“I Recalled the Memories of my Past Life…,” “A Prince Challenged Me to a Fight…,” and “Met a Beautiful Brother and Sister…”
What They Say:
Wealthy heiress Catarina Claes is hit in the head with a rock and recovers the memories of her past life. It turns out the world she lives in is the world of the game Fortune Lover, an otome game she was obsessed with in her past life… but she’s been cast as the villain character who tries to foil the protagonist’s romances! The best ending the game has for Catarina is exile, and the worst, death! She’ll have to find a way to avoid triggering the flags of doom, and make her own happy future! The misunderstanding-based screwball love comedy now begins!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
We’re introduced to our heroine, Catarina Claes. Actually, is she really a heroine? She seems more like the villain. It’s clear that she’s one of those rich brats who think they’re better than you and treat everyone around them like trash. I feel bad for her maids. Luckily, the maids are about to get a break! Catarina’s father introduces an important guest, Geordo Stuart. Also, he’s the third prince of the kingdom. Catarina’s eyes sparkle immediately. This is just a guess but I think she’s fallen in love with the prince right off the bat. In fact, she doesn’t let go of Geordo’s arm the whole time they’re together. She’s a young lady who knows what she wants. After being distracted for a brief second by Geordo’s brother, Alan, Catarina takes a tumble while trying to catch up with the prince. She hits the ground pretty hard and starts bleeding from the forehead! It’s at this moment though that Catarina’s mind is flooded with memories of her previous life. She was a seventeen-year-old otaku who loved playing otome games. She spent a whole night playing a particular otome game, Fortune Lover, and was running late to school the next morning. She rushed into the street…and died. Dangit, Truck-kun! How many people must you kill before you’re satisfied, huh!?!? Okay, it’s never actually stated that a truck ran her over but we all know it was most likely Truck-kun, the bastard.
But hey, at least she got reborn as a wealthy heiress in another world. That’s not so bad, right? The next day, Geordo visits Catarina to see if she’s okay. She’s fine…except for that scar on her forehead. Geordo feels awful about it but she tells him not to worry about it. It’s just a little scatch, bro! However, Geordo doesn’t let it go. This scar could affect Catarina’s chances of getting married. Gosh, why is high society life so troublesome? Life as an otaku was much simpler! Good times, good times. By the way, Catarina unknowingly agrees to marry Geordo while reminiscing about her previous life. Oops? Her parents are thrilled about the news! It’s time to celebrate but Catarina just wants to slack off. Again, why is high society life so troublesome? She’s missing those otaku days where all she did was play otome games. Speaking of otome games, her situation seems rather familiar to the story of Fortune Lover. Wait a minute…wasn’t there a character named Geordo in the game? Who also had a brother named Alan? Oh gosh, what was the name of the villainess in that game? Oh yeah, it was Catarina Claes. Oh no, she’s been reborn in the world of Fortune Lover and she’s the villainess! Shocking truth! Okay, let’s calm down for a second. What happens to Catarina in the game’s multiple endings? Well, she ends up bullying the main heroine, Maria, a lot in Geordo’s route. In the Good End, she’s exiled. In the Bad End, she’s killed. Exile or death, those certainly are good choices to choose from! As the name of the show suggests, all routes lead to doom!
Catarina starts panicking! What’s she supposed to do? She doesn’t want to meet a terrible fate! She holds a meeting inside her mind between all of her different personalities. There’s going to be a lot of these meetings so you better get used to them. Also, they’re adorably fantastic. Anyway, she discusses strategies to avoid getting a Bad End. The obvious thing to do would be to not bully Maria. Genius! However, she recalls that the Geordo from the game is a sly bastard and may very well frame her to be a terrible person just to be with Maria. That would definitely be a problem. Alright, how about getting stronger? Yeah, that could work! If she learns how to fight and use magic. then she can at least protect herself from danger. Time to learn swordsmanship and magic! And thus begins her training. For whatever reason, Catarina believes gardening will help improve her earth magic. Something about being able to talk with the earth. I’m sure it’ll all work out just fine. Geordo visits her one day while she’s gardening and is amused by the sight! Does…does he actually like her!? Also, Catarina unknowingly accepts his wedding proposal, again. This time it’s official! Dang girl, you gotta stop doing that!
Catarina won’t give up though! She’s going to avoid a Bad Ending, no matter what. Go away, doom flags! Speaking of doom flags, Catarina’s father introduces her to her new brother, Keith. Oh no, he’s another love interest of the main heroine in the game! In Fortune Lover, he had a rough upbringing and was bullied a lot. He was bullied a lot by Catarina, too. Catarina in the game sure was a jerk, am I right? If Catarina tried to interfere with Keith and Maria in the game, she would be exiled or killed. Okay, how does she avoid this? The answer is very simple – don’t bully him. Shower him with affection! Genius. And that’s exactly what she does! She’s going to be the best gosh darn older sister ever. She takes him with her when she’s gardening, fishing, climbing trees, and sword training. How about magic training? Catarina can make…a clump of dirt. That’s cool? On the other hand, Keith can create a moving doll from dirt. Now that’s impressive! Catarina begs him to make it bigger but he hesitates. Eventually, he does what she wants and Catarina immediately runs into the gigantic doll and is knocked unconscious. You know what? Keith was right to be hesitant. She’s fine though. However, Keith takes this very hard. He can’t control his powerful magic and injured his brothers in the past. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone and decides to lock himself in his room. Catarina won’t let this stand! She breaks the door down with an ax and proclaims that there’s nothing to worry about. She promises to always stay by his side and it makes Keith feel better. Protect his smile! Also, I get the feeling that Keith may have just fallen in love with her. I could be imagining it though. But more importantly, doom flag conquered!?
A few months go by and everything is just peachy. Well, except for Catarina’s garden. Her vegetables aren’t growing at all! Also, her earth magic hasn’t improved at all and let’s be honest, it probably never will. That being said, both Geordo and Keith are vying for her attention. It’s like they’re in love with her or something. I’m starting to think that it’s not just my imagination. Maybe, just maybe, Catarina is creating her own harem and she doesn’t even realize it. I guess that makes her a Bakarina, haha. I can see why people call her that now. Anyway, she’s invited to a tea party! Who doesn’t love tea parties? However, her mother is against it. Why? Well, it’s because her daughter is a slob. She’s not wrong. Catarina has no manners whatsoever! Her father suggests that she could perhaps learn some through experience. But hey, Keith will be with her! Everything will be fine, probably.
On the day of the tea party, all the girls in attendance can’t help but approach Catarina. She’s quite popular, you know? But talking to everyone is exhausting and she sneaks away to eat some sweets! Of course, she’s scarfing them down and planning to take some home with her. Unfortunately, Keith is there to remind her that the daughter of the Claes family shouldn’t be acting like this. No sweets will be taken home! Boo. Okay, that’s cool. New plan – eat all the snacks she can right then and there. Genius! Naturally, this backfires and she gets a tummy ache. Time to run to the lavatory! After a successful trip, Catarina finds herself in a beautiful garden. She also comes across an adorable girl in the garden. She turns out to be Mary Hunt, the fourth daughter of the family. Why isn’t she enjoying the party? Mary admits that big crowds aren’t her thing. That’s fair. This garden sure has a lot of beautiful flowers, doesn’t it? It sure does! By the way, Mary is the one that tends that garden. She’s actually quite the skilled gardener! Catarina starts bombarding her with questions. How does she do it!? What’s her secret!? Calm down, Catarina! She explains to Mary that her veggies aren’t growing. Mary can’t really offer much advice as she’s never grown veggies herself. I guess that means that Mary will have to come over and take a closer look! Aww, Catarina is having a friend over! Adorable.
Mary comes over and takes a closer look at Catarina’s garden. It turns out they’re not getting enough water and fertilizer. With Mary’s help, the garden starts looking much healthier! Hooray for healthy veggies! Mary seems to be having a lot of fun, too. Catarina remarks that Mary’s green thumb makes her extra special and extra amazing. I can’t argue with that. That line really resonates with Mary. She’s so happy! When she leaves later that day, Keith remarks that Mary seems much happier than before. He heard at the tea party that her older sisters treat her like garbage because her mother was their father’s second wife. That’s just mean. But she doesn’t have to feel so alone now because she has a friend in Catarina. Super adorable. I’m sure Mary and Catarina are going to be the best of friends! It’s not like Mary has fallen in love with her or anything. Wait…
Randomly, Keith mentions that Mary is getting engaged to Alan. Oh no, another doom flag! Commence the meeting inside Catarina’s mind! Okay, so what do we know? We know that in Alan’s route, he has an inferiority complex towards his brother. But when he meets the heroine, his heart takes a positive turn and his relationship with Geordo improves. That’s a beautiful story and all, but what about Catarina? Does she appear in this route!? Not really, no. The rival in Alan’s route is Mary. Aww, does that mean that Mary gets killed or exiled!? Not at all! Only Catarina gets exiled or killed. Well, that sucks for her! Anywho, remember that green thumb line that Catarina used to praise Mary? Well, Alan was supposed to say that to her! The route has already been altered. Although, one line can’t change things so significantly, right? Haha, I think you know where this is going. The next day, Mary tells Catarina that her meeting with Alan went well. She even told him about the green thumb line! Mary was just so happy that someone would say something so nice to her. I suppose Alan couldn’t use that line, so what?
Speaking of Alan, he storms into Catarina’s home and demands that she stop seducing his fiancée! Say what now? Every time they get together, all Mary talks about is Catarina! Oh my goodness, Mary is totally smitten by her, isn’t she? It should have been Alan! Add another member to Catarina’s harem. Also, Catarina points out that none of this is her fault. It’s obvious that Alan just has no appeal whatsoever. How dare she! Alan is understandably offended by her remark but accepts the insult as a personal challenge. It’s time to d-d-d-duel! What will they be competing in? Alan lets Catarina choose and she chooses the only thing she knows she’s good at – climbing trees. Poor Alan, he doesn’t stand a chance. We already know that Catarina is a pro at climbing trees. Thus, she manages to defeat him easily. But Alan won’t give up! He’ll keep trying until he wins, dangit! He spends the entire day trying to beat Catarina but to no avail. There’s a reason they call Catarina the “wild monkey!” But Alan won’t be discouraged. He keeps coming by every day to challenge her. Of course, he never wins. One day, he shows up and Geordo is there! Uh oh! Geordo tells him it’s about time to stop this silly competition. He’s never going to win. Ouch. Granted, it’s true. Boy, things sure are getting tense. Catarina suggests they have a different challenge today. How about a piano competition!?
Shockingly, Catarina is actually pretty good at playing the piano. However, Alan’s playing is in a league of its own. He’s an amazing pianist! Everyone is in awe of his skills. Catarina and Geordo both praise him. Alan doesn’t think his piano skills are anything special. He also doesn’t take their praise too well. He yells at Geordo and remarks that he’s really mocking him on the inside before running off. Yikes, that escalated quickly. Catarina runs after Alan. We already know that Alan has an inferiority complex and he confides in Catarina that he hates being constantly compared to his brother. He can’t compete with Geordo. That’s not true! Catarina tells him that everyone has things they can handle and things they can’t, even Geordo. Oh? Alan has never heard of something that Geordo couldn’t handle. Catarina grins devilishly! She reveals that he’s of afraid snakes! Hey, nothing wrong with that. Snakes are pretty scary! Regardless, Geordo starts approaching them and they decide to hide. Catarina throws a toy snake in Geordo’s path and he backs away, terrified! You just know that she’s going to keep using this information against him, haha. Of course, once Geordo realizes it’s not a real snake, he approaches Catarina none too pleased. To get back at her, he decides to tell her mother about the tree-climbing and toy snake. No, anything but that! She chases after Geordo. After witnessing this spectacle, all Alan can do is laugh. It’s good to see him smile! Also, he totally fell for Catarina just now, didn’t he? The harem continues to grow!
Catarina has been indulging herself in a particular romance novel, Sophia and the Emerald Prince. She’s been starving for a good story lately! It reminds Catarina of her otaku days when she read manga and watched anime. Good times! Ah, if only she had someone to talk to! Wait, Geordo and Alan are hosting a tea party? Score! This is the perfect chance to find a fellow romance novel fan. Other people invited to this tea party include Nicol and Sophia Ascart. More on this brother and sister a bit later. Regarding the tea party, Geordo is making sure that it’s perfect. Alan pokes fun at him for not being able to handle snakes. It’s not that he can’t handle them, he just doesn’t like them! Totally different. The only thing Geordo can’t handle is predicting what Catarina will do, haha. She also adds that he has no intention of letting Alan have her! After all, she’s his fiancée.
Speaking of Catarina, she’s stuffing herself full of sweets at the tea party! Unsurprisingly, she gets a rumbly in her tumbly. But it’s okay! She has learned when to go to the bathroom before she hits her limit. It’s a shame that a random dog is standing in her way. What’s your problem, doggy!? It chases her around the yard and she’s forced to climb a tree to flee her pursuer. While Catarina is just chilling on top of the tree, she notices a bunch of girls picking on Sophia. That’s mean. She would help…but she needs to go to the bathroom! Like, right now! In fact, she jumps down and tells all the girls to get out of her way. Now that’s a scary face you’ve got there, Catarina! The mean girls all run away. Well, I guess she helped her out anyway! Catarina thinks Sophia looks beautiful. She’d stare at her some more…but the bathroom calls! She dashes out of there and leaves Sophia wondering who her savior was. Nicol is searching for his sisters and hears the adults talking about him. They praise his good looks but also badmouth his sister. Wow, that’s rude. What’s everyone got against cute lil’ Sophia?
A bit later, Catarina is gobbling up sweets once again. She’s a real glutton, huh? Sophia finds her and wants to talk about what happened earlier. Catarina is still mesmerized by how pretty she is! She reminds her of the Sophia in her romance novel. Hey, guess what? Sophia is also a fan of that romance novel! Finally, someone who shares her passion! She wants to talk about the novel immediately but the tea party is over. That’s bad timing. Catarina invites Sophia over to her house to talk sometime. She agrees as Catarina is dragged away by Keith and Mary. As promised, Sophia comes over to her place. Catarina is ecstatic! Sophia brought her brother along, too. Wait, he seems familiar. Oh no, he’s another route from the game! Doom flag alert! Commence the meeting inside Catarina’s mind! They don’t know much about Nicol except what they heard from their otaku friend Acchan. I find it interesting that Catarina’s friend was mentioned in this scene. Is this foreshadowing something? Perhaps her friend was also reborn in this otome game? This is also speculation on my part but it’d be pretty interesting if that’s actually the case. We learn that Nicol has a sister complex but I think we all knew that already, right? Anyway, all Catarina cares about is making sure she can still be friends with Sophia. There shouldn’t be any problems with that! Thank goodness, she really wanted a fellow romance novel fan in her life.
Catarina and Sophia spend the whole day talking romance novels. When it’s time to leave, Catarina tells Sophia that she looks beautiful. This makes her really happy! Everyone has always called her a cursed child because she had white hair and red eyes. People are jerks. Nicol agrees with my assessment. They’re just a bunch of pompous douchebags. It’s a good thing Catarina isn’t like that though! She’s happy to be Sophia’s friend. D’aww, that’s adorable. On the ride back home, Sophia confides in her brother that she can’t believe she actually made a friend. She thought such a person could only exist in a book. PROTECT HER SMILE! Nicol is happy for her…or is he? Catarina and Sophia continue to see each other after that and talk about romance novels to their hearts’ content. Heck, even Mary joins in on the fun!
Sophia invites Catarina over to her home and she’s super excited! She salivates at the thought of the great romance novels she has. Of course, Keith is by her side. Sophia’s parents introduce themselves and thank Catarina for being a good friend to Sophia. She’s been so happy ever since she met her. Adorable! Catarina and Sophia spend the whole day reading and talking romance novels. If she had known Sophia back in her previous life, there’s no doubt she’d also be a fan of manga, anime, and otome games. Catarina is happy to have her as a friend! Nicol thanks her for being a good friend to his sister. She tries to hold a conversation with him but it’s proving difficult! In the end though, she manages to get him to smile! And what a devilish smile it was. Catarina swoons at the sight of such a lovely smile. Sophia lends her a few novels and it’s time for them to go. Catarina notices Keith and Nicol lock eyes for a moment. She thinks that Nicol is trying to steal Keith’s heart, haha. Bakarina at her finest. Naturally, Keith is just a little annoyed that he has another rival to worry about now. This harem just keeps getting bigger and bigger!
And just like that, seven years go by! Catarina is fifteen now. She has done everything in her power to avoid all the doom flags in those seven years. Here’s to hoping for the best! Also, it’s Catarina’s birthday today! Everyone greets her and wishes her a happy birthday. Since everyone else has also grown up, they now have their appearances from the game. Geordo and Catarina share a dance. He makes it clear to her that he doesn’t plan to break off their engagement. Catarina understands…but if he finds someone else, that’d be cool with her. Geordo understands that she understands nothing, haha. Bakarina’s denseness knows no bounds! Geordo gets a little aggressive and kisses her on the neck! Oh my! That’s quite bold. But since Catarina is so dense, she doesn’t know what happened as he walks away. Keith rushes in and starts cleaning her neck. Seriously, what happened!? Keith tells her that a bug bit her neck. She believes him, haha. Again, her denseness knows no bounds. Afterward, Catarina dances with everyone – Alan, Nicol, Mary, and Sophia. Well, everyone except Keith it looks like. They either didn’t show him getting a dance with her or he just didn’t get one at all. Poor guy. Anyway, it’s clear that everyone is smitten with Catarina. And yet, she doesn’t even realize it. What are we going to do with you, Bakarina!? Let’s just hope she avoids those doom flags!
In Summary:
As an anime fan, I know that I can expect a ridiculous amount of isekai shows every year. It’s an oversaturated genre. It’s proving exceedingly more difficult for these types of shows to leave a lasting impression and to do something we haven’t seen before. And then we have My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! I can’t say I’ve ever seen an anime where the main character is reborn into an otome game before. It’s definitely a first for me. And you know what? I’m a huge fan! I love everything about this show. Catarina, or Bakarina as everyone likes to call her, is such an entertaining character. She’s also one of the densest harem leads I have ever seen. Not even a black hole can compete with her! Honestly, this show is a breath of fresh air. It’s definitely a lot of fun, too! I’m looking forward to seeing all the boys and girls fight over Bakarina’s affection every week. What will the future hold?
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, VRV
