Within the Villainess will be available to read in English in 2027.
Kana, the manga imprint of Abrams Comics, announced that it has licensed Within the Villainess manga. This news comes shortly after the announcement of the anime adaptation of the light novel. Numerous readers took to the comments to express their excitement that the English translation of the manga would arrive in the same year that the anime would premiere.
A light novel series written by Makiburo and illustrated by Mai Murasaki, Within the Villainess was first released on Shosetsuka ni Naro in May 2020 before it became available in print by Ichijinsha Novels in February 2021. The light novel has not been licensed in English as of this article’s writing.
The story follows Remilia, a feared “villainess” in an otome game who carries within her the soul of Emi, a reincarnated girl who loves her unconditionally. When the game’s heroine betrays them and forces Remilia into the story’s inevitable condemnation, Emi collapses in despair. That’s when Remilia—in control of her body for the first time in 11 years—awakens with quiet fury. “Everything is for the sake of the world (you) I love,” she declares.
The manga, illustrated by Nazuna Shiraume, was compiled into six tankobon volumes that released from April 25, 2022 to June 25, 2025 and has received numerous nominations including the Next Manga Awards in the digital category in 2022 and 2023. Within the Villainess was also ranked eighth in Anime Japan’s “Manga We Want to See Animated” poll in 2025 which was granted the year after.
An anime adaptation has been announced with ROLL2 as the animation producer and Yoshihisa Iida serving as the director. Hiroyuki Yoshino will oversee the series composition with Reiko Nagasawa designing the characters, and Shuji Katayama composing the score.
Within the Villainess releases in July 2027.
Source: Instagram
