Forum - View topicThough I Am an Inept Villainess (TV).
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Edjwald
 Posts: 3723 |
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Though I Am an Inept Villainess (TV) Source: Light Novel (ongoing @ 12 volumes, written by Satsuki Nakamura, illustrated by YukiKana) Demographic: Josei Animation Studio: Doga Kobo Genres: drama, fantasy, romance, supernatural Themes: aristocracy, body swap, factions, medieval, politics, power struggle, royalty, sorcery, villainess Plot Summary: In a kingdom inspired by historical China, five clans put forth their maidens as imperial consorts–but only one will be crowned empress. The frail and beautiful Kou Reirin, the so-called "butterfly" of the imperial court, is a shoo-in to marry the crown prince. But when "court rat" Shu Keigetsu lashes out at her during the glittering Lantern Festival, it's Reirin who wakes up in the dungeons. Body-swapped by her assailant to steal her position at court, Reirin's plight seems dire...to everyone else. Now that she's got a robust new body, not even the looming threat of execution can stop her. Air Date & Platform: July 12, 2026 (Sunday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Pending Trailer [EDIT: Fancy opener stuff edited. -TK] |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3723 |
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I thought this one was a lot of fun. In fact, it's right up there with the anime premieres I've enjoyed most this season. I maybe might could have gotten annoyed by how pure the MC is...she's practically a Disney princess in the sense that wild animals befriend her and I'm not sure she had a single malicious or sarcastic thought the entire episode despite all of the things that happened - but I found the whole thing annoyance free because both her innocence and steel will are side effects of having been isolated by illness and dealing with that illness.
Besides, part of the conceit of this anime is that two opposites - an almost ridiculously vile villainess in a healthy body and a truly saint-like existence in a frail body - have swapped places, and their extreme natures is part of the fun. I will say for the record that I think the courtly Lady Shu is the real villainess, not her maiden ward, so I'm not sure if the "villainess" will gradually realize some things and become a better person or remain a caricature who keeps failing to kill the purehearted MC...a kind Wile E. Coyote/road runner dynamic. Anyway, loved it. |
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zfunk
Posts: 583 |
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Why do I think that eventually they are going to be back where they started without body swiping back. I can see the main character personality just bring her good fortune and popularity, while the other girl's personality just brings her misery.
That being said I understand the other girl where she is coming from. I do think this society is the real villain of the story. This whole series reminds me of an episode of the 1994 Aladdin series, when Jasmine with a street rat girl (BTW one of the best characters in the series, I just love her), |
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Fluwm
Moderator
 Posts: 1652 |
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This was one of my most-anticipated shows of the year (and in a year positively stacked with great shows) and it did not disappoint. I'm really looking forward to seeing how anime-only viewers react to things as it progresses, assuming we can rely on getting through the first three volumes' of material in full. This is definitely one of those stories where everything gets much more interesting as soon as the initial premise/conflict is resolved (so by around episode 5, I imagine).
Speaking of....
So, very minor spoilers, but spoiler[you absolutely do not need to worry about our villainess here becoming a caricature]. Slightly more major spoilers (about the structure of the series as a whole), I think the best part of the story is easily spoiler[the relationship between our two leading women here.] |
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Eilavel
Posts: 550 |
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Disney princess seems to be an apt analogy. Still, such a character charming their way through various dangers clearly has its charms and I enjoyed this and expect I'll take the whole season. I did find "oh no I repeated it" both unfunny and unconvincing, but thats mild, and in general while it covered an appropriate amount of "plot" some points (such as the not able to speak curse) were a little belaboured.
I think faux-Chinese court politics is both a more novel and more appropriate setting for this than the innumerable faux-Wester court politics we get, so thats a real bonus here. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25678 |
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Episode 1
That was fun. Only one episode in and it already has the whiff of keeper all over it. A little while ago there was another anime about maidens vying to catch the eye of a crown prince and I liked that one, too. Can't think of the title but it was the one where certain people could change form into giant crows. |
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Velorien
 Posts: 128 |
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You're thinking of Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master.
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Edjwald
Posts: 3723 |
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That was a cool show, though the vibe was a bit grimmer than this one. Not that this one doesn't have dark elements, but it's brightly drawn and the MC seems to have a kind of Pollyanna thing going on.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25678 |
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I was! Thank you. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10383 Location: Virginia |
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@Edjwald
I think Reirin makes Pollyanna look like a chronic complainer.  Oh look, I'm in the body of a girl everyone hates, but its healthy!! Rat dies in your cell because you dropped a poison pill. Oh you poor dear I'll hang on to you until I can give you a decent burial. Proposed death by lion, Oh well if its meant to be ... Lion eats the rat and dies of the poison, Oh its all my fault. If someone gave her lemons she would try to make Champaign.
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10383 Location: Virginia |
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This is for those who are having trouble keeping track of who is who:
Note: the majority of these people were identified in the opening minutes of the first episode. Perhaps someone who can do screen caps can add them. This is the Kingdom of Ei. The Emperor is Ei Genyou. He has an Emperess and four consorts. The consorts are ranked, from highest to lowest, The Noble, The Pure, The Virtuous, and the Worthy. The crown prince is Ei Gyoumei. The Emperess is his mother. He has five maidens in the Maiden Court, a potential empress and consorts. He is not currently intimate with them. It is not clear when this will occur, hopefully before his father dies or abdicates. There are five noble clans. Each has its own palace at the court and has provided one consort or empress and one maiden. The are: The Gen clan. Palace of the Darkest Edge, The Worthy consort Gen Gousetsu and the maiden Gen Kesui. The Kin clan. Palace of the Metallic Shade, The Pure consort Kin Reiga and the maiden Kin Seika. The Kou clan Palace of the Golden Qilin. Emperess Kou Kenshuu and maiden Kou Reirin (nicknamed The Butterfly) The Ran Clan. Palace of the Indigo Fox. The Virtuous consort Ran Hourin and the maiden Ran Houshun. The Shu clan Palace of the Vermillion Stallion. Noble consort Shu Gabi and maiden Shu Keigetsu (nicknamed The Sewer Rat) Last edited by Alan45 on Fri Jul 17, 2026 7:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3723 |
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I hadn't even reached the stage where I'd realized that I was going to have trouble keeping track of all that. Thanks, Alan45!
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Edjwald
Posts: 3723 |
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There's a crapton of anime that I'm enjoying to various degrees right now, anywhere from "I'm really liking this and see no warning signs or reason to drop it" to "Red alert! Red Alert! Borderline!"
That said, there have been five anime that I've been loving from episode 1, and as of today, this anime is the sixth. I will say right now that I think the crown prince is a putz though everything he has done so far is understandable to some degree. The fact that the MC doesn't seem to miss him at all says a lot to me. Ol Eagle Eyes is a lot cooler. I remain convinced that Noble Consort Shu is the real sinister mastermind behind the scenes. And speaking of which, I do have sympathy for the red-haired court maiden, and I get that she's not a schemer by nature, but how dumb do you have to be to have spent time in an imperial court and not realized that you shouldn't trust anyone hiding their face? |
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Eilavel
Posts: 550 |
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The single note nature of our lead reminds me of Catarina from all roads lead to doom.
Such characters are interesting because of the impact they have on those around them. That show ultimately bored me because the rest of the cast was just as flat, so the impact didn't interest. There's no such mistake here; we have mixed motives, conflicts and court politics. It's the right choice of set up and the first two episodes have been fun as the lead has things they can shake up. |
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zfunk
Posts: 583 |
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I am more interested in the Shu side of the story, and her slowly begin to regret this choice of hers, and falling more and more.
Last edited by zfunk on Sun Jul 19, 2026 5:57 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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