Nov 9, 2025
Just another case of using the names of songs by pairing them with unrelated stories for momentary gain from people who like the original work. A major disappointment.
I was never expecting much from this work as it is common to see similar cases happening with adaptations from songs and games alike. Curiosity got over me and I just still wanted to keep my hopes up because Fujita is well-known for Wotakoi. But I suppose it was a mistake on my part.
This manga mainly references two of Teniwoha's songs through the character designs. One being the titular song: Villain (ヴィラン) as Azuru, and the other
...
being Unicorn (一角獣 ) as Renri. While the songs themselves are great at portraying different LGBTQ+ members, their identities, and the "power" they feel through being an outcast but being proud of themselves; not the same can be said for the story here. It is unfortunately so obvious that Fujita does not fully understand what being LGBTQ+ is like and has not gotten much help through writing the story.
Another major issue is that most of the story telling is done through dialogues, completely disregarding the concept of "Show, don't tell.", the pacing issues are also the cherry on top.
It's not all bad though..? The art is good at least... Yeah...
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!!!Spoilers:!!!
Azuru is a gay high school student who is interested in Renri. We don't fully know their backstories, how they got to know each other, for how long they have been hanging out together, or anything else about them. I mean, there is some sort of an implied backstory in certain parts but it doesn't provide much information. In addition, Most of Azuru's backstories and internal dialogues are there just as a nod to the source material, making the work by itself seem sloppy.
While the manga is not necessarily sexualizing or emphasizing the femininity of Renri, it also is not doing the best at expressing their gender identity or their struggles. While Renri's older sister not being used to their gender identity and still seeing them as "a younger sister" is realistic in a way, the effects it has had on Renri has never been talked about. Also at a certain part we see a specific student gang attacking Renri and constantly reffering to them as "a woman" but they really have no proper motivation or reason to do so except to create a forced conflict in the story. Another thing that is pretty annoying is how much emphasis is put on Renri's body just to move the story along.
Azuru's familial situation is also supposedly a major conflict point, but we do not see much of their interactions either. The fact that his family doesn't accept him is pretty much glossed over.
Besides all of this, as mentioned previously, the source material is not even integrated well into the story.
While looking at the lyrics and the music video of "Villain" does tell us that the main character of the song (in this case; "Azuru") is interested in a transmasc person (or is supposedly transmasc themselves - which is not implied in the manga) and is in a gay relationship, it does not fit much else that is shown in the story. The song by itself gives us the idea that "Azuru" is an outcast who has, in a sense, come to term with their struggles. While yes, they may still be hurt by what is going on in their life, they are powering through it and accepting themselves, not caring much about what others say - even criticizing them back. The darker backgrounds and song constantly referencing the "night" also in a way tells us that they are the freest when they are away from the society's gaze. Giving us the idea that it is mainly about a person going their own way, living their own life in a "cruel town, where their rainbow is even more beautiful".
"Unicorn", on the other hand actually fits better with this manga's portrayal of "Renri". The "being rude" in order to not be erased from the public eye and to get acceptance; the gender expression of a person being portrayed through colors and "Renri" being unsure of what "color" to pick, eventually going with a blend of them etc is fitting. But what is lost through the story in the manga is once again the part where there are references to the "night". In this song, however, while night is once again seen as the safest place to be, "Renri" is illuminating it. Potentially making a reference to "Villain" and creating a connection between the two by helping "Azuru" out.
The "night" references not being used in the manga is a major issue that prevents the story of the songs coming through with their full potential. What if they were already lovers from the beginning? What if they were trying to live away from the public eye? What if they had found a safe place for themselves that they started to feel like they have power over society? What if they were gay... and maybe... just maybe... did some crime?
But instead what we got was just two high school students falling in love just because the author wanted them to...
***
TLDR.: The story is NOT a good representation of the LGBTQ+ members it claims to represent, and the plotline itself is not worth the trouble of reading it either (even though the manga is only 6 chapters long).
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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