destined lovers. However, the actual route of the game features three princes who belong to the Bauer noble family: Rod, Yu, and Thane. While Rae never even considered these routes, the same cannot be said for the three nobles as the game is wired in a way that all three princes end up gunning for the protagonist.
Rae has already caught the eye of all three princes, meaning their advances are imminent in the next few episodes. However, Claire Francois is in love with Thane Bauer, resulting in an odd love triangle. Rae may not have any interest in pursuing the princes, yet Claire is entirely devoted to Thane. This debacle could possibly become one of the many hurdles that are yet to come for Rae and Claire’s romance.
An Otome Veteran
Rerouting Otome games is almost impossible since these games have a preset destiny for every single character, except for the protagonist and the potential routes. However, Rae is equipped with in-depth knowledge of the game, including every single event and mini-game. This will allow her to potentially alter the villainess’ fate and grant her a happy ending for once.
Rae has stated that she has more knowledge of the game than the developers themselves, and this fact is further cemented by her high score on the school exams. Her skills and knowledge remain unmatched within the academy, meaning she can alter the game’s storyline with ease. With these developments taking place quite early on, I’m in Love With the Villainess is off to a promising start.