I’m the Villainess So I’m Taming the Final Boss: Part 1

Written By Sarasa Nagase, art done by Mai Murasaki.

The Synopsis: Avoid the bad ending at all costs! When her fiancé breaks up with her in front of the entire student body, noblewoman Aileen d’Autriche is devastated-or she would have been, if that wasn’t also the exact moment memories of her past life came crashing back! Turns out, she’s been reborn as the villainess of a dating sim…and according to the story, she’s slated to die at the hands of the demon king in three months! But Aileen’s already got a plan: Step one, get Demon King Claude to fall in love with her. Step two, live!

Publisher: ‎ Yen Press (October 26, 2021)

Language: ‎ English

Paperback: ‎ 164 pages

The Genre: Fantasy, YA Romance, Isekai

Book Type: Light novel, also comes in Manga.

The Characters:

Aileen - Aileen is a ball of fire, she has lived out her life as a noblewoman with a bad attitude, and when the trauma of being dumped in front of the entire school brings back her past life memories, she doesn’t sit back and let fate take her. She immediately goes into action and begins changing the character’s fate, without even taking a breath to be sad. She is a strong character and I genuinely enjoyed reading her inner thoughts and how she planned on paving her own path.

Claude - I love Claude. His personality is adorable, he’s a demon king and is feared by many, but all he wants is to keep those he cares for safe. He was abandoned by his family and does not think he deserves the friends and allies Aileen brings to him. He is also wary of her help, he fears accepting help from nobles as in his mind they all want to destroy or use the demons.

Side Characters - Aileen comes with a ragtag team of men who are willing to help her at the drop of a hat. Her broken engagement also means that any businesses she had going as the prince’s fiance are now controlled by the imperial family, and her chosen team is kicked to the curb. They all gladly help her as it means money and work for them, but they also want to see her do better in the world and find themselves caring for the demons. We meet some prominent demons as well, with three notable demon sidekicks. Beelzebuth, the demon kind’s right-hand demon, is one of my favorite characters, as is Almond a demonic crow who antagonizes Aileen in a playful manner. The actual antagonists in this book are annoying, yes, but they don’t become truly evil in part 1.

The Book: Loved it, and instantly bought the next two after finishing this. 4.5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Although this book is considered “middle grade” and can be read by readers aged 8 and up, as the characters are adults (legally) the banter and flirting can be a little suggestive without actually making suggestions. Think about the innuendos put in children’s shows, things that go over a child’s head but a teen or adult would understand. The romance aspect of it is adorable. I love watching Claude loosen up around Aileen, and seeing them slowly fall for each other is endearing. The adventure/action aspect of it is fun! Aileen is trying to escape her own death as well as the death of those around her, based on the information she has from playing the video game in her past life. It is a simple and quick read, and one to put you in a light-hearted mood.

The Anime: The anime only lasted 12 episodes and split the three books into thirds, with 4 episodes each. Book 1 covers the first 4 episodes of the series, and they were the most boring of the 12 episodes. For these 4 episodes, I give a 3/5. Not that they were boring in general, but just in comparison to the rest of the season, and the book, they weren’t very exciting. I felt like we rushed through the book, there was so much I wanted to see that did not come to light. In the anime, Claude almost instantly fell in love, I wanted to watch it move slowly. I think this was in part due to them wanting to show more of the action than the romance, despite it being a romance anime. It was good as a whole, these episodes just did not live up to the book. I did love the characters coming to life, the humans were all well and good, but I don't think Claude was as cute as the book art. The demons, oh my gosh ribbon and almond were so cute and I love them so much.

To Buy the book click here: https://www.amazon.com/Villainess-Taming-Final-Boss-manga/dp/1975321200#detailBullets_feature_div

To watch the anime go here:

VRV: https://vrv.co/series/GG5H5X0JK/Im-the-Villainess-So-Im-Taming-the-Final-Boss?modal=powerup

Crunchyroll: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5X0JK/im-the-villainess-so-im-taming-the-final-boss