I'm in Love with the Villainess

Episode 10

My god, they finally made Lesbian Tomoda. What will science come up with next?

For those of you too young or uncultured to get that reference: go watch Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun. Or I guess search “Nozaki-kun Tomoda funny scene” and watch some illegal uploads of that particular scene on YouTube. Either way, not only is that sequence one of the funniest bits from a show full of great jokes, but it's also a testament to a very particular character trope in visual novels: the stalwartly loyal best friend who's constantly helping the hapless player along in their quest for romance. The joke, of course, is that Tomoda's unerring support, while intended as a writing shortcut to speed along a visual novel storyline, ends up reading as unconditional love and affection to anyone playing the game, inspiring some players to start shipping him with the PC instead of any of the girls.

That same archetype is present in tons of Otome games and Joseimuke media in general, and just as often you'll see fans imagining/asking for a secret same-sex route where the player can romance the supportive, confident, casually gorgeous girl-friend who keeps telling them what kind of snacks the brooding bishounen at school likes. So it only makes sense that I'm in Love with the Villainess would eventually play with that archetype too, and Manaria Sousse fits the role perfectly. She's the classic princely beauty, athletic and talented, the kind of woman who can make you weak in the knees with a glance or have you floating on cloud nine after sharing a single conversation with her. Getting Nana Mizuki to voice her just seals the deal on making her catnip for lesbians.

The irony, of course, is that Rae only has eyes for Claire, and Manaria's presence throws a huge wrench into their entire dynamic. That's plenty distressing for our heroine, but hilarious for the audience. After a whole season of Rae being on top of everything, constantly strutting 10 steps ahead of the cast because she's played this game obsessively, she's finally on the back foot. Seeing her so taken aback in a situation she didn't see coming or secretly had under control all along, is a great way to break her out of her defensive persona. She can tell herself that she doesn't expect Claire to love her back, but it's a lot harder when her crush is fawning over the hot, flirty girl who's making every other woman within a 50-mile radius trimming the nails on their middle and ring fingers.

The disparity between how Claire treats Rae's affections vs Manaria's is intriguing. From Claire's perspective, it's obviously a matter of trust. Manaria is somebody who comforted her at her most vulnerable and has been a source of support for ages. Rae has started to fill that role in Lene's absence but is so caked in comedic irony and obfuscation that Claire can't trust that she's for real. Even as we, the audience, can recognize that the villainess has caught feelings for the commoner, she's not willing to admit it herself, and so she shoves the whole idea off as a meaningless joke. From Rae's side, seeing Claire so open with – and attracted to – another woman spurs a metric ton of insecurity. When Claire's only love interest was Thane, there was the slight comfort that they couldn't be together because of sexual incompatibility. With Manaria, Claire's rejection suddenly feels personal, as if saying that she can love a woman, just not Rae. For as funny and refreshing as it is to see Rae out of her element, there's also a quiet sadness lying beneath it.

Manaria seems very aware of what she's doing, playing up the flirtations to 11 just to get a reaction out of Rae, which is...interesting. Is this just to demonstrate that she likes to stir drama, or are there ulterior motives behind it? Does any of this clash with her role as a friend to the PC in the game's original scenario? There are a lot of unknowns here, and it makes Manaria an immediately fascinating introduction to the cast despite showing up at the 11th hour. That seems to be a consequence of the adaptation's pacing, as we're just now getting into the beginning of the novel's second volume, but that's a quibble to be tackled later, depending on how this whole season ends. For now, Manaria is a great shot in the arm for our main couple's dynamic, and I can't wait to see what her next move is.

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