My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Is the latest reverse-harem anime to air this spring season. The villainess in question, Katarina Claes, is far from your typical mistress of evil. In fact, she’s probably the exact opposite!
This article contains very mild spoilers.
Katarina’s seemingly endless struggle to change her fate, combined with her unorthodox approach to everything, is what makes her such a lovable heroine.
The otome game nerd turned otome game antagonist has become one of the more captivating main characters of the 2020 anime spring season. Her kind personality has stolen more than just the hearts of those near to her, but the rest of the audience as well. We break down why Katarina is such a lovable character in this reincarnation turned rom-com anime. So, in no particular order, let’s begin!
Ditzy Damsel
Although Katarina was a high schooler before being reincarnated into the younger version of Fortune Lover‘s main antagonist, she is still rather ditzy and does not always make the most rational decisions. Despite not being known for her quick wit, her warmhearted personality and kind nature are enough to win the affection of the other characters in her new-found world.
Katarina truly cares for the characters she befriends and tries her absolute best to change their fates for the better, even at her own expense. Her friendly demeanor seemingly attracts the attention of others. However, like a true harem protagonist, Katarina fails to notice the gradual effect she has on others, even the girls.
Everyone eventually finds a soft spot for Katarina and we certainly can’t blame them. Her lack of self-awareness is what makes the show so unpredictable and comedic, especially when her very life is at stake. Katarina’s rather dimwitted persona is just another part of her loving, genuine self!
My Next Life as a Villainess GN Vol 01
from: Things From Another World
Humble Farmer
To strengthen her earth magic, Katarina actively tends to her… crops. Yes, you read that right. Despite being a princess, Katarina puts on the overalls and works the field as if there were no tomorrow. She believes her work with mother nature will increase her magical affinity, and thus be able to protect herself against all odds.
Katarina becomes so engrossed in her farming that If you listen closely, she can even be heard shouting random phrases when plowing the soil, much to her mother’s dismay. It can be seen as a rather embarrassing act for the daughter of a royal family to partake in manual labour, typically seen from commoners, but that doesn’t bother Katarina at all. In fact, her friends and her fiance, Gerald, often visit Katarina while she is under the sun, working hard on her crops.
She is not afraid to do some honest work, even if that goes against the ideals of a princess. Although Katarina farms the land more often than not, her progression in earth magic still has a lot of room for improvement. Of course, her mediocre results have yet to deter her from wielding the rake.
New Body Same Girl
When we think of princesses, we probably imagine elegant girls who have mastered everything there is to know about being ladylike. Katarina Claes, however, remains exactly who she was in her original life. Although she resides in a new body, the characteristics she exhibited in her past life transitioned almost perfectly.
My Next Life as a Villainess GN Vol 02
from: Things From Another World
She does weird stuff that everyone would find unusual. Her talents in tree climbing, for instance, are so bizarre yet fascinating at the same time. Her stepbrother and fiance continue to marvel at Katarina’s ability to swiftly and quickly climb trees, despite it being a rather trivial skill… so far, anyway. Her tree climbing habits always cause problems but they aren’t enough of a deterrent to stop Katarina from latching onto them leisurely.
Her appetite is also quite concerning. Katarina has a black hole of a stomach for all things sweet. She continuously eats dessert with her bare hands while stuffing her mouth like a hungry hamster. As mentioned before, Katarina’s ill-mannered eating habits and tendency to willingly eat food off the floor, as long as it’s picked up right away, usually get on her mother’s nerves.
She is everything you wouldn’t expect out of a princess, but Katarina’s particular oddity is probably why she’s the centre of attraction among friends, royal or not.
The Chibi Council
Katarina is put in a really tough spot. At the end of her chapter, she is unfortunately killed by her fiance and loses everything to the true heroine, Maria. Knowing this beforehand, she does everything possible to change her doomed fate. Fortune Lover has a lot of routes to take and Katarina needs to be aware of all of them.
With her life at risk, Katarina channels her inner council of subconsciousness to evaluate and determine the best course of action to take. They are represented by little Katarinas, with each of them having a slight distinction from one another to represent a specific characteristic.
The council members usually argue among themselves but they almost always come to terms with a decision, even though it might not be the right one. Katarina works in mysterious ways, so it shouldn’t come to a surprise that her mind works like a council of chibis settling a debate. On a side note, Umaru from Himouto! Umaru-chan also has a similar way of thinking.
Benevolent
Beneath Katarina’s princess status lies a regular girl who truly cares for everyone close to her. Despite being reincarnated as a villain, Katarina has yet to do any misdeeds in her newfound life. Yes, she upsets her mother from time to time, but they mostly stem from her not abiding by the traditional princess lifestyle.
She does everything in her path to prevent a doomed destiny, but inadvertently counteracts her efforts by intuitively helping others. She wins the hearts of the other characters not by intention but by simply being herself and preserving the morals she was raised with. Katarina is a down-to-earth girl who can’t help but emit a ray of warm sunlight wherever she passes. Her earth magic may still be in its beginning stages, but her power to befriend even destined enemies is a type of spell that may very well surpass all the elements.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is currently available to stream legally on Crunchyroll and is expected to complete its first 12-episode season by late June.