Villains Are Destined to Die

• sort of still reading, might come back bc of how insanely popular this is. like really this is probably up there in one of the most read ois ever. for now dropping at ch 52.
• AGAIN i hate ois that feature slave owning fls. it’s hard bc ik penelope knows it’s wrong and is acutely aware of the power difference but it bothers me how it’s portrayed ugh idk. just not a fan and i’m def not rooting for eclis (ml2) as an ml 😐 his journey should be about liberation, not obsession with a slave owner
• ik who the real ml is and i really tried to stick around till he was revealed or developed a substantial relationship w the fl. that didn’t happen (i’m literally over 50 chapters in) and i got kinda bored waiting lol
• anyway fl is very realistic. reasonable, calm, level headed. her brothers are scary and wild but one of them is really well fleshed out and developed and gains sympathy toward her later whereas the other IS LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH HER and extremely abusive. what the fuck!
• don’t like it when the real penelope gets criticized. her life was just really depressing :/ also im STILL waiting for the og fl to appear it’s so annoying. the events are slow but otherwise pacing and tension are pretty well executed
• art is pretty unique. i like the sketch/water color vibes. world building is meh - mage is a possible ml and he’s way more interesting than some of the mls. would like to see this developed better since it’s still pretty bare bones and still feels like we’re waiting on the real action but otherwise it’s a standout in its genre.

overall: 6/10 bc unfortunately i’ve never been good at waiting

The novel is fun at first but the whole setting becomes a bit overwhelming at some point and it feels like the story loses its meaning. The fact that the protagonist seems to completely threat everything as a game, the fact that it is indeed inside a game (although the universe is essentially said to be her new reality) and the fact it is a harem all combine together to make almost all the interactions feel pointless.

Why is it? Because all the developments will always have the protagonist looking at it from an outsider's point of view. However, the comic itself presents it as it would have been without the context of the game, but the protagonist never gives the fitting reactions. There seems to be a disconnection between these elements, so there's no immersion to be found. It feels artificial, at some point I just couldn't feel anything for the characters.

Additionally, the plot doesn't seem to progress between any of the characters as the protagonist keeps changing to one or two of the male leads depending on each arc. I think the fault is within the harem format himself, in this case, but the characters also seem quite a bit shallow. There seems to be a gap between the past and the present which is not explained, but isn't treated as a mystery either. Why are characters mean one time, then act like they're good? The best example would be the maid: she appears like a villain at first, but quickly becomes extremely loyal. The author could have made an explanation for why she wronged the protagonist, but there isn't any. Every main character seems to have that problem.

The art is good, the idea is nice, and the MC is quite good.

The only thing I didn't like is

that she kept refusing almost every quest until she had no choice, and it's really almost every time, so it begins to be repetitive.

I stopped at chap 65 because the translation for these chapters is really bad.
It's not bad, like a few errors or whatever ; it's so bad that dialogues are gibberish !
Trying to understand what the real dialogues were have me headaches (well, it's a bit exaggerated, but almost...).
And I wouldn't inflict that to myself for the next 10+ chapters.

Dropped, but the first major arc of this story lives on in my dreams. I would recommend that people read this to the end of Season 1 as an exercise in building tension, but then let it go. The later parts just do not match the intensity of the beginning, which is such a shame because when it's good, it's sooooo good. The tensions in this are very thrilling, I feel on the edge of my seat for every interaction!

The thing is, it doesn't matter if Penelope is oblivious when it comes to romance, and can't identify when these capture targets are feeling things for her. They have so much power over her that everything they do is a threat. Her entire life is in their hands; she has to earn their affection to simply live, but that comes at great personal cost for her. She isn't happy. She isn't free. Every true emotion she has is stifled, because those are dangerous -- she lives for the men around her, because she has to. The only power she has is from men's power -- the only freedom she has is because they have given it to her.

There is just so much pressure on Penelope, at all times. This is such a claustrophobic story and it is excellent for that reason in particular. You feel the weight of this situation -- it feels real, and serious. It makes it all the better when she decides: no, actually, living doesn't make any of this worth it. It's probably the high-point of this story, and I highly recommend getting to the end of Season 1 just for that. My goodness, what a head-rush.

I tried to read this manhwa some time ago and got to the ch5 or so, I disliked the system constrains were she was forced to choose what to say from 3 dialogue options (all bad), I don't like when the characters are forced to do things for arbitrary reasons.
Then, after reading all the incredibly high review I tried again, fortunately, from ch7 onwards, the MC is freed from this limitation and it was more readable for me.
Unfortunately, even so, the only emotions this manhwa evoked in me were angst and annoyance, from the mentioned start, to the world building were she is not transported into the world of the game but into the game itself (thus subject to game mechanics and some ridiculous things like sudden teleportations and such), to all the unreasonable and hypocrital BS her brothers put her through, to the simply deranged crown Prince and the general lack of logic in many of the actions the MLs take (I won't accept that it's reasonable for the prince to kill the daughter of a Duke just because he feels like it, even if her father couldn't care less, there are political implications, not to mention all the normal ones. I also don't like how the brothers personalities change like pancakes for no reason, I find them inconsistent).
So again I was about to drop it around ch20 yet I forced myself to keep reading a bit more. And again it improved after ch25 or so with the appearance of other two MLs and the FL being a bit less freaked out by dying after one mistake, letting her act more freely rather than being constantly on the receiving end. Even so, I found this one to be too "negative" for my taste, I don't particularly like angst, I can swallow it if it's the preamble to something else or if it's balanced by similar amounts of "victories", or in a well planned ending, but if angst and annoyance are pretty much all I'll get from the story (with some minor gain of putting a ML in his place ocacionaly) then like here, I'll have a hard time enjoying it.

Then again, as the story progresses the MC will most likely get more and more freedom and it will improve, but so far I find this one readable rather than enjoyable.

d*mn, this story is both interesting and annoying. I just wish if those bastards were stabbed to death while I was reading. also the characters' behavior change feel illogical sometimes to me

She's not super goody two shoes, but not overly evil or dumb as well.

I like it. I can feel her struggles and can connect to it more than most other characters in other manhwas/comics I read.

Family stories always hurt the most, don't they?

As a child, your family is your entire world, the people who are supposed to take your hand and introduce you to the ways of the real world. I can't imagine what it's like to lose them at such a young age, young enough that you do not yet know how to cope with grief properly, and how terribly cruel other people could be to little children.

The main character and Penelope Eckart have (more or less) gone through the same terrible situations in their lives. They'd lost their parents at a young age, then someone came and offered them a new home, a new family. What orphan wouldn't accept that offer right on the spot? In the end, all they ever really got was food on the table and a roof over their heads. No home, no family. Their "families" treated them like trash and felt entirely justified in doing so. It hurts to know that the main character thinks she would've been better off living in an orphanage or on the streets, because at least then there would be no illusion of "family".

Anyway. Now that she's been thrust into the world of a reverse harem dating game, she's forced to try her damnedest to gain their affections—yes, including the despicable people mentioned above—otherwise they'll kill her. Because that's what sane people do.

Her previous life plays an important part in this story. The pain and rejection she'd had to endure during that time do not magically go away just because she's now living a new life, in a new body. She carries all that pain with her, still.

Now, obviously, this manhwa has its fair share of cliché moments, and the plot is too predictable sometimes. But those don't really matter. At this point, I just want the MC to find a family and be happy with them. Or just run off into the sunset to live alone and be a queen somewhere idk.

I truly, truly wish this manhwa won't just be another cheap harem story where character development is thrown into the bin for the sake of romance or other similarly ridiculous things. Fingers crossed this won't disappoint!🤞

There is a handful amazing otomeisekais, and this one sits is right at the top. It's dramatic, thrilling and absolutely gorgeous. I spoiled myself and briefly read the uh fate of my favorite ML, who wasn't chosen, but the story is so well done I will continue reading the manhwa because the journey to how it happens looks far more interesting than just the "this boy and the girl gets together" fact. Plus I want to see more of my favorite ML. They better make a visual novel out of this. I wanna see happy endings for all MLs.

Few stories in this sub-genre match the sultry, whimsical flare that details this story. Colour and light isn’t just a tool, but a weapon, searing this gamified romance into your eyeballs. Drama is an ever present reality, with little comic relief, which fits well with the bejazzled beauty of the main characters, too serious and aristocratic for mere games! But its’ fun, and thankfully, also self-aware thanks to the down to earth main character. Of course, I’m not sure if her constantly expressing how confused she is about the way the favourability system works makes it any less of an incomprehensible concept. After all, if the range of favourability stretches from -100 to 100, then 0 should be neutral setting, which certainly doesn’t coincide with the aggressive/resentful/disdainful dispositions of her brothers. Of course, “they’ve always slightly liked her, but they just don’t show it on the outside!” would make vague sense if we hadn’t just seen one of the brothers explode on the MC at the end of the season at 10% (?) favourability. But I digress, as the game concepts are simply minor plot devices to add drama. The primary engines here are the art, characters and plot. There are always enough gears turning to be interesting at this point. But, the real challenge is only just beginning for “The Villain’s Ending…”. Will it have enough tricks up it’s sleeve? I shall wait and see.

The story of this series is really good, well packed with female lead characters that are developed fantastically. For the isekai series, I think it's very interesting and worth reading. I'm really looking forward to the continuation of this story and hoping that it will become even more interesting

Now this is how you do an isekai genre! I love how strong willed she is. It also doesn't hurt that the art is also stunning. It's witty, it's emotional, and it's suspenseful! Sadly, it's on hiatus right now but I can't wait to see how the rest of the story unfold!