- #1
This is a difficult story to review. It has many flaws, but the unflagging optimism that shines so brightly from the protagonist is compelling...... and yet is potentially one of its worst faults. Until the very last few extant chapters, Reiko is mistreated but finds the grace in her heart to forgive the offender, is accused but creates some justification for the speaker to wrong her, is ab*sed and still gives the ab*ser another chance, etc., etc., etc., world seemingly without end.The first translator out-and-out says, "I'm noping out of this because she's so weak."Other flaws are the bait-and-switch nature of the story relative to the title. Yes, she's viewed as a villainess. Yes, she's dead-ass broke. And yes, her manners do factor strongly into some plot turns.However, the amount of text in the story about her directly dealing with being thought of as the villainess is disappointingly scant. While all the key relationships in the story are initiated by the antagonist accosting her almost at the very start of the story, we don't get much direct interaction between Reiko and Yuria.In a way, that's a good thing. Yuria is just so broken, so off-putting, so chunni that she's best in small doses. Is that how she's supposed to be, or is that the fault of bad character development? Unknown, and unknowable. The fact remains, we get very little of the "accused to be the villainess."As for penniless, it's indeed her financial situation, but it hardly affects her. Between her "the sun'll come out... tomorrow" optimism buffering her from self-pity, the stipend the school gives her, her two insanely-rich BFFs that she almost immediately meets, and said BFF's grandparents' whole generation who venerate Reiko's ancestors and will gladly throw money at her, her being penniless hardly matters.The tone whiplashes the reader from school hijinks with otome-isekai deconstruction to shojuo lifestyles of the rich and famouse wish-fulfillment, over to seemingly unending soap-opera heaps of betrayals, lies, hidden agendas, and even tosses in a US Navy SEAL for a slight paramilitary vibe.In spite of this, I still give it five stars because of Reiko's aforementioned optimism. Precisely because it's unrealistic makes it such an inspiration. So many of the comments are begging author-san (who wrapped up this tale in 2019 and is doubtful to even be aware of the translations) to ease up on the protagonist. She may be one-note, one-dimensional, but I found it compelling.Until the mid-century chapters, at which point everything unfolds, unravels, and she realizes how much of her life was lie after lie after lie. At this point, I'm desperate to find out what's next, so I'm off to suffer the pains of MTLing the raws at ncode. syosetu. com/n9183fj/