The television anime adaptation of Satsuki Nakamura's Though I Am an Inept Villainess light novel series has officially set its premiere date for July 12. The series will broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliated channels in Japan. International audiences can look forward to streaming the anime on Crunchyroll across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, and the Indian Subcontinent.
This premiere date marks a shift from the anime's originally planned April debut. The production staff cited delays in production progress as the reason for the postponement. The newly revealed visual offers a glimpse into the series' aesthetic as it prepares to launch.
The cast includes Manaka Iwami as Kou Reirin and Natsumi Kawaida as Shu Keigetsu, with Makoto Furukawa, Yūichirō Umehara, Hana Hishikawa, and Farahnaz Nikray also lending their voices. Mitsue Yamazaki is directing the series at Dōga Kōbō, with script supervision by Yoshiko Nakamura and character designs by Ai Kikuchi.
Though I Am an Inept Villainess is based on Nakamura's light novel series, which began publication in December 2020 with illustrations by Yuki Kana. A manga adaptation by Ei Ohitsuji launched concurrently. Seven Seas publishes both the light novel and manga in English under the title Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court. The story follows Kou Reirin, a contender for empress, who finds herself in a dire situation after a body swap orchestrated by her rival, Shu Keigetsu. The light novels have reached 12 volumes in Japan, with the latest released on March 31. Source: Anime News Network(https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-05-25/though-i-am-an-inept-villainess-tv-anime-reveals-july-12-debut-new-visual/.237793)
