Manaka Iwami has three confirmed anime roles in the summer 2026 season: the lead Kou Reirin in Though I Am an Inept Villainess, Sakae Tōnomori in Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. Season 2, and Leen in Heir to a Monstermancer.
Manaka Iwami appears in three television anime premiering in July 2026. She leads Though I Am an Inept Villainess as Kou Reirin, a frail imperial consort candidate who is body-swapped by a rival. The series was delayed from an April debut and premieres on July 12 on TV Tokyo. Studio Dōga Kōbō produces the adaptation, with Mitsue Yamazaki directing. Crunchyroll will stream the series in multiple regions.
Iwami also joins the second season of Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. as Sakae Tōnomori, a new cast member announced alongside the opening theme and a promotional video. The season premieres on NTV on July 4. In Heir to a Monstermancer, she voices Leen, reprising her role from a voice drama released with the first novel volume in 2024. The adaptation is directed by Chihiro Kumano at Project No.9 and was announced by Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures.
All three roles were confirmed between May and July 2026, giving Iwami a substantial presence in the summer season across different genres: a court intrigue isekai, a magical girl series, and a fantasy adventure adaptation of a long-running web novel.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Jul 3
Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures announced on Friday that Damu Amato and Shirabii's novel series Heir to a Monstermancer is receiving a television anime adaptation. The announcement included a teaser visual and the main cast and staff. Manaka Iwami voices Leen, Chiaki Kobayashi voices Hakura, and Akio Ōtsuka voices Ao; all three reprise their roles from a voice drama released with the first novel volume in 2024. Chihiro Kumano directs at Project No.9, with Satoru Sugizawa handling series scripts and Akane Kasasagi designing the characters. The series won the grand prize in the 2nd Drecom Media Awards. Amato originally posted the story on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website from 2016 to 2024. J-Novel Club publishes the novels in English. A manga adaptation by Yū Satō will launch on Drecom's Drecomi+ manga website in September. Drecom will publish the third novel volume on July 10. A promotional webtoon adaptation was produced by MITA, Gudan, and Red Seven.
Jun 18
The second season of the Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. anime revealed a new promotional video, the opening theme "Latte Magic" by syudou × Yūsei Yagi, and two new cast members: Manaka Iwami as Sakae Tōnomori and Masaya Fukunishi as Hibiki Yamimori. The season premieres on NTV on July 4 at 24:55 JST.
May 25
The television anime adaptation of Satsuki Nakamura's light novel series "Though I Am an Inept Villainess" will premiere on July 12 at 11:45 p.m. JST on TV Tokyo and its affiliates, the staff announced on Monday. A new key visual was also released. The series was originally scheduled for an April debut but was delayed due to production delays. Studio Dōga Kōbō is producing the anime, with Mitsue Yamazaki directing. Manaka Iwami voices the protagonist Kou Reirin, and Natsumi Kawaida voices Shu Keigetsu. Crunchyroll will stream the series in multiple regions including North America, Europe, and Oceania. The light novel series, which began in December 2020 under Ichijinsha's imprint, has 12 volumes as of March 2026. A manga adaptation by Ei Ohitsuji runs concurrently in Monthly Comic Zero-Sum. Seven Seas Entertainment publishes both the novels and manga in English under the full title "Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court." The story follows Kou Reirin, a frail imperial consort candidate who is body-swapped by a rival and must navigate court intrigue in a new, stronger body.