We’ve covered spicing up genres and travel logs in previous recommendation lists. Making it a trilogy, the third recommendation list is all about protagonists willingly heading into the fire.

Doom Be Damned focuses on Otome series, where the main characters actively seek out their own doom or pay no attention to their current predicament.

1) Fake Saint of the Year

The first Otome series on the list features a protagonist who doesn’t care about an upcoming bad end so long as he can get a happy ending for his favourite ship.

Fake Saint of the Year follows the story of Fudou Niito as he’s gender-bent into one of the most hated game characters of all time; the villainous, fake saint Ellize. Determined not to remain downhearted, he realises that being reincarnated in such a privileged position brings many advantages, one of which offers him the opportunity to save his favourite couple from the game and give them the happy ending they were never given.

What Makes This Series a Standout?

While this series may only be on its second volume in pre-pub form, it’s clear that it’s built on solid foundations.

The world of the game quickly becomes attention-grabbing. Detail-orientated, the author paints a vivid picture of a world filled with unimaginable tragedies. A curse marks the continent leaving it scarred through constant monster attacks and witch schemes. While the game would usually just show these tragedies through the perspectives of the main characters, the story goes one further, showing how these tragedies unfold in the general population. After all, these events don’t happen in a bubble.

As a result, when the story moves on how to take out the witch, the source of the majority of the issues, it can easily pose a series of ethical dilemmas and make it understandable why leadership would choose certain drastic measures.

Another standout is how the series deals with contrasts. Mixing Niito’s unfiltered nature and a comedic undertone alongside an extremely harsh world means there’s a healthy dose of both serious and fun moments.

2) Though I Am An Inept Villainess

If the standard medieval fantasy setting isn’t enough to float your boat, then maybe Inept Villainess’ take on a villainess series, packaging it into a Chinese setting, might be up your alley.

Many would view Kou Reirin’s new predicament trapped inside the body of court villainess Shu Keigetsu as disadvantageous at best, especially given her upcoming execution. For Reirin, however, having a healthy body is all she could’ve ever asked for.

No longer trapped by the limitations of her sickly body, Reirin’s looking to seize the day by trying everything she couldn’t do before in a tale filled with redemption and friendship.

What Makes This Series a Standout?

Two aspects of this series make it stand out from the crowd. The first is the overarching mystery on display throughout the first two volumes.

Igniting links between the past and present, it utilises the setting filled with backstabbing and schemes to the max. As a spate of poisonings plagues the court, this mystery turns into a story only Reirin can solve. Her friendly nature and overwhelming backbone lead to building bridges never thought possible. She even managed to get the original Keigetsu onside, allowing her knowledge of curses to put the final pieces into place. 

Getting Keigetsu onside also allows the series to show its other great aspect, redemption. Many of the characters within the series are multifaceted, none more so than Keigetsu. Throughout the two volumes, the story shows her to be more than a clichéd villainess, but an innocent and originally kind-hearted girl using the villainess persona as a shield from those constantly criticising and abusing her.

More than just a change-up in setting, Inept Villainess adds an intriguing mystery alongside multifaceted characters to keep long-term reader engagement.

3) Young Lady Albert is Courting Disaster

The final series on the recommendation list sees the quirky antics of a villainess willingly wishing for her own demise and exile.

Hoping to set up a wild game restaurant, a reincarnated Lady Albert will act as much the haughty villainess as possible to unlock her exile ending. Unfortunately, Mary’s ideas on what constitutes a villainess are rather strange, and rather than gain enemies, Mary seems to be gaining friends and becoming more and more popular at an unfathomable rate.

What Makes This Series a Standout?

Characters are what drive this series to become a standout. Beyond the often well-timed comedy, it’s the interactions between the series’ main characters that’ll keep readers coming back again and again. From Mary and Adi’s romantic back and forths, Alicia’s overfamiliarity, and Parfette’s all too constant flipping from crying to pure adulation; each and every single character adds to the Otome setting coming to life. 

Additionally, in case you’re worrying that Mary’s quirky character would disavow any chance of a true haughty villainess moment, then guess again. As it turns out, Mary’s inner villainess only makes itself known for the most heartwarming of reasons – protecting her best friends.

Young Lady Albert makes for a lively doom acceptance series filled with quirky but loveable characters and enough comedic and heartwarming moments to fill you for a lifetime.