Відео

Wonderful video, when I saw those neat animated segments, paired with a thorough analysis, I fell in love with your channel! I can't wait to hear more of what you have to say next 🧡

23:44 I WAS ROOTING FOR MY JINGLIU WHO KILLED HER OWN ARMY HERSELF FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AND I DONT CARE SHE IS SUCH A GREAT VILLAIN WHO WILL SAVE THE DAY ANYWAYS and still I love and respect blade as character and saying that we should cancel jingliu because she harmed blade is ignorant to the lore of both of them - blade hates his curse of immortality so much he ON HIS OWN prefers dying hundred times by the sword of his own master and friend of his past self rather than give up to the curse... ah, hsr and hoyoverse as a company really know how to make twisted characters with such a strong motivation I'll easily eat up all their villains, raiden ei is a dictator yet because of how complex and traumatized through centuries her character is I love her so much, I feel her rage, her fears, her losses she is still hated by the fandom while her story was in its peak years ago but I love her and I'll support her

This was a wonderful perspective of the emerging genre. You voiced concisely my internal thoughts of my attachment to the genre. I look forward to future videos!

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My experience. We are not just the rational part of ourselves. You could call it the shadow, the animal, our own personal Hyde (at least that is how I approached it for the longest time); whatever it is --- there is a part of ourselves that revels in what you would call 'dark' behaviour particularly when it comes to sex. In men, its a desire to dominate, control and be sexually promiscuous with as many women as possible without consequence or responsibility. With women -- at least from what I have experienced -- its a desire to submit and give up any kind of control or responsibility for any sexual behaviour they might experience (guilt-free and consequence-free sex) while being so desirable that a worthy man gives up his sexual freedom with other women to focus exclusively on her. I grew up on Romance novels and the thing they get right is understanding this aspect of human nature which is packaged in romance. Usually the lead male is extremely sexually experienced who slowly by slowly is tamed by the lead female (who is forced by circumstances to submit sexually -- often to her benefit -- to the lead male). That was a very simplified explanation and when I use language like that -- I am not saying women are less than men or condoning non-consensual sexual relationships. I am only pointing out that there is a part of us beyond our rational mind that has preferences. (P.S all of this is not set in stone -- this are just things I have seen) I have spent years exploring my dark side without a safety net (which was unwise but I learnt a lot). I genuinely believe that the relationships between the sexes would be better if we understood and acknowledged this aspect of ourselves. However just exploring it or indulging it without a safety net is dangerous (rationality, responsibility, service, love). That is the service that Romance novels provide -- they allow us to explore this side of ourselves without risk. So when a woman says there is a lot to learn from Fifty Shades of Grey, she is not saying that you act like Mr. Grey -- only that the book will teach you a lot about what women instinctually respond to when it comes to love and sex. You don't need to be into the BDSM, but I have found the majority of women absolutely enjoy and are sexually aroused by a man being in charge particularly when he is focused on her wellbeing (without sacrificing his own) and benefitting the relationship.

When these stories do it right, it's awesome seeing the "Purity Sue Heroine" and "Villainess" turned on their head! I would throw in Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter (Kōshaku Reijō no Tashinami) which had a similar premise to this one (actually it was reading THAT ONE that lead to me LOVING these types of stories and finding "Villains are Destined to Die" shortly after reading the manga and getting STUCK in update hell that I read the Novel, it has no ANIME I don't get WHY the translators TAKE SO LONG TO UPDATE IT yeesh) story begins when the Japanese Protagonist gets Isekai into the "Villainess" RIGHT in the middle of the "Condemning Annulment" scene where she avoids the "Send to a Monastery" ending by APPEALING to her father the Duke to send her home and have her take charge there while he's fixing the mess her EX-Fiancee and her idiot brother caused with this "shaming" attempt! The story then goes into what happens when you take away all the FANTASY Romance OTOME stuff from the story and brings up REALISTIC outcomes! Like for example, she was engaged to the Prince along wit her brother being his assistant BECAUSE their father the prime Minister wanted them to be his eyes and ears so he can keep the peace and stability in the Empire as his stance is NEUTRAL! But the two screwed up (the Villainess BEFORE she got taken over by the Protagonist) by her falling TOO OBESSED with the prince that she acted quite foolish and her brother being one of the "Fishes" for the "Heroine" that instead of working WITH his sister, he foolishly HELPS the prince in annulling his engagement with his sister under a "wanting his beloved to be HAPPY with the Prince"....even when that HARMS his house, father and most important HIMSELF acting in the WORST interest of his family even WHEN he tries to convince himself he was "doing the right thing" and well it takes some MAJOR notice on things NORMAL to a OTOME STORY. Such as "What type of person would do what HEROINES do! The FAKENESS of that "Purity sue" shit Funny Part is the Protagonist reputation isn't damaged badly by what happened, rather the people at the graduation party actually PITTIED her as the PRINCE was in the wrong (just couldn't say anything cause.....it's the PRINCE, DAMN YOU LESE MAJESTE) especially as not EVERYTHING negative she did to the Heroine in her "Bullying" was wrong since HE was actively CHEATING OPENLY with a Commoner made Baroness Daughter! And everything the Heroine and Prince do going forward LOOK good in practise (The Prince is even SHOWN to be an IMMATURE brat who is VERY Hypocritical, other then his LOVE for the Heroine shown to be Genuine, he really doesn't THINK about his actions going forward, in one breath he talks about how people shouldn't "use their titles" to talk down or not be APPROACHED by those of LOWER titles, yet is quick to hide behind his PRINCE title when things don't go his way, Hell any FUTURE antagonism to the Protagonist from him is mostly because he's a PETTY asshole after her because "she never apologized to the Heroine for her BULLYING" which was NEVER going to happen because of Social Status and the fact HE was in the wrong for publicly CHEATING on her AND the Heroine approaching HER Fiancee when she SHOULD know better! Even the Protagonist notes how stupid and childish he is for his ATTACKS on her when they are LONG broken up and he SHOULD have nothing to do with her anymore! It's mostly because the HEROINE is directing these attacks out of her OWN pettiness! But well read the story, or look it up on Tv Tropes! It's a damn good read) and even the HEROINE isn't as "EFFECTIVE" as she think she is! Other noble women EASILY see through her "cutesy" act and keep their distance. But Noblemen, especially YOUNG ones who SHOULD know better about Honey Traps and be more guarded, quickly fall for her tricks and get SEDUCED, especially taking into mind the men who DON'T are wizen older ones who ARE unguard for this behavior and Men with more sense in their HEAD/Instincts then the head between their legs! Even the Villainess Brother who WAS seduced by her into a fool starts growing up and FINALLY notices how FAKE she's always been when he LISTENS to the stuff she's saying and NOT thinking "it's cute" like the Prince! Hurts him more cause he KNOWS he expected this, but still fell for it anyway, his growth in the story is just AWESOME! You can say everything that happens is Reality working as intended and Antagonist usually suffering (the BEST Antagonist is the only one to get away, but that's cause he isn't attacking the Protagonist out of petty reasons, it's cause it's "Business" being a SPY of an enemy kingdom and the Protagonist's actions are covering up or DISCOVERING the holes he's made to the Empire in her pursuit of just doing her JOB! He only messes with her as a SIDE EFFECT of trying to undo the fixes she's making UNAWARE of him and what he's doing! He even GETS AWAY because unlike the OTHER Antagonists who just attack her till the counterattack has them "BEGGING TO BE SPARED" he never really "Went after her" and wisely retreated to safety cause "he got what he wanted" as even her FIXES didn't change that he still damaged the empire enough for his side to HAVE a chance to win! It's noting the fact the ONLY antagonist who was one BY ACCIDENT who gets away while the rest walk to their DOOM fucking with protagonist was the cherry on top! I loved it) Then you got my REAL favorite, Beware the Villainess! I just loved how the Villainess pointed out the MAJOR FLAWS of the "" I always saw it as the Parody COMEDY version of "Villains are destined to die" (as I saw "Prison Life Is Easy for a Villainess (婚約破棄から始まる悪役令嬢の監獄スローライフ Konyaku Haki kara Hajimaru Akuyaku Reijou no Kangoku Slow Life, "The Villainess' Slow Prison Life Began With Her Broken Engagement" as the Parody to Duke's Daughter) as you get a REAL analysis of just how TERRIBLE each of the typical Harem ML would be in real life! Like the Prince being a Playboy who cheats on his fiancee, and to get rid of the girls when he's done, lets his fiancee find out about them so she would attack them in fury and NOT blaming him, and SHE'D get seen as "the unreasonable one" and of course his immaturity (he KNOWS he's in a spot where he NEEDS his engagement to the Villainess to have her father, the Duke as his ally for the thrown, being the Son of a MAID/MISTRESS/CONCUBINE, so his actions of pissing her off to ANNULL the engagement would end BADLY for him and he only REALIZES it when she's SERIOUS about it!); Her Brother being the "stoic badass who follows the Heroine to protect her from danger......which just makes him a CREEP STALKER who even the Villainess who use to THINK it was romantic, thinks about it more and realizes how Creepy that is; And more! Best Part is I enjoyed the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT on even the assholes. Best character's being her snarky maid, the ML who was a character meant to die for the sake of making a "villain" in the original story a REAL ASSHOLE who she saved, and the Heroine who is stuck in a TIME LOOP by the REAL villain of the story, so much in seeing ALL the routes that she is TURNED OFF by each of the ML as she witness their flaws like the rest of us! Even noting the Villainess ORIGINAL Personality and taking interest in her because she's not acting "in character" (Specifically when she saw her die, she was HORRIFIED as the worst she's done is MINOR things, nothing worth KILLING her over!)

This is a really great analytical breakdown of why these romance books are so prevalent in pop culture, and it's a refreshing take. That said, I would challenge the idea that these types of romance books are only a symptom of patriarchy rather than the cause. I would argue it can be both: symptomatic of our patriarchal culture while also perpetuating it. We are socialized, in part, by our media and maybe not a single book can brainwash someone, but an entire genre that portrays gender inequality in a romantic light can strengthen our cultural belief that women are subservient to men. Reading books like these may be a coping mechanism for women struggling with their power and sexuality, but it can still be harmful. I'm not trying to make the fear-mongering "young impressionable girls" argument, but rather acknowledging that even though we are smart, we are not immune to social influence. These kinds of dark romantic "I can fix him" gendered fantasies are certainly not getting us any closer to gender equality, and may play at least a small part in entrenching us in patriarchy. Anybody can enjoy what they like, and they can have valid reasons for enjoying it, but that doesn't mean it can't also be harmful.

I'm always on the lookout for isekai that allow the heroine to engage in "male" violence and then worrying about what it says about me as a person.

I read "villianess" and thought this would be about terrible people who happen to be women. Turns out its simply about fenale proganists being flawed and proactive.

Oh hell no she labeled Rezero as a male power fantasy 💀. Oh no oh noo no no. Thats anything but power fantasy Like No way in hell would i want to suffer like subaru fuck no Dude doesnt even have any powers constantly dying in the most horrific ways possible f no. ☠

25:05 ''It's almost as if we expect men to be morally transgressive'' Well yes! That's exactly why male villains are so boring and unappealing to me, I'm used to them and they can often times be too realistic in their wrongdoings or violence. Female villains are infinitely more appealing to me because of it. I feel like way too often male villains quickly gain huge fangirl groups and I'll be curious enough to check the character's origin media, only to find out it's either more of the same old, or it's unsettlingly realistic evil & controlling behavior.

I thought I could not dislike you more after villainess video, but you've got the whole package of a self-hating russian liberal lol.

I love the "otome game villainess" trope so much it's got no business being that good lmao

I think your analysis is so good, and I ultimately agree with all your points. However, the women in my family who live outside the U.S would NEVER find this genre appealing (even with all the explicit content removed). And I think it's because a lot of them have been financially coerced into depending on men, so they can't suspend their disbelief long enough to enjoy a story of an abusive man experiencing love. American women, on the other hand, tend to have much more freedoms and so they CAN suspend their disbelief. It's similar to how a physics professor would have a hard time watching action movies lol. The professor knows too much about how physics works to believe the car flipped 30 times in the air and suffered no structural damage. Anyway! thank you for posting

Seeing all people as equal is too much of a jump for our current society as we have never experienced it. We cannot imagine a life without capitalism and social stratification so the only thing we can do is imagine ourselves at the top of it as a view of freedom from it. I prefer villainess stories due to the fact that they tend to not ignore the constraints of society just like women in our societies can never, ever ignore.

Wow, thanks for such an amazing explanation of the appeal of problematic romance! It makes so much more sense now! And it even helped explain some of my media consuming habits outside of romance genre.

oh boy you explained why i'm taking antidepressants for over a year now, I am sickeningly feeling stuck by the need of complying with both virgin mary and girlboss stereotypes while everyone tells me to 'just be myself' yet get mad when i am. i feel pushed to have both the strength and endurance and obedience. way better than my psychiatrist who my parents sent me bc he was more knowledgeable so it doesn't matter if he's knowledgeable cases similar to mine. yes, i am traumadumping in yt comments like the any other person. gendernorms melted for the women into needing to be everything. while it's also melting for men society literally begs for them to take care of themselves instead of their mom or wives and mayybe respect women as equal humans please? Can we forgo this melting for all sides please so i can be nonbinary in superego's eyes securely?

amazing video, i personally am a big yona of the dawn fan; and it frustrating when i try to reccomemd it to others... they say it looks to girly but in reality it offers a story and characters that are really well developed especially when you read past the anime into the manga. i hope shojo can keep growing this way ✨❤️

You understand the situation perfectly. Protect yourself while abroad, survive and prosper. Perhaps when the thing in the Kremlin dies you can return and use your experience and resources to help build a better future. Thank you for this, it was inspiring. Please stay safe and don't feel the need to sacrifice yourself.

Let me, as the biggest consumer of template fiction in the world (and therefore the average audience), make it clear: the gender of the protagonist is absolutely nobody's business (especially when they try to sell "it's a girl, she shouldn't be like that" reverse card). And in general, to be honest, our readers don't care about the protagonist's orientation, social status and so on. We just want a normal story. If you've read enough novellas on both sides, you've noticed that there's enough crap both ways. Yes, the “villainesses side” has a higher percentage of good content at the moment, but have you ever wondered why? Well, it's just that the "hero" isekai is a long-trodden path where all the moves are already written down (which is why you're sick of it), and the "villainesses" (who aren't really villains) are still a new field of experimentation where it's still not entirely clear which story will go down better. Soon, though, this too will become as dull a piece as the average isekai about a "hero", with rare glimpses of good content, and nothing will change despite the appearance of an anti-heroine who is actually a "heroine". It's just a cross-dressing game and nothing else. There's no "gray" there, everything is sickeningly "white", it's just that your eyesight is shit. They just change the scenery and cover their laziness and inability to come up with something new, with “innovation”. And you, naive people, rejoice like children. So what's the point of this video? Is it so women now can have a "wider choice" of protagonists? Oh, yeah? It's more about getting high on a new trend before it dies like all the previous did. Although, let's be honest, that too will turn into another cliché. So really, everything is going in circles, and you're all sitting around with your hands in the air.

8:33: I think what you've described before is a perfect example of the reverse harem isekai villainess genre. 18:11: This reminds me of some popular streamers, haha. 22:13: The portrayal of Thanos in the movie comes to mind - in my opinion, he was a character that was poorly written. I also don’t like the assumption that all readers are sexist. People can recognize when characters cross moral lines, regardless of their gender. The real difference often comes down to how invested the reader is in the story and their reading comprehension. For example, in a story about a farmer stuck on the 99th floor of a dungeon tower, the main character occasionally has outbursts of rage that his bear child picks up on. While the story doesn't directly address it, I still recognize it as problematic, even though he's a morally complex character. In the same story, there's a side character - a male cat who is involved in slavery and does nothing to stop his female hamster friend from potentially killing an evil female cat. She doesn’t face consequences for her actions, just like the male MC. However, the female hamster's violence is depicted as problematic, but this is more a commentary on the fantasy power dynamics at play rather than an issue with women being violent. I would like to point out that none of the characters, regardless of gender, are held accountable for their evil deeds, but she is the only one known to (physically) hurt innocent people so everyone fears her. Interestingly, her behavior can be calmed by her cat love. (Usually, PVP violence in isekai stories tends to be morally ignored, especially in stories with male protagonists - I’d guess this has more to do with writing conventions than any intended commentary on acceptable actions.) In another story, there's an arrogant female mage who gets mild stomach aches if she doesn’t think before making threats or acting violently. This is meant to help her grow and avoid being a classist, which would cause more problems than hiring her would be worth - not because she’s a woman. Regarding background issues, I’ve only come across one manhwa that addresses the existence of non-noble disabled people. Many villainess and royal stories tend to focus so much on noble politics that they forget about the rest of the world, which ironically can become a plot point in some non-political dramas. One issue that stands out is how lavish meals are constantly depicted in these stories, even while the common people are starving. This is a trait often associated with even the most morally upright nobles.

The reason that male isekai stories don't question the narrative towards power is not related to any societal issues, more of a storytelling principle. how can you make a compelling story without giving your protagonist the ability to enact change? (because that is the very deffinition of power, "Ability to enact change") If you take that away from your protagonist you will end with a passive protagonist, and we all know how good those are right?

Found you

This was such a fantastic video!! Is there a list of all the manga/manwhas used in this? I’m terrible with remembering titles because there’s so many villainess stories but I liked a lot of the art styles.

The problem with villainess manhwa s are they fking always want to stick on gddm original story/plot game etc not find their happiness, and worst they always had mindset "oh no i change story that not what i suppose to i need to fix it" bicth ure villainess if u dont want play ur role of course the story will change and then u blame ur self for that for what, u got isekai and become villainess is already make original plot go stray so why border They always thinking that original story is a Messiah and must happen that why i hate it most of villainess genre The worst of all is typical "i dont want taggle with original story" and then when OG character had the deepest and low state they always helping him like btch why u dont need do that

Excellent video! I wonder what other roles and stereotypes beyond gender norms could benefit from your analysis.

nobody regonize that womens often tendens to enjoy bdsm content in a sense that things that are abusive

the good thing about a good girl is likely the good girl is surpressive while the villain girl is the more dominant one sounds like thats how bdsm works the one is a masochist the other is a sadist

what i like about sometimes female villain characters are mostly they dont give a shit about standards they are the underdogs in most of the shows and have do redeem themself against the odds while the good girls on paper gets everything what they want but it has a massive side effect they lack of responsibility

So the female equivelant of "I can change that toxic woman into my wife". Instead it's "my personality/looks is my defense against toxic men I can change into husbands".

Great video. Appreciated all the insights.

It is just about playing with stereotypes men do it too but the stereotypes are very different for both genders.

ok i feel like 50% of this video is projection

i love penelope and roxana, ive never seen them as villainesses, just women who are so desperate to survive. I think i relate with them, its so difficult to survive in a world that was made to burn women as witches.

It still feels insane to me, that in the first few weeks after the invasion started, I was in such a state of denial, that I allowed myself to accept that maybe things were actually complicated, and that there is no objective truth, and that there must be at least somewhat justifiable reason for starting this absurd war. Armed with hindsight now, it is clear that this was nothing more than regurgitating of the propaganda I ambiently consumed by being online. I thought myself smart enough not to fall prey to propaganda, to have enough critical thinking to parse through it, to be scrutinous with the information I find - turns out none of that matters if the reality is just to painful to accept and the immediate instinct is to delude yourself to preserve your sense of identity as someone virtuous: “How can unspeakable crimes be committed in my name if I’m a good person? There must be something more…”There wasn’t. This video does a great job of explaining how it was possible to fall for this lie. I don’t know if I ever let myself to live this down, but the video helped me at least come to terms with it a bit more. Thank you.

Female "gender norms" aren't norms; they're limitations.

this is such a wonderful essay and a topic that i've thought about a lot myself! i have always understood the romance genre to be a sort of fantasy, a form of escapism. but i've never thought about romance as the ultimate female *power* fantasy. i think this essay helped me understand myself and my own desires in a way that i've never been able to verbalize before. i do think it's unfortunate that even in our own power fantasies, we cannot escape from the confines of patriarchy and escape to a world that is truly devoid of gender roles. not to say those kinds of books don't exist! i'm sure they do, but they don't become popular and capture the attention of the general public in quite the same way.

Amazing essay! It opened my eyes as to why villainess stories are so popular, a genre that hasn’t piqued my interest before. Want to give it a go now. However, it is still strange to me that in a story that is a subversion of the gender norm, a villainess is only given the freedom to rebel internally but on the outside is forced to pretend to conform to the norm, follow the rules and present herself as a “good girl”. Feel however you want, but still act according to your gender - that seems a half measure at best in redefining gender roles. At least that is what stood out to me out of the examples in the video, my only source, since I’m not closely familiar with the genre.

Oh my god the aesthetics are insane. I thought I was watching a movie clip in that intro.

I want to disagree that Endurance is a Sexist Virtue for women to admire in romance stories. I don't have anything against your points on villainesses even adding the suffix -ess seems like a an unnecessary regendering of I think the gender neutral Villain. idk that's a question for the etymologists. Anywho, I watched this other video by Authentic Observer as she discusses bad boys and whether women desire to be dominated ( hour long video; didn't read: they don't. i think you might like her video) and I had this ahha moment. Authentic Observer notes how in a lot of romance fiction/romantic subplot, even the more risque titles like 50 shades of grey, the heroine has will have this moment where the potential love interest will go too far and then surrender to the Heroine for not empathizing with her or even if she has desires to be with the love interest prior to the love interest's transgression. my *"ahha"* was that most romance/harlequin titles falls in line with the Enduring virginal heroine, even in books about BDSM. it's not the purity of the Virgin it's her capability to rebuke and rebuff in the perseverance of her own interests. it's this virtue that wins out against the physically/sexually aggressive love interest. I agree that women's aggression should have an outlet, but I also think there are plenty of less physical outlets that woman use and aren't taken as seriously as the one that leaves bruises. maybe they should be shown how to release their aggression in a physical sense. that feels more like an issue of rearing than culture though

Villainess isn't only spreading to female protagonist novel. Crazy thing is it is spreading into male protagonist novel. There is a lot of male protagonist reincarnated into villainess novel.....

It skips the maiden and motherly archetype and just goes straight to Hecate.

So, when you write a woman, you think of a man and take away reason and accountability?

I love the stories where the main character remains a villainess or just follows a key interest (villainess level 99 is levelling and theres another where the main character wants a healthy body)

I dont want to sound partial or like mean but when you say we shouldn't kind of judge or hate on people who read problematic stories it makes my mind go boom kla plow. I think I'm just a really opinionated person but when people read a book where 90% of it is about r@pe or SA (where its romantizised as dark romance and not as r@pe) and think its a good read makes me icky like I feel really weirded out. On tiktok there's for example 'booktok' where people recommend books and what not but most of what I've seen is people glamorising r@pists in 'dark-romance' books and they find the characters attractive or excuse their actions and or even saying ''its just a book'' is honestly disgusting. I really am not saying anything like mean to anyone I just really don't understand the whole concept around 'dark-romance' I really don't. Most of it is just graphic detailed r@pe fetishising bullshit and I don't understand how anyone could read something like that and enjoy it. It is so exhausting going on reels or tiktok and finding a video where it is texted like ''When He breaks into your house and kills your entire family'' Like what are talking about... and then the comments are like ''Her family was abusive! He saved her!'' No he didn't save anyone there's plenty of ways to write a male character 'saving' a female protagonist. Or when a character uses something they did to save another and now they are forever indebted to that character only to fall in love and boom happy ending even though the character is basically getting into an toxic relationship. It's so hard to find a romance book where its actually romance and not SA all the fricking time. I know some people can read books and know how to differ from reality and fiction but I just don't understand why you would read books like this. Yes villains or toxic men in stories can be attractive in some way but how long does that line go? Cause from what I see it stretches so far out the character can do something so problematic and heinous and get away with it. Okay I feel like maybe im rage typing.... I hope it doesn't come off as rude or anything but I really don't understand why people fetishize these dark topics and put them into a romance book without showing any consicuenses of the actions it causes in reality. If anybody wants to express their opinion to me id be happy to read cause I do wanna understand how other people think of this topic. And also if people have some recommendations for books that are romance and not...well yeah.. (I feel super dumb posting this and I also really love ur channel and nothing is directed at the creator 🤕🤕🤕😣)

That beginning is exactly the moral theme and question i garner from these storys. It is what brings them intense meaning, so i love that you said that. Ive been wanting to make a video myself on this :)

I definitely enjoy power fantasy isekai, but I HATE the harem-path. I do enjoy less 'powerful' protagonists too. That being said I also really like villainess isekai (actually any isekai with female protagonists). Unfortunately I'm really only getting the villainess ANIME so I don't get much of the more interesting ones. Definitely wish there were less romantic villainess anime. Still enjoy them though.

Well it's possible to tell which villainous stories are written by men (most) and which are actually written by women. It's so happens coincide the disney princesses in that the villainous still for some reason still desire/ must win the heart of a handsome prince, while female simply desire independence from / equality to their male counterparts. Because the true villain of the patriarchy is simple a woman who does not need a man to be happy.

I just realized that I stopped reading "Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess" because of my bias. I truly felt it was a poorly written manhwa because the heroine did not make sense to me. I thought she was too heartless, and her selfishness made me extremely uncomfortable. Only now, after hearing another person's perspective, did I realize why I felt so strongly that Penelope was a poorly written villainess. I was too used to villainesses being kind AND maintaining boundaries to understand that I couldn’t handle a truly flawed and realistic villainess.

My favorite villainess ever was this goddess from Sinbad. She just did whatever she wanted and wasn't really evil, just free and curious. I aspire to be this unbothered and chaotic haha