Please note This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the manga I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment. This review will be spoiler free but there will be sections where I discuss content including massive spoilers all of which will be marked. TLDR will be at the bottom. Introduction 320https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/media/manga/cover/large/bx109206cWwRKCPzJaCf.jpg Im in Love with the Villainess is a light novel series written by Inorihttps://anilist.co/staff/138541 and illustrated by Hanagatahttps://anilist.co/staff/138542/Hanagata is an isekai Yuri what a combination depicting the isekaied Rei Ohashihttps://anilist.co/character/171836 now Rae Taylor thrust into the world of her favourite otome game. However instead of romancing the typical male love interests she only has one unlikely target in mind the villainess Claire Franoishttps://anilist.co/character/149900/FranoisClaire. Will Rae be successful in pursuing her true love interest against all odds? Plot The plot of Im in Love with the Villainess has... a lot within it. From the cover you may go into the novels with certain expectations. Perhaps it is one of those many villainess stores that you see on Webtoons. Or maybe it is some romance in a fantasy setting. The novel kind of has that. And more. You see you would be mistaken to think Im in Love with the Villainess is merely a Yuri story. Whilst the romance between Rae and Claire is obviously a large focal point of the tale there is much more nested within the plot. On top of being a Yuri story it is a fantasy tale sprinkled with action politics and philosophical moments all tied into the same story only to name a few. You may be inclined to think that to stuff so many themes into the one series is too much it would simply result in a mess of a story. And yet Inori surprised me with how well she managed to weave and link all of these elements together. The first arc volumes 1 and 2 have a greater focus on the buildup of the relationship between Rae and Claire whilst also including side plots with other characters and an overarching obstacle for the cast to deal with. Typical of many romances the story zooms in on how the main duo grow into a romantic relationship however this one was quite different to the others I have read. Rae absolutely infatuated with Claire makes many advances towards Claire. Being the tsundere she is that often results in being shot down resulting in the comedic elements of the novel. The novel had moments that were able to make me laugh just with how ridiculous it was. The humour may not be to everyones tastes but it worked for me. Throughout the whole novel but more so in the first arc the story has its overarching plot and romance and then it occasionally shifts between different side plots with complications other characters face resulting in their own development. I really enjoyed these parts of the novel since it fleshed out the world and its inhabitants making it livelier and easier to get engrossed in. Most of the cast gets their own development in tandem with the main two to my great appreciation. A story is more than the leads it is also comprised of those that support them to grow as people. Moving onto the second arc volumes 35 the plot changes pace and moves from being more focused on Yuri to other themes. Whilst this may seem sudden to some readers I enjoyed the change. As Inori said in the afterword of Volume 5 she wanted to write about what she wanted after focusing on romance in the first arc. On top of this this arc explores what I wish many more romances do what happens after the coveted moment of the establishment in the romantic relationship. Many romance stories focus only on the buildup to a couple dating but many omit what happens afterwards. This leaves me to desire more. After all life does not end once you start to date someone. There is more to romance than that. The arguments whilst dating living together having a family so much that can be explored in a story. And so I was pleasantly surprised that the story of Im in Love with the Villainess did not end at arc 1. That said despite everything I enjoyed about the plot one thing I disliked was how antagonists were handled sometimes. There is a wide cast of villains that appear to throw a wrench in Raes plans. Luckily most if not all of them were not shallow antagonists but the problem lied in their resolution. After being established as evil it quickly gets resolved with either there being a reason why the individual was acting in such a malevolent way or them not actually being themselves. I do like the idea of antagonists have complex motives behind their actions but sometimes it felt overly idealistic that everyone was justified in their actions and/or was not a bad person. But I only felt this sometimes and overall I enjoyed this approach to constructing antagonists. There was one villain I think was done well in this regard but the execution could have been improved in my opinion. Whole novel spoilers One writing technique I enjoyed was the shifting of POVs throughout the novel. I am a fan of this as many of the novels I read when I was younger utilised this. It allows the story to remain fresh adding new perspectives to change how the reader sees the events in the plot reminding them that the world is not comprised of one perspective but of many differing ones. This novel also had many plot twists in it a large portion of which were completely unexpected for me. Luckily there is a good amount of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the novel so the twists are not fully unfounded. Near the end The novel also often makes use of suspense leaving the reader in the dark in the truth behind mysteries of the plot. Think of dramatic irony where the audience knows something the characters do not often seen in Shakespeares play Othello but the opposite. As the protagonist is an isekai protagonist they possess knowledge of the world they are in that the readers are not privy to. This follows into the next section of my review... Isekai elements To be honest this is my first proper isekai media that I have ever consumed. Discounting Sword Art Online which is kind of an isekai but not really??? this was my introduction to the infamous genre. In reality I had poor expectations of the genre. It had become synonymous with the shovel ware equivalent of the anime/manga/light novel industry with many titles being pumped out with varying quality. But given that it was Yuri and recommended to me I was willing to give it a shot. My expectations sure were shattered. The isekai elements are one of the parts of the series that I really enjoyed. It made the world easily immersible and added intriguing aspects to the story that were previously unknown to me. Things like possessing knowledge on the future and transferring knowledge from ones past life to their new one I never expected these parts of Raes character to be really interesting for me. Queer themes If I am going to talk about this novel I have to talk about one of the underlying parts of it. Im in Love with the Villainess is a queer novel. A very queer one. Queer? Of course it is queer it is a story about a lesbian you may be inclined to say. And yes this story is undoubtedly Yuri containing lesbian themes a lesbian protagonist and a romantic relationship between two women. But this novel goes much deeper than that. Despite Yuri being a genre with links to being queer many stories within the genre do not profoundly explore what it means to be queer and the many intricacies of it. Many Yuri simply contain a romance between two girls there may be little to no questioning of ones sexuality and the obstacles it brings. That can be good sometimes if an author wants to focus on a story which is more lighthearted. But Im in Love with the Villainess takes it a step further a step I very much appreciate. Throughout the story we gain an insight into Rae and her struggles with being homosexual in her previous life. Her past experiences allow her to confront the homophobia and misunderstandings towards queer people in a manner that very much relates to real life events. There are many scenes where it felt as if Inori was inserting her own voice into the character of Rae a writing technique also seen in Pride and Prejudice to voice her own thoughts about being queer. When I was reading these moments I could not help but feel that Inori really understood what it meant to be queer and knew how to articulate her thoughts in a manner that many queer people can relate to and find solace in. The novel also goes beyond lesbianism which was a pleasant surprise to me. Many other Yuri titles I have read only look into that particular aspect but this story explored other aspects as well in a way with great understanding and it also acted as a way of breathing more life into the world and its characters. As such I think this novel has a pretty niche audience. For those not queer these moments could seem to be confusing. For example imagine you are reading a manga about shogihttps://anilist.co/manga/31224/3/ and all of a sudden they start explaining really complicated strategies used in a match. If you have never played shogi it would probably go over your head. That is how these moments may be for a nonqueer reader. That said Inori explains it in a way that any reader could understand hopefully. In fact I think that is part of why Inori wrote this novel to educate nonqueer people about what being queer means maybe I am reading into it too much I do have a habit of doing that.... That said I am not saying you have to be queer to enjoy this novel rather for those who are it can really pull you in. Subverting tropes and genres With all of what was previously discussed it can be easily said that Im in Love with the Villainess breathes new life into tropes and genres of generations past. In terms of the Yuri genre I touched upon this slightly beforehand. The genre does not have as long of a history to its counterpart BL as well as every other genre but this novel has the potential to change things in the long run. Like I mentioned this novel not only covers the buildup to a relationship but what happens afterwards. That is not to say that Im in Love with the Villainess is the first to do it but to this extent is a first for me for sure. It is also revolutionary in the sense that it is a Yuri story that is not purely focused on romance. Whilst it has to be said that Yuri is a romance genre and consequently many titles that fall under it only focus on romance this novel goes beyond that by including many other genres that take centre stage. Sometimes the romance takes a back seat which was more the case in act 2 but it is still integral to the story. It is clearly stated through the afterwords that Inori wished to write a Yuri that was not only about romance and I would like to think she succeeded quite well. Another way that this novel potentially subverts tropes is through Claire who takes on the villainess archetype. Whilst I have not read any other typical villainess story and thus feel free to correct me on this Im in Love with the Villainess looks at this trope in a new light revealing a hidden side to villainess. At first she appears to be a mere thorn to the side but through Raes persistence we realise that there is more than meets the eye. We as people are fallible to pushing individuals into stereotypes to make them easier to comprehend. But in reality there are many nuances to a person that make that conclusion simply untrue. Characters With its expansive world Im in Love with the Villainess features a setting with a large scale and thus many characters residing within it. As such I will not discuss them all partly due to some containing spoilers for later segments of the novel. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b171836nB12KkDqxDbF.png The isekaied protagonist Rae Taylor presents herself as a foolishly happygolucky girl constantly vying for Claires attention. Rae may seem like a goofy protagonist. And yeah she is. She often does blatantly ridiculous actions often using humour to drive her words even if it may result in the backlash from others. But deep within her character there is more than a happygolucky girl one riddled with past life experiences that still infest her mind. Her position as an isekai protagonist also provides her knowledge unbeknownst to anyone else in the story and the moments she uses this to her advantage can be satisfying to read. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b149900vwB2SAZARoKL.png The subject of Raes affection Claire Franois first appears to be a fiendish villainess who will do nothing but rain on the protagonists parade. Claire is quickly characterised as the quintessential villainess with the trademark laugh posse and endless scheming to ruin Raes day. That said Rae being who she is takes this with great pleasure forcing Claire to deal with these unexpected reactions. She could be described as a tsundere and it is through Raes actions that her character begins to unfold and she becomes more than a mere villainess. Indeed the interactions between Claire and Rae are pivotal to the novel series. Their interactions are often of humorous nature bearing similarities to the manzai comedy routine immensely popular in Japan. This involves the tsukkomi the straight man and the boke the funny man do skits to entice laughter in their audience. This usually involves the boke saying something stupid and then the tsukkomi admonishing the boke for it. This can be seen within Claire the tsukkomi and Raes the boke many interactions. Further their relationship goes through much growth to make it one easy to root for and want to see through to the end. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b231851RLK56z4ArWum.png Misha Jur is Raes long time friend within the world of Revolution providing much needed support for Rae and her antics. Misha could be seen as a foil to Rae in other words her opposite. Where Rae can act brazenly Misha on the other hand carries a more serious demeanour. As such she is able to provide Rae a second perspective to the complications she faces and acts as a reliable support for the protagonist. Later on she faces her own character arc but that goes into spoiler territory... 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b231853XsnDryQqYBru.png Lene Aurousseau is one of the very few maids that have managed to keep serving Claire through her bouts of harsh treatment. Lene plays a similar role to Misha instead playing the support role for Claire. She is a bit livelier than Misha but has a sense of maturity that comes with the small age gap between her and Claire. She too gets her own character arc later that fleshes out her character to one more than a mere support role. Although Im in Love with the Villainess features a predominantly female cast unlike many others in the Yuri genre it features a wide cast of male characters as well. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b298262uuXFghCXGyvF.png Rod Bauer the most popular target for the playerbase is energetic and confident in his strength. Although pictured to be a beloved character by the players of Revolution Raes perspective illustrates him to be a mere annoyance in her goals to romance Claire. He could be seen to fall under the trope of the cool male main often seen in the shoujo genre but as the novel plays out extra nuance is added to his character. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b298261TZOg5k6yG2oX.jpg Yuu Bauer is the second most popular romancable target with charisma and charm attracting many fans. Unlike Rod Yuu prefers to utilise intelligence to achieve results. Yuu has a friendly exterior and often plays a supporting role for the two heroines. Yuu has a major character arc later that adds many layers to their character one that surprised me for sure. But that made Yuu one of my favourite characters in the series. 260https://s4.anilist.co/file/anilistcdn/character/large/b298260wUaxgXWnriJQ.png Perhaps the least celebrated of the three princes Thane Bauer expresses a stoic demeanour that makes him appear to be hard to approach. Suffering from an inferiority complex Thane certainly stands out from the two other princes. Not appearing as perfect as Yuu and Rod this makes him all the more interesting. Luckily he has his moments to shine as the novel plays out. Beyond these characters are many more side characters that get introduced as the series play on. They all add extra life to the world building whilst also acting as means to carry more themes into the story. Art There is not too much to say about the art as being a light novel it does not have many illustrations compared to a manga. But I really enjoyed Hanagatas art style. It was visually appealing and portrayed the characters in a way that filled my imagination. 420https://externalcontent.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https3A2F2Flain.bgm.tv2Fpic2Fcover2Fl2F032F1c2F3013833aY9V.jpgf=1nofb=1ipt=dc0f1b8b4c1f2bd428b06dda89bc4cad803b4cd75e56f303c5f5ee854374f8b9ipo=images Conclusion and TLDR Wow this sure turned into a rant. I just really like this novel it is undoubtedly one of my favourites. This is an easy recommendation for any Yuri fan hopefully you will get as much enjoyment out of it as I did. I am probably biased with my evaluation of this novel but I do really think it is a good read. To summarise this review: The novel features a world rich with characters and concepts that make it all the more immersive. The romance between the two heroines are compelling and unique full of development between the two. Antagonists have depth to them but sometimes suffer from idealistic resolutions. Im in Love with the Villainess subverts many tropes and genres focusing on being more than merely a Yuri romance. The queer elements of the plot are sure to attract queer readers. If you have only seen the anime adaptationhttps://anilist.co/anime/158704/ then I would highly recommend picking up the light novels as well. I have not read the mangahttps://anilist.co/manga/118695/ or Korean adaptationhttps://anilist.co/manga/168257/AnotherRevolutionStory/ so I cannot attest to their quality. After finishing the main series there are three more spin offs you can consume to satiate your desire for more. First is the retelling of the main serieshttps://anilist.co/manga/147375/ under Claires perspective. I will begin reading this someday and hopefully review it to see whether it is a meaningful DLC or a soulless cash grab. Next is a cooking spin offhttps://anilist.co/manga/165417/ manga. There is no official translation of it yet but I managed to secure a copy from Japan so I am looking forward to seeing how it is. Finally there are the Pixiv FANBOXhttps://www.pixiv.net/fanbox/creator/32244225 stories. Some are explicit side stories which do not add too much story wise but one of particular interest is a sequel of sortshttps://inori0.fanbox.cc/posts/7182674. Inori expressed interest in writing this in the afterword of volume 5. I have no idea if there are plans for this to be officially published but for now you need to subscribe to her FANBOX to read it the cheapest plan at 100 yen is enough to read it. It is translated into Chinese Korean and English but they are possibly machine translated. It seems to be good enough to be able to read though. This brings an end to my longest review so far. I am guessing many people will choose to skip over the wall of text not that I blame you but if you read the whole thing then you have my sincere thanks. Hopefully you were able to get something out of this review. If would like to send me feedback on my reviews please post a comment on this threadhttps://anilist.co/forum/thread/41879 or feel free to send me a message. Thank you for reading