The Best Villainess Anime, Ranked
Vote up your favorite anime about villainesses.
While some anime trends are broad, others are highly specific. That's what's going on with anime about villainesses. These anime are usually isekai series that involve a female character being transported into the world of her favorite otome game or novel, only to discover that she's the villainess. Her new goal is to figure out how to avoid the villainess's grisly fate.
That's the basic summary for My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss, and several other shows - but there are others that approach the concept a little bit differently. For example, Saga of Tanya the Evil is about a middle-aged man who is transported into a fantasy world as a villainous little girl. Meanwhile, I'm in Love with the Villainess features a woman who is reincarnated as the protagonist of a game, but is madly in love with the villainess instead of the male lead.
- 1177 VOTES
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord
Photo: JumondouVillainess Level 99 is a bit different from most villainess anime in that romance isn't the central focus of the story. If anything, the heroine Eumiella Dolkness couldn't care less about romance. All she wants is to be able to practice her dark magic in peace. Unfortunately for her, things aren't that simple.
She's been reincarnated into a game world as the daughter of a count. This already means that people are paying attention to her, but it gets worse. In the Varschein Kingdom, dark hair is heavily stigmatized, and Eumiella has pitch-black hair. What's more, she knows that she's living in a game she's been reincarnated into, and she knows she's supposed to be the surprise boss. Oh, and her magic training got her to Level 99.
Eumiella tries to stay under the radar when she attends a magic academy, but no matter how hard she tries she can't seem to avoid standing out. Her abilities are above and beyond everyone else. This, her hair, and the fact that the game's heroine has decided that she's a demon lord all make the peaceful life she yearns for seem impossible.
- 2232 VOTES
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!
Photo: Studio KaiMost anime characters who are reincarnated experience it once, or maybe twice at most. For Rishe, that number is a lot higher - she's been reincarnated a whopping seven times.
She's hoping to spend her current reincarnation leading a life of ease, but that's not going to be easy. In order to lead the high life of her dreams, she's going to have to marry a prince. That would be hard enough, but this prince happens to be the person who ended her past lives! To deal with the prince and break her time loop, she'll need the accumulated knowledge of all six of her lifetimes.
- Photo: Maho Film
When Aileen Lauren Dautriche's fiance, the crown prince Cedric Jeanne Elmir, dumps her so that he can marry Lilia Rainworth instead, Aileen is flooded with memories of her past life. She realizes that she's actually in the middle of an otome game where not only is she is the villainess, she's going to lose her life at the end of the game.
She decides to try and put a stop to her foretold demise by marrying Cedric's half-brother Claude Jeanne Elmir. But this is no easy task. Claude is known as the “Demon King” - a frightening moniker that actually refers to his desire to create peace between humans and demons. He doesn't trust Aileen and isn't willing to partner with her, so she sets about trying to help with his peacekeeping quest. Can she win him over and change her fate?
If you're a sucker for romance series where the brooding “villain” gets the girl, I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss should be right up your alley.
- #94 of 246 onThe Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
- #122 of 182 onThe 50+ Best Romance Anime Ever Made (2024 Update)
- #150 of 251 onThe Best Anime On Crunchyroll
- Photo: Maho Film
Dr. Aoi Takamoto is one of the most celebrated surgeons in the world, but she wasn't always devoted to helping people. In her former life as Elise de Clorance, an emperor's wife, her greed and envy led to not just losing her loved ones, but to her own passing. She remembers every bit of her old life, and is determined to dedicate her new one to helping people instead.
When she finds herself back in her old body, she has a chance to fix the mistakes she made. She decides to bring her healing skills to her new life. Things go relatively well, but there's one problem - she still might be engaged to Prince Linden de Romanoff, the man who she loved so much it destroyed her.
There aren't too many medical-themed anime out there, so it's refreshing to have a series that portrays a talented woman in STEM. The historical setting also adds an interesting element to the story as Elise uses her knowledge of modern medicine to help her empire.
- #171 of 246 onThe Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
- #135 of 182 onThe 50+ Best Romance Anime Ever Made (2024 Update)
- #140 of 251 onThe Best Anime On Crunchyroll
- Photo: Silver Link
A young woman who is obsessed with the otome game Fortune Lover gets reincarnated as the game's villainess, Caterina Claes. No matter what path the player takes, Caterina always meets a terrible end. How can she possibly avoid her fate? By being extremely nice to everyone, that's how. If she doesn't make any enemies or do anything evil, she won't trigger the in-game flags that spell her own demise. At least, that's how she hopes things will work out.
My Next Life as a Villainess is arguably the anime that put the villainess trend on the map. There's nothing more entertaining than watching an oblivious Caterina accidentally build an entire harem of love interests. She even manages to make the game's female lead fall in love with her. The comedic irony of it all makes this series so fun to watch.
- #70 of 148 onThe Most Popular Anime Right Now
- #60 of 182 onThe 50+ Best Romance Anime Ever Made (2024 Update)
- #121 of 251 onThe Best Anime On Crunchyroll
- Photo: OLM Team Yoshioka
When Pride Royal Ivy, the firstborn princess of Freesia, is eight years old, she realizes that she used to be someone else - a fan of the otome game Our Ray of Light who passed away while preparing to replay the game. Now realizing that she's living in a game, she can analyze her past behavior from a fresh perspective. The new version of Pride is horrified by how poorly she's treated her siblings, and how badly she'll behave - and the consequences she'll reap - in the future as a villainess.
Though she hopes to turn things around as the game progresses, she realizes that she may not be able to defy fate. Still, she's determined to try and protect her family and her kingdom, and to be the good person she knows she is in her heart.
While the premise isn't anything unique, Pride is a standout heroine who genuinely cares about helping her kindgom. Instead of focusing on forced romantic subplots, the series spends its energy on Pride's journey to become a better leader.
- #136 of 246 onThe Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
- #165 of 182 onThe 50+ Best Romance Anime Ever Made (2024 Update)
- #19 of 23 onThe 23 Best Isekai Romance Anime
- 7136 VOTESPhoto: Platinum Vision
Getting tired of hot princes and noblemen? Then you should watch I'm in Love with the Villainess. Office worker Rei Ohashi is transported to the world of her favorite otome game as Rae Taylor, a student at Bauer Kingdom's prestigious Royal Academy.
Despite being the main character, Rae couldn't care less about the male love interests in the game. Instead, her focus is on the game's villainess, Claire François. She's absolutely head over heels for Claire and is determined to spend as much time with her as possible, even if it means throwing aside all the romantic moments the game tries to create for her with the male leads and seriously creeping out Claire.
If you're looking for a self-aware villainess anime with a yuri twist, this is the show for you.
- #157 of 246 onThe Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
- #178 of 182 onThe 50+ Best Romance Anime Ever Made (2024 Update)
- #177 of 251 onThe Best Anime On Crunchyroll
- 890 VOTES
Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte
Photo: Tezuka ProductionsShihono Kobayashi is a devoted fan of an otome game called MagiKoi. She's particularly enraptured by the game's villainess, Lieselotte Riefenstahl, whom she believes to be a misunderstood tsundere. But because of Lieselotte's role as a villainess, she's doomed to come to a bad end.
Kobayashi convinces her friend and fellow broadcasting member Aoto Endo to give the game a shot. The games starts out normally, but then the game's leading love interest, Siegwald Fitzenhagen, hears and reacts to their voices! The two of them are seen as gods from on high, and it's up to them to guide the characters to the outcome they want - which in this case means saving Lieselotte.
Although the plot sounds complicated, its witty and metafictional storytelling is what makes this show a breath of fresh air within the genre. Not only do viewers get to follow the characters from the otome game, they also get to witness Endo and Kobayashi's own love story unfold as they help Lieselotte reach her happily ever after.
- 987 VOTESPhoto: Silver Link
Tearmoon Empire is interesting because it isn't an isekai - it's about a spoiled princess who gets reincarnated as her 12-year-old self, in the same kingdom she was already from. This gives her an opportunity to fix major problems in her kingdom, which include an epidemic, terrible financial management, and a famine.
In her original timeline, these problems led to a revolution that put her head in a guillotine. This time around, she's determined to prevent her kingdom from falling into ruin and avoid her own grim fate.
- 10107 VOTESPhoto: NUT
Saga of Tanya the Evil doesn't follow the traditional premise of a typical villainess anime - instead of the heroine trying to undo her status as a villain, the protagonist has no qualms with embracing her evil nature.
It follows a middle-aged Japanese salaryman who is transported into another world that's rife with magical warfare. What's more, he is reincarnated as a seemingly helpless little girl named Tanya Degurechaff.
But Tanya isn't nearly as helpless as she appears to be. She soon works her way up the chain of command in the military and becomes a ruthless leader who can easily destroy any enemy. She's doing this because if she works hard enough, she'll eventually be able to lead an easy, comfortable life, and she doesn't care who gets hurt in the process.
- #64 of 246 onThe Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
- #89 of 234 onThe Best Action Anime Of All Time
- #74 of 251 onThe Best Anime On Crunchyroll
