I’m in love with the villainess vol 1 by inori

Adapted and illustrated by Aonoshimo

Rei is a corporate drone who finds happiness after hours playing her favorite dating sim. As the main character, she’s supposed to choose from between three handsome princes, but the person she’s most interested in is the rival, Miss Claire. One night, while playing, Rei is transported into the game as the main character, Rae Taylor, a commoner at an elite academy, who can now pursue Miss Claire without the pesky game getting in the way! But, as her rival and a noble, Miss Claire thinks lowly of Rae and constantly teases her. Rae loves the attention, which drives Miss Claire even crazier. After some time, Rae becomes employed as Miss Claire's maid. Now, she can be around Miss Claire at school and at home! 

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There are probably plenty of folks out there who have played dating sims and not been satisfied with any of the choices the game gives you, so this story might be incredibly satisfying to them. It can be a little over the top, but I do appreciate the way Rae takes all of Claire's bullying in stride and messes up every one of her punch lines or efforts to make Rae uncomfortable. There is also a classic isekai trope where the main character knows too much because they bring their knowledge of the outside world (or in this case, the ridiculous number of times Rei played the game). Sometimes, that level of knowledge can be frustrating, but Rei's privileged knowledge only comes up a handful of times in this story.

There are a few pages where it gets intense between Rae and Claire. Rae helps Miss Claire change her clothes and we see her in her underwear in suggestive poses. Later, the girls are in the bath, but all body parts are covered with steam clouds.

Seven Seas rates this for Teen, which I think is appropriate given the level of teasing and the nature of the relationship between Ray and Claire.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: Seven Seas
Publication Date: December 18th 2020
ISBN: 9781648278006 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Romance, Isekai, Fantasy, ​School Life