If you are craving more of the historical drama and intrigue seen in The Apothecary Diaries, there’s a new anime coming later this Summer that you’re going to want to check out. Although fans are currently watching through all of the new releases this month for the Spring 2026 anime schedule, there’s still yet another wave of anime to look ahead to later this July. That’s especially true for this anime series as it was originally planning to debut this April before being delayed to its current scheduled release later this Summer instead.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Satsuki Nakamura’s Though I am an Inept Villainess light novel series officially announced it was going to get an anime adaptation of its own a couple of years ago, but the anime has now given fans the first full look at what to expect from the new anime in motion. Offering a historical drama inspired by ancient China, Though I am an Inept Villainess is going shake things up with a Freaky Friday like body swap that throws its titular “inept villainess” for a loop. Check out the trailer for Though I Am an Inept Villainess below.
What to Know for Though I Am an Inept Villainess Anime
Though I Am an Inept Villainess will be making its debut sometime this July as part of the Summer 2026 anime schedule, but has yet to confirm a concrete release date as of the time of this writing. The new series will be streaming with Crunchyroll alongside its premiere in Japan for fans in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS. It’s also going to feature a notable staff at Dogo Kobo, the studio behind hits like Oshi no Ko, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian and more.
Mitsue Yamazaki will be directing Though I Am an Inept Villainess for Doga Kobo with Yoshihoko Nakamura overseeing the series composition, Ai Kukuchi designing the characters, and Yukari Hashimoto composing the music. The voice cast for the anime currently includes Manaka Iwami as Kou Reirin, Natsumi Kawaida as Shu Keigetsu, Makoto Furukawa as Ei Gyoumei, Yuichiro Umehara as Shin-U, Hana Hishikawa as Leelee, and Farahnaz Nikray as Kou Tousetsu. But while it might scratch that same itch as The Apothecary Diaries, this new anime is going an entirely different route.
What Is Though I Am an Inept Villainess About?
Though I Am an Inept Villainess has a lot of aesthetic similarities with The Apothecary Diaries, and even taps into the same vein through its take on ancient China as the anime focuses on a group of maidens from five different clans vying for the Prince’s heart. But when Keigetsu gets so jealous of the one getting the most attention, Reirin, she decides to take matters into her own hands with an evil scheme. Using some surprising magic, the two of them suddenly swap bodies with Reirin now needing to somehow survive from facing Keigetsu’s punishments.
If you liked all of the political and social ladder climbing in The Apothecary Diaries, this looks to be a magical twist on that formula. And with The Apothecary Diaries being so massively popular that both a third season and new feature film are in the works with Toho, there’s a good chance that this anime will also hit those same heights.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Crunchyroll
