Im the Villainess So Im Taming the Final Boss The Otomoe Villainess genre has been picking up steam lately with multiple series receiving adaptations. For those unaware the genre often features a girl being reincarnated as the villainess of a datingsim game often set in a magical medieval world. The protagonist having knowledge of the games entire story must then find a way to prevent her oncoming demise usually through some sort of romantic endeavor. You might already be familiar with My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doomhttps://anilist.co/anime/104647/MyNextLifeasaVillainessAllRoutesLeadtoDoom/ otherwise known as Hamefura. While that was the first Otome show to really enter the mainstream as a comedy first and foremost its quite different from what this show has to offer. Premise This show wastes absolutely no time getting to the action. Our protagonist is reincarnated as the villainess Aileen right as the game reaches its climax. Publicly dumped at a ball by her fiancee Cedric in favor of the games protagonist Lilia Aileen realizes that shes speeding towards her demise. Aileen knows that shes destined to her doom at the hands of Claude the outcast demon prince whos the brother of Cedric. In order to avoid her death she decides not to prepare for her fight with Claude but instead to marry him. She also must overcome Cedric and Lilia who stand to block her at every turn. Claude as a halfdemon was outcast from the royal family and now presides over all demons. The lasting effects of a prior demon/human conflict ultimately damaged the relationship between the two and theres an uneasy peace that permeates throughout. Story The show splits itself into 3 distinct arcs with each of them covering the plot different games in the fictional otome series. Each of these arcs could be an entire show in their own right with their own central conflict and a batch of characters added to the cast. As a result the story moves at a brisk pace keeping it fresh and engaging every week. Theres not a single filler episode and theres barely any downtime either. At times the pace can be a little too fast. Theres some elements that are handwaved and quite a few characters remain underdeveloped. For some shows this could result in something feeling directionless or having underwhelming climaxes. In this case it results in an extremely focused story which never strays too far on any tangents. This show constantly has a sense of urgency and Aileen is constantly forced to tackle new scenarios. Theres a few twists and turns as the show progresses however the brisk pace leaves little room for nuance or anything extremely original. While this could be problematic for other shows here the strong cast elevate the otherwise average writing. Characters Aileen is a fantastic protagonist who ultimately turns the series from something average into something special. Hamefura the otome mentioned earler struggled a little because its protagonist Catarina Claes lost all of her villainess edge postreincarnation. Of course as a comedy it had a different purpose than this show but knowing her helps viewers appreciate Aileen even more. Catarina feels like someone overwrote the villainess original personality. In contrast Aileen truly feels like someone was reincarnated into the villainess personality. Shes bold brash cunning and independent. She keeps the sharp edge of a villainess while channeling that energy to help herself and others. Things dont come to her she goes out an makes things happen herself. Every time shes knocked down she gets back up and keeps moving forward. Shes a protagonist who you cant help but cheer for. On top of that Aileen is also sensitive and she shows a cuter side when teased by Claude. Rie Takahashihttps://anilist.co/staff/119331/RieTakahashi does a fantastic job in this role and she truly elevates Aileen to being an amazing protagonist with her exceptional range. Claude is an interesting main love interest for Aileen. One would expect the final boss of the otome game to be more antagonistic however Claude shows kindness to Aileen. He pairs extremely well with her and is also bold and cunning in his own right. The two have a delightful chemistry and bounce off of each other well. Without spoiling its hard to talk about Cedric and Lilia. Kana Hanazawahttps://anilist.co/staff/95185/KanaHanazawa does a great job a changing Lilias personality with the flip of a switch. She goes from cute to evil without hesitation and this helps make her an antagonist that youll enjoy disliking. The rest of the characters serve their roles well. Although theres not much depth to the supporting cast this doesnt hurt the story at all. By constantly adding new characters with every arc the shallowness of the individuals is balanced out just by the sheer volume of the group. Art Sound Etc. The art of the series isnt anything incredibly special but it also doesnt get in the way of enjoying the series. Its not a show that youll remember for having outstanding animation but its not a show youll remember for having awful animation either. The background soundtrack is equally mundane and theres nothing that gets in the way. The OPs visuals are ok and get the job done but the song stands out as something special. https://youtu.be/eWPySWPBOtk The song is sung by Rie Takahashi but its not labeled as a character song by Aileen. Sometimes characters songs can feel off if the seiyuu is forced to sing a style that doesnt match their solo work. The staff producing the song are the same people who work on her solo music and as a result the song fits like a glove for her. Theres even slight additions to the OP reflecting each distinct arc of the series. The song feels right in place with her other songs like this one which might as well be the OP anyways. Rie Takahashis solo music is absolutely worth checking out if youre a fan of this OP. https://youtu.be/8mQ0WYwgpnE The ED by Nomick is equally as fantastic and was a great way to cap off each episode. https://youtu.be/EAC2kBMAhbw Conclusion Im the Villainess So Im Taming the Final Boss is an excellent entry point for newcomers to the otome villainess genre. Its a little rough around the edges but it makes up for that by having a focused plot and very strong main cast. While its not a show that will go down as one of the greats its one that was pretty good all around. If you missed it as it was airing the brisk pace will make it an easy and enjoyable binge.