Ever since she was an overworked office worker in another world, Miyako has loved Fuuka, the tragic villainess of her favorite otome game. So of course, when Miyako discovers that she’s reincarnated as the protagonist of said game, it’s time to get to work and make Fuuka’s heart hers!
To address the elephant in the room, not only were they licensed at nearly the same time but the very premise of A Lily Blooms in Another World and I’m In Love With the Villainess are very, very similar. Ultimately I did enjoy this story more than ILWTV, however, it has come to light that material cut by Seven Seas might have directly addressed my concerns so I’m going to try and avoid making these obvious comparisons since I simply can’t talk about both of them in the same way.
There’s yet another yuri light novel that this one may remind people of, Ameko Kaeruda’s other series Sexiled! Lily Blooms and Sexiled are briefly mentioned as being in the same world but otherwise aren’t connected (and, since Miyako and Fuuka spend so much time alone together, there’s less over the top sexism, it’s a more “normal” level of sexism, although most of the male characters we meet are still utter buffoons).
In a little bit of a change from most “reincarnated in a video game” stories, Miyako has already been in the world for a couple of years before the novel begins, crafting a way to save Fuuka from the horrible fates that seem to befall her no matter what. In fact, Miyako has already “completed” the original game she was reincarnated to play! The original game, “Drop Fantasia,” actually started a few years before as the heroine competes in the “bridal wars” to become betrothed to the main hero and future Marquis, Klaus Reinhardt, and Miyako used all of her memories of the game to emerge as the victor.
She had to, if Fuuka had instead “won” the bridal wars she would have tragically died on her honeymoon with Klaus but she’s not out of the woods yet since, according to the game, if not victorious she would take her own life instead! So Miyako’s plan all along has been to win Klaus’ engagement, get him to call off the engagement later, and then truly begin wooing Fuuka, which is where Lily Blooms properly begins. Although, after two years of plotting I would have expected a bit more of an intricate plan rather than “more or less kidnap Fuuka and take her to Miyako’s family’s summer cottage for a two week vacation until Fuuka cries ‘Uncle’.”
That plan does work surprisingly well, especially as it turns out that Fuuka is simply so constantly exhausted from trying to meet her family’s expectations that she’s not nearly as mean as many people would think. And it’s not as if she was ever truly in love with Klaus either; like everything else in her life, Fuuka was pursuing him solely to be of use to her family and once she has some time and space to think about it, she’s able to at least contemplate a future where she sets down her own path, even if she doesn’t think it’s possible. Miyako is the heroine of the story but it’s Fuuka’s character arc at the center of it and I was really able to buy into the relationship they created after only 14 days together. It also really helped that, like in Sexiled but unlike some other yuri series, the girls do come across other women in relationships with women; Miyako and Fuuka would be a rarity but not something completely alien in this world.
While I did wish the story had a few more illustrations, Shio Sakura’s artwork is quite lovely. Ultimately I was very charmed and really enjoyed this one-shot. Between this and Sexiled, I hope that Kaeruda continues writing and that we continue getting her works in English!