The official accounts for the upcoming TV anime adaptation of The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom (Akuyaku Reijō wa Ringoku no Ōtaishi ni Dekiai Sareru) have streamed a new teaser trailer, offering fans a first look at the animated series. The announcement also reconfirmed the anime’s premiere window for January 2026.
Anime Set for Early 2026 Debut
The highly anticipated TV anime, based on Puni-chan’s popular light novel series, is slated to begin airing in Japan in January 2026. This news comes after an earlier reveal of a key visual and initial staff and cast details. The newly released teaser trailer provides animated glimpses of the main characters and the fantastical world of the series.
Production Team at Studio DEEN
The animation for The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom is being handled by Studio DEEN. Leading the production is director Takayuki Hamana, known for his work on series such as The Prince of Tennis. Yoshimi Narita is in charge of the series composition, ensuring the story’s flow and adaptation from the source material. Character designs are being provided by Majiro.
Reprising Roles: The Main Voice Cast
A significant detail for fans of the existing media adaptations is the return of the main voice cast from the light novel’s visual novel game adaptation.
- Tiararose Lapis Clementille will be voiced by Mai Fuchigami.
- Aquasteed Marineforest will be portrayed by Yuichiro Umehara.
- Hartknights Lapis-Lazuli Lacmouth features Takuya Sato.
- Akari will be voiced by Yumiri Hanamori.
The Story of the Reincarnated Villainess
The anime delves into the popular “villainess” subgenre, centering on a protagonist who finds herself reincarnated as Tiararose Lapis Clementille, the villainess of her favorite otome game, “The Ring of Lapis Lazuli.” According to the game’s original scenario, Tiararose is destined for a broken engagement with Prince Hartknights and eventual banishment from the kingdom.
However, a surprising deviation from the game’s plot occurs. Before Tiararose’s foreseen downfall, Aquasteed, the crown prince of the neighboring Marinforest Kingdom, appears and proposes marriage, offering her an unexpected sweet escape and a new destiny.
From Web Novel to Anime
The series originated as a web novel written by Puni-chan, which began serialization on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in March 2016. It was later picked up by Enterbrain’s B’s Log Bunko imprint, with illustrations by Akeno Naruse, and has since released 14 light novel volumes. In addition to the light novels, the franchise includes a manga adaptation and a visual novel game, which was released for Nintendo Switch and Steam in March 2024. The success across various media platforms has culminated in this highly anticipated anime adaptation.
