My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Katarina Claes, a girl of noble descent, lives a privledged life.  One day, however, an accident causes her to remember the truth: Katarina isn’t a noblewoman but a 17 year old Otaku Girl who met a tragic end and has been reincarnated as the Villainess in her favorite video game, Fortune Lover.  Even worse, Katarina knows well enough how the game always ends: Exile or Death.  But Katarina knows Fortune Lover like the back of her hand and she is determined to steer clear of death and change her fate.  Katarina’s already died once.  She’s not in a hurry to do it all over again.

 
As much as I like to rag on Issekai for taking the spotlight away from most other Anime (especially Mecha), most of the ones I’ve seen have actually been pretty decent, if not good (Rising of the Shield Hero comes to mind).  And it looks like that trend might continue as I take on a request from a friend for the month of February: an Issekai Romantic Comedy Fantasy about a girl who tries to change her fate when she’s reincarnated into her favorite video game.  There’s no escaping back to the real world, there’s just playing the hand life has dealt and from the looks of it, Katarina got things under control…for now.  Welcome, Dear Readers, to My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom.
 
Next Life has a good beginning going for it from the get go with Katarina herself.  She isn’t an over powered protagonist in a JRPG style world but instead given the role of the main Villainess of her favorite Otome game, a good change of pace for an Issekai (yeah there’s also Overlord but Katarina isn’t trying to be the bad guy).  Katarina is a great and kind girl at heart, a far cry from the role assigned to her.  While you could see her motivations as purely selfish, i.e. trying to make sure she lives well past the end of the game or at the very least have a Plan B incase she gets exiled, Katarina never comes off as a total jerk.  The bonds she makes with several of the games characters has a lot of genuine heart to them.  Katarina’s ability to see the good in others and find common ground is sweet and she will go the extra mile to make sure her friendships are as strong as can be…so yeah it’s freaking awesome when she chops down Keith’s locked door with a freaking axe just to get to him and assure him she was to blame to an incident that got him in trouble.  If that’s not friendship, I don’t know what is.  Also, you’ve gotta love the Council of Katarina’s, aka her five dominant personality traits talking strategy in her head a la Inside Out.  These scenes are hilarious and have become ones I eagerly cant wait to see in every episode. 
 
While I’m sure we haven’t met everyone yet, there’s a lot of supporting characters introduced in this opening set.  We get to meet all four of the potential suitors who could spell doom for Katarina and out of the four…three are good and one is just kind of meh.  Geordo became more interesting when the villainous side he’s cited for having begins to peak through.  Keith has such a sad backstory you instantly want things to work out for him, especially with Katarina.  Alan’s tough guy façade fading around Katarina is cute to watch.  And then there’s Nicol…who is honestly so dull it matches his main trait of being able to woo without saying a single word.  There’s nothing that stands out otherwise about his character and I’d rule him out quickly as a potential love interest.  But there’s also Mary and Sophia, both of whom Katarina quickly bonds to.  Mary knows gardening and Sophia is a romance novel fan just like Katarina.  The pair were often picked on for their various interests and appearances but Katarina is quick to dispel their fears and accept them for who they are.  Truly, Katarina’s doing a good job at playing against type…even if she does have some funny moments where her “Villainous Stare” does come in handy.  All in all, a decent supporting cast that plays well off our lead heroine.
 
Katarina’s journey in Fortune Lover actually starts well before the game even begins.  So she has years to plan backstory and begin rewriting her inevitable fates.  She’s got solid ones for Alan and Keith (practice lots of self defense and keep a snake handy for the former and don’t be a jerk to the latter).  Alan seems to be a work in progress but being friendly rivals seems to be the way to go.  And Nicol…yeah he needs no strategy because at this point he’s easy to rule out.  Point is, it was smart to start with Katarina so young and to see her put her knowledge of Fortune Lover to good use.  As I said, she’s not trying to escape back to her former life as a High School Otaku Girl…well because she’s dead in the real world.  She’s literally got a second chance and isn’t planning to mess it up.  So starting early on is smart and I like how she’s using strategy as well as putting in a lot of heart for the friendships and romances that could work in her favor (a la Keith and Alan), while also being on her guard for darker threats like Guerdo.  Plus she isn’t above letting her former selfs eccentricities show without shame, like being a devourer of all sweets and having a penchant for climbing trees like a little monkey.
 
In addition to all the olden day aristocratic society norms, practices and setting, there’s also a magical element to Next Life…that sadly isn’t given much spotlight in the opening episodes.  Part of the main plot of Katarina’s Fortune Lover game is that her character goes to a Magical Academy (I don’t think I ever caught it’s name, does it have a name?).  And yet magic feels like an afterthought beyond Keith’s mishap with Katarina in the first episode more than an integral element of this worlds mythos and society.  Once we get to the Magic Academy in the time skip, there isn’t even a lot of Magic seen in Katarina’s first day.  I guess what I’m getting at is…does magic even need to be a thing at all in this series?  The romantic comedy seems to be doing just fine without it and the Academy itself couldve just been a normal school of the time.  Maybe they’re delve more into the ups and downs and actual usage of magic the more we get into the show.  In the beginning though, it just feels unnecessary.
 
All in all, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom…yeah I’m just gonna refer to it as “Next Life” going forward, has a good start.  The premise is strong and the lead heroine is even stronger.  The supporting cast is mostly decent and I love the mix of 2D characters and hand drawn, storybook style backgrounds, theyre gorgeous.  Some characters and the use of magic in this world need major expansions if theyre to really work in a show that might not need them in the long run.  I also know I didn’t talk much about Katarina’s first encounters with Fortune Lover’s main heroine, Maria, but there’ll be plenty of time for that when I return to My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.