Anime Review: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
“Monkey Girl” was an ordinary seventeen-year-old fan of otome computer games (basically choose your own adventure stories aimed at girls where you try to snare one of a set of romantic options by choosing the right actions and dialogue options.) That is, before she failed to look both ways before crossing the street. When she wakes up, a handsome little boy is apologizing to her, calling her “Catarina”, and taking responsibility for scarring her forehead. When she looks in the mirror, Catarina sees a little girl with, yes, a noticeable scar on her forehead, who looks nothing like she remembers herself. Catarina barely registers that the boy, Prince Geordo, is volunteering to become engaged to her, or that she just accepted.
Once she has a moment to think, however, Catarina starts noticing that the names are familiar, and the decor has a certain deja vu quality to it, and hasn’t she heard the scenario that just played out before? The first realization is that she’s been reincarnated into the world of Fortune Lover, the game Monkey Girl was playing before she died. Cool, cool, this sort of thing happens all the time. The second realization is that Catarina Claes is the villainess of the game, and depending on which love interest the heroine Maria picks, is doomed to death or exile. Not cool!
Catarina decides to change her future. She’ll work on improving her sword and magic skills to defend herself for starters. (The second one derails into learning how to grow vegetables as she’s not strong with her elemental Earth abilities, starts farming to try to improve that, then discovers she likes field work for its own sake.) Also, she should prevent Prince Geordo from feeling trapped in his engagement with her, and prevent her adopted brother Keith from growing up to become a shut-in playboy.
While doing that, Catarina also runs into Prince Geordo’s overshadowed twin Prince Alan, Alan’s childhood fiancee Mary, supposedly cursed albino girl Sophia and her stoic brother Nicol. She knows less about their routes, but impulsively is nice to them too. Catarina makes friends with them, but worries that she still hasn’t averted her doom.
Seven years later, it’s time to go to the magic school where Fortune Lover is set. Will Catarina get out alive and not exiled?
Isekai stories where the main character goes to another world, often one based on a favorite game, are overwhelming in number in Japanese pop culture right now. This series, which started as a “web novel” for teens, then became a “light novel” and then a manga, is a bit of a parody of the field. Catarina doesn’t have special magical powers (and is the weakest in this area of the main characters) her physical prowess isn’t directly relevant, she’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and her secret knowledge of how the game routes are supposed to turn out is incomplete. (This last turns into a dramatic moment when Catarina suddenly stumbles into the “worst ending” hidden route.)
Instead, Catarina’s successes come from being a genuinely good but airheaded person who is blind to what’s really changed around her socially. Her kindness prevents her from being the bully and snob the game’s version of Catarina was, so her pre-programmed “doom” doesn’t apply.
The characters are enjoyable (actual heroine Maria is also a sweetie) and the comedy fun. While the series is steeped in romance, Catarina is an absolute dunderhead when it comes to love, so I can’t really call it a romance series. (This is not a series for people who can’t stand blockheads as main characters, or want a proper romantic decision by the end.)
Content note: Classism, bullying, darkness magic requires the user to kill a person.
The first season ends so well that even though a sequel has already been announced, I may choose not to see it so I can keep the warm feelings.
Highly recommended to fans of romance-tinged comedy.
