My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 1

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Manga #1

by Satoru Yamaguchi, Nami Hidaka (Illustrations)

(Re)Born to be Wild!

A high school girl is stunned to find herself reincarnated as the conniving villainess from her favorite dating sim game, Fortune Lover. Now, as Catarina Claes, the impossibly rich and spoiled daughter of a Duke, her new life seems to perfectly sync up with the world of the game. This means big trouble! No matter how the game turned out, there were only two fates for Catarina: exile or death!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Humor, Comedy, Graphic Novels

226 pages, Paperback

Published August 6, 2019

About the author

See also 山口 悟.

Reviews

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Reading for the Game Player

As the older sister to three brothers I’ve watched them for hours play countless video games and actually have even loaded up a character or two. So when I saw the humorous premise of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! vol 1 I knew I had to check it out just for old times sake.

Did My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! satisfy this Fangirl’s nostalgia?
While I know about games it’s more as a novice than a gamer. And I didn’t know what an otome was, turns out it’s a romance focus (who knew?!) A teen girl wakes up in her otome video game… as the villainess rich and spoiled daughter of a duke. Only, since she’s already beaten this game, she knows how it ends and it’s not good for her. With a premise like this I was absolutely taking a gamble reading this… but it was so fun and unexpected and just what I needed in the middle of a reading slump.

You can’t help rooting for Catarina.
Catarina has this dastardly look about her. I think it’s her eyes… in any case she’s really this sweet girl who woke up in this little girl’s body. When she realizes her situation she determines to do something about it…. ASAP.

And she’s surrounded by love hungry men… and women.
If you thought this would be about love triangles galore… then you’d have made the same mistake I did. I don’t really see a love interest for Catarina as yet. She’s more concerned about friendship. And uses her knowledge of the characters to get close to them… then whammies them with her genuine affection. It’s quite intoxicating and is really funny.

It’s delightfully twisted even as it laughs at the romance genre.
As we meet the different love targets and her rivals for each one I noticed different types of love interests being drafted into the story. It’s quite obvious that the mangaka isn’t a romance fan… seeing the game of love more like a pit of vipers out to use their venom. It’s perfect for game players who already see life as a game to be won.

The real villain is the sadistic prince who gets engaged with her.
We only get a glimpse of the prince who starts all of Catarina’s problems but with his power he has the potential of making her struggle worse. He’s just one example of romantic tropes being turned on their head and making us laugh while doing it.

I’m excited for how smart and kind Catarina is turning out to be.
The villainess in any story tends to be outsmarted by how moral the heroine is toward their peers. Catarina is smart, genuine and truly kind… she just looks villainess. I love that she works out how best to approach her next target and her nature is what makes her succeed. Now that she’s grown, I look forward to who she wins over at school and if she can avoid her fate!

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! vol 1 was unexpectedly fun and outrageous. I adored Catarina and how sweet she was and how earnestly she fought against her unfortunate situation. If you need humor in your life you need this villainess looking girl.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/6/22: decided to reread the volumes of this I own after reading a couple of volumes of a fairly disappointing isekai manga. My opinion hasn't changed at all. The art has its moments, but as a whole relies on shortcuts too often to leave a good impression. The storytelling is the main draw, and is delightful.

***

This is the third version of My Next Life as a Villainess that I've experienced; I've also read the first light novel, and watched the anime. It's hands-down my favorite isekai (portal fantasy) to date. Sadly, because of its translation, the original work is my least favorite. This one is right in the middle.

Nami Hidaka is the illustrator for the novels, and takes a turn at manga here. It's pretty good! The panels that are like character illustrations or group shots are the best part, as might be expected. The rest is cute and expressive, but somewhat too prone to shortcuts. I also don't think that the characters' emotions are captured as well here as in the anime. It's also possible that on a third go-through, the story beats are unsurprising and therefore less affecting.

After the main body of the manga, there is a throwaway short story by the light novel series' author. I wish this publisher had the translation rights for the novels, too, because the translation of this short story was quite good.

[Sasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really loving this series so far. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is about a girl who's obsessed with an otome game, she dies, is reincarnated as the main antagonist of the game, and does everything in her power to try to subvert the game's bad ending. At first, I was really worried because I found out later that the series was written by a man and men writing teenage girls in isekai (a genre in manga and anime about normal people getting catapulted into a different world) is iffy at best, but I'm glad to see that there wasn't any of that gross degeneracy often polluting the genre. There are tropes and themes that the mangaka pulled off really well (like all the sapphic stuff). It's really wholesome and beautiful.

There are a couple of issues I have with it. Firstly, eating is not a personality trait and people need to stop using it for characters who are girls. The way the trope is used is to show her manners (or lack thereof) in an aristocracy so it's a little more forgivable, but it's unoriginal and beaten into the ground. Secondly, I despise that there is incest in this. It's unrequited and never acted upon as far as I've read...although, he's clingy and controlling and that's not okay. The main character's adopted stepbrother has a growing crush on her because she's the only one who truly accepted him, but I can't imagine how actual people with adopted siblings feel reading this kinda bs all the time. Last, the minor characters lack depth beyond their traumas. For example, all of the other girls in the group are soft and timid making them indistinguishable—two of those girls even have really similar names. One girl being soft and timid is fine, but all of them? C'mon.

My Next Life as a Villainness: All Routes Lead to Doom! is a series with a lot of charm and it quickly became one of my favorites. It's got a lot of tropes I love—like star-crossed unrequited love, sapphic crushes, and the protagonist is alluring as hell. I'd characterize the series as what Fruits Basket wishes it could be: a wonderful story without needing to resort to multiple problematic plotlines, trauma for shock value, and toxic messages for teenage girls. It's a heartfelt love letter, especially to girls who always yearned for an isekai just for them. I hope the genre will open up to welcome more Own Voices women mangaka into the fold.

4.5

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reincarnation as an otome game villainess. I love the art style and the story. The characters are sweet and it’s a little funny. Katarina is trying everything to save herself from death or exile, she’s oblivious to what’s actually going on and how many hearts she’s capturing. Favourite character is Nicole, although I do like Gerald’s attempts to be subtle.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say, this was just pure fun. Jumping back into manga has been a treat, and I'm really enjoying these very light and stress-free stories.

This manga follows Katrarina Claes, formerly a highschool student, who has died and is now an 8 year old. Remembering after an accident about her past life, she pieces together memories to come to the conclusion shes now living as the main character of an otome game she had been playing before her death, unfortunately she realizes, in the game she was not a great gal, and all her paths lead her to death, or exile.

Through out the story she progresses in age and meets the other "characters" from the game, using her memories to attempt to avoid the paths that lead to her demise. Befriending people she would have had negative interactions with, creating friendships, working on her magic, and sharpening her sword skills, she's determined to beat the game.

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot - 4🌟
Character - 4🌟
Writing Style - 3 🌟
World Building - 5🌟
Art - 5🌟
Cover - 5🌟

Overall - 4.33 🌟 / 5🌟

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! stars Katarina Claes, the rich and spoiled daughter of Duke Claes. Or at least we're told she was spoiled - at the start of the volume, Katarina is 8 years old and has just hit her head, prompting her to remember her past life as a 17-year-old otome game fan from our world. She was somehow reincarnated as the daughter of a duke in a world where magic exists.

As the story progresses, she gradually remembers other important details...like the fact that the world she's living in is actually the world of the otome game she was playing before she died, and that Katarina was a villainess in the game. Not only that, but the Katarina of the game had absolutely no good endings. If the player achieved a good ending with one of the game's guys, Katarina usually ended up exiled. If the player achieved a bad ending, Katarina was usually killed. Katarina would like very much not to die. She'd also prefer not to be exiled, but if that's going to happen, she figures she needs to learn skills that will help her earn a living.

This first volume deals primarily with the years prior to Katarina turning 15, her age when the otome game officially began. Every male child she meets turns out to be the child version of a romanceable character from the game, and every female child is a character who acts as one of the player's rivals for the romanceable characters' love. As Katarina meets them, she makes friends and does her best to avert the terrible endings she knows lurk in her future.

In the days since I finished reading this volume, I've found myself going back to it again and again to reread my favorite parts. And this is only the introduction. Almost all of it is devoted to child Katarina meeting the child versions of characters from the game and trying to nudge them onto a path that won't result in her death or exile. Usually this involves doing something she'd happily do anyway, like befriend the characters. A misunderstanding also results in her picking up a new hobby, gardening.

If I'm having this much fun with the series now, I can only imagine how much I'm going to enjoy the next volume. Katarina was delightful. Every time she met a new character from the game, versions of herself held mini meetings inside her head to discuss strategies for dealing with the potential bad endings the characters might bring her. I loved that so many of her strategies basically involved befriending people and having fun with them. I was not expecting this series to be so sweet.

Although Katarina didn't realize it since she was way too busy making friends and trying to ensure her own survival, her behavior basically set her on the path of being the heroine of a reverse harem romance story. Jeord, the "wicked prince" she accidentally ended up betrothed to, seemed to have genuinely fallen in love with Katarina by the time she reached the dreaded age of 15. Katarina, for her part, still figured he'd somehow do a complete 180 and ditch her when he met the game's heroine - I'm looking forward to the heroine's appearance, which I'm assuming will happen in the next volume.

The other characters (possibly the girls as well?) also seemed to have fallen for Katarina during her attempts to avoid her future bad endings. It'll be interesting to see whether Yamaguchi actually plans to have Katarina end up with one of them, or if she'll just be oblivious throughout the entire series. At this point, Jeord has a leg up on everyone, what with him being Katarina's fiance and refusing to let anyone talk him out of it. Like Katarina, I'm still rooting for Alan and Mary to somehow end up together (hey, it could still happen). The Keith storyline isn't my thing, but I'm looking forward to watching Alan and Nicol lurk on the sidelines.

I had considered and rejected getting a J-Novel Club membership in the past, but I think this series is going to force me to break down. The next manga volume isn't coming out until November, and there are only so many times I can reread my favorite bits in this volume. I really want to read the original light novels, and a J-Novel Club membership would let me do that, possibly even without breaking my "no DRM" rule for e-book purchases, if I understand their FAQs correctly.

Extras:

- 1 full-color illustration

- A 10-page short story featuring a glimpse of what could happen if Katarina doesn't avoid her bad endings. I ended up skimming it - it wasn't that interesting.

- A 1-page afterword by the author.

- A short comic showing the steps involved in drawing Katarina's hairstyle.

- 4 extra pages of...something. A couple of them are like fake pages in a school newspaper, and a couple look like they're maybe a modern day AU version of the story.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Taya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️
This was a very enjoyable first volume. This particular volume covers Katarina’s childhood and her trying to make friends and stop all possible chances of these people becoming her rival/enemy.
There wasn’t any high stakes or anything crazy happening, it has a much more slice of life/comedy vibe and it was just nice to read. I’m excited to see where the story goes.

[SpaceBubble · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est un chouette premier tome. L’univers est posé et original, le scénario est bien construit et la lecture est fluide. On s’attache à Catarina (le personnage principal) assez vite car elle est drôle et si naturelle dans sa personnalité. J’ai hâte de découvrir la suite !

[Ruthsic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teen girl gets reincarnated into a new life, which is when she finds out, at the age of 8 in the new body, that it resembles the otome game she was playing before she died in that previous life. As the game and her new life match up detail for detail, she realises that she is in the life of the main villain in the series, and if everything went as in the game, the only two fates for her are exile or death. So begins her campaign to revamp the path of Katerina Klaes, so that she either escapes exile or if that happens, she has the skills to build her life after exile.

Katerina is a 17yr old girl in an 8yr old’s body and with memories of both lives in her head, she aims to fix her path before it leads to doom. Her ‘corrections’ involve the targets of the game, the four of them being her fiancé, her adoptive younger brother, her fiancé’s brother and the son of the prime minister, as well as the two other rivals that the ‘heroine’ of the game faces. In some cases, she befriends a lonely character, or inadvertently steals a first line from another character, or ends up befriending and supporting one of the as-of-yet-unseen heroine’s rivals; and this on top of her sword fighting and magical lessons, and a farming project that vexes her mother and her maids. The story is humorous, particularly so because Katerina ends up unknowingly charming everyone she befriends, to the point they consider each other rivals for her affection. It’s good fun and a bundle of laughs (she even has frequent meetings in her mind which is like a war council) and entertaining so far, and I can’t wait to see how things are going to turn out with them now entering the academy and meeting the ‘heroine’.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Seven Seas, via Edelweiss.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 Stars ★★★★
My Next Life As A Villainess is an utterly brilliant manga series that follows Katarina whose reborn into the villain of an otome game! Now, she's trying to avoid her doom at all costs. There's a page-turning story, comedy all wrapped up in a refreshing plot that really focuses on friendship!

Honestly what first drew me to this series was the concept!! A Villainess trying to evade doom? Little did I know it would end up being an isekai (the character getting transported to another world/universe). I recently saw the anime and absolutely loved it (its phenomenal), so I just had to check out the manga.

Katarina Claes from page 1 has realized she had a past life as a 17-year old and has now been transported to an otome game called 'Fortune Hunter' where she's the villain of the series, at 8-years old. When she regains her memory, she remembers everything she can to avoid her execution or exile!

There's dukes, princes, royalty of all kinds and as Katarina continues with her day-to-day, she comes up with a plan to befriend her future enemies and change her fate! It wasn't until I revisited the story as a manga that I realized, one of my favorite parts of 'Villainess' is how Katarina is helping all of the royals around her and in her efforts to befriend them, helps them overcome their insecurities!

There's a funny subversion of the royal trope where Katarina is basically just acting like herself from her past life and it makes for a lot of really funny moments.

She meets her adopted brother Keith, Mary (a shy girl whose ignored by her older sisters), prince Alan and Jeord (whose to be her fiance), Sophia and Nicol (children of the prime minister), and not only befriends them all, but also starts mysteriously taking over romance lines/moments from them before the main game has even begun!

Friendship is such an important and underlying driving force of this series and its just refreshing to see this as a main focus (mixed with comedy) in a YA Fantasy setting! Katarina builds such deep bonds with the royals she meets, despite the hilarious situations and although she knows she's now the villain, she does as much as she can to evade it and just life a comfortable life! (She not only tries to learn sword fighting, but takes up gardening to improve her magic).

Its just as a fun as the anime, but I think a story like this really shines when its animated. Revisiting it help me remember some plot points I may have forgotten, but in my opinion I think the anime is just a bit more fast-paced and offers more layers of intrigue to the story. Also, the anime is just fantastic, I'm obsessed now!

The art style from Hidaka makes each character stand out and there were some wonderful pages with details to the background, setting, character designs and food that make the world come to life! The magic is a common elemental-based system, but the inclusion of a dirt doll and showing how weak her power is early on gives it unique and comedic twist!

Overall though, I'm so invested to see where the story is headed (in the anime already in Vol. 2's story). Katarina is such a funny, sometimes a bit dense, but amazing protagonist and I can't wait to see what happens with her new friends, and Maria (the game's heroine).

My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom Vol. 1 is such a great introduction to a unique story in the isekai genre that introduces such a dynamic cast of characters, powerful theme of friendship, some intrigue, and a comedic story you won't be able to put down! This is an absolutely genius series and I highly recommend it!

[Kate (Looking Glass Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isekai and otome combine in 2019’s manga My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol 1 written by Satoru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Nami Hidaka. This is the manga adapatation of a light novel of the same title, publishing by J-Novel Club, and is set for an anime adaptation during the Spring 2020 season.

A high school girl winds up being reincarnated, not as a hero in some other world, but as the villainess from her favorite otome visual novel. Catarina Claes is the daughter of a duke, a noblewoman who wants for nothing, is spoiled by her parents, and gets whatever she wants. Things might be fun and games now, but the Catarina knows her fate. It’s either death or exile waiting at the end, and she doesn’t want either. There’s only one thing to do—change fate!

There are a great many isekai, and a growing number of them focus on the protagonist being a bit more of a villain than one of the good guys. In many ways, My Next Life as a Villainess tries to buck the known tropes of the genre. Catarina is the villain, or she’s supposed to be. The story is told from her viewpoint beginning when she remembers her old life in our modern world.

The world Catarina now lives in is one filled with magic. She can control earth, but not to a very great extent and quickly tries to learn more. Instead of the medieval themed isekai landscape, however, readers are treated to a world much more Victorian in nature. Houses are large and ornate, modern conveniences are still unheard of, and fluffy, frilly dresses abound.

Here is Catarina’s problem. The more Catarina changes her actions, the more the world changes around her. The stories she’s known from different game routes slowly being to change, perhaps disappearing entirely. Changing how she behaves or befriending new people have unforeseen consequences. Due to either fear, nerves, age, or personality, Catarina can’t always see how her actions have changed people and scenarios. There’s a lot of worry and tension, some of which can be boiled down to Catarina’s own anxiety rather than the actions of those around her.

Those who’ve played otome games, or even visual novels in general, will get the most out of this series. While humorous in its own right, certain sections will be funnier to those with more experience playing these games. Reader’s expectations are played with throughout the manga.

A truly entertaining read, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol. 1 by Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka is certainly a series I will be continuing reading. Fans of otome are sure to love this series and the isekai fandom at large will have plenty to enjoy as well.

I received this manga from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an aesthetic experiment, I was reading and comparing the light novel and the manga. Both, of course, in translation. The central idea here is the Japanese heroine was reborn in a dating game. As the villainess. Apparently a rather popular subgenre.

Set in a high fantasy world containing elements of medieval Europe, the 19th century, Japanese culture, and classic high fantasy tropes, but mixed together fairly smoothly.

Absolutely no explanation how the reborn effect came about

She's eight years old when she remembers -- about to become engaged to a prince who will kill or exile her in one path -- and, panicking, tries to figure out ways to survive, even though in the game, she will, in seven years, go to magical school and torment the heroine. Not just the path with the prince, but other "capture targets" for the heroine: the distant cousin that her father adopts because she will marry the prince; the twin of the first cousin, the son of the royal chancellor.

Sweet and dramatic moments. But while she tends to be passionately focused on single ideas and often doesn't realize what other consequences will be -- it produces many of the best moments -- she never notices much of the effects she has because she is certain that she's the villainess, despite the things she does, and the years she has to notice. Sometimes it's comic. Apparently other readers find more of it comic than I do. (Also, it doesn't seem consistent all the time, and I find it hard that years of doing such things don't have more effect on her character development.)

Manga vs. light novel -- well, the light novel moved along at good speed, which I have been unlucky about in my first samples. It also gave some sharp motivations and personality, which were intriguing, that the manga couldn't manage, and the manga adapted or omitted scenes, once or twice for the worse. But the light novel had the stupid failure to notice things more clearly. Also, there were a couple of moment when she was the point of view character but the text commented on her failure to notice things.

[Brian Wilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a series that I discovered on Tvtropes. I find a lot of fun stuff over there. We tropers like documenting things and this one is new (to me at least). I will examine Plot, Character, and Polish before assigning a grade. Also, I should mention that this review is specifically for the manga adaptation of the light novel.

PLOT

While the premise is simple enough, someone from contemporary real-life Japan inhabiting a role in another world, it becomes more complicated. Several twists are quickly introduced. One of these is that our protagonist finds herself in the role of a game's villain, Katarina Claes, and she realizes this seven years before the game's story begins. As a result, she resolves to avoid the "doom" that awaits her (character), and in doing so, she sends the entire game's plot "off the rails" before it even starts.

I like this development. Not only does it have a clear and focused goal for the prime story and its heroine but it quickly moves away from this origin. Katarina is no longer following the game's script so any advantage she has of such knowledge is increasingly moot. It also provides a fitting and reasonable excuse for being Oblivious-To-Love as is common for leading characters in this genre. She truly believes, with sound justification, that no one is going to fall for her because she's not the game's heroine but an obstacle for said heroine.

There is no preamble to get this plot going. The manga devotes one page and four panels to Katarina's past life, and only to introduce the founding idea of this past life playing the dating game, Fortune's Lover. Then Katarina quickly realizes how much trouble she could be in and takes appropriate measures. No time is wasted making her appear "ordinary" or "relatable", aside, of course, from her desire to avoid death or exile, which is very relatable.

This volume is structured as encounters with the game's love interests/capture targets and the other two rivals. They may look like loosely connected short stories but they are linked by Katarina's desire to avoid doom. Besides, they take place over years so it doesn't feel rushed or contrived. It's basically slice-of-life otherwise.

This story is a lot of fun. Katarina's doom counter-measures make perfect sense to her and are fully explained to the reader but her family and noble peers are baffled by them. Thus, hilarity ensues when she starts farming as a hobby or throws a toy snake at people. The "Council of Katarinas" is my favorite running gag. Beyond comedy, there are sincerely touching moments such as Katarina's attempts at bonding with her adoptive younger brother, Keith, and finding a romance novel buddy in Sophia.

CHARACTERS

Our heroine and the in-universe game's villain is Katarina Claes. She is a delightful character. The mixing of her memories has made her a friendly and done-to-earth sort of person, considering social debuts to be a hassle and would rather make friends than climb the social ladder.
Her sense of self and identity is interestingly crafted. We don't get any picture or idea of what her past self (henceforth referred as "the monkey girl") is like except from Katarina herself (other than the video game thing, naturally). She thinks of herself as "Katarina Claes" with eight years of memories as such. Her previous memories function like a USB data drive in that they are extra memory but otherwise don't interact with the main computer, so to speak. She doesn't mourn her death or try to return to her life as "monkey girl"; this doesn't even occur to her. Why would it? She is Katarina Claes and that is not her life (anymore).
Another part of her that is fun and interesting is the balance between opposite traits. She is quite the tomboy, enjoying tree-climbing and farming as hobbies, but knows how to act lady-like when necessary, due to her mother's diligence in teaching her decorum. She has rational and pragmatic reasons for the things she does but she also has strange behaviors such as consulting a Council of Katarinas where one of them has a mustache.

I could write as much about the other characters but that would take too long. I will select Alan Stuart, the fourth prince of the setting as an example.

He has numerous traits but is not defined by any one of them, thus making him more than a two dimensional character. He suffers from an inferiority complex due to comparisons with his twin brother, Jerod, which makes him weepy when they share a conversation, but is boastful and confident in situations that exclude him. He shows determination in his tree-climbing duels with Katarina but not so much stubbornness that he cannot become her friend in the process. His piano skills are magnificent (even if his brother is better).

POLISH

As this review is for the manga adaptation, I can only speak of the art work in this section. It is cute. It is soft and warm and perfectly suited for the light-hearted comedy of the story. Being as the cast are all nobles, they get some fancy clothes which the artist does a splendid job with as well.

Trickster Eric Novels gives ""My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom" volume 1 an A+

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently this manga is based on a romance game. I'm not familiar with that at all, but I do love reverse harems, and this definitely delivers. It's one hundred percent over-the-top ridiculousness, and I'm here for it.

At first, I was really thrown. In the opening scene, the main character, a 17-year-old, dies, only to awaken in the body of the villain of the game she'd been playing, only at 8 before the game begins. She immediately begins plotting how to survive being the villain, which mostly involves being nice to people and developing skills so that she would be able to survive exile or a sword fight. The inner conferences with a council made up of Katarina are ODD.

The cast is introduced one-by-one which makes it easy to keep them straight, even though there are a lot of not particularly well-developed characters. By the end, they're all grown up and into Katarina, even the girls. I appreciate the bi-vibes a lot, and I hope that's not just a joke but a real option.

Super entertaining and silly if you enjoy reverse harem manga. I'll definitely come back for the next volume.

[Lou (Lou and Life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga had become one of my favourite manga reads of 2020, and may have even go onto my favourite list of all time! Reading the rest of the series will determine if it makes that list.

I picked up this manga because it was the July pick of the manga book club that I am a part of, with Rachel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChf3...) and Lois (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGfu...). They are both great, and I would recommend that you guys go and check out their booktube channels!

I am so thankful to Rachel for picking this series because I absolutely loved this manga. It has everything that I want in a manga. The series follows Catarina who, after an accident, remembers her past life. In that life she was an Otaku who loved playing games and her current life is the video game she was playing and she is the Villainess who has a tragic ending no matter the choices of the heroine of the game. So she decides try and prevent that from happening as much as possible. I loved the plot of this volume because I felt like we really got to know all of the main characters. It was like a chapter dedicated to each person which was great because you really feel connected to them. The dialogue between the characters also made me laugh out loud at one point which is a huge win in my mind when reading books.

I would highly recommend this manga and I can't wait to continue reading this series!

[Veronica Villar · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 estrellas

Pensaba que al haber visto ya el anime no me iba a enganchar de esta manera al manga, pero es que me ha encantado y me he reído mucho.
ㅤ
En Mi nueva vida como villana, la protagonista se reencarna en la villana de Fortune Lover, un videojuego que jugaba y que conoce a la perfección. Por eso no duda en trazar todos los planes posibles para no terminar como lo hace Catarina en el juego y librarse del peor final posible.
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Este primer tomo es introductorio a la historia y cada uno de sus personajes. Catarina los va conociendo uno a uno de niña y, en algunos casos sin intención, va cambiando su interacción con ellos hasta el punto de que acaban prendados de ella, chicos y chicas, y es que Catarina es como un imán hasta sin quererlo.
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Creo que es un manga que merece la pena, por sus personajes y por ver a Catarina tratando de librarse del final de villana que ha visto tantas veces en Fortune Lover. Mucho romance, muchas risas y un misterio que está por llegar.

[MaguiWorld · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Qué pasaría si un día despertas en el universo del videojuego que estabas jugando hace tan solo unas horas?

Eso le sucede a nuestra protsgonista y lo peor es que allí toma la forma de la villana; es por eso que hará todo lo posible por cambiar la historia.

Un primer tomo super divertido, e introductorio a lo que se vendrá en los próximos. Aquí podemos ver a los personajes que formarán parte del manga y cómo son sus personalidades.

¡Ya quiero comenzar el segundo tomo!

[Emmanuel Nevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super fun and enjoyable all around!

My next life as a Villainess is an interesting take on the Isekai (another world) genre in which this girl dies and is reincarnated into the world of her favorite dating sim game. She is, however, the villain! And has no chance of a happy ending. The fascinating part of all of this is how she goes about changing her fate through the interactions of all the characters in the game.

I can't wait to see where this goes...

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God, I'm having SO MUCH FUN with this series! This filled my whole heart up! 😊 This was far more wholesome and cute than I thought it would be. The art style is beautiful and cutesy while still providing the mood shifts for jokes and concern. One of my favorite things is subverting tropes, which is at the heart of this series. I'm cheering for Katarina's success! ❤😊

[Fny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why on earth I waited so long before picking up this series I’ll never know.... This first volumes was hilarious! It’s actually quite funny that I just two weeks ago started to play a game on my phone with the almost the same plot of someone ending up in a book/game as the villain. But I really liked this one. And I’m looking forward to read more volumes.🥰🙌

[Teeny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and I can't wait to see the anime of this!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the novels, mostly because we don't get anyone but Katarina's thoughts, but still a whole lot of fun.


Full Review Eventually Appearing on ANN.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to seeing where this goes

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my current trope obsession. Recommendations needed.

[Shenwei · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is really wholesome and has so much queer potential and I hope it doesn't disappoint

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely surprised about how quickly I got into this story alongside our main character! I wasn't sure about this but I'm INVESTED now.

[Megan McFaddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is so cute!!! Can’t wait to keep reading ☺️

[Grace Arango (G-Swizzel Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

To everyone who recommended this manga to me - I love you. You're the best, thank you!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and fun. Makes me want to watch the anime again. I can't wait to read the other volumes.