I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! Volume 1 (Akuyaku Reijou Desu ga, Kouyaku Taishou no Yousu ga Ijou Sugiru) Manga by: Ataka Light novel: by Sou Inaida Art by: Hachipsu Wen
On her 10th birthday, she realizes she's reincarnated as Mystia Aren, the villainess of the KyunKyun Love School otome game. Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher.
The story starts with Mystia at 15 years old when the game proper is about to start. It is really short so I will not delve much into the story but one thing's for sure even if it is short it sets the mood of the story. In a hindsight, everything is perfectly planned. The backstories. The point-of-view of other characters where it matters. Down to the four panels.
There's something about her gloomy personality but still doing her best which turns into a cute thing of her own. And I love her for that. And on the same note, the introduction of guys and their nicknames and their character tropes is my thing lately. But this time it caught me off guard as it cleverly leaves the nicknames to your imagination to which bishonen fits the bill. The sparkling prince. The cool tsundere. The gaudy guy. The yakuza teacher. So far only two bishonen have been properly introduced and only the sparkling prince is obvious. And as early as now I'm leaning with the second guy. Looking forward to the remaining bishonen. The reverse harem set up reminds me of Kiss Him, Not Me. Not going to explain why... All the characters are beautifully drawn even the background characters like servants that I get suspicious thinking they might be part of the harem.
The manga is based on a light novel that I have not read by the way. But with my recent light novels spree and recent anime adaptations of The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent and Pretty Boy Detective Club, this manga adaptation is the last missing piece where I can now (attempt to) understand the dynamics of light novels to manga and then to anime.
With light novels, you get to know more of the characters like dissect their brains but the narration can get winded or redundant at times. With manga and anime adaptation, the important parts are compressed and highlighted but minus the intimacy that you get from them personally from a novel. We get to enjoy the art of the characters and sometimes the exciting parts that are happening have more impact with visuals.
I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess comes off as very polished after reading non-stop light novels but as I have mentioned I have not read the source material to compare. First reverse harem manga in a looooong time too. Looking forward to the next volume!
The title is a dead giveaway for a reverse harem which I appreciate but after reading the first volume I find the alternate title that I saw on Myanimelist as amusing too: I’m the Villainess, but the Capture Targets Are Too Abnormal. Share with us your thoughts on the manga in the comments.