Reviews for My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

This is a slice of life comedic story about a reincarnated girl who is an airhead, trying to avoid the "destruction flags" whilst accidentally changing the game scenario and befriending everyone. As the name suggests, Katarina has reincarnated in a game where she is a villainess and will experience destruction should any of the game scenarios come true. Determined to prevent this she starts working on countermeasures. Problem is, she is kind of an airhead, so the countermeasures she come up with aren't realistically viable. However, she has a bubbly, cheerful and carefree nature, different from the villain in the game scenario who was crueland will make the heroine suffer. Unknowingly she starts befriending everyone and they all get caught up in her pace as a result.

The manga can feel a bit rushed at times, with many details omitted or watered down compared to the novel, but of course this is a common occurrence with all adaptions and in this case doesn't detract from the enjoyment that can be gained from this manga. Most of the story is in Katarina's' perspective but we also witness it from other characters point of view and we can clearly see how Katarina has influenced their lives for the better (Which is very sweet and wholesome).

The art is good and this story is comparatively different from other Isekai genres which is quite refreshing. Even when there are many similar stories of the "Reincarnated as a villainess" trope, this one still stands out from the rest. Recommended for anyone looking for some good laughs.

I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags... doesn't look like much at face value. The "otome game" (Referring to a genre of visual novels that generally revolve around a heroine protagonist trying to woo one of several male "princes.") setting has been explored in various other manga and light novels. Some have done the same as this and explored the trope of the villainess, the main love rival to the heroine. Not to mention how well trodden over the isekai genre has become in both shoujo and shounen manga. So, in order to be worth reading a manga like thisneeds to either do something different or do at least something else better than everything else like it. So, how does Otome Game Villainess stack up?

Story (7/10):

As with a lot of shoujo romantic comedies, the story is mostly used as a frame for the characters to interact with one another. Because of this, the story is somewhat in the background and certainly less important than in other genres. There is at least a little more meat to the story than some others in the genre, but it certainly isn't the reason to read this manga.

What is there is decent enough. The story has moved along pretty quickly for now, with two or so "arcs" being completed as of 14 chapters. While there is slight drama, it never goes far enough to throw off its lighthearted tone. The tension that results never really feels all that threatening either. With the latest chapters, it seems to be gearing the story up a bit more, but time will tell.

Art (7/10):

The art is perfectly fine. There isn't really any need for the art to be anything above and beyond. The general art style is clean and cute, and all of the characters are easily distinguishable and attractive. You can't really expect a lot more out of the genre.

Character (9/10):

Here is where we get into the real reason to read this manga. Katarina Claes. A lot of the isekai series go in one of two directions with their main characters. Incredibly overpowered and/or intelligent (most series), or a complete idiot in over their head (Re:Zero). Katarina certainly falls much closer to the second option, but in a very different way than in other series.

Katarina is that really nice person that just isn't all there. They can be really, really dumb, but they are just so sweet you can't help but love them. Kind of like a dog.

Katarina bumbles her way through life doing what she thinks will save her from the bad ends she knows are coming. A lot of the humor comes from this, as what she thinks of kind of makes sense, but only in her dumb little way.

She is also unbelievably oblivious to the feelings and thoughts of people around her. She inadvertently causes every single one of the possible "princes" and even the other girls in the story to fall in love with her. It's from this that most of the rest of the humor originates.

Speaking of the other characters, they are all fairly entertaining, though some are better than others.

The princes are her brother-like cousin Keith, her fiance and the prince Gerald, the prince's brother Alan, and the son of the prime minister Nicole. So far Gerald and Keith have generally been funnier and more interesting than the other two, but Alan and Nicole are also perfectly fine.

Maria and Mary round out the rest of the main cast. Maria is the original heroine from the game and is a very sweet character. Mary is Katarina's best friend and the fiance of Alan. Both end up falling for Katarina as well, with Mary being a bit more proactive in trying to claim her for herself.

Overall, the cast is very likable, and it is hard to hate any one character. Katarina remains the standout through the series so far though.

Enjoyment (9/10):

This is a very funny and enjoyable series. There are a lot of running gags involving Katarina's behavior, and almost all of them continue to work. Really the entire series just works. There isn't really a lot of depth here, but that also helps to keep the story from bogging down its humor. If you have even a passing interest in romantic comedy mangas, then you should give this series a chance.

Overall (8/10).

This shit is awesome. I also surprisingly don't hate that it's Male leads. Normally I can't stand them. I like how this girl is building a Harem. She even started making all the girls attracted to her. Maria I am willing to bet already has a crush on the MC after chapter 9. I think the friends also have some type of crush on her. Hell, Both the Two friends are the best couple. I can defiantly see Mary ( I think) and Sophia be together. I do got to admit that I find it sad that she died. We do see one seen of theMC comparing her to her previous lifes friend. So, I'm not gonna lie and say there is a possibility that there might be something like all these character are all reincarnated friends and the MC wll find this out and go throwing rocks at peoples head to wake them up.

I also love how oblivious this MC can be. I swear that the god must have blessed her with a body that will always stay the same as to what the body looked like in game cause the amount of shit she eats would fatten anyone up. I also do like the paring with the Oblivious MC and the Mischievous Prince. They go well together.

I'm not gonna lie, I am not the biggest fan of Kieth. I'd much rather there be a Little Sister that was adopted instead. Hell, Even if Maria ended up getting adopted instead I think that'd be more interesting.

I think this manga is a great place to start reading Otome Isekai, it introduces everything very effectively and has a ton of fun and unique characters. I especially like the blackhole of denseness that is Catarina Claes. The problem is that after a certain point you realize that this manga is just never going to fucking end. I feel like there is a logical point where this should've ended, and it doesn't have anything new to say after this point, so it just keeps doing what it was doing over and over and over. The characters just end up in this constant love trianglewith Catarina with none really progressing anywhere. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a comedy focused slice of life Otome Isekai (I know of several that I absolutely love), but when your manga could be described as "derivative bliss" and you know that it's going to continue to derive on this point to the point of insanity is it really worth your time?

I love the characters in this manga and appreciate how it got me interested in Otome Isekai (and ended up being the first one to get an anime adaptation leading to a lot more to get them) and maybe one day I'll come back and continue reading. But I can firmly say that I can pretty much guess exactly what will have happened in my absence from the series... nothing of note. Still a fun read and I love her

"harem" just wish there was a little more development instead of the stagnation that seems to be happening.

Story 10/10 + isekai, awakening as the villainess of a game, conquering your death flags, starting from the villainess as she is a child and gets to know all other characters, though a lot of time is spent about the time before the otome game starts I actually love the care and time spent there, survival, comedy, romance, fantasy, aristocracy. - the story gets milked out after Katarina gets past the ending of the game, though I will disregard that facts as I dropped this series afterwards. As such, this review will only review the series until the end of the game Katarina is reincarnated in. Art10/10

+ The characters are beautiful and I really like the snippy artwork it has and Katarina's 'evil eyes'. Less polished, but it fits perfectly with the story and the feelings you want the reader to have. Nicely detailed as well, though alternated with chibi's at perfect intervals.

- Less big panel artworks because of the comedy aspect of the story.

Characters 10/10

+ The story takes quite some time on the development of the characters when they're still children, long before the otome game starts and long before the protagonist of that game appears. This gives Katarina a lot of time to play into the death flags and build up some preparations. The character development is best in these first chapters as each character gets introduced one by one - giving them all their own spotlight so you fall in love with every one of them in turn. And, to end with, who couldn't fall in love with gullible, thick Bakarina?! She enchants all her readers!

- They're all too lovable, making me frustrated over who I want Katarina should to actually fall in love with in the end.

Enjoyment 10/10

+ Fun, cute, funny and with quite the dramatic high point, it's the perfect story to have introduced me into this isekai genre.

- Milking out is no good! I bought the first few volumes and will keep it at that.

~

Overall of 10! I'm incredibly grateful for this manga to be my first introduction into this isekai genre and I must admit I've been reading little else ever since. It's made me hungry for more and I won't be stopping any time soon!

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 is iffy at best, but I'm glad to see that there wasn't any of that ecchi-fanservice-for-men degeneracy often polluting the genre. There are tropes and themesthat 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 the protagonist, 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.

Fun series with a concept that has been done before, but handled here in a way that still makes it enjoyable compared to others like it. Many manga of this type might have to rely on some special gimmick to carry it, this series is able to stand on its own, not through some shallow gimmick, but through how likable the main character ends up being. The story is pretty basic, but you don't feel those bits of generic-y nonsense with Katarina leading the story. The way she is handled is what makes this series a joy, she's a fun character that's hard to hate.I enjoyed reading this and I hope the rest of the series continues to maintain Katarina and her supporting cast and let the characters grow more and become more enjoyable as it's only about 24 chapters in, which feels relatively early, despite the first real arc now being finished(there's still a setup for more, so there's always a chance it keeps going)

TLDR: This might be the densest MC in the history of dense MCs, maybe ever. -- general spoilers for first arc (Up to volume 4) -- This is one of those cases where adding updating genres is kind of spoilers = You have been warned. = I'm not bit on otome genres, but I checked it out since it had a fairly good rating and is an isekai. As the synopsis states, the MC was supposed to be the villainous, however, while trying to turn the story around, she accidentally (and unknowingly) makes all the characters (male and female) fall in love with her. How does shedo this unknowingly? Well, trying to prevent bad endings, she just does something to get on the good side of every character, and coincidentally, the characters have tragic backstories where they were bullied and didn't have friends. In the original story, she was supposed to be one of said bullies.

[In my opinion, the GL and Harem tags should be added. ]

*** TLDR; I have to admit if you lower your standard, it is quite enjoyable since the main character isn't a weak bitch. Though the main character is not going to develop any real motive than to stay alive and that's it. She's a lovable idiot that doesn't have any real depth to her. She just unknowingly collecting her harem just like any other otome fucking stories. It wants to be a parody but it fails because it itself is stereotypical. It's like Adam Sandler making a parody of Adam Sandler. Art: 7 Story: 5 Character: 5 (would have gotten six but weak depth to the main character isa set back)

Enjoyment: 5

**

I came looking for the manga after have watched 2 episode of the anime. So my review is most for those whom got interested from the anime and want to read ahead. I will be brutally honest. It's not really worth it. The anime production was honestly better. Not that the manga was bad it's just not that good either. It's honestly pretty average. ( I have 0 idea if the LN is good or not. )

So why is it average? I THINK, I honestly don't know but I think it is the lack of either experience or communication between Hidaka Nami (the artist) and Yamaguchi Satoru (the writer). Nothing about the art was wrong. Hidaka Nami did a great job with the drawings but conveying the emotional stuff always comes off quite generic and lacking. So yeah sorry to say, it doesn't feel like it really comes from her heart. Then again it is Yamaguchi Satoru's story. So he should also have done better job at communicating the heavier part. (If they work together at all?) However, I might also be too judgy. This manga is supposed to be a parody of otome games right?

So it's a parody of otome games and the main character is supposed to know the genre and all... yet the main character remain painstakingly fucking stereotypical. Stupidly fucking dense. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't like dense character. In fact I love them, they're adorable IF done right. Ok, so let me explain. Our main character likes love novels and romantic stories in general. She has not only during her previous years read and played many romance games even in her afterlife as Katarina she still continues to read them. SO SHE OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ THE MOOD? Like for FUCKS sake, being kissed on the neck and accept the excuse that it was because of A FUCKING MOSQUITO... SHE IS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD!

Anyways, I had high hopes. I thought finally a strong female lead who actually wants to lead her own life and not be led by others. In a way she does just that and that was probably why I read all the 24 chapter. She does thing in her own pace but sadly her pace is very stereotypical. I thought maybe this could be the new skip beat. Like really they even showed her thought process where she would think to herself as a counsel with other version of her-selves like in Skip Beat. But sorry. There isn't going to be any real depth to it really. The main character is not going to develop any real motive but to stay alive and that's it. She just unknowingly collecting her harem just like any other otome fucking stories.

Aaaand that's it for my rant. Sorry if it's bad writing. But still I wanted to rant and have an opinion. Also another good harem with a main character that actually reflect on stuff while focusing on romance; Kiss him, Not me. Then there's Oresama Teacher but this one doesn't focus much on romance but more on their daily life....as least it did last I read it. Bye~