I was not expecting to like this volume as much as I did. I haven't read the novels and I've only played a few otome games, but this volume was a delight. I enjoyed that we started present day and then went back to the past to see how we got to the present day. I enjoyed seeing how Mystia came to terms with being in the game and how she attempted to change her fate by being herself the total opposite of the original villain. I will be picking up volume 2 for sure.

This graphic novel was interesting. At first it was hard to follow but once the story got moving I was hooked. A girl died and was reincarnated. But she was reincarnated in a world she knows. It’s the world of a video game like a romance version of The SIMS. Not only is the story from a game, but she is the villain, and she does not want to be. She is going to try her hardest to change the game from the inside with hope of a happy ending. The interesting thing is no one knows or even acts like life is a game. This is not Wreck It Ralph. Honestly it is easy to forget that this is supposed to be a video game world. I like the story and will continue the series for at least one more book to see where the story goes.

Rounded up from 3.5 - mostly bc the art is gorgeous here.

My friend Jenn asked me my opinion on it and as I was already intrigued enough to check it out (again I love otome villainess reincarnation novels) I fast tracked reading shen I saw I was auto-approved on NetGalley.

At this point I've read sooo many novels and comics with this premise that its hard to be like "how original", but this was cute.

Not much stood out aside from how gorgeous (like so pretty) the art is and every other chapter was a char who was NOT the MC describing how the MC changed their lives (for the better).

Most notably is her parents, who were worried because she kept wandering off to bring home "strays" (people) who needed a home/protection. Which explains why EVERY SINGLE SERVANT is devoted to her and hates letting anyone else be near her (up to and including her parents at times).

Interested to see where this goes, though it was queer-baity with the MC constantly wishing she was male or could just spend time with her maid (who she considered perfect and an Angel). Meanwhile the Maid constantly plots ways to keep her away from everyone else. Doubt it'll go that route, but they kept hinting at it.

When a shy, nerdy girl from our world saves a child from being run over, she dies only to be reincarnated as the cruel villainess in the Otome (Boyfriend/Dating sim) game she was playing. in the game named Mystia Aren. In the game, Mystia came to a bad end. Can she change her future while still making sure all of the boys get their happy ending?

--

Okay, I admit it. I got this book purely because of the title. I mean, it's quite possibly the best title in the history of ever. And it's dead on accurate too. Like you don't need a blurb, just point to the title and go "This! This is the plot."

This manga leans hard on the Alternate Universe reincarnation trope. Hard. And it's lovely. Mystia goes through the events in her game backstory trying to make sure that she doesn't end up making the same mistakes that the game Mystia does. And in doing so, she earns the love and admiration of several cute boys.

Most of this volume takes place when Mystia is ten and gives us an introduction to the world as well as Mystia, Melo (her maid, bodyguard, friend, and possibly more), Eri (One of the potential love interests), and Raid Nocter (another potential love interest.) It's a bit slow and the POVs do shift which can be confusing.

The art style is absolutely lovely. Stellar. It is so good, y'all. Honestly there were parts of it I wanted to blow up and frame. It was so pretty.

This is a fun, shojo manga that's both lighthearted and serious at the same time. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Four stars.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley

Please Be Happy

It has been a while since a manga has surprised me, but Sou Inaida has many lined up in this story. The plot of this manga is as lengthy as its title. So be prepared for a bit of a twisting narrative, as Mystia jumps through her memories. Mystia Aren may seem like a normal rich Highschool student, but her life is not what it seems. This is her second chance at life, inside a dating video game where she will grow up to be the villain. She’s played this game before, and she doesn’t like the fate that awaits her. Instead, she will do her best to change as much as she can before the main character arrives. Too bad she is in danger of making everyone genuinely love her.

Yes, this story is a bit of a stretch in most parts, but it’s more fun that way. Mystia is often oblivious to the effect of her various plans to change the direction of the game. Her biggest weakness being her big heart, and her own low self-esteem. The characters she helps, such as her fiancé Raid, never actually tell her why they love her. Which adds many layers of misunderstandings between her vision of value, and her fear of what will happen when the game ends. Ataka’s art is wonderful and moves this story through some of it’s more complicated transitions with all the shojo drama a reader could need. The outfits and character designs are over the top, and lovely to look at. Young Mystia is adorable!

There is light yuri in a one-sided love, and some gender bending. The characters become more than the two-dimensional figures of a game, as Mystia values their happiness and gives them purpose. Perhaps, in turn they may help her avoid a messy end. This is a fun and emotional story about helping others, so they may find a happier ending.

This manga was super cute; I liked the concept of being reincarnated into a story you already know and trying to change the ending. The artwork was beautiful and I loved how the first few pages were in color.

The story starts off in the present and then takes you back five years to explain how "Mystia" came to be part of the game and how she met some of the main characters. She knows her story ends in tragedy and sets out trying to ensure it won't work out that way for her, but in doing so changes the history of events.

Although the beginning was a bit confusing, the characters are all incredibly interesting and I'd love to see where the rest of the manga goes. "Mystia" is is kind-hearted as she is adorable, and it's easy to see why everyone likes her. She has a history of helping people and cares deeply for everyone she meets, regardless of how long she's known them for. By the end of Volume 1, of her potential love interests you get to meet Raid, Melo, and are introduced to Eric. I look forward to meeting the rest in the following volumes and seeing the game's storyline get started.

The bonus chapter gave a lot of insight into Mystia's character and made me even more interested in how she came to be a villain in the original game.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

The basic plot is not the most original one if you have read other works of the genre: i.e., everyday girl with a very miserable life plays an tome game and then dies doing something heroic (but quite stupid). As I was saying, in this one the plot is not different. Nevertheless, I love this trope and that’s totally the reason why I wanted to read this. (Moreover, it’s right there in the title, you know what you are getting into, so it would not be smart to complain on the basis the the idea was already seen and it’s already been done).

In spite of the been-there-done-that, I found something unique in this story. As far as I’m concerned, I think that the most original part is that the protagonist has been living as the villain for all her (of the villainess) life. Usually, the protagonist becomes the villain at the beginning of the game, so she has already got an established background and she has to work with that. However, here the protagonist was able to make changes right from the childhood and, thus, it might be interesting to see how the story develops.

Honorable mention to the drawing style: If reading a novel with a writing style you dislike is terrible, the same can be said for a drawing style in a manga or comic. Fortunately, I liked this style. But I knew from the cover, since it was what drew me in from the beginning, so… Just to be clear the style is the “typical” style for this kind of works: handsome boys and enchanted-like places (and so backgrounds). I like it, so I was happy, but if you prefer a less “fantasy-like” style, you might not want to read this and then leave a negative review just for the style.
I was just perplexed when I discovered that only the first few pages were coloured and the rest was in black and white. In hindsight, it was probably obvious, but I’m used this kind of “manga” (pass me the term) on Tapas (just to name one) where everything is in color. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I just wanted to add this to my review because it’s my review and this happened to me while reading.

I enjoy the "high school aged girl reincarnated as a villainess" genre and this one fits the bill nicely. It's not my absolute favorite of the genre, because I read "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom" first and I am 100% Team Katarina, lol. Also, the characters are a bit more OTT in that one and it works for me.

The characters in this one are MUCH more subdued, so probably more realistic in a way. It's good too, please don't get me wrong, but the goofiness of MNL just hit the right spot.

This is definitely one I will be suggesting at the store and will pick up the rest of the series once it comes out.

4.5 stars, rounded down to 4, not quite MNL but very good and recommended if you enjoy the genre, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Review to come April 26st to blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley/Publisher in exchange of an honest review.

So I am a big big fan of "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!" and I was hyped to find another book featuring a girl getting reincarnated to be a villainess in the a story and seeing her desperately/in funny ways try to get rid of the death flags that come up.

In this one no Katarina, in this one we have a girl named Mystia Aren who on her tenth birthday suddenly started remembering her old life. About the game. About how she ended up her (truck-kun did it again peeps, bad truck-kun). I was happy that it wasn't like in the other villainess manga in which Katarina hurt her head. In this one Mystia just wakes up at night, sees the moon, makes some remark and suddenly remembering happens. Throughout the manga we will see that she is slowly remembering more and more key events and tries to react to them so to change things. It was really nicely done though I can only imagine the shock for the girl finding out she reincarnated in the villainess of a game she played. Really, if I reincarnated let it be the heroine. Haha, seeing how much stress these reincarnated villains have is just not my cup of tea.

I really really liked Mystia and I loved how she tried to change her fate. I loved how she worked hard to befriend people, how she tried to learn tricks and little things that will come in handy later on, I loved how she tried to make the story right. Mystia is a supersweet girl and I rooted for her a lot. Hoping that no death flags are coming.

In this one we have yet to meet the heroine. The first chapter begins when she is 15 and in school and has a month left before the heroine appears.  After that we switch to how it all started, at age 10. I definitely like that this was done, this way we can see more of Mystia before the heroine arrives, and see what she has done in the 5 years to get the attraction of so many hot dudes (yes, the guys are all pretty hot) and oh yes, her maid Melo. And if she managed to not turn into the villainess.

I also love love that we get POV of other characters in the story. Like Raid, but also Mystia's parents recall Mystia's past. I do hope that the next volume also adds these extra POVs.

The art is really pretty and I love the style.

All in all, I NEED MORE! This was just so much fun. I was a bit worried it may end up like "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!" but it is different in many ways. I would highly recommend this manga and I hope it gets an anime adaptation.

Loved this one! I've been on a real villainess and isekai trope kick lately and this satiated both of those! The art is amazing, the story is interesting and engaging, and totally made me excited for future chapters.

Oh this is exactly the kind of thing I love reading lol a soft and pretty art style, with lots of love interests, and ridiculous fantasy situations like the main character dying in the real world and suddenly finding herself as the villainess of the last game she played...

This is a work by three people: art by Ataka, story by Sou Inaida, and character design by Hachipisu Wan. I have nothing to complain about - it was a wonderful introduction to a new series, I think, and while it focused more on Raid and Eric (along with Mystia Aren's childhood and how she got to meet other characters) there's potential to add the other love interests too. It was fun seeing how Mystia is trying to change her fate so she doesn't die like the original game-Mystia lol

Melo is my favorite character so far and I really wasn't expecting soft girlfriends, especially not with the title focusing on the boys, but everyone loving Mystia just feels so right; she's adorable and kind and the art just makes everything even more dreamy. I'm so happy I got to read this lol I want more...

An ARC was recieved from NetGalley.

Reincarnation is one of my favourite tropes ever. It is always so interesting to see how the characters deal with the foresight of knowing the events that are going to happen and how that changes the dynamics of the characters. How having that kind of foresight colours their own opinions which are misguided (ex. thinking the person who killed you in the original story, hates you, but really your entire relationship is different now and they love you, etcetc).

I really enjoyed this manga and look forward to reading it when more volumes are released.

Disclaimer: I got this in exchange for an honest review. I'll also leave a full review on GoodReads and a promo on my bookstagram!

This book is so freaking cute and I absolutely loved this. If you're a fan of otome games and shoujo romance you will ADORE this one!!

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Mystia Aren is the daughter of a noble family. Her servants, classmates, and parents adore her. In general, she has a wonderful life! However, this world is actually a dating sim that Mystia used to play in her previous life. On top of that, Mystia was the evil rival who ruined things for the main character! Desperate to avoid that fate, Mystia strives to steer the game away from that outcome. Despite her best efforts, the love interests keep falling for her! Will Mystia become the evil rival from the game, or will she create her own story?

This was super cute! I already really like Mystia. Her efforts to steer the game a certain way are amusing, and I love how kind-hearted she is! Only two of the love interests are focused on in this book, but I like them both! I'm looking forward to meeting the others in future volumes. The art was beautiful too! There's a lot of humor in this book, and the romance aspect seems like it's going to be really good! It's honestly been a while since I've read a romance manga I've liked this much! I will definitely be picking up future volumes of this series!

I would highly recommend this series, particularly to fans of shojo and romance. Any fans of otome games will probably enjoy this as well!

Content: clean!

[Originally Posted on NookGaming.com]

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! is a fairly self-explanatory title. This review will look at volume 1 of this manga series based on a popular concept.

This manga is based on the light novel by Sou Inaida, with illustrations by Ataka. The author is mostly known for this title. The English localization is by Katie Kimura, who is credited in several manga by Tokyopop. The publisher has been around for quite a while; I used to buy their manga about fifteen years back and still have some of their titles!

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! - Prince

Welcome to Student Life
Unsurprisingly, while I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! starts with the protagonist surrounded by boys interested in her and talking about being in the game. This is just to set the scene though. It explains how she has just started school and has a month before the main character of the otome game will appear.

Unlike our protagonist, in the game, the villainess is a horrible person in the game. She does a number of tricks to try and win the heart of one of the characters. Along with that, she treats the main character terribly. The start of school is implied to be dangerous for her – the fate of the villainess isn’t good in the game after all!

The game is meant to start as they enter school, but most of volume one actually takes place before that.

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! - All Alone

Hit by the Isekai Truck
When Mystia was ten years old, she awoke to memories of her past life. Much like several other light novel protagonists, she was a somewhat introverted student who got hit by a truck at age sixteen. This included playing ‘Kyun-Love World’, an otome game she was convinced to play by a friend. It’s an overdone setup, but I don’t hold that against it. The isekai concept is common for a reason.

The Mystia we see is a kind girl, unlike the villainess in the game. We see her going out of her way to help strangers who are down on their luck or worse. She picks up a number of strays to work as servants for her family and the staff absolutely adore her. Though this does end up putting her in dangerous situations, so they’re incredibly overprotective.

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! - Prince Again

Soon on we meet Raid Nocter. He’s a ‘prince’ type character. The son of another wealthy noble family, Mystia’s father decides on an engagement between the two of them. This happened in the game too but didn’t turn out well in the end.

This is where we start to see an attempt to change things. Avoid the engagement or make it easy to break – no problems, right? It doesn’t go quite that smoothly, but it’s fun to see how things can change or stay the same. We see a few instances of ‘future knowledge’ being used. I wonder if things will change enough that it won’t help in future chapters. It does note at the start that personalities are different from the game. That might be because of the past events that Mystia influenced.

While there are some humorous moments, the tone and events are quite serious at times. This isn’t a comedy unlike many in the genre.

Melo the Maid

Worldbuilding and Love Interests
We get to spend time with one of the other love interests later in volume 1 of I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! There’s a bit of a surprise involved, so I won’t say much about it here. I certainly enjoyed that part of the story though.

Most of the rest of this volume is spent on Mystia’s history and building the world around her. Living as a noble, it’s filled with social events, dealing with other wealthy people, and having servants to take care of you. Alongside this, we also get a hint at some of the darker sides. Slavery is briefly mentioned and we see some people in rather unfortunate circumstances.

I’m curious to see more of the world. I hope we don’t get confined to only the school setting at some point, as I would enjoy seeing it expanded further.

Nice Otome Art

Art
I really enjoyed some of the detailed character art in I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! It mixes it with more standard art in the typical shoujo manga style.

Verdict
I actually picked up this title because of how much I enjoyed My Next Life as a Villainess. It’s very similar in concept, but this seems to be taking it much more seriously. I’m enjoying I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! so far and I’m interested to see where it goes.

I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! I've been on my list for a few months since I first read about it and the plot had totally fascinated me. Otome games and mangas are nothing new, but I liked the idea that the main character was reborn as a villain this time.

The cover is beautiful, the colors strong and the drawing style fits the topic and the genre perfectly for me.

The blurb says enough about the content and since we have a first volume here, I found the introduction really good. The story is funny, has a lot of humor, romance and definitely enough handsome guys to please the fan heart.

I'm excited about the plot and will definitely get the next part. I really want to know what happens next. ❤️ Great story for fans of romantic stories.

What do you mean I can’t give more than five stars!?!?! This needs all the stars!!!!! I absolutely love this manga!!!! Mystia is oh so adorable as is just about every single character!!

Seriously, the art is amazing, there is no shortage of lovely, gorgeous characters to gaze upon. Which is definitely something I enjoy in a graphic novel. And the plot!!! It’s oh so very intriguing. I think this is great setup for the plot that is to come. I cannot wait!!! Like, seriously, I need the next couple volumes right now...

I haven’t liked something this much since Chobits or Ouran High School Host Club!!! This has the same level of bingeworthiness and awesomeness. Mystia and everyone falling for her is just soooo cute and makes my heart burst!! Of course I recommend this to all romance manga lovers!!! This series is going to be the best!! I can tell already!!

Thank you soooo soooo much to NetGalley, Tokyopop, and Independent Publishers Group for allowing me to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!!!

Will be posted to my blog and Amazon shortly.

When a girl is put into a game and finds out that she has been placed in the body of the game’s villainess who is fated to die, Mystia will do anything to avoid that fate. Reincarnated years before the events that lead to her death, Mystia plans to avoid all the love interests and find a way to live a happy life with her family and all those she holds dear to her. So begins the hilarious and adorable story about a girl who is just trying to avoid all her love interests and all the people who adore her. I had so much fun reading this and the artwork was stunning! I loved that we got to read from various characters’ POVs on how they fell in love with Mystia and how she is growing up and trying to avoid her fate. It’s a sweet story that really just hits the spot! I can’t wait to read volume two!

*Thanks Netgalley and TOKYOPOP for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Tokyopop and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have been a huge fan of Tokyopop since the old days, and I'm so excited to see that they are back in business! I remember when I was a kid, I would go to the bookstores and look for Tokyopop titles like Fruits Basket, Dramacon, Bizenghast, etc. Those are still some of my favorite series, even though they came out a long time ago. I was excited to get this ARC from them now that I'm reviewing books on NetGalley. It's like my life has come full-circle!

I was Reincarnated as the Villainess... by Ataka, Sou Inaida is a semi-fantasy shojo manga about a high school girl named Mystia. She realizes that she's inside of an otome game (which is basically a dating and life simulation game that is targeted toward women). Unfortunately, as the title states, she is now the villain of the game! In case you didn't know, in typical manga storylines, the heroine usually has a romantic rival who fights her for the affections of the main love interest. So how will Mystia deal with being the rival instead of the main character? That's a question that I was eager to find out.

Firstly, the art is beautiful. The first few pages are in color, which are gorgeous, and then like typical manga, the rest is in black and white with screentones to make up for the lack of color. Next, the storyline was surprisingly interesting. Instead of a girl fulfilling her wish-fulfillment fantasy of being the main character of an otome game, Mystia is cast as the villain(ess) and has to deal with knowing that she's not supposed to end up with the guy at the end. One of my main questions was whether she would fulfill her role and be mean to whoever is chosen as the main character, Or, would she try her best to help the main character get the guy? This story was interesting from start to finish. .I recommend for all fans of otome games or shojo manga readers in general. If you're intrigued by the premise, I recommend that you check it out when it comes out in a few weeks!

This is such a cute isekai manga! The first chapter is a bit confusing while the story is established, but once it's set up it's very interesting. It starts out with Mystia Aren, the daughter of a noble family, at the opening ceremony on her first day of high school in an otome game setting world, then the rest of the volume goes back to when the main character first wakes up as 10 year old Mystia after dying saving someone on our real world.

She's played this dating sim before, and Mystia is actually the evil rival of the main character - who had a very bad ending! So Mystia is determined to change the course of the game and set herself - and everyone else - up for a better outcome in 5 years time when the game's high school setting rolls around.

It's hard to reconcile the bold and selfless Mystia with the villainous deeds attributed to the game Mystia, and the Mystia in the storyline seems to be an amalgamation of the isekai heroine's personality and the personality of the character whose body/memories she woke up with. It's a really intriguing dynamic and I can't wait to read more!