A new official trailer for the TV anime adaptation of Punichan’s The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom light novel series has confirmed the anime’s January 11, 2026 premiere date. The trailer also confirms that Ayahi Takagaki and Yuu Shirota perform the opening theme song “Ai no Fanfare (Lover’s Fanfare)” and ending theme song “Mahō no Oto (The Magical Sound).”
The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom will premiere first on January 11 on Tokyo MX, d Anime Store, U-NEXT, and Anime Hōdai, followed by KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, and BS NTV on January 12.
The cast of the anime includes:
- Mai Fuchigami as Tiararose
- Yūichirō Umehara as Aquasteed
- Takuya Satō as Hartknights
- Yumiri Hanamori as Akari
- Marina Yamada as Icillia
- Junichi Suwabe as Keith
- Hikaru Midorikawa as Crail
- Ai Furihata as Pearl
Cast members will be reprising their roles from the otome game adaptation.
Takayuki Hamana is directing the anime at Studio DEEN. Yoshimi Narita is handling the series scripts, and Majiro is in charge of character design.
Punichan first released the novel on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō service in 2016. B’s-Log Bunko released print versions with illustrations by Akeno Naruse.
Lastly, here’s an overview of the anime via MyAnimeList:
On the day before her downfall, Lady Tiararose Lapis Clementille recalls that she is in an otome game that she had once played in her former life. She used to adore the main love interest, Prince Hartknights Lapis-Lazuli Lactomuth, but unfortunately, she was not reincarnated as the heroine, but rather as his worst enemy—the villainess fiancée.
At their graduation ceremony, without blinking an eye, Hartknights condemns Tiararose for alleged crimes, breaks off his engagement, and proclaims the heroine Akari as his new bride-to-be. No matter whether Tiararose is innocent, he banishes her from the kingdom.
But before her sentence can be carried out, a shocking figure appears. Aquasteed Marineforest, the prince of a powerful neighboring country, has been harboring feelings for Tiararose for quite some time, and announces his intention to marry her!
