A new idol-themed visual has been unveiled for the upcoming TV anime series Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court. The series is expected to begin airing in Japan in 2026.
The new visual was released to mark the unofficial Japanese holiday “Good Oshi Day” on November 4, 2025. The costume design for the idol outfits was illustrated by the series’ manga adaptation artist Ei Ohitsuji.
© 中村颯希・一迅社／「ふつつかな悪女」製作委員会
Mitsue Yamazaki (Zenshu, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle) is directing the anime series, with Yoshiko Nakamura (RPG Real Estate) as series screenwriter and Ai Kikuchi (Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie) as character designer. Doga Kobo is in charge of the animation production.
Meanwhile, the anime’s main voice cast stars Manaka Iwami as Kou Reirin and Natsumi Kawaida as Shu Keigetsu.
The series is based on the fantasy romance light novels, written by Satsuki Nakamura and illustrated by Kana Yuki. It was first published under the Ichijinsha Novels imprint on December 28, 2020 and has released 11 volumes as of September 2025. A manga adaptation by Ohitsuji was launched in December 2020. The series began as a web novel on Shosetsuka ni Naro on July 15, 2020.
© 中村颯希・一迅社／「ふつつかな悪女」製作委員会
Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the Though I Am an Inept Villainess light novels and manga series for release in English, describing the main premise of the former as:
In the Kingdom of Ei, five clans put forth their maidens as imperial consorts—but only one will be crowned empress. Just when frail and beautiful “court butterfly” Kou Reirin seems poised to marry the crown prince, jealous “court rat” Shu Keigetsu steals her body! Reirin wakes up in the dungeons as the conspirator, and things look dire…or do they? Now that she’s got a robust new body, not even the looming threat of execution can stop her!
Sources: Though I Am an Inept Villainess Official Twitter, Crunchyroll News
