I’m the Villainess Episode 5 Gives Aileen Yet Another Villain to Tame – Or Else

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss is an otome isekai anime series of the Fall 2022 anime season that isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of isekai. By now, it’s common for isekai anime to depict a villain protagonist, such as the famed Katarina Claes, but Aileen d’Autriche is exploring all-new territory just five episodes into her own show.

Episode 4’s climactic battle ended the threat of prince Cedric and Lilia, so now, in Episode 5, Aileen moves on to a brand-new adventure with a new setting, new characters and new stakes. It’s almost like a soft reset of the entire series, but one thing remains the same: Aileen must get romantic and tame a moody half-demon boy who won’t admit how much he longs for love and acceptance.

Episode 5 of I’m the Villainess reinvents Aileen’s adventure, with this blonde villainess cutting her hair and posing as a male transfer student at the foreign Mische Academy, an elite school in the Mirchetta region of the Elmir Empire. This begins the “school days” arc of I’m the Villainess, and it might remind fans of anime such as My Next Life as a Villainess, Trapped in a Dating Sim and even Ouran High School Host Club. Unfortunately for Aileen, this is a highly patriarchal society where girls are treated as second-class citizens, hence Aileen’s male disguise. However, Aileen still stands a fighting chance. Posing as Ailey Calois, she can work her way into Mische Academy’s all-boys student council and get to work on her real mission: taming James Charles.

James Charles is the student council president at Mische Academy, and through a relatively friendly boy and council member named Auguste, Aileen meets James Charles in the flesh in Episode 5. For now, James Charles appears to be a total kuudere, just like Claude, and he might even remind fans of Fruits Basket’s Yuki Sohma, from his appearance and popularity to his troubled background. In a way, James Charles is the new demon king Claude — a half-demon who feels as though he doesn’t fit in anywhere. If Aileen cannot tame and emotionally support James, he will surely go on a destructive rampage — one that will result in Aileen’s doom. Aileen makes little progress with James in Episode 5, and by the episode’s end, James even assumes his demonic form for unknown reasons. Aileen’s new “tame the bad guy” quest is already more intense and dangerous than the previous one.

This new challenge is a formidable one since James Charles is even more emotionally unstable than Claude ever was, and he has already revealed his demonic form after attacking a dishonest teacher on the school grounds at night — a threat that Aileen may be ill-equipped to handle. Aileen must also take care to not reveal herself as a girl or Aileen d’Autriche in particular, as she’s supposed to be back home in the imperial capital. These challenges are great, but Aileen, to her credit, knows how to handle them thanks to her meta-knowledge.

At first, it seemed that Aileen was exploring all-new territory outside the original game’s plot, effectively entering sandbox mode where absolutely anything can happen. However, partway through Episode 5, Aileen thinks to herself that the original otome game’s sequel has begun, meaning she has a pre-made plot to work with after all. Sandbox mode will have to wait; Aileen’s adventure is reset in almost every way, including her potential doom and her quest to tame the final boss. Aileen even meets another would-be protagonist named Selena Gilbert, who may be either her normal self or a secret isekai guest like Lilia probably was. This may be a tricky situation to deal with, but with her meta-knowledge, Aileen has the edge, both inside and outside the classroom. She stands a real chance to tame the emotionally fragile James Charles and prevent his rampage, all without blowing her cover. This will be an otome challenge like no other.