The Winter 2023 Anime Preview Guide

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

Endo and Kobayashi just decided to play A Magical Romance, an otome game featuring a devious villainess named Lieselotte. Kobayashi thinks Lieselotte is a traditionally dastardly villain, but Endo insists Lieselotte is just misunderstood. The pair bicker and argue about Lieselotte's character and motivations. But little do they know that Lieselotte's in-game fiancé can hear their every word, and their colorful chatter will lead him down a completely different path than his character is supposed to tread.

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte is based on Suzu Enoshima's light novel series and streams on HIDIVE on Fridays.

Richard Eisenbeis
Rating:

I've said this before, I'll say it again: I am ravenous for villainess stories. I can't get enough of them. I love seeing how each author takes the stereotypical plot, setting, and characters and twists them to create something new and entertaining. Endo and Kobayashi Live! is a great example of this. Instead of having the villainess or some other character be reincarnated from our world, we get a series that asks the question, “What if the game characters could hear us as we play?” Not only does this present a new way for the villainess to avoid her stereotypically tragic end, it adds a second layer to the story—one about the players, Endo and Kobayashi.

The first episode actually gives us a lot to work with. We can see that Kobayashi is an exceedingly outgoing girl, eager to share what she loves with those around her. Meanwhile, Endo is a more withdrawn person working hard to come out of his shell after a tragedy in his own past. Of course, he is also head-over-heels for Kobayashi—though she is unable to see it.

Meanwhile, in the game world, we get to see what it's like to have an omniscient running commentary of your life. Sieg immediately decides Endo and Kobayashi are gods (which they pretty much are, when you think about it). But more than that, we see how he responds not only to the idea that his fiance is set for a tragic end, but also the knowledge that the gods are literally on his side and want him to succeed.

Moreover, the commentary helps Sieg see what he has been missing—that the girl he thought he knew is far deeper (and cuter) than he ever gave her credit for. He is starting to understand that she is socially awkward rather than cold—and through his understanding she may be able to grow more comfortable with those around her. And that's the moral of this first episode: By being more understanding and forgiving of those around you, you'll open yourself up to more hidden joys than you'd ever expect.

So with a dual-layered story, fun characters, great moments, and a solid core message, there's a ton to love about this anime. It's off to a great start and I can't wait to see more.

I was jazzed about Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte from the moment I saw the trailer, since the idea of a couple of friends impacting the narrative of a dating sim with their running commentary is a really cute one. Not only do you get the chance to poke some fun at the long-standing tropes of famous entries in the genre, but you also have a dual-layered romance at play, since Endo and Kobayashi will obviously be working through some rom-com shenanigans of their own, even as they play the gods to the bewildered Siegwald. For the most part, the show delivers, making it one of the more promising comedies of the season so far.

Still, even though I very much enjoyed this first episode of Endo and Kobayashi Live!, I cannot help but feel that something is missing from the overall product, though I'm having a hard time nailing down precisely what that is exactly. Maybe it's that I feel like the production could go father to give its characters some expression and personality; while Endo and Kobayashi get a couple of cute moments, they spend most of the show just sitting on a couch, and the characters in the game also spend most of the episode just sitting on or standing near some random bench. I don't expect this anime to start pulling off Kaguya-sama levels of needlessly over-the-top visual spectacle, but a little more oomph in the direction would be great.

Then there's the fact that Siegfried and even Lieselotte don't do a whole lot to make the story and world of their dating-sim video game stand out; I can't even remember the name of the pink-haired girl that is Liselotte's rival. Lieselotte is cute, to be sure, but her entire character literally boils down to being the archetypal tsundere, and let's be honest: she's not even that tsun-tsun to begin with.

On the one hand, I guess that makes sense, since the whole idea is to gently send-up otome game clichés, and that's easiest to do when you're working from a generic template. Still, my biggest concern about Endo and Kobayashi is whether or not the show will be able to sustain its premise for an entire season, and I could see myself losing interest quickly if the world that Endo and Kobayashi are trying to reshape never manages to stand out as the kind of game that I would actually be interested in playing.

All that said, Endo and Kobayashi is still quite the fun and charming anime, and I definitely plan on sticking around to see where it goes. If anything, I'm going to be in it just to see if Endo and Kobayashi end up together, since their modest little high-school romance feels much more compelling than the everyday dating game stuff we're bound to get in Siegfried's story. If you're tired of being disappointed by the other comedies of the season, then be sure to check this one out.

One of the more important aspects of Villainess isekai stories has been their ability to tap into the idea of “Fanon”. Taking the individual parts of a show or game and constructing your own interpretation is fun not only for its subversiveness, but as a way to expand and reframe so many of the tropes we take for granted. Suddenly the villainess getting her engagement publicly annulled is devastating rather than cathartic, as we see a woman being misunderstood or betrayed by her partner. That reversal is not only what keeps that particular premise reappearing, but what makes Endo and Kobayashi such a slam dunk in its own right.

Through this Stranger Than Fiction-esque bit of magical realism, this show not only gets to indulge in all the fun of picking apart a familiar story and rearranging things, but it invites the audience in that indulging. A dual storyline of two high schoolers trying to reshape the tragic end of their dark horse favorite is great on its own, but getting to squee alongside Kobayashi over how cute this tsundere villainess is puts that extra cherry on top. Together we get two vastly different, but equally comedic and charming romcoms for the price of one, all with a perfect vehicle for meta jokes that only break one of the two fourth walls. While that gimmick carries much of this premiere, there are also hints at deeper layers to characters on both sides of reality, and that makes me very optimistic about the story going forward.

Visually, the show is pretty modest. Its most striking visuals are the pitch-perfect recreations of dating sim art and UI, while the traditionally animated bits are carried by design and voice acting more than technical polish. With how wordy the humor is, that's not too big of a deal, and the overall comedic timing is right on point. It's not the fanciest-looking show, but it works for the material and excels where it needs to. Plus I love the disparity between the highly ornate and impossibly perfect game characters vs the mundane students in the “real” world.

The only real drawback that makes this a harder sell is that it's playing so much inside baseball that if you aren't familiar with otome games, or at least the version of otome games these Villainess light novels make up, a lot of the humor is going to fall flat. You also need to have an abiding love for tsundere characters, since this whole premise is about interpreting, then fawning over, the way Lieselotte hides her real feelings behind harsh words and icy glares. But if you're in the center of that venn diagram along with me, this is a funny, instantly endearing premiere, and I can't wait to see (and hear!) more about this prickly villainess.

I can't be the only person who occasionally screams out of character in a book or on the screen. I mean, sometimes they're just so freaking stupid, but it's hard not to. I've never had them appear to listen to me or respond back, but Endo and Kobayashi are living the dream here: while playing Kobayashi's favorite otome game, she starts shrieking about her favorite character, the doomed villainess Liselotte, and lo and behold, the male lead hears her.

At this point, the villainess story desperately needs innovations, and this series does that in spades. While none of the characters are remarkably different, the addition of the people actually playing the game interacting with the characters makes for an entirely different version of the same old story. No one is reincarnated here, at least not so far, but players are getting to influence the game in a way they could only dream of. The closest thing I've seen to this is in the light novel Surviving in Another World as a Villainess Fox Girl!, where the reincarnated people are more invested in saving their fan-favorite character than anything else.

To his credit, hero Siegwald has no idea that he's in a game at all; he thinks he is suddenly hearing the voices of the gods. That's an excellent way to get around it and work in the idea that what is a game to some is real life to others, a common genre trope. Interestingly enough, Liselotte is the character we spend the least time with in this episode; she enters, Endo and Kobayashi explain that she is very keen to help Siegwald tutor game heroine Fiene, but most of the thoughts and interactions come down to the Siegwald, Endo, and Kobayashi. While this doesn't give us a chance to understand why she's the fan-favorite character, it again works because it is a variation of what has become a very familiar theme.

Honestly, this is just a fun, good-natured first episode. It's sweet and silly and just generally a good time. The art is a little too prone to pink washes, which makes the whole screen look like one big pastel blur, but watching the two relationships between Siegwald and Liselotte and Endo and Kobayashi develop feels like it's going to make this a winner regardless. There's clearly another gamer waiting in the wings to influence the story, but even that's only guaranteed to make Endo and Kobayashi's interactions with the game characters entertaining. Even if you think you're sick of villainess stories, check this one out.