I'm in Love with the Villainess

Episodes 1-3

I'm not a staunch proponent of the old "three-episode" rule, but I think that's the way to go for this series. While the first episode had plenty to offer for folks looking for unabashedly gay comedy shenanigans, and especially fans of the prideful Ojou-sama archetype, it's not indicative of what I'm in Love with the Villainess has to offer. While this show is, first and foremost, an isekai comedy about a disaster lesbian with a thirst for haughty blondes, there's more going on under the surface with this show, and especially our main character, that may very likely tip one's opinion one way or the other.

That's not to say the comedy is bad, so much as it's the most standard element of the show so far. While Rae's unapologetic thirst provides a bit of a spin on things, much of the first and second episodes are pretty familiar if you've watched other otome game isekai shows. Rae has an encyclopedic knowledge of the game world and characters and uses that knowledge to finagle her way through character interactions and story events. The sole twist is that she's trying her hardest to avoid tripping flags for any of the boys rather than wooing them while surreptitiously manipulating things to help her would-be bully, whom she's head-over-heels for. While it's funny to watch her completely defang Claire, it starts to get repetitive even in the first episode, and if that were all this show was, there honestly wouldn't be a ton to talk about outside of squeeing at how cute Claire is when she's angry (which is most of the time).

That's where the subsequent episodes come in, as in between Rae's increasingly bold moves, we start to get a better idea of who both of these women are outside of their apparent archetypes. It becomes clear that the real reason Claire's so uncomfortable around Rae isn't all the flirting but the perceived insincerity. She doesn't trust that Rae's affections are sincere and is sure that there's some ulterior motive for all her attention – after all, who would fall in love with a prideful bully with so many spiky personality points and flaws like her? It speaks to a level of insecurity that isn't immediately apparent when we meet her but goes a long way in explaining Claire's actions. She's impulsive and defensive, self-aware enough to know how that pushes people away, but too afraid to change or bridge that gap. A lot of Villainess stories are built on redeeming or highlighting the sympathetic side of characters the audience is traditionally expected to hate, and this is a solid iteration of the concept that cleverly puts us into Rae's shoes as we learn about the more human and relatable aspects of our Villainess.

Rae, by contrast, is kind of a mystery. For all that she's open about her love for Claire, she's equally guarded about everything else, even to the audience. At first, the lack of reflection on her pre-isekai life seems like a move for story convenience, glossing over the prickly aspects of the premise to get into the Ojou-sama-loving good stuff. Yet certain recurring creative choices – like not showing us how Rae convinces Claire's father to hire her – suggest that there's a lot about Rae that the writing is purposefully obscuring from us and that adds considerable intrigue to our protagonist. For instance, despite all her unabashed desire for Claire, she's perfectly happy – even eager – to push her crush towards one of the Princes if it'll make Claire happy. The conventional, somewhat questionable idea would be that all of Rae's doting adoration is in service of wearing down Claire's resistance and earning her love through comedic attrition. If that's not the case, what exactly is Rae's deal?

At least partially, the answer arrives in the back half of episode three. In a refreshingly frank conversation, we finally pop the bubble around our heroine long enough to learn a few of her secrets, revealing the much more thoughtful and considered heart beneath the story's comedic veneer. For one, it's nice to see Rae actively tamp out the notion that gender "doesn't matter" regarding her love. That can certainly be true of others, but Rae herself is firmly a lesbian and has lived with that fact and all its subsequent societal baggage throughout both of her lives. Besides nailing down her territory on the Kinsey Scale, it affirms her sexuality and identity. Sexually and romantically, she's exclusively attracted to women, and neither the characters nor the narrative are allowed to skirt around that issue with aphorisms or the like.

Even more interesting are the emotions that assertion pulls out of her. Rae admits that she doesn't expect – or even believe it's possible – for Claire to return her feelings. She enjoys being in love and expressing it to her crush as proudly as possible. Yet even that is, in its own way, deflection. The one thing that she only admits to the audience is that she's been hurt by unreciprocated love before, so turning her love into an over-the-top joke is the only way to let those feelings out without risking herself. Like our glimpse into Claire's insecurities, that crack in the armor unlocks a lot of depth for Rae and reveals all her wacky shenanigans and confessions as defense mechanisms. After all, as long as Claire never takes her love seriously, she'll never be rejected, right? No matter how deep or sincere her feelings, so long as they're presented with a slathering of comedic irony, tossed out like tongue-in-cheek insults like she's sitting in a dunk tank and heckling the customer, she can laugh it off when she gets dunked.

After two solid episodes of wacky flirting, that revelation feels like getting smacked across the face in the best way. It not only recontextualizes Rae's behavior but adds a powerful bit of sadness to her escapades, making you want to see her connect with someone without the obfuscation. For folks who might have been put off by Rae's occasionally invasive and often unwelcome advances, it cuts down the possibility of Rae winning her lady's love through attrition, making it clear that any potential romance between these two will only be possible if both of them can let down their walls. It's a turn for the serious that enhances the surface-level antics and has me deeply hooked to see where we go from here.

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I'm in Love with the Villainess is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.