The Ultimate List of Villainess Isekai Anime

Anime expert Megan Blue shares the best series featuring this popular reincarnation trope

Co-authored by Megan Blue and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: July 17, 2026 Fact Checked

Ever wish you could be transported into your favorite book or video game? Be careful, you could wind up becoming the villainess! That’s what happens to the protagonists in many isekai (reincarnation) anime series. This trope is super popular, and there are a lot of great series to choose from. We partnered with an anime expert to bring you a list of our favorite villainess anime of all time.

Our Top Villainess Anime

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Anime expert Megan Blue says My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom is one of the most popular villainess anime series. Other popular series include I’m in Love With the Villainess, 7th Time Loop, Villainess Level 99, and From Bureaucrat to Villainess.

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7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

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7th Time Loop follows a young noble named Rishe Weitzner, who is stuck in a time loop that always ends with her dead in 5 years. She is desperate to escape, and on her 7th time loop, Prince Arnold Hein proposes to her, claiming he fell in love with her at first sight. Rishe is immediately suspicious because Arnold has been a villain in her previous loops, causing world wars, pestilence, and even killing Rishe. Now, Rishe sets out to improve his kingdom while trying to figure out what turned his heart so cold in her previous loop.^{[1]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll
- Rishe's got a lot of baggage (don't we all), but would you still date her? Or are you meant for another anime icon? Take our Anime Girlfriend Quiz to find out!
Meet the wikiHow Expert

Megan Blue is an anime expert based in Kingston, OH. She’s been watching anime for over 25 years and is the host of The Fangirl Watches podcast.

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The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess

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In The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess, Konoha Satou is reincarnated as the villainess in her own self-indulgent fantasy novel. Now, she has to survive and fix the story she wrote, all the while dealing with unexpected plot twists and new characters, including a mysterious assassin.^{[2]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp

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Based on a South Korean webtoon, Doctor Elise follows the third life of an empress, who went from being a terrible ruler to a well-studied doctor who will do whatever it takes to make amends for her past life. She vows to make things right by improving both health standards and her relationships with others.^{[3]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor

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While breaking out of prison the night before she’s set to be executed by her fiancé, Prince Gerald, Jill is struck by an arrow. Instead of dying, she is transported 6 years into the past, to the night she and Gerald met. Desperate to change her fat, Jill instead proposes to the first man she sees, Hadis Teos Rave… who just so happens to be her enemy in the future.^{[4]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

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Endo and Kobayashi Live! is a unique villainess anime, as it keeps the real and otome worlds separate. In the real world, two broadcasting club members play an otome game and offer commentary on the characters. Meanwhile, the villainess’s fiancé, Crown Prince Siegwald Fitzenhagen, can hear the commentary and believes it to be the word of God. This gives the aloof villainess, Lieselotte, a chance to be understood and keep her engagement with Siegwald.^{[5]
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- Where to watch: HIDIVE

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From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated!

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From Bureaucrat to Villainess is another unique take on this isekai trope. Instead of a young woman being reincarnated, it’s a 52-year-old male bureaucrat named Kenzaburou Tondabayashi. He becomes Grace Auvergne, the snobby villainess of an otome game his daughter used to play. He then uses his limited knowledge of the game to attempt to be the best villainess he can be, but his kind heart makes it nearly impossible.^{[6]
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- Where to watch: HIDIVE

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Game World Reincarnation

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After a modern-day office worker literally works herself to death, she is reincarnated as Diana Diafell, the villainess of a popular otome game. Rather than trying to save her own fate, she uses her knowledge of the game to save the entire world. She attempts to alter the timeline by seducing the prince and stealing him from the heroine, and she may find herself developing true feelings along the way.^{[7]
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- Where to watch: Available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video
- Please be aware that Game World Reincarnation is more explicit than most villainess isekai series, so viewer discretion is advised.

8

The Holy Grail of Eris

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After being betrayed by her fiancé’s lover and sentenced to public execution, Constance Grail hears a mysterious voice that offers her salvation. It turns out to be the voice of Scarlett Castiel, who was executed a decade ago, supposedly for trying to poison the prince’s lover. Now, Constance must help Scarlett figure out the chain of events that led to her death.^{[8]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History

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I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History subverts conventional isekai villainess tropes. When Alicia is reincarnated as a villainess, she wholeheartedly embraces her role as an antagonist. The only problem is, the more she tries to be evil, the more the prince seems to fall for her.^{[9]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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I’m in Love With the Villainess

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Unlike most villainess anime, in I’m in Love with the Villainess, the protagonist, Rae Taylor, is reincarnated as the heroine of an otome game. Instead of falling for the male main leads, she falls for the game’s antagonist, Claire Francois. Claire’s icy persona only makes Rae more determined to woo her.^{[10]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss

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In I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Aileen is an outspoken villainess with terrifying magical powers. She’s more focused on surviving her doomed fate than getting with any of the game’s love interests. She uses her knowledge of the game to court the demon prince, Claude, in an attempt to prevent him from killing her.^{[11]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

12

May I Ask for One Final Thing?

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After Scarlet’s cruel, selfish fiancé abruptly ends their engagement and accuses her of being a villain, she snaps and begins committing violent revenge against him and his allies. As she exposes his true character, she soon finds herself at war against corrupt nobles who seek to either use or kill her.^{[12]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen

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If you’re looking for a short venture into the isekai world, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen is only 12 episodes long. After dying on the way home to play the newest otome game, the protagonist is reincarnated as Pride Royal Ivy. The character is destined to be a sadistic, abusive queen, but the protagonist sets out to become a benevolent ruler instead.
- Where to watch: HIDIVE, Hulu, Disney+

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My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom

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According to Blue, My Next Life as a Villainess follows a girl who wakes up as the villain in an otome game. She knows the character is terrible and all of her endings are bad, so she sets out to change how the character acts to try to change the outcome. “It’s a really light and quirky show, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it’s pretty delightful,” Blue adds.^{[13]
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Megan Blue
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll
- My Next Life as a Villainess is also an incredibly popular isekai manga!

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An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess

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While this anime hasn’t been released in the United States yet, it’s already got a ton of hype because of the light novel. When Prince Cecil gets engaged to the daughter of the marquis, Bertia, she immediately tells him she’s the villainess from an otome game she played in a past life. She tries to break off the engagement to become a great villainess, but this only amuses Cecil and makes him fall even harder.
- Where to watch: Will premiere on Crunchyroll on April 6, 2026

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Tearmoon Empire

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Tearmoon Empire follows Princess Mia Luna Tearmoon, a selfish princess who was sentenced to death at the age of 20. Instead of going to the afterlife, she is given a second chance to make things better. Now, she is choosing to be selfish and put her own safety first to avoid execution.^{[14]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess

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This comedic anime is unique in that it doesn’t involve otome games or reincarnation. Instead, Terakomari Gandesblood is a shut-in vampire from a prestigious line of vampires. She refuses to drink blood, making her weak, and intends to live a peaceful life. However, that all changes when she is appointed as a commander in the Mulnite Imperial Army. Now, she needs the help of her reliable maid, Villhaze, to become powerful and whip her squadron into shape.^{[15]
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- Where to watch: HIDIVE

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The Villainess is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom

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Tiararose Lapis Clamentile is set to marry Hartknights, the crown prince of Lapis Lazuli, when she suddenly remembers her past life and realizes she’s been reincarnated into her favorite game—as the doomed villainess. Before her fiancé can exile her, however, she is saved by Aquasteed Marineforest, the prince of a neighboring kingdom, who takes her as his fiancée.
- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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Villainess Level 99

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Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss, but I’m Not the Demon Lord follows Yumelia, a young woman whose gamer spirit remains intact after she is reincarnated as a villainess. Because of her overwhelming strength and the fact that her appearance matches the game’s secret end-game boss (who’s destined to destroy the world), the other characters are terrified of her. Yumelia tries not to get involved, but thanks to the prejudice against her, she ends up in the middle of everything anyway.^{[16]
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- Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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A Wild Last Boss Appeared!

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In A Wild Last Boss Appeared!, a male MMO gamer awakens as the Black-Winged Tyrant, Lufas Maphaahl. 200 years ago, Lufas’s defeat unleashed monsters of death, causing her to become the most feared conqueror in the world. Now, the protagonist must survive in a world that wants Lufas dead and figure out why he’s there in the first place.
- Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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