Main Character in Another World: Catarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess)

I kind of appreciate how closely ingrained isekai anime and harem anime have become. It makes finding protags for this series so much easier.

Being a harem rom-com, ‘My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!’ (fucking anime titles) leans into the classic isekai trope of ‘everyone thirsts for the protagonist.’ This may sound like a terrible decision. But no. It actually turned out to be really funny.

All thanks to our leading lady: Catarina Claes. Her story is simple: when she hits her head, she remembers her previous life. Turns out, her new life is set within her favorite dating sim, and she’s the main villain. Just one problem: that villain is doomed to have a terrible end. Now Catarina must use her knowledge of the game to manipulate fate and rewrite the ending of the game.

So, what does she do? Does she use her game knowledge to become the new mistress of fate? Or does she master magic and become an all-powerful god?

Nope. She decides to master gardening just in case things didn’t work out.

Unbeknownst to her, she doesn’t need to worry about it. She manages to make every single one of the game characters fall in love with her. No, not just the romance options. Literally. Every. Single. One. Including the game’s main character!

Unlike the in-game villain Catarina, our Catarina is not a generic shojo villain. She’s a wholesome nerd with more heart than brains. All she wants is a relaxed day with lots of sweets and a good book. Even better if it’s shared with friends.

I love how she uses her game knowledge to help improve the lives of those around her. A childhood of neglect and jealousy leads her adopted brother down a dark path? Better give him all the love and care in the world before that happens! He definitely won’t fall in love with me because anime, that would be weird.

Yeah, Catarina is pretty dumb. There’s a reason the whole fandom refers to her as ‘Bakarina.’ She’s inept at magic, terrible at reading people, and misinterprets just about every event she takes part of.

Her harem is well aware of that fact. Proven by the time Catarina was setup as a bully mastermind only for all her love interests to step forward and defend her. Not because she was innocent, but rather because she is so stupid and clumsy that it is impossible she could concoct any scheme of the sort.

Say goodbye to the isekai power fantasy.

All of this makes Catarina a very fun and likable main character. Unfortunately, in terms of depth or emotional growth, she comes up short. She doesn’t really have much of a character arc. It starts and ends with her hitting her head on a rock.

Honestly, though, that doesn’t feel like that big an issue. What she lacks in depth she more than makes up for in charisma. She’s sweet, she’s hilarious, and she’s utterly delightful.

Unlike the guy we’re covering next week. Here’s a hint: it’s Captain America.

Anyways, Catarina is #5 if it’s numbers you want. See y’all later!

1. Rudeus Greyrat (Mushoku Tensei)
2. Natsuki Subaru (Re:Zero)
3. Kazuma Sato (Konosuba)
4. Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
5. Catarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess)
6. Rimuru Tempest (Slime Reincarnation)
7. Kirito (Sword Art Online)
8. Yuto Suoh (The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar)