Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss o Katte Mimashita

[Ryllharu]

Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss o Katte Mimashita
(I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss)

https://i.imgur.com/OYvNJqB.jpg

Avoid the Bad End at all costs!. When her fiancé breaks up with her in front of the entire student body, noblewoman Aileen Dautriche is devastated—or she would have been, if that wasn't also the exact moment memories of her past life came back to her. She's been reborn as the villainess of a dating sim...and according to the story, she's slated to die at the hands of the demon king in every possible ending. Aileen's plan to reverse her fortune: Step one, get the brother of her former fiancé, Demon King Claude, to fall in love with her.

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If you enjoyed Bakarina, you're very likely going to enjoy this as well. I'd say it barely counts as an isekai, since the lead is far more her game self than Bakarina ever was. It's much more of a "reincarnated" type Villainess story. While she has used her otome game knowledge for the initial set up, subsequent uses are just as easily explained outside a game context so far (e.g. She didn't write threatening letters that are being made in her name).

What sets this one apart for me even in the first episode is that the villainess is actually still quite haughty in her demeanor. The majority of villainess stories reverse themselves by having the lead become either super-kind or super-brilliant. Aileen is still largely arrogant, dismissive, domineering, and not-particularly cautious about what she's doing in her survival scheme. She has a kind side to those loyal to her, but her open arrogance is what separates her from the mass of generic Villainess series.

[David75]

That Demon King is far too handsome, he maxed out the bishounen points system and his beauty is a threat to most ladies, Irène rightly feels threatened.

What about that prince ? He feels like a pure vilain, inferiority complex because of his very handsome and powerful demon brother ?

[Ryllharu]

What about that prince ? He feels like a pure vilain, inferiority complex because of his very handsome and powerful demon brother ?

That's just the way most of these Villainess series go. Either the game heroine or the male leads are cartoonishly evil, incompetent, or get consumed by jealousy in a turnabout from the previously-set fate of the villainess. The fact that the lead rejects them to save herself from death usually sparks it.

There are series out there where they do it really well, because of course, the game was a game and not the world the heroine finds herself in. Or the game/novel world is fully realized and there's much more going on geopolitically/societally than the game ever touched, etc. The ones that do it exceptionally well have fully fleshed out villains where we get to understand them to some degree.

I don't read this one, so I guess we'll find out!

[Ryllharu]

Episode 5

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This was a very cute start to a follow-up arc as far as villainess series go. A nice change from Bakarina or many other popular Villainess series where the subsequent arcs don't really know where to take themselves, and it ends up becoming a bland slice of life or a floundering attempt to manufacturer another antagonist that never quite reaches the same peak.

Claude now being thoroughly tamed by Aileen to the point of comedy and a hindrance to her own covert activities because of it is a good way to table their relationship while drawing out their overall romance. Little hints that while Claude has it quite bad concerning their separation, Aileen is far from immune herself and still getting flustered thinking about him.

We're also starting to see the effects of Aileen's actions in breaking the original story progressively undermine her advantage in subsequent settings, which is how to do it properly in my opinion. The new villainess isn't quite as such and more of a victim of circumstance, the new heroine is an antagonist specifically against Aileen, and Aileen is accidentally picking up the male leads even though she's disguised as a man.

In ending her own story arcs in a way that left everyone alive, she's created significantly more problems for herself that she now has to resolve before they spiral out of control.

[neflight86]

Just watched, and... I wasn't expecting to make it past the first episode, but the storytelling is a notch (or two) above what I was anticipating. The central romance is the weakest link (for my tastes), but this is a show where things happen, and I can get behind that. Plenty of screen time with a supporting cast that earns its keep. While the first arc was pretty much satisfying and I could stop there, I'll stick around and see if this next one pans out as well. Like Ryll said, the continuation is being handled better than most shows that simply spin their wheels- this author understands how to construct a story and make it unpredictable enough to remain interesting. Exactly what I was hoping for.