I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 will have the first test of Aileen and Claude’s marriage as other kings and even in-laws try to break apart their destined love. But when will Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita Season 2 come out?
The first season’s finale, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Episode 12, was released on Crunchyroll on December 10, 2022. The finale aired in Japan on December 17, 2022, but it was streaming a week early.
The 12 episodes were released as a single I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Blu-Ray volume by NBCUniversal Entertainment on February 28, 2023.
This article provides everything that is known about I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 (Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita Season 2) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita Season 2 release date predictions: Renewal possible?
As of the last update, Studio Maho Film, publisher Kadokawa, NBCUniversal Entertainment, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of an I’m the Villainess Season 2 sequel been announced.
Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information.
In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the I’m the Villainess Season 2 release date will occur in the future.
The I’m the Villainess reviews have been solid but not great. This is something of a surprise considering that the characters were varied and interesting while unexpected plot twists kept the drama flowing. The humor was always on point and didn’t overly rely on tropes for evoking comedy.
The main power couple Aileen Lauren Dautriche and Claude Jeanne Elmir are fun to watch as their relationship evolves into a true romance despite challenging setbacks. The so-called demon lord is simply a young man with (literally) stormy emotions who suffered unfair harsh treatment in his youth and there’s much humor to be had from the contrasts between the tropes and his actual personality. Despite taking humorous actions to “tame” Claude and her underlings, Aileen is hardly an airhead and she’s built as a strong female protagonist who doesn’t need to tear down the male characters in order to make herself look stronger.
The antagonists are similarly well-rounded since Prince Cedric Jeanne Elmir really makes you want to punch him up until the point of his redemption arc where you realize just how much his emotions, and thus his unheroic actions, have been manipulated. Speaking of which, Lilia Rainworth comes off as innocent and sweet in the first arc, but even the first story arc foreshadowed her sinister side before it was revealed. Even “mean girl” Selena Gilbert is complicated since her true motive is to escape the trap that society has created for her as a woman living in a feudal society. Well-developed villains are the hallmark of a good story so it’s good that this anime has audiences loving, hating, and feeling sympathy for them as new episodes peeled back their layers.
Even the “underlings” and the fairly extensive supporting cast have their own unique personalities, although some characters are obviously intended to be subverted versions of boilerplate tropes for the otome game genre. Aileen’s relationship with these characters was highlighted at that moment when she shared a high-five with Isaac.
Perhaps some of the tepid response can be attributed to audiences tiring of the isekai genre in general. I’m the Villainess was also relegated to “me too” status due to the basic concept of being reborn in an otome game already adapted into anime form by My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! The idea is so common in isekai fiction that it’s pretty much a sub-genre. Even the major plot twist that a second major character had a previous life was already done by Trapped in a Dating: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs.
The main difference from My Next Life as a Villainess is that Aileen is dumped into the otome game world at the worst possible moment when Prince Cedric has spurned her for the heroine so there’s a major tonal difference between the two series. But even then there is a spin-off series called My Next Life as a Villainess: On the Verge of Doom! where Katarina Claes doesn’t regain her memories of her past life until she’s already a teenager and established as the villainess.
Plus, it’s actually more common in the otome isekai genre for the villainess to regain her memories right as the doom flags are peaking. Still, those other stories typically have the villainess derail from the game path early on so I’m the Villainess was unique in that a 2nd character with past-life memories is meddling to keep the story progression close to the game.
The other issue is the animation quality. While Maho Film did a decent job the directorial work could have heightened emotions with the camera positioning and angles. The one major highlight of the animation work was the ED video, which was quite creative in its references to story points and characterization quirks.
To put the I’m the Villainess review scores in perspective they’re in the same range as My Next Life as a Villainess, which already has 2 TV seasons and a movie under its belt. Kadokawa is probably hoping to follow in the footsteps of this anime success so it’s possible the anime production committee has already held early discussions about having the I’m the Villainess anime renewed for a 2nd season.
From a financial perspective, the first season was regularly featured in the Top 10 on Crunchyroll’s popular anime list in Fall 2022, but it’s not a shoo-in for renewal like SPY x FAMILY Season 2, Chainsaw Man Season 2, My Hero Academia Season 7, or even Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 4. But it’s not a surprise that I’m the Villainess Season 1 got lost in the crowd since Saturdays were stacked with multiple big names during the Fall 2022 anime season.
Another negative data point is that anime did not give a huge boost to the sales of the I’m the Villainess manga or light novel series. The series did not make the Oricon Top 20 manga or the Oricon Top 20 light novels for October 2022.
At the same time, other isekai otome light novels made the top Oricon rankings during that time frame. My Next Life as a Villainess ranked #13 while The Villainess is Changing Her Role to a Brocon (Akuyaku Reijou, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu) was #20. (Keep in mind that a series’ monthly sales will spike when a new light novel is released and it just so happens that My Next Life as a Villainess Volume 12 came out on October 20, 2022.)
Therefore, it’s uncertain whether the anime production committee will have I’m the Villainess renewed for a second season. We’ll just have to wait and see since otome isekai anime have been successful enough in the past to receive sequels.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 English dub release date predictions
Crunchyroll’s I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss English dub release date for the first season was on October 15, 2022, which was only several weeks behind the series premiere on October 1, 2022.
Here was Crunchyroll’s I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss dub cast:
- Alexis Tipton (Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love is War) as Aileen
- John Burgmeier (Kurama in Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files) as Claude
- Hayden Daviau (Rina Tennouji in Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club) as Lilia
- Kyle Igneczi (Yujiro Someya in Heroines Run the Show: The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task) as Cedric
- Brandon Johnson (Arc in Skeleton Knight in Another World) as Beelzebuth
- Kyle Phillips (Denki Kaminari in My Hero Academia) as Keith
- Anthony Bowling (Sakamoto in Nichijou) as Almond
- Kamen Casey (Tsurayuki Rokuonji in Remake Our Life!) as Marcus
- Sean Hennigan (Gol D. Roger in One Piece) as Rudolph
- Emily Fajardo (Bojji in Ranking of Kings) as Ribbon
- Additional Voices: Cory Phillips, Kristian Eros, Jacob Alexander, Nicholas Markgraf, Bryson Baugus
The crew includes:
- ADR Director — Jad Saxton
- Assistant ADR Director — Morgan Lauré
- Lead ADR Engineer — Ian Emerson
- Assistant ADR Engineer — Noah Whitehead
- ADR Script Writers — Natalie Van Sistine, Macy Anne Johnson
- ADR Script Supervisor — Emily Neves
- ADR Prep — Dominique French
Presumably, now that Funimation is being phased out by Sony, Crunchyroll’s I’m the Villainess Season 2 English dub release date will be announced in the future after I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss S2 has first premiered with Japanese audio and English subtitles.
Hopefully, future English dubbing will be faster once the COVID pandemic winds down and becomes endemic. In order to protect voice actors from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, they were forced to temporarily pause production or take extra safety precautions that resulted in slowed work.
Many English dubbing houses have experienced delays since voice actors often travel to the recording studio. By mid-2022 Crunchyroll began switching from remote recording to in-studio recording again (most of the work is done in their Texas studio).
I’m the Villainess Season 2 spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
The last time audiences watched the anime TV show, Claude x Aileen tied the knot and the demon lord has become Emperor! After assuming the throne, Claude exiled his father and grandmother, but Cedric is imprisoned despite redeeming himself by helping Aileen and Claude.
Despite finding their “happily ever after”, Aileen and Claude’s marriage will immediately face a major trial by fire based on the story events of Game 3. Aileen sets off on what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission to the court of Holy King Baal—but then she ends up in the king’s harem?!
What’s worse, Baal is the final boss from the third game in the series, and he’s immune to Claude’s magic. Now that it’s come down to this, Aileen’s only choice might be to seduce King Baal until she finds a way to escape…
It’s bad enough that another king is trying to steal away Claude’s wife, but then the in-laws try to break up their love. A man claiming to be Claude’s demonic father returns and demands that Claude divorce his wife and return to the demon realm.
Even worse, a candidate for the next queen of the demon realm declares herself to be Claude’s true soul mate!
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss manga, light novels compared to the anime
The story for the anime TV series is based on the Akuyaku Reijo Nanode Rasubosu o Katte Mimashita light novels written by Sarasa Nagase and illustrated by Mai Murasaki.
Like many isekai stories, the idea was first self-published as an I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss web novel on the user-generated novel publishing website Shousetsuka ni Naro. The web novel version started in May 2017 and ended in August 2019.
Starting in September 2017, the web novel began being adapted into a web novel series by Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten. The book series was up to Volume 10 as of September 30, 2022.
The original creator teamed up with manga artist Anko Yuzu in November 2018 to adapt the story into the I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss manga series. The manga adaptation ended in August 2019 and the final third volume was released in December 2019.
The manga only adapted the first story arc of Volume 1. The manga artist was apparently disappointed that Kadokawa didn’t contract her to continue the story. The manga was originally created as a limited promotion for the light novels, but if the anime is popular enough to boost manga sales it’s always possible Kadokawa could renew the manga adaptation.
North American publisher Yen Press is releasing the official English translation for both the I’m the Villainess manga and the light novel series. As of March 2022, the English manga was completed with Volume 3, whereas the English light novels were up to I’m the Villainess Volume 5 as of April 18, 2023.
When an anime adapts a light novel series it’s typically unavoidable that dialogue, worldbuilding, and major plot points are heavily condensed in order to fit into the time constraints of the Japanese episodic format. Aileen’s inner monologues and viewpoint changes, including Lilia’s first-person narration, are skipped due to the storytelling perspective. The 86 anime was very unusual in that it expanded on one book with anime original content that enhanced the story.
My Next Life as a Villainess Season 1 was also unusual since it only adapted one book, but that was arguably the best choice since the story genre was more slice of life and the ending of Volume 1 was the best possible stopping point. The same could be said for the I’m the Villainess series since Aileen avoids her doom flag in Volume 1 by stealing Lilia’s holy sword and taming the heart of the demon lord-turned-dragon, which could have been quite the climax for the first season.
Yet ending with only Volume 1 would have left hanging the obvious foreshadowing that Lilia the sword maiden had reincarnated memories, as well. Audiences also would have missed the chance to watch Aileen and Claude’s romantic feelings blossom into self-sacrificial love and reach full fruition in marriage. So it was necessary to adapt the 2nd story arc at the expense of increased story pacing.
Even then the adaptation pacing wasn’t bad, especially in the introductory episodes. Episode 1 only adapted 3 manga chapters and the Prelude, First Act, and Second Act of light novel Volume 1, while Episode 2 adapted the Third Act and only part of the Fourth Act.
While all the major plot beats were hit there were still some funny scenes that hit the cutting room floor. For example, at one point the fenrir Ribbon emerged from Aileen’s shadow portal and spat on Cedric. Claude even chucked Lilia into a castle cesspool!
During the 2nd arc, the skipped scenes were more obvious to light novel readers. But the juiciest parts skipped involved Almond asking Claude if he’s cheating on Aileen. Claude even received a letter from Aileen listing the conditions for having concubines! (She suspected that was Selena’s goal based on a misinterpreted comment by Claude.)
The Volume 2 climax originally included a bunch of fight scenes involving demonic James, Walt, Kyle, the duck squad, and other characters. One surprising omission was Claude fighting an earth dragon. It was also revealed that Claude could transform into a demon form at will… and when he threatened to punish Aileen he was definitely planning something that would make her cry!
Those skipped scenes were only partially made up by the anime adapting side stories into the main timeline. For example, the scene where Claude wished for having friends was a side story.
The only major missing worldbuilding context was the history of the sword maiden. In short, she was a woman who defeated the demon lord hundreds of years ago, and the ability to summon the sacred sword was passed down from her.
The anime also didn’t do a good job of explaining why Rachel Danis was the villainess in Game 2. In short, Rachel suffered from an inferiority complex and desired to become special, too. Rachel made up for her mediocrity in appearance and noble ranking by using cunning to steal the attention of the love interests in the game timeline, but all that changed when Aileen saved her.
Serena’s backstory was also hastily explained, which made it difficult to understand the context of her actions. Claude also punished Serena by flinging her into the castle cesspit just like what happened to Lilia. Otherwise, Serena was removed from the final arc in scenes like the demon auction among other details.
The season finale also came off as rushed to light novel readers. Episode 12 skipped the scene where Claude exiled the emperor and the empress dowager, Serena joined Aileen’s guard, and how Cedric and Lilia met with Aileen before the wedding.
Worse, the ending skipped Claude giving Aileen a magic-infused wedding ring… that she can’t remove! Their “fight night” together where Aileen freaks out at the thought of being completely naked with her new husband.
All in all, as predicted the first season’s finale, I’m the Villainess Episode 12, corresponded to the ending of light novel Volume 3.
It’s the best possible stopping point since the climax finishes with Aileen and Lilia duking it out with sacred swords. Claude usurps his father to take the throne as Emperor and his brother Cedric redeems himself by betraying Lilia and volunteering to be the fall guy so that no one can oppose Claude’s rule as Emporer. The best part is that Claude falls in love with Aileen all over again and they officially become husband and wife!
How often does an anime series’ first season end with the wedding of the main couple!? Almost never? Even if the anime isn’t renewed the story has progressed to the point that anime-only fans would feel satisfied with the adaptation being a single season.
The good news is that there is plenty of source material available now for making I’m the Villainess Season 2. English-only light novel readers who wish to read ahead of the anime can immediately jump to Volume 4, while manga readers will have to wait and hope that the manga adaptation restarts.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 studio and staff
The main staff and studio that is making I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 haven’t been announced yet. In the best-case scenario, the main staff will return.
I’m the Villainess Season 1 was animated by a relative newcomer on the scene, Studio Maho Film, founded in only 2018.
Their first anime production was If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, while the I’m Standing on a Million Lives anime and the KamiHiro anime both came out during the Fall 2020 anime season. The I’m Standing on a Million Lives Season 2 release date was in 2021, while In The Land of Leadale Season 1 came out in early 2022.
In 2023, Studio Maho Film released By the Grace of the Gods Season 2, Magical Girl Magical Destroyers, and My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.
The first season of the anime TV series was helmed by director Kumiko Habara (I’m Standing on a Million Lives, By the Grace of the Gods). I’m the Villainess Season 1 was only the director’s third time being the lead director.
Writer Kenta Ihara handled the scripts and series composition. He’s a more recognizable name since he’s also worked on recent popular anime such as Uncle From Another World, Tomodachi Game, Saga of Tanya the Evil Season 2, Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy Season 2, Vinland Saga Season 2, Full Dive, Cautious Hero, Trapped in a Dating Sim, and Mieruko-chan.
Artists Momoko Makiuchi, Eri Kojima, and Yuuko Ooba were the character designers. Composers Natsumi Tabuchi, Hanae Nakamura, Miki Sakurai, Sayaka Aoki, and Kanade Sakuma created the music.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 OP and ED theme song music
The I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 OP (opening) and ED (ending) theme song music haven’t been announced yet.
For the first season, the I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss OP “Kyoukan Sarenakutemo Iijanai” was performed by Rie Takahashi, while the ED “Nomic” was performed by ACCAMER.
Let’s just hope the wait for the I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Season 2 release date isn’t too long. Stay tuned!