The reason y'all are disappointed with the romance is because the focus is not the romance at all. The romance is very slow burn and at this point in the manga she doesn't really have romantic feelings for him yet, besides being turned on by some physical attributes he possesses that she admited are her "fetish" since she was alive before. So if you were hoping to read a romance I can see why you don't quite like it. There is romance but it is not the "main dish" so it might feel half assed for some of you. So there is not much going on here nor with any other guys, it's all about her creating her own businesses and escaping the true "villains".
I have a lot to say, but the deadline is the 5th so I want to make sure everybody at least has the chance to get there before I dive in.
But I guess I can say I agree that romance isn't the main focus but it's really central to it. It is a classic isekai in the sense that Deborah is building her second life in another world, that's the main focus. Her romance is a core component of that larger focus. As for the specifics... I can wait until tomorrow.
Read 7 chapters not much happening, I like how she knows how the book goes and can change events, yeah just really early on in the manhwa. I dont usually read this genre
I, too, think that "villainess" in the title is misleading, it is more like "The Perks of Having a Richass Father and Some Premonition". She is really not acting like a villainess. Don't get me wrong though it is a fun read, but I gotta see someone darker-than-Esdeath to call villainess
I, too, think that "villainess" in the title is misleading, it is more like "The Perks of Having a Richass Father and Some Premonition". She is really not acting like a villainess. Don't get me wrong though it is a fun read, but I gotta see someone darker-than-Esdeath to call villainess
I have a lot to say, but the deadline is the 5th so I want to make sure everybody at least has the chance to get there before I dive in.
But I guess I can say I agree that romance isn't the main focus but it's really central to it. It is a classic isekai in the sense that Deborah is building her second life in another world, that's the main focus. Her romance is a core component of that larger focus. As for the specifics... I can wait until tomorrow.
Ok, so now that the time is up. The Perks of Being a Villainess has a lot of good things going for it and I enjoyed reading it. But it has some shortcomings for me personally.
In terms of positives, I like Deborah a lot and I actually like the very ornate art style. Sparkles and all.
In terms of negatives, in terms of negatives it's down to two things. It's very light on plot and it's very invested in Deborah x Isidor. Who is "ok" but not good enough to really evoke any kind of emotion from me.
This is where I'm end up with some questions.
#1 Does Isidor work better for the female audience which this webtoon is intended for?
Like he's supernaturally rich, supernaturally handsome, supernaturally talented, supernaturally knowledgeable, supernaturally influential. These lack of flaws make him difficult for me to empathize with or be interested in. Add to that a lack of any real character arc besides, I guess, going from bored of everything to in love with Deborah and he kind of holds the series back a bit for me. His best positive trait is his sense of humor and that holds him back from being what I'd call bad but for me it's not really enough. But you know, I wonder if that's just a me thing. Is he just an idealized man, pressed from a mold that, as a male reader, I just can't really relate to?
#2 Would this series have been better as a reverse harem?
I'm kind of surprised I find myself asking this question but when I think about what I feel like this series needs for a reader like me, it's more plot and a better showing from it's romantic lead. The reverse harem type stuff uses multiple love interests to bridge those exact gaps. It doesn't necessarily make it better but it would have given the author more to work with would it not? Thoughts?
Ok, so now that the time is up. The Perks of Being a Villainess has a lot of good things going for it and I enjoyed reading it. But it has some shortcomings for me personally.
In terms of positives, I like Deborah a lot and I actually like the very ornate art style. Sparkles and all.
In terms of negatives, in terms of negatives it's down to two things. It's very light on plot and it's very invested in Deborah x Isidor. Who is "ok" but not good enough to really evoke any kind of emotion from me.
This is where I'm end up with some questions.
#1 Does Isidor work better for the female audience which this webtoon is intended for?
Like he's supernaturally rich, supernaturally handsome, supernaturally talented, supernaturally knowledgeable, supernaturally influential. These lack of flaws make him difficult for me to empathize with or be interested in. Add to that a lack of any real character arc besides I guess, going from bored of everything to in love with Deborah and he kind of holds the series back a bit for me. His best positive trait is his sense of humor and that holds him back from being what I'd call bad but for me it's not really enough. But you know, I wonder if that's just a me thing. Is he just an idealized man, pressed from a mold that as a male reader I just can't really relate to.
#2 Would this series have been better as a reverse harem?
I'm kind of surprised I find myself asking this question but when I think about what I feel like this series needs for a reader like me, it's more plot and a better showing from it's romantic lead. The reverse harem type stuff uses multiple love interests to bridge those exact gaps. It doesn't necessarily make it better but it would have given the author more to work with would it not? Thoughts?
For my taste, a character like Isidor could work being almost flawless, it's not like i think he Has to have visible negative traits, the "problem" for me arises when he doesn't actually get to do much besides running after Deborah, as you said, he is bored and likes Deborah that's his life.
Also, the few negative traits the author decided to give him are actually not very interesting imo.
Like, he loves money (but he can easily compromise on that for Deborah's sake)
He is full of himself (but for Deborah's specifically he doesn't mind taking a step back)
He is germophobic (but Deborah can touch him)
I had hopes for the phobias, being either afraid of germs or being afraid of women but neither of those really ever comes up or serves as any kind of actual barrier to progress or personal flaw. Greed and narcissism are the same deal. It doesn't really serve as a flaw because it's not a limitation of any sort.
Anyway, let me toss out my remaining two
#3 What happened to Deborah's motivation for earning money and through that independence?
So initially, her evil brother was going to marry her off. So to avoid that she was earning money in order to buy a noble title because that was kind of the only way she could stay single and control her own destiny. But at a certain point that stops being a issue for her, for multiple reasons. But she's still business focused while ignoring everything about the original storyline. Which is weird to me. Because she's doing a thing she only did in order to solve a problem but that problem has been solved a looooong time at this point. Doesn't she need like a new motivation to do that thing? I understand the isekai thing of building a life in another world and all but what is motivation supposed to be at this point? She has tons of money now and complete control of her family.
#4 Mia who dat?
Seriously, I really don't get how Deborah can completely ignore the original protagonist and everything about her. The story needs to address that and do something with her doesn't it? I keep waiting for it do ANYTHING. Like presumably this otome game had a story of some sort, which it made sense for Deborah to ignore when she had like urgent issues to deal with which stopped being the case a while ago. It's like both her and the story forget she exists most of the time. Is that ok? I feel like it isn't.
Ok, so far I've only read 8 chapters. I wanted to catch up a bit more before writing anything, but my schedule was unforgiving.
I'm enjoying it so far though. It's a really smooth read, the plot is simple, and it's one of those series that's just easy and satisfying to read, at least for now. The beginning definitely has some tropey vibes (I'm not super familiar with villainess series, but it feels like the classic setup: a girl who was bullied and mistreated dies miserably and somehow gets reborn as a way to take revenge or rewrite her life).
I still have no idea how important magic will be later on, but so far not sure it is really necessary but it didnt feel forced.
Character-wise, I really like Deborah and her father. Her dad is surprisingly cool, and I like seeing him genuinely bonding with his daughter instead of caring about appearances or what other people think. Their interactions have been some of my favorite moments so far.
Art-wise, I like the character designs, and some of the little details are really nice. Overall it's a visually appealing series and a very easy, enjoyable read. Definitely curious to see where it goes from here, especially romance wise !!
We did reach the deadline, discussion is still open, and anyone is free to read more and share more .
Thanks everyone for joining this collective read.
I really appreciated seeing people genuinely commit to it this time. Some of you actually read the first chapter of every nomination before voting, and I honestly thought that was really cool. The manhwa is pretty cool and I'm happy to see that you, guys enjoy it.
I also loved seeing everyone's comments and first impressions as the read went on. That's tbh my favorite part of hosting these, discovering new series together and seeing completely different reactions to the same manga.
Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I'm already looking forward to the next collective read or watch, its up to you to decide !
So I can tell you a few that are "reverse harem" in the sense that it's like most shounen harems in that there are more like competing love interests but ultimately it settles on one. Most villainess stuff tends to lean that direction to some degree or another. Beware the Villainess is like that, which is quite good.
Like in manga it's somewhat rare to have one actually go with the "harem end" in the ones I read.
Ok, so far I've only read 8 chapters. I wanted to catch up a bit more before writing anything, but my schedule was unforgiving.
I'm enjoying it so far though. It's a really smooth read, the plot is simple, and it's one of those series that's just easy and satisfying to read, at least for now. The beginning definitely has some tropey vibes (I'm not super familiar with villainess series, but it feels like the classic setup: a girl who was bullied and mistreated dies miserably and somehow gets reborn as a way to take revenge or rewrite her life).
I still have no idea how important magic will be later on, but so far not sure it is really necessary but it didnt feel forced.
Character-wise, I really like Deborah and her father. Her dad is surprisingly cool, and I like seeing him genuinely bonding with his daughter instead of caring about appearances or what other people think. Their interactions have been some of my favorite moments so far.
Art-wise, I like the character designs, and some of the little details are really nice. Overall it's a visually appealing series and a very easy, enjoyable read. Definitely curious to see where it goes from here, especially romance wise !!
We did reach the deadline, discussion is still open, and anyone is free to read more and share more .
Thanks everyone for joining this collective read.
I really appreciated seeing people genuinely commit to it this time. Some of you actually read the first chapter of every nomination before voting, and I honestly thought that was really cool. The manhwa is pretty cool and I'm happy to see that you, guys enjoy it.
I also loved seeing everyone's comments and first impressions as the read went on. That's tbh my favorite part of hosting these, discovering new series together and seeing completely different reactions to the same manga.
Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I'm already looking forward to the next collective read or watch, its up to you to decide !
Ok, so far I've only read 8 chapters. I wanted to catch up a bit more before writing anything, but my schedule was unforgiving.
I'm enjoying it so far though. It's a really smooth read, the plot is simple, and it's one of those series that's just easy and satisfying to read, at least for now. The beginning definitely has some tropey vibes (I'm not super familiar with villainess series, but it feels like the classic setup: a girl who was bullied and mistreated dies miserably and somehow gets reborn as a way to take revenge or rewrite her life).
I still have no idea how important magic will be later on, but so far not sure it is really necessary but it didnt feel forced.
Character-wise, I really like Deborah and her father. Her dad is surprisingly cool, and I like seeing him genuinely bonding with his daughter instead of caring about appearances or what other people think. Their interactions have been some of my favorite moments so far.
I would echo what you said about her family. That was something I liked a great deal. Building her relationship with her father and her kid brother were definitely things that I enjoyed too.
I'm far from up to date (12 chapters in) but I found it enjoyable.
I haven't read a lot of villainess manhwa so it's not a trope I'm very familiar with. The only other I've read would be Bakarina. This one is very different, tho you still have the basis of trying to avoid the original character's fatal destiny. The MC is likeable. I look forward to seeing how she avoids her fate with cunning.
Her brothers are quite the ******** I wonder if she'll influence their behaviors positively. Maybe not ? Even in Isekai some characters never change (for plot reasons ofc).
TL;DR : Nice discovery, will keep reading when I have time !
Most manga and manwha romance are all about the chase. The story ends when love interests become a couple, as if nothing interesting or relevant occurs afterward.
I applaud the power couple dynamic being fleshed out & explored as a rarity. They're team building, their individual strengths compliment each others weaknesses. Deborah is succeeding wildly in all of her business ventures. But she would have enjoyed only a small fraction of that success without Isidor's contributions. Likewise, Isidor seemed like an overachiever, bored of life, until she came along. She gives him a reason to try harder and do more. Joust, piano, etc. They bring out the best in each other with both benefiting from the relationship. I like that side to the romance.
A power couple dynamic could be tough to do right. Big name titles don't even try. There is always a time skip between dating and them showing up with kids, later. As if the time period of them being a couple is lackluster and not worth writing about.
One thing I dislike, Deborah travelling everywhere by herself. Should have at least one bodyguard & be embarrassed to be saved by Isidor multiple times. I guess its supposed to be romantic that he shows up all stalker white knight to save her. But it seems more like negligence on her part, than romance.
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