“I’m in Love with the Villainess” is a web novel (only in Japanese), light novel, manga, and anime. The web novel started publication in 2018 and ended in 2021. The series follows Rei Ohashi (referred to throughout as Rae Taylor, which is how I’ll refer to her for this review), who is madly in love with Claire Francois, as we see her navigating the world of “Revolution”, a game world she was transferred to. It should be noted that Rae is a commoner while Claire is a noble.
I’ve honestly never actually read the light novel before. I’ve had them for over a year, yet I never got around to reading them until now. I’m glad I did. The story, while being similar to the anime, is still amazing. Reading Rae as she goes through her new life in her favorite game is something I loved. There’s something about reading the light novel compared to using a manga or anime that is just amazing, and it’s probably because I can kind of imagine what exactly is happening in each scene, compared to the other two just showing the reader what the story is referring to. How the story is written, and with it being in the first person, I kind of like thinking about it like I’m reading Rae’s diary. The small-scale art illustrations by Hanagata are also the best. I’m glad I got the series physically, and I definitely plan to read more later.
The light novel has a spin-off called “I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner”, or “She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner,” told from Claire’s point of view. The manga also has a spin-off called “I’m in Love with the Villainess: Maid’s Kitchen”, released only in Japan. There was also apparently a webtoon, roughly translated (according to Google Translate) as “My Favorite is the Villainess ~Another Revolution Story~,” illustrated by TSTeam and released onto the platform Ridi Books; however, I think it was only released in Korean.
I absolutely love the series as a whole, and I loved the first volume of the light novel. I rate it 10/10, and I can’t wait to read more of it! You can purchase the light novel on Amazon.
