By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Have you ever found yourself falling in love with a fictional character? Maybe it’s their captivating personality or their intriguing backstory that draws you in, or maybe it is the aesthetic image of their character designs. In the upcoming girls’ love anime, I’m in Love with the Villainess, the main character, Rei Ohashi, is given the chance to meet and woo her beloved favorite character, Claire François, the story’s villainess, after reincarnating as the protagonist of her favorite otome game.

One unique element of the story is that Rei is openly in love with Claire and also highly aware of Claire’s flaws. Claire is a bully, and instead of trying to change her, Rei insists that Claire be one to her and claims deep affection for the interaction (regardless of it being nice or mean). When the game’s love interests attempt to intervene or take action against Claire, Rei makes it clear that they should butt out as she likes what Claire is doing to her and doesn’t want them getting close.

Rei has no interest in the pre-set noble love interests of the game and instead puts all her efforts into chasing Claire. That rejection of the game’s love interest’s interference is a somewhat consistent element and helps to set this romantic comedy apart by showing how the protagonist’s charms can bring about profound change in the villainess and those around her without her needing to do much. By simply showing Claire affection and acceptance, Rei has led to changes in Claire’s behavior over time, and this has expanded outward to other characters as a result.

Unlike typical power fantasy stories, where the protagonist must overcome death flags or become incredibly powerful, the focus here is on Rei’s efforts to shift the story’s path by wiping out potential death flags of the villainess without said villainess even noticing.

Overall, I find this story interesting because of its unique approach to romance and the exploration of character development. The relationship between Rei and Claire is unconventional and challenges common tropes in romantic comedies. With that said, I think it will be exciting to see how their story unfolds in the upcoming anime release as I always enjoy examining how adaptations change the story.

If you are interested in this type of story–I hope you will check it out!

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee