#GL anime

[theyuriprincess]

I love when a hot girl pushes me against a wall and-... 👀

[yonae]

"Since we have this opportunity, why don't we go explore the fair? I'll do my very best to escort you."

[yurimother]

Star Student X Delinquent Yuri Romance Manga 'I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl' Licensed in English

On Saturday, Kodansha USA announced at its Anime Expo 2023 panel that it has licensed Kashikaze's I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl (Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai) for English publication. The first volume of the school romance Yuri manga will be released in the spring of 2024.

I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl follows Ayaka Sakurai, a star student gifted in both academics and athletics. However, she gets nervous about exams, so has to settle for a lesser high school than she intended.

When her homeroom teacher recognizes Ayaka's struggle, she offers her a recommendation letter that could get her into any school of her choice, on one condition. She has to convince the delinquent girl, Sora Honda, to come to school. Thus the goody-goody Sakurai is thrust into a web of blackmail that might just lead to romance!

I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl was serialized in Comic Yuri Hime from 2019 until its conclusion in October 2022. Ichijinsha publishes six collected volumes of the manga in Japanese.

The manga received positive reviews from audiences and critics. Erica Friedman awarded the first Japanese volume an 8/10 score on Okazu, and the series won 12th place overall in Yuri Navi's fifth Yuri Manga Sousenkyo in 2021.

Kashikaze is a Japanese Yuri artist. She has contributed to multiple Yuri anthologies, including Canelé: Soeur, Shibuya Gyaru, and Chocolat: Shkaijin Yuri Anthology. She also released a side story doujinshi focusing on the side characters from I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl.

Look forward to the release of the first volume of I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl in the Spring of 2024.

Source: Kodansha USA Website, Kodansha Comics Twitter

[yu2ki]

아름다운 소녀들 🎡

[sapphicmanga]

I'm rewatching sailor moon so expect to see these two pretty ppl a lot💗🐇

[elainiisms]

[valleyofdeaddandelions7]

I'm literally watching the first episode of "im in love with the villainess" right now and lemme tell y'all from all the self indulgenced, isekai audience inserts there are

Rae Taylor is by far the most relatable one cuz, i too would be more than ecstatic if i were transported to another world and the pretty villainess decided to dedicate all of her attention to me (yes even bullying is attention and maybe just like Rae herself i would like to get stepped on, HARD!!!)

[obscureanimeoftheday]

Obscure Anime of The Day:

Akuma no Riddle

Aired: 2014

Genres: Action, Drama, Psychological, School, Shoujo-Ai, Violence

[hellosweetie99]

First episode of the new GL, I’m in Love with the Villianess came out and it is SO GOOD! Pls go watch it and support this adorable GL.

The main character Rae Taylor is 100% canonically a lesbian! She says out right that the has no interest in the male love interests. The first episode did not spend any time on Rae’s Life before she got reincarnated. Which I personally really liked. It got straight into the plot and started off with Rae saying that she is in love with the villainess, Claire François. It has all the typical tropes of an Otome dating game and it was just so silly and goofy. I had a great time and so excited to see the rest of this!

[pipopipong]

strawberry panic logo

[toxins-very-gay-thoughts]

and the enemies to lovers begins

[theyuriprincess]

So like.. im smol.. who wants a talking to? 👀

[yonae]

[yurimother]

'I'm in Love with the Villainess' Anime - Episode 1 Review

An astounding and hilarious first outing for the series with the power to revolutionize Yuri

We are finally here, the long-awaited and much anticipated first episode of Platinum Vision’s I’m in Love with the Villainess anime aired on Tokyo MX and is streaming everywhere outside of Asia with a plethora of dubbing options, including English, on day one on Crunchyroll.

The first outing covers most of the events of the light novel’s first chapter, or the first three chapters of the manga, at a rapid but steady and not overwhelming pace. At this rate, the anime should be able to cover much of the series’ first arc, or the first two out of five books, in a single cour. Perhaps a bit less, depending on which of the story’s various adventures it elects to include. This is an exciting possibility, to be sure, as the story is a character-driven, socially mindful, and expertly written and, despite its fantasy setting, an exceptionally relevant tale of romance, socio-economic inequality, and of course, queerness.

While the first arc of Villainess is a triumph, it would be a shame not to see at least some of the developments from the extra chapters that lead into the second story, like (spoilers for the end of volume 2) Rae and Claire’s wedding and their adopted twin daughters May and Aleah. If we are lucky, perhaps they will appear in the final episode or, dare to dream, a second season (end of spoilers).

Now, onto the show itself. For those who, for whatever reason, have not read Inori’s masterpiece, I’m in Love with the Villainess follows Rae Taylor. A salary worker who dies and is reincarnated as the protagonist of her favorite otome game, Revolution. However, Rae has no interest in any of the game world’s three eligible royal bachelors and has eyes only for the game villainess Claire François. Armed with exceptionally magical ability, Rae sets out determined to secure a happy ending for her beloved Claire against the coming revolution and perhaps win her heart in the process.

Now, the opening of I’m in Love with the Villainess is the series' weakest moment in all mediums, which, considering episode one’s outstanding quality, only highlights just how superb the Yuri masterpiece is as a whole. Even with its need to establish the setting, characters, and premise of the series, the premiere managed to be an excellent introduction and set the bar high with lots of laughs, entertainment, and service between our two leads.

I watched the Japanese audio, and Yu Serizawa and Karin Nanami are fantastic in these roles, with Serizawa playing up Rae’s teasing adoration and borderline masochism at full blast, and Nanami explicitly giving voice to Claire’s arrogance and frustration. She even manages to deliver a perfect Ojou-style laugh to seal the character’s elite status and lean into the show’s use of otome tropes. And having the leads sing the excellent opening and ending themes is just icing on the cake.

Speaking of tropes, while Ironi’s original work is a genre-defying masterpiece that broke the Yuri mold, it is never afraid to play with the genre’s iconography and its otome game setting. Every other scene had another allusion, including to the book’s cover. As always, I am likely overeager to see connections, however intentional they may be, but the academy’s halls harken to otome staples, the bells and strings of the first scene's soundtrack conjured blistering memories of Strawberry Panic (perhaps a sacrilegious comparison to make but I digress), and even an areal shot of the campus was another check mark on my “Scenic Yuri” theory.

Now, as mentioned, I’m in Love with the Villainess has to establish the groundwork here, and narratively, these are the weakest moments, often direct exposition, with a few exceptions like Rae’s conversation with her roommate Mash about maintaining Claire’s attention. The narration is at least accompanied by relevant and creative, if perhaps limited, animation. But to their credit, these moments are succinct, existing only as long as they have to in order to provide the necessary information and get out of the way for what matters most: the characters.

Rae and Claire are front and center from the very get-go, and there is little time wasted in showcasing Rae’s intense bottom energy or establishing Claire’s elitism and bewildered anger towards Rae’s excitement in the face of Claire’s carefully calculated cruelty. It is a montage of silly and fun competitions between the two that had me laughing and smiling all the way through, as the Yuri was present in full force, and gives glimpses at the mutual obsession the women have for each other that will soon blossom into a wonderful romance.

These early story beats have a light tone and focus on the bullying, teasing, and rivalry between Rae and Claire, a dynamic that previously and understandably made a subset of readers somewhat uncomfortable. However, assuming the anime unfolds in a similar manner to the manga and light novels, the narrative will explore meatier, heavier subject matter and a far deeper lesbian romance, all without losing its sense of fun and adventure. The next episode or two will be incredibly telling - as the source material is perhaps the most profound and forthright depictions of LGBTQ identity in Yuri, and that all starts with a pivotal conversation that, if it is included, will be coming up shortly.

Overall, I am incredibly excited for this series. The first episode is everything I had hoped for out of an adaptation of one of my favorite works of all time, save the animation, which is average at best. While there is a lot more to see, and we will have to wait to know if I’m in Love with the Villainess lives up to its incredible potential and source material, I am extremely hopeful. We have one of the funniest, most thoughtful, and queerest works of Yuri transformed into a stunning anime project unlike anything that has come before and offers the chance at not just a new Yuri “gateway” but to continue the work of its source material in revolutionizing the genre.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 10 Art – 5 LGBTQ – We shall see… Sexual Content – 3 Final – 8

I'm in Love with the Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll with English sub/dub.

Review made possible by Avery Riehl and the rest of the YuriMother Patrons. Support YuriMother on Patreon for early access, exclusive article, and more: patreon.com/yurimother

[hopebun]

Anis & Euphie, my new fav lesbian couple! Happy pride month ~!  🌈  It’s a screenshot redraw from a GL anime.

[sapphicmanga]

G A Y