My Review of "Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord"!
The power of love and friendship can conquer anything!.... I think.
Story
This anime follows the villainess cliche where the main character becomes the villainess, named Yumiella Dolkness, from a storyline or video game with this one being the latter option. The MC knows that she, the villainess, is going to die at the end of the game as she's revealed as the hidden boss that the heroes end up fighting and defeating, so she wants to avoid that outcome by doing her best to dodge the plot and live a more peaceful life.
Visuals
The visuals are clean and refined, but not to an extent that they become a highlight of the show. The visuals are at their best when magic comes into play, especially with Yumiella's dark magic.
Characters
Yumiella Dolkness is a mostly emotionless character that tries to keep their thoughts to themselves to avoid getting a bad ending. She's seen in a very negative light from the start, being criticized for potentially cheating and being labeled as a "central wannabe" by others. The protagonist of the game, Alicia Ehneit, is the complete opposite of Yumiella. She's a friendly commoner who although weak, contains the power to beat Yumiella's dark magic. Unlike Yumiella, Alicia has a lot of friends around the school that support her. The main ones, Edwin, William, and Oz, all have their own beneficial abilities, including experienced swordsmanship, being a magical prodigy, and being part of a royal family. Just like many of the students at the school, they doubt and dislike Yumiella's capabilities due to her being a level 99 student.
The Good
Ok. First things first, the opening did not have to go that hard. This anime has one of those openings that I never skipped even for a single episode. It's just that much of a banger and I can't get enough of it. Focusing more on the characters, I liked the personality of Yumiella. Although stoic, she's definitely presented in a way that not only shows that she is a powerful threat, but also a humorous serious figure. It gave off a similar vibe to Frieren, who I think also falls under the category of being very powerful, but also having a balance of seriousness and silliness.
The Bad
It was actually hard for me to find something to complain about, but if it's worth anything, maybe the worst thing about it was the simplicity of the story? It did feel a bit formulated, especially towards the Villainess genre of anime. However, this anime feels unique enough to where it stands out from other formulated Villainess anime.
The Downright Ugly
I didn't find anything downright ugly about this show. I genuinely enjoyed it.
Is It Worth The Watch?
I think that this show is absolutely worth watching. I found it difficult to find any problems within the anime and I really enjoyed it. Although I never read the LN or the manga, I think that the anime is entertaining in itself even if may not give the same vibe that its sources had.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope this helped you with your decision on whether to watch this anime or not! If you already have watched it, I hope that you can agree with me with some of the points I made. ^^
