So… has “villainess” become its own genre by this point?
Not that I’ve actually watched any other isekai/reverse-harem villainess anime before, although I do hear My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! was pretty good, and maybe someday I’ll get around to that. In any case, while I know just enough about this kind of story to know that it’s not terribly original, this first episode seemed pretty okay? I’m not totally sure how I feel about the OG’s character’s death (or coma? But probably death) being swept under the rug, along with her entire previous life experiences and personality in general.
However, in contrast, I enjoyed watching Aileen do her thing, mostly because she seems like a woman who can think on her feet, responds well to pressure, and is in general fairly competent and determined at whatever she sets her mind to. Girl gets shit done. Sure, that might seem like a pretty basic ask, but I assure you, when it comes to anime heroines and/or the portrayal of female leads in romance shows, this low bar can be painfully hard to clear.
Also on the upside, Taming the Final Boss doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s not a comedy per se (or rather, not in the sense that it attempts to have viewers roaring with laughter), but it is very lighthearted for the most part, and that’s likewise something I appreciate from this genre (the isekai part, anyway, which I attribute to having to wade my way through countless serious af male power fantasies to date). This helps make up for the admittedly somewhat generic story and side characters/character designs (which I realize is at least partially the point, but it still doesn’t exactly make for a riveting viewing experience).
So, will I keep watching this? Possibly, depending on how the rest of the fall 2022 anime line-up pans out. I do have quite a few titles on my to-watch list this time around, so I may not stick with Taming the Final Boss the whole way through, but you never know. Either way, I’d say it’s not a bad start to the season.
Score: 6/10
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Yeah, watching the first episode of the anime, I was a little surprised. It’s moving much faster than the manga. Though I don’t remember the manga going into great detail about the death of the main character in their previous life, I don’t think it was swept under the rug quite so swiftly in the manga either. Likewise, I think the anime condensed the meeting of the Demon Lord too, which was a little odd. But I think the anime is at least capturing the feel of the manga!
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Yeah, I did hear after reading some comments after I posted my first impressions that the pacing was pretty fast compared to the source material. I’m not a manga reader at all so I only care so much as the anime itself is solid, but I’d understand if fans of the manga were left feeling a bit bewildered at the changes.
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It may not be a genre, but it seems to be yet another emerging trope. “Hey, people liked this once, let’s do it to death!” Oh boy.
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It’s not done to death… yet. I guess this means enjoy it while I still can?
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Heh, I just mean that’s how things that become tropes usually go. Witness: isekai, harems, overpowered protagonists, etc.
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As far as I know, villainess is an isekai sub-genre in light novels, primarily? They’re really just starting to break into anime, I feel.
Deaths tend to get swept aside in isekai generally; modern isekai characters tend to be escapist fantasies and protagonists generally don’t want to get back home anymore (I think the change started around the time SAO was new, though SAO was still about escaping the world, and parody shows, like Ixion Saga DT, still had homesickness as some sort of plot-element at the time). Reincarnation isekai these days tend to use death sort of as a separation line: an excuse not to want to go back. There are exceptions I can think of, such as the Bookworm anime, where the main characters entire motivation stems from books being a noble thing and her not qualifying and thus having no access to books.
In this show, we haven’t seen much of her previous life, but it’s possible it’s the waif-gets-sturdier-body subtype? Maybe?
In any case, I found the show much more fun than I thought it would be. Both the villainess and the demon lord play to type, but I find they actually work together. Both their motivations are understandable well enough and work. I also quite like the way Demon Lord’s emotions spill into the magical surroundings; it’s low-key pleasant.
At this point, I’d say Next Life as a Villainess was better (the first season at least; not so sure about season 2) – and that show did not gloss over the other life, come to think of it. Maybe we’ll get a little backstory here too? I hear some of the stuff people have been missing has made it into episode 2, so maybe they’re waiting for a thematic spot to bring that up?
In any case, it’s good fun and just what I want in its slot. I doubt it’s going to be paricularly memorable. My main quibble with the show is that I can’t see the relationship between our villainess and the prince at all. How do they even go together? Was it purely political? But since it’s not a show that makes me think too much, I don’t really care about my quibbles.
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I’ll probably give this one more episode just to give it the benefit of the doubt but it’s not quite fun enough for me. It’s alright, I can kinda appreciate what they’re trying to do, but with likely plenty of other material to watch this season, I doubt I’ll need to settle for average.
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