Though I Am an Inept Villainess

Episodes 1-3

For the most part, I disdain trope-driven anime. You know what I mean – series with stories that feel more like an agglomeration of what's popular on Shousetsuka ni Narou. They are, by and large, written by amateurs, popularized by audience members with low standards, and finally professionalized by companies eager to capitalize on an overstressed culture's appetite for comforting familiarity. They are, by and large, deeply indulgent, whether that be due to a lack of friction or seeking to confirm the audience's grievances against women, immigrants, and so on.

However, when a creative I love gets involved with a tropey work, I get curious. Such is the case with Though I Am an Inept Villainess, a deeply Narou-kei series that features a trope I have long since wearied of. Director Mitsue Yamazaki doesn't have a perfect resume, but she's been a favorite since Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, and last year's Zenshu was spectacular. What's more, this production reunites her with Yoshiko Nakamura, whom she worked with on Nozaki-kun and The Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, at Dōga Kōbō a studio with a record of excellent animation. I hoped for above-average Narou writing, strong adaptive scripts from Nakamura, pitch-perfect comedic timing from Yamazaki, or a combination of all three.

Did I get that? Well, I can't say I didn't cringe at the line, “I will become an inept villainess!” But there is some promise, at least.

At first, things feel a bit too frictionless. When Keigetsu swaps bodies with Reirin because she resents her for being too perfect, the intended moral was likely that jealousy is unproductive because everyone has their own struggles. She doesn't realize that Reirin has Anime Wasting Disease, the kind of undefined chronic illness that historically would be diagnosed as a “fragile constitution.” Instead, the effect is that Reirin is even more virtuous and amazing than she ever imagined! She's accomplished in all ladylike courtly arts, even though she gets a fever from sitting upright for too long! She has become so admirable in her suffering!

And indeed, Reirin is completely perfect. Her excitement at finally being healthy enough to physically exert herself outweighs any distress at occupying the body of the court outcast. (Perhaps one week I'll wade into the murky waters of disability representation, but not this week.) Being sent to live in a dilapidated former pantry is no problem, because the seeds from all the produce that was once stored there have germinated, giving her an endless supply of fresh vegetables. Somehow, she's a skilled gardener despite having previously been so fragile she had to lie down after embroidering too hard. She even talks to animals! She's such a Disney princess; she'd make Cinderella blush at her own pessimism.

Yeah, if I were Keigetsu, I'd resent her too.

After three episodes, I'd be ready to throw up my hands and walk away if not for one thing: the entire court maiden system is riddled with cracks, ones that threaten to shatter even Reirin's relentless optimism. The system, designed to offer the crown prince his choice of suitable marriage candidates, has the side effect of breeding hostility between and within the factions participating in it. It's bad enough that Keigetsu is so hated even by her own people that she's exiled to a rundown storeroom; when a high-ranking maid working for another court maiden approaches her maid Leelee, scorned for being the daughter of a dancer, and asks her to harass Keigetsu into leaving, Leelee grasps at the promise of a better life.

Naturally, Reirin takes it all on the chin with a smile and a “thank you,” eventually winning Leelee over with her patience and understanding. She acts unaware of what's happening, pretending that Leelee's bullying is just overexuberant attempts at helping. She only slips once in her internal monologue, referring to it as harassment before going back to reframing it.

This piqued my interest. Reirin's relentless sunniness seems to be a coping mechanism for having to fulfill the demands on the prince's favorite despite her profound disability, to the point that she's lying to herself. She's been actively forcing herself to be a Pollyanna. Whether it's the high-pressure level she's under as Reirin or the bullying she and the others around her face as Keigetsu, something is going to force her to crack sooner or later.

At least, I hope; I don't think this series would have the reputation it does if it didn't.

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Though I Am an Inept Villainess is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.