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

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった…, Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijō ni Tensei Shiteshimatta...) also known as HameFura (はめふら) for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Satoru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Nami Hidaka. It began serialization online in July 2014 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was acquired by Ichijinsha, who published the first light novel volume in August 2015 under their Ichijinsha Bunko Iris imprint. Eleven volumes have been released as of August 2021. The light novel has been licensed in North America by J-Novel Club.

A manga adaptation with art by Hidaka has been serialized in Ichijinsha's josei manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum since August 2017. It has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes and licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. A spin-off manga was serialized from November 2019 to July 2021. An anime television series adaptation by Silver Link aired from April to June 2020, and a second season aired from July to September 2021. An anime film is set to premiere in 2023.

Synopsis
After hitting her head particularly hard one day, Duke Claes' daughter, Katarina, suddenly recalls all the memories of her past life: that of a teenage Japanese girl. Just before her untimely death, this girl recalls playing an otome game... that is exactly like the world she's living in now! She is now Katarina Claes, the antagonist of the otome game, who nastily hounded the protagonist until the end. Knowing all the possible outcomes of the game, she realizes that every single possible route ends with Katarina being murdered or exiled! In order to avoid these Catastrophic Bad Ends, she has to use her knowledge of the game and her own wiles, starting with breaking off this engagement with the prince... Will Katarina survive while making her way through this world, where bad flags trip at every turn? Find out in this reverse-harem rom-com, led by everybody's favorite villainess!

Light Novels
The first light novel volume was published by Ichijinsha under their Ichijinsha Bunko Iris imprint on August 20, 2015. The light novel has been licensed in North America by J-Novel Club, and the manga has been licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Manga
There have been two manga series associated with the light novel. The first, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, has been serialized in Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Zero Sum since August 28, 2017 and adapts the light novel series into manga format. The second, My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: On the Verge of Doom! (乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… 絶体絶命！破滅寸前編), was also serialized in Monthly Comic Zero Sum from November 1, 2019 to July 2, 2021. This manga focuses on the question of what would happen if Katarina were to recover her memories when she was fifteen as opposed to during her childhood, leaving her without the friends and relationships that she garnered as a result of early planning against her bad ends. Both manga series are licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Official Comic Anthology

 * Satoru Yamaguchi (Original) “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!… Comic Anthology” Ichijinsha , 2 volumes already published
 * Comic Anthology VOL.1: Released on March 25, 2020 -  ISBN 978-4-7580-2099-2
 * Cover illustration: original drawing: Miwa Oshima, finishing: Eri Shigetomi, special effects: Naoya Kinoshita (EXPLOSION)
 * Illustrated by Miwa Oshima and Rifu Morinoha
 * Manga: Ameno, ichinomi, Waka Moriwaka, Ichiho Katsura, Yukke Sakurai, Sayu, Stroma, Yuu Takahara, Tsugumi Toya, Reku Hayase, Majiko, Kazuomi Mochizuki, Kei Yoshimura, Reg95
 * Comic Anthology VOL.2: Released June 24, 2021 - ISBN 978-4-7580-2269-9
 * Cover illustration: Natsuko
 * Illustration: Koichi, Bimita
 * Manga: Uim, Onigiri, Waka Moriwaka, Ririo Kitano, Cocoa, Bin Sakamoto, Yukke Sakurai, Nazuna Shiraume, Suzuka, Uka Nagao, Hayasereku, Bimita, Majiko, Kazuomi Mochizuki, Tomoki Yukiya

Character
"Being held like a princess like in those romance novels, having them whisper sweet nothings into my ears in a place with a beautiful night view... or so I thought. Lately, though, I've discovered that hearing sweet nothings in my ears is way too intense! This is a lesson I've learned the hard way."

- Katarina, Volume 5 Character Profiles

The main character of this work. She is the daughter of Duke Claes. A woman with long brown hair and slightly raised eyes with light blue eyes. Although she is beautiful, she is not as beautiful as the other female characters Maria, Mary, and Sophia, and Katarina herself calls herself a villain. An accident when she was 8 years old brought back memories of her being an otaku high school girl in her previous life. She realizes that it is the role of the so-called villainess daughter. She knows from the knowledge of the game that Katarina will eventually be destroyed by "deportation" or "death", so she takes action to avoid these "destruction flags". However, due to her personality in her previous life, she is insensitive to the original Katarina, but she has a gentle, friendly, and cheerful personality. will also take action. Because of her behavior, she has become a "natural person" who is liked by those around her, but she is not aware of it. Furthermore, by the time she entered the magic school at the age of 15, which is the stage setting of the game, she had already resolved and resolved the trauma and complexes of the four male characters to be captured, or the problems of humanity, and gained favor from them. I didn't even realize I was being held.

In the game setting, he is a rival character in his route as Geordo's fiancée. She has a selfish and arrogant personality, and she is the leader of the noble daughters who bully the main character Maria, and is more villainous than other rival characters such as Mary and Sophia. She doesn't realize that in Geordo Stuart she loves him, but she doesn't want him at all. She becomes impatient with the development of the relationship between Geordo and her commoner Maria, and she eventually plots her plot, but in the happy ending, Geordo exposes it and she is "deported"... On the other hand, Bad End is also slashed with a sword by Georde's and "dies". Even if she is Keith Root she will either be "deported" or "dead". Rival characters have changed in Alan route and Nicole route, and it is said that most of them have not appeared.

At first, as the game set, he grew up with a selfish and arrogant personality due to his parental doting and parental doting. Feeling responsible for this, he proposes an engagement. However, as mentioned above, her memories of her previous life are revived at this time, and after that she takes action to avoid the "Destruction Flag". In particular, farming, which he started as training in soil magic, is also important as insurance in the event that he is deported from the country. Even if there is, it is usually impossible for a noble, especially a young lady, to cultivate a field.) In addition, to avoid the death end of being slashed by Geordo, he hides a snake toy, which he is not good at, in his bosom, and climbs trees, which was described as a "Wild monkey" in his previous life. Let On the contrary, her tastes and manners as a daughter of an aristocracy are sloppy, and she often shows a disrespectful attitude when it comes to food, especially her favorite sweets, and is often furious with her mother.

In addition to the four male characters to be captured, including Geordo, I have known female characters such as rival characters Mary and Sophia since childhood. "Natural person Tarashi" and unconsciously solving their trauma and complexes with the knowledge of the game (including same-sex Mary and Sophia) have strong favors, open approaches and quiet conflicts around them. There are many, but he is very insensitive to these because he was not blessed with the appearance of his previous life and he believed that the villain Katarina would not be liked. Furthermore, after entering the magic academy, Maria, the main character of the game, also has a strong affection for him. Also, if it were originally, the troubles and humanity problems that they had at the beginning of the game would have been resolved, and this is the same for other relationships such as parents, servants, and the four prince brothers. Everything that would have been dangerous has been solved in advance. Many things, such as Maria's mother, were resolved after entering the Magic Academy.

His real name in his previous life is unknown. He was naughty and good at climbing trees, so he was nicknamed "The Wild Monkey". He meets Atsuko (Acchan), his best friend since middle school, and begins to develop introverted hobbies such as novels and games. Influenced by Atsuko, he plays "FORTUNE LOVER" and learns strategy information from Atsuko, but there are many ambiguous parts because he avoided spoilers. He died in an accident on his way to school from his house the morning after capturing Geordo Stuart.

Personality


 * Presently, upon regaining her memories of her previous life as a humble Japanese schoolgirl, she turns into a kind individual. She is honest with her feelings and is not afraid to extend a hand to someone in trouble. As a child, Katarina became a tomboy who enjoys sweets and romance novels. She can be highly competitive and had a bit of a mischievous streak as a child, most of which mellowed out as a young adult. She loves nature, having been a skilled tree climber in her original life which transferred into her current life. She also develops an interest in gardening and farming vegetables, mainly as a contingency plan in case she is exiled in some of the routes Katarina ends up in. Even after she made it through the point of all of the death flags endings, she continues to maintain her hobby as she has come to enjoy doing so.
 * She is incredibly simple-minded. Despite being a fan of romance novels, she is utterly oblivious to her friends' close affection towards her, both males and females alike. As a result, she often misinterprets the rivalry of her friends who are vying for her attention, usually making incorrect assumptions. Her peculiar habits and interests alongside her forgetfulness of noble decor and manners have often labeled her unladylike, especially by her mother. She is especially fearful of her mother's wrath. As such, she tries her best to maintain as much social grace as she can muster. Even in dire situations, Katarina can often lose sight of important matters to the point that when she was kidnapped, she effectively forgot her own situation as she indulged herself in sweets and romance novels.
 * Katarina is a heavy glutton with unparalleled appetite with a particularly sweet tooth who can gobble piles of food and could theoretically keep at it ad eternum if it depended on her own volition (an extra drawing shows her beating all the princes in an eating contest), but mostly prevented from doing so due to normal physical limitations. Sweets are a particular weak point for Katarina and are often a very effective weapon at keeping her from doing anything else or distracting her.

Abilities
"Such thing isn't a big deal at all. If you're to follow me, you must always hold your head high with pride!"

- Katarina, recruiting Sienna

Katarina's greatest trait is her overwhelming natural charisma due in part to her honest and open personality. Very few people who have genuinely met her have not been at the very least intrigued by her personality and behaviors, mostly a stark contrast to typical noble decorum as one would expect of a lady of her status. Even when kidnapped, she got to know her captor and immediately struck up a friendship in a short conversation. She has unintentionally charmed many individuals as a result and finds herself surrounded by friends whom she genuinely cares about and vice-versa.

The magic attribute is "Earth" like his brother-in-law. She woke up when he was 5 years old. His mana capacity is below average... or rather, it's barely there, and he has almost no talent for magic. In the game, Katarina was using only 『Magic that can move the soil on the ground by two or three centimeters』… commonly known as 『Earth Bump (Earth Raiser)』. Katarina has strong physical strength; this may be the result of farming since her childhood. Although played for laughs, Katarina possesses the ability to easily climb any tree (Tree Climbing). This is known to have been from her previous life. Well, as you can guess, it's magic that can only be used to make the heroine Maria stumble. Because Katarina, who was obsessed with Giord and always chasing him, didn't study magic. By the time I was 10, I was able to move up to 15 centimeters. According to her, she can till the soil and make art on the ground. However, this stopped her growth. Desperate! Perhaps because it was in the process of growth on the verge of ruin, it has been discovered that the effective range of the soil boko is inferior to that of the main story.

Although he did not have the magical power of "darkness", she mysteriously became involved with dark magic tools. In the Keith Claes kidnapping case, he bought a round-shaped ornament that he had chosen without knowing that it was a type of dark magic tool made a long time ago. She borrowed a prototype magnifying glass that I chose without knowing that it was a dark magic tool, and as a result, I picked up a large Venus. Just after Maria was led to the Book of Light, she casually picked up one of her books, the Book of Darkness (Dark Covenant), and she used her dark magic against her will. has developed into a situation where

According to the mysterious being who gave her lost magical knowledge in the Dark Spaces, Katarina was such a good adaptor, that she could cover the world with darkness, a book of lost magic that only she can read. In order to activate the Book of Darkness (Dark Covenant), she must summon her Dark Familiar, Pochi. Under Raphael's guidance, he learned dark magic, and after materializing a stick of darkness (skull stick) that can be put in and out of the shadows, he created magic that creates darkness in space, although the range is about the size of a mandarin orange and magic that absorbs darkness and snakes created by other people's dark magic. She also practices manipulating and materializing the dark forms she creates, and she materializes the Dark Keys in addition to the Dark Cane. Since Katarina herself doesn't have dark magic in the main story, it's possible that she's been using Pochi's magic as she did when activating the Book of Darkness and during the Frey rescue operation. In addition, Katarina in the game is a pure holder of dark magic, and according to her profile in volume 7 (special edition) of the paperback edition, her specialty is the curse of darkness. Katarina in "FORTUNE LOVER II", calls Katarina fears that Pochi's attachment to her is due to the force of the game.

TV Anime
An anime adaptation of the light novel series was announced by Ichijinsha on October 19, 2018. The anime was later announced to be a television series on July 18, 2019. The series was animated by Silver Link and directed by Keisuke Inoue, with Megumi Shimizu handling series composition, and Miwa Oshima designing the characters. Natsumi Tabuchi, Hanae Nakamura, Tatsuhiko Saiki, Miki Sakurai, and Shu Kanematsu composed the music.

The series aired on Tokyo MX, BS11, MBS, AT-X, J Tele, and other channels from April 5 to June 21, 2020. Angela performed the series' opening theme song "Otome no Route wa Hitotsu Janai!" (乙女のルートはひとつじゃない！, "There's More Than Just One Route For a Maiden!"), while Shouta Aoi performed the series' ending theme song "Bad End". Crunchyroll streamed the series with subtitles. On May 15, 2020, Crunchyroll announced the series would receive an English dub, which premiered the following day. Muse Communication has licensed the series in Southeast Asian territories and released via Animax Asia.

A second season aired from July 3 to September 18, 2021 on the Super Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS, and BS-TBS, as well as BS Asahi. Angela performed the second season's opening theme song "Andante ni Koi o Shite!" (アンダンテに恋をして！, "Fall in Love at Andante!"), while Shouta Aoi performed the second season's ending theme song "give me ♡ me." An OVA was bundled with the special edition of manga's seventh volume, which was released on September 30, 2021. After the conclusion of the second season, it was announced that the series will be receiving an anime film. The film's title was revealed in April 2022, with its premiere set in 2023. On May 18, 2021, it was announced that Sentai Filmworks had acquired the home video distribution rights.

Web Radio
A web radio by Maaya Uchida, who plays the role of Katarina Claes, "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!" will be held once a month at Onsen from September 28, 2020 to June 2021. Delivered every other Friday from July to September 24, 2021.

Video games
Bonus DVDs containing demo versions of Fortune Lover, the in-universe otome game, were included in the limited editions of the anime's first season Blu-ray releases. A free-to-play mobile game titled Katarina's Farm (カタリナ農園, Katarina Nōen) was released on July 31, 2020, with an online trial version being made available from June 19 to August 31, 2020. A game for the Nintendo Switch titled ''My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! The Pirate Known as "Trouble"'' was released on December 23, 2021. The game has an original story that takes place beyond Fortune Lover's final graduation event, showing Katarina having evaded all the doom flags only to face a new doom flag related to a new meeting and encounter with a pirate.

Merchandise
On September 27, 2020, Premium Bandai began selling book cushions which "feature art of Katarina and her four (main) suitors" from the series, which each cushion folding up like a book, "featuring the character's name on the outside."

Reception
The light novel and manga have over 600,000 copies in print. The manga adaptation was ranked 4th in the 2019 Next Manga Awards in the print category.

LGBTQ
Some reviewers have described the series as focusing around Katarina Claes, who amasses a polyamorous, bisexual harem pining for her as she tries to avoid being a villain and becomes very thoughtful. Reviewers pointed out three queer female characters: Mary Hunt, Sophia Ascart, and Maria Campbell, all of whom have crushes on Katarina, as reviewer James Beckett of Anime News Network pointed out.

In May 2020, seven of the 10 spots of a "weekly favourite couple poll" by Anime Trending featured Katarina paired with most of the characters. After the first season ended, with a "friendship ending," one reviewer calling it a "very definitive ending for Katarina and Her Polyamorous Bisexual Harem of Doom," and the series was later praised by Rebecca Silverman and Theron Martin of the Anime News Network for being well-done, and offers "a rewarding bisexual power fantasy" which Katarina is unaware of due to her dense nature.

Trivia

 * One thing that was never determined is if Katarina was just as dense as the Monkey Girl in her past life. Or if Katarina's mindset is influencing the "awakened" Monkey Girl; in the original timeline, Katarina IS just as bad at academics as the current verson.