Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Villainess Level 99
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2267 |
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I like Villainess stories, but to be honest I haven't seen one yet that fully satisfies. I was going to skip Level 99 here, because the synopsis wasn't doing it for me and the preview guide seemed to confirm my initial reaction. I decided to watch one episode and yeah I felt that they missed an opportunity for gags with the bait and switch. However, there was enough there at the end to give the second episode a try. I liked the second episode and Yumiella feels a bit like she has a Wednesday Adams vibe which buys this show at least another episode. Its really going to depend on what the writing does going forward. Is Yumiella just going to be a one trick OP pony or will they go beyond that?
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18496 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Exactly how I'd described the first two episodes, and I also love Yumiella's deadpan attitude. This one's a keeper for me partly because there's literally nothing else streaming on Tuesdays this season, but it's entertaining enough that I'd probably watch it even without that advantage. |
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andramus
 Posts: 193 |
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I didn't know Rebecca had read the light novels. I read her review of the first volume of the manga a while back and didn't get the impression she'd read the novels at that stage. I was hoping to see a review of the Villainess 99 novels on here at some point because I thought they were superior to the manga and would make for an interesting comparison if Rebecca had read both.
I mentioned this in the preview guide forum but what I think the manga and the anime don't quite manage to capture is the humorous narrative voice of the novels. For the most part the novels are written from Yumiella's somewhat abnormal perspective and manage to convey a level of humour that is separate from a dry recounting of events. Some people have said they perceive novel Yumiella as being neurodivergent and even though it's never explicitly stated I can certainly see where they're coming from. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 2657 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I hadn't yet when I reviewed the manga, but I remedied that.  I was actually kind of upset with myself that I hadn't read the novels before the manga; I like to go with the original before adaptations if I can.
Definitely agree. I also think the novels do a good job of spoiler[showing how much of her perspective is based on assuming everyone around her is a game character. The revelations she gets about both the original Yumiella character and the Demon Lord really add to the story.] |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18496 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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As an anime-only viewer, I feel that a fair amount of that has come through in the anime so far. It's well more understated than something like, say, So I'm a Spider, So What? but it's there. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 14216 |
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I'm kind of surprised it took this long for these Otome Game Villainess Isekai anime's to actually play the Otome game adaption straight until the reveal the Villainess is the protagonist. It was especially effective for me because we haven't had a straight-up Otome game adaption in, like, years.
I feel like Fairouz Ai didn't need to play another Villainess but she captures Yumiella's stoic and bluntness quite well. Probably the most true gamer of all the Otome Game Villainesses. Also it's just funny for me how newlywed couple Yuma Uchida and Rina Hidaka are playing Yumiella's future friends and possible love interest. Like they probably had no idea they were even together when they cast them, but that just makes it even more amusing. The conquerable targets sure turned into jerks quick. I wonder if by nature of the game they're compelled to hate Yumiella. Either way, her showing them up was very satisfying. |
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Cryten
 Posts: 1162 |
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The ending sequence being all lovey dovey and featuring a nobles love for the story prince immediately raises some flags. Given both the trope of villainess stories starting with being dumped by a prince for the vanilla commoner and the trope of otome games where the commoner captures the heart of the prince.. which is the cannon story of this game.
Curious to see how all this implied story from the ending sequence comes into being with our main character being devoted to not giving a damn about her classmates. Especially with the one sequence of Yumiella dunking herself onto the prince. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3849 |
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 I loved that over the top spell at the end of the second episode. I was expecting something large, but not quite that over the top. Maybe she should have gone for the second strongest spell instead of just the one only she and the demon lord could do?
She's been getting some side eye looks from the game's mc. Wouldn't surprise me if she was also reincarnated, but hopefully that's not going to turn out to be the case. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5958 Location: Virginia, United States |
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I have been reading the light novels, but have yet to start the anime. The first episode does sound really interesting. Going to be a must watch for me, just need to stop gaming for a bit and watch more anime.
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andramus
Posts: 193 |
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I was just reading the "This Week In Anime" column about what makes a good isekai and thought this paragraph was pertinent to this topic:
You might be receptive to Yumiella's narrative voice from the anime but some people don't seem to be. As a light novel reader I'm of the opinion that her voice isn't coming across nearly as well in the anime as it does in the novels. Rebecca may attest to this assuming she agrees with me. I think "So I'm A Spider, So What?" is an interesting comparison because the anime captured my interest enough for me to check out the light novels. Kumo's narration carried both the anime and the novels for me. The anime also benefited from the incredible talent of Aoi Yuki. The energy of her performance really carried the series and she is doing another good job as MaoMao in the Apothecary Diaries. I would say that in light novel form it's the narration of Yumiella and Kumo that elevate both series. However anime Yumiella hasn't managed that yet. For myself at least. |
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Cryten
Posts: 1162 |
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The ending seconds of this episode is what interested me most out of the episode. The hook for next week being what path will the titular hero of this story take.
It has been threatening to go down the racist path, where Yumiella is seen as automatically evil by Alicia and takes a faction of school members against her. Which would reinstate the bully storyline of the main game, only in villainess storyline style of reversing it, with Alicia framing Yumiella as a bully if she opposes any of her racist statements. The threat made especially true by how the world and family has treated Yumiella in the preamble to this story. But far more interesting is the question how could Yumiella subvert such a storyline. Could she persuade the clear fear out of Alicia? Or turn her into the class buffoon? Can the story be changed enough that Demon-hood and Darkness is not associated with Yumiella. I am interested to find out. Yumellia herself does seem very uncaring. Clearly she desires to not get too mixed up in affairs and protect herself, and you can hear her speech increase and slightly emote when such is under threat. But otherwise she seems to be coasting. I would like to see her care about a few more things other then threats to her lifestyle. *note* I do not mind her depiction, I have had a few favourite grey girls in story lines. So I am prepared to give the story some leeway. At least so far the support character of Eleanora is as 1 dimensional as the ending sequence. There can be pathos mined from such a simple character but I hope for more and we have not had much chance to get to know her yet. The Royals gave all the right signals of power wars and factions but currently do not seem to have anything interesting to the storyline outside of needing to fight the Demon Lord. |
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YesNoMaybe
 SubscriberPosts: 183 Location: Columbus, OH |
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I really have been enjoying this show so far! I really wish it was being dubbed! it's a pain to have to pause constantly to read the text.
Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool how they did the first episode. Doing something unique like that actually got me more invested in the show. As for the main character, Yumiella, I wouldn't change a thing with how she delivery her lines, interacts with the people around her as well as how she perceives the world around her. She been a fun character to watch as she navigates thru her new world that she been reincarnated in. I admit I was worried about her visit to the palace since it could come off silly or over top drama like other similar shows seem to veer into. I was relieved that it was handle with just right amount of drama. spoiler[The private meeting with the queen was very informative as she explains this world's politics, and thus, will most likely cause problems for Yumiella.] Basically, the king and queen are pretty much level-headed individuals. Since I rarely watch a show in Japanese with subtitles, I have to say that the voice acting is very solid, and all Japanese voices seem to match up perfectly to assigned characters. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2267 |
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Episode 3 kind of fully sealed the deal for me on continuing with the show. I really liked that the king and queen were smart and pragmatic people. I liked how the queen had a private talk with Yumiella which I thought showed the queen's shrewdness and authority. It made the characters and situation just a little more interesting. I'm really curious if they will introduce Yumiella's parents this season, I'd love to see how that interaction goes.
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jdnation
Posts: 2127 |
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Certainly not the most original or stand-out show... but I guess it's doing enough right to keep me coming back to see where things are going...
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Xavon
Posts: 381 Location: Minnesota |
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I haven't read the novels, but I did follow the manga. And one thing I wondered was about her belief/attitude that everyone is an NPC. She has to have heard lines that weren't in the game. Met people who aren't in the game. So how does she keep up that belief? It seems a bit nonsensical to me, and I've wondered if there was a reason given.
Also, without spoiling it, I love the truth behind the heroine's reaction. Strange and yet fitting. And fairly unique. |
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