Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, School Life, Villainess, Isekai
Sub-Tags: Misunderstandings, OP, Strong Lead, Otome
Synopsis:
Yumiella Dolkness is your run-of-the-mill villainess in an otome RPG—except for the fact that she’s also secretly the overpowered hidden boss. But Yumiella wasn’t always Yumiella, you see. In her past life, she was nothing more than an introverted college student and devout gamer. So when she realizes that she’s been reincarnated as a hidden boss, she’s determined to steer clear of the protagonists and avoid her demise at their hands. All she wants is a nice, quiet life. Too bad when her gamer instincts kick in, Yumiella can’t just ignore her awesome stats… A girl’s gotta grind! So, with plenty of time on her hands before starting life at the academy, she gets a little carried away and maxes out her level at 99. And when everyone else finds out, they get the wrong idea about her power—now they think she’s the Demon Lord! Is this OP villainess strong enough to win back the peaceful life she always wanted?! (Source: J-Novel Club)
Yumiella, The One Woman Monster Hunter!
Oddballs and the Straight Man
Yumiella is reborn into a world where those with black hair are discriminated against, and her parents are never present. In their absence, she spends her entire childhood level grinding instead of socialising. On the one hand, she’s become one of the strongest people on the continent. On the other hand, Yumiella has come out of the experience with more than just a few quirks.
Endeavouring to lay low and live a peaceful life, distancing herself from the game’s proceedings makes up her main goal for the initial half of the volume. Unfortunately, her black hair and lack of common sense make this impossible. She quickly becomes embroiled in the game’s main plot, whilst everyone else ends up caught in her comedically torturous levels of level grinding and strange ascetic sense for cuteness.
Despite facing discrimination, Yumiella’s innocence eventually attracts a tight-knit group of friends, and as a result, the series starts to gain momentum. Patrick plays the straight man, challenging Yumiella’s unique ways of thinking and saving the academy’s students from pure training hell!
He makes for the perfect romantic partner for Yumiella. Each unsure where to take their relationship next, it makes for some seriously cute moments throughout the volume.
Eleanora is Yumiella’s other friend, if begrudgingly on Yumiella’s side. This high-tier noble comes to follow Yumiella around like a little baby bird because Yumiella is the first person to tell her the truth. She’s obsessed with Prince Edwin and lacks even more common sense than Yumiella. Thankfully, most of her energy is focused on plans with harmless outcomes.
Together, the three of them make for an odd friendship group, but it’s one filled with laughs and good times.
The Curse of Black Hair
On the Otome side of the story, Yumiella’s business with the Kingdom becomes rather complex. To defeat the demon lord, she’s forced to put away her apprehensions and help the game’s heroine, Alicia, so the game events can progress as intended.
Unlike the rest of the academy, Alicia is less than impressed with Yumiella’s levelling-up techniques, furthering her belief that Yumiella has nothing but bad intentions for the Kingdom. The result is a messy ordeal at the hands of the demon lord.
The tragic story of the demon lord is overshadowed by a subsequent betrayal, but crucial information about the kingdom is revealed. Hopefully, this will get more of a stage as the series moves into sequel volumes.
Overall, Villainess Level 99 is a genre standout. Combining laugh-out-loud comedy with cute romantic moments and an intriguing underlying history makes for an engaging read. This’ll certainly be a series I’d recommend for anyone looking for another villainess series to satiate their appetite!
Villainess Level 99 Vol. 1
My Rating: 9/10
I hope you enjoyed my review and would love to see what you thought of the volume in the comments! If you like what I do and want to see more, consider supporting me by buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi.
You can read the first volume of this series digitally on the J-Novel Club website.
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