A lively manga that's pretty by the book for this category now, Aileen is cheerful and bright with a strong sense of justice; even the Aileen who was the Villainess was just misunderstood as she strove to implement economic boosting projects to help the lower members of society move up to better lives. ( )

(Rating is 4.5!) I ended up liking this a bit more than I thought I would! Mostly, it's your standard reincarnation/isekai-style manga. But there is a slight twist on how they implemented it, instead of the usual, where the main character gets fully reincarnated into the villainess, with none of the original villainess's mind or personality remaining, they had the villainess gain the knowledge and memories of the reincarnated character, while still retaining her own mind and personality. That little flip of the normal trope was a nice little twist. I like how Irene's character is written! I liked that she wasn't your standard villainess, who does nothing and is just a spoiled noblewoman. They show that Irene, after becoming betrothed to the Prince, did her best to learn everything she could so she could truly support him when she became his Queen. But her independent ways and goal of becoming a pillar of support to her fiance are what lead her to lose him romantically. I also enjoy her slowly budding romance with the Demon King. She has that classical "This is just a way to further my goals!" mindset, but you can see that their relationship with others is slowly becoming something else. I do love the hint of a plot twist with the predetermined "Heroine" as well. I'm a sucker for role reversals! I'm eager to see how everyone's plans will unfold. ( )

This is lovely.
Quite fun. ( )

I got tricked into reading a manga adaptation of a light novel again, but gosh darn it if I didn't enjoy it again too. (I'm thinking of the equally weirdly titled "The Ideal Sponger Life" and "If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord.")

Aileen is the female antagonist in a fantasy dating video game, and once her prince has broken off their engagement for the commoner with whom he has fallen in love, she becomes self-aware enough to have a flash of a sick person IRL and prescient knowledge that all her outcomes in the game lead to death in three months. With everything closing in around her, she realizes the only way to escape her fate lies in gaming the game and unlocking an ending she will write herself.

A fun subversion of fairy tale cliches with a strong, go-for-broke female lead. ( )