"My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!" aired its first season in April 2020 to great acclaim, and its second season will begin airing in July 2021! So, let's take a look back at what aired in Season 1. This time, we've summarized episodes 1 through 6!
Episode 1: I Remembered My Past Life...
Katarina Claes, the daughter of a duke in the Kingdom of Sorcier, was arrogant, selfish, and haughty—just the worst kind of person. When Katarina was eight years old, she went to the castle to meet with the third prince, Geordo, and suffered a freak accident and hit her head hard. At that moment, memories of her past life returned to her, and she remembered that she was an ordinary girl with otaku hobbies who died in a traffic accident, that this world was the very world of the otome game "FORTUNE LOVER" that she once played, and that one of the characters, Katarina Claes, was the villainous young lady who bullied the protagonist, and that no matter how her story ended, she was almost certain to be doomed, either by death or exile from the country.
Episode 1 Part 2
Having regained her memories of her past life, Katarina begins taking action to avoid her own downfall. However, her former arrogant personality is gone, and she exhibits many eccentric behaviors due to memory corrections from her past life. Those around her believe she's hit her head hard and gone crazy (in a good way). She trains in magic so she can protect herself if something happens, and tries her hand at farming so she can survive even if she's ruined and exiled. Then, a new downfall flag appears for Katarina: her stepbrother, Keith Claes.
Episode 1 Part 3
Keith Claes from "Fortune Lover" is a distant relative of the Claes family, and was adopted by them due to his high magical powers. However, he spent his childhood alone, bullied by his siblings in his original home and by Katarina in the Claes household. Katarina doted on Keith to avoid her own downfall. Keith's influence would normally have strained the relationship between the Claes couple, but Katarina's influence prevented that from happening. Thus, Keith grew up healthy and happy, surrounded by the love of Katarina and his family.
Episode 2: The Prince Challenges Me to a Duel...
Despite her ruin, Katarina tries to make a living through farming, but things don't go well and her crops keep withering. At a tea party, Katarina learns that Mary Hunt, the daughter of the Hunt family, is tending the garden. After consulting with Mary and trying out her plan, her crops begin to grow, and the two become close. However, Mary Hunt is also the fiancée of Alan Stuart, the fourth prince and one of the game's main characters. She is also one of the game's rivals.
Episode 2 Part 2
Mary is a rival character like Katarina, but unlike her, she is not a character who will be doomed. Katarina is furious at the game's production staff for this disparity in treatment, but there is nothing she can do about it. Furthermore, Katarina accidentally preemptively says the encouraging words that Alan was meant to say to Mary, thereby destroying Alan's feelings for Mary. Meanwhile, Katarina receives a visitor. It is none other than Alan Stuart himself. Alan, angry that Katarina had become rough with Alan because she had won Mary's heart, came to see her.
Episode 2 Part 3
After a back-and-forth, Alan told Katarina that she treated Alan roughly because he was unattractive, prompting him to challenge her to a fight. Alan gave Katarina the upper hand, leaving the method of the fight up to Katarina, so Katarina challenged him to a contest using her specialty: tree climbing. Katarina won with a dazzling display of agility. However, from then on, Alan would often pick fights with Katarina, and before he knew it, they had become close. Alan had always felt inferior to his talented brother, but he learned that Geordo also had weaknesses. By interacting with the charming, if not exceptional, Katarina, he overcame this feeling.
Episode 3: I Met a Beautiful Brother and Sister...
Katarina was obsessed with romance novels. However, since it was considered a lowly hobby in aristocratic society, she had no friends with whom she could share her passion. Katarina was invited to a tea party by Geordo and Alain, hoping to find a fellow romance novelist. Later, during the tea party, she was chased by a dog and escaped by climbing a tree. There, she witnessed a white-haired girl being bullied by other nobles. Feeling the urge to urinate, Katarina quickly rescued the girl and dashed off.
Episode 3 Part 2
Later, Katarina discovered that the girl shared her interests and invited her to her family home. The girl's name was Sophia Ascart. Sophia is the younger sister of Nicole Ascart, one of the game's "Fortune Lover" gameplay targets, and is linked to Katarina's downfall. However, Katarina has not played Nicole's route, and only knows that Sophia is her rival. Thinking that if Sophia is her rival, Katarina won't be involved in the story and likely won't be doomed, Katarina becomes close to her.
Episode 3 Part 3
The key to conquering Nicole's route is to first become friends with Sophia. Katarina's classic approach not only brings a smile to Sophia's face, but also to the brazen Nicole's. Seeing this, her younger brother Keith was terrified, thinking that she had deceived another person and added another rival to his roster. Seven years later, Katarina finally enrolls in the magic school that will likely become the stage for her downfall, and the main story of the game is about to begin.
Episode 4: I Enrolled in Magic School...
After enrolling in the magic school, Katarina is liked by all the characters, both the main characters and the rivals, but as the naturally insensitive protagonist and preoccupied with avoiding downfall, she doesn't notice. The person Katarina was most wary of was Maria Campbell, the game's protagonist, who was supposed to be enrolling at the same time. Katarina decided to create a farm in case she were ruined.
Episode 4 Part 2
The environment surrounding the game had changed dramatically. Geordo stubbornly refused to break off his engagement with Katarina, Keith had become a good young man who supported Katarina with a naive attitude, Alan had freed himself from his inferiority complex, and Nicole no longer felt the need to protect her sister. And, to her surprise, Katarina even saved Maria, the game's protagonist, from harassment by the villainous young lady. Originally, Katarina was supposed to be the one to harass them, and Geordo was supposed to be the one to help them.
Episode 5: I Visited the Protagonist's Family Home...
Katarina had steadily become friends with the protagonist, Maria, but outside of the student council room, she seemed a little distant. Since Maria is a commoner and Katarina and her friends are aristocrats, this was a move she made out of fear that openly interacting with them would incur the hatred of the other aristocrats. In fact, Maria was surrounded by the villainous ladies and was being insulted in every way. Then, Katarina dashingly appeared and said: "If you keep doing this, you'll be ruined." Katarina, with her villainous face, somehow finds her words convincing, and the villainess flees. In fact, it was Katarina who was bullying Maria here, and Keith who was saving her. Katarina had once again stole Maria's strategy event. However, Katarina didn't realize she'd done something so important.
Episode 5 Part 2
On the way back from inspecting a real farm to help her become a successful farmer, she happens to pass by Maria's family home. It's a surprise visit, but Maria is delighted. Maria, possessing the magical power of light, was rumored to be the illegitimate child of a nobleman, and Maria was concerned about the public's opinions, so she worked extraordinarily hard. No one accepted Maria, but Katarina was the only one who saw her for who she really was, and that was a special event for Maria. Later, Katarina's mother found out about her farming habits and severely punished her.
Episode 6: It's Summer Vacation, So We Had Fun...
After Katarina hit her head and went crazy, many things changed. Thanks to Katarina, everyone started smiling again. However, they sometimes have trouble dealing with Katarina, whose eccentric behavior is unbecoming of a noblewoman. Summer vacation has arrived, and Katarina and her friends are enjoying their time off. They all enjoy picnics, shopping, and attending Alan's concert. However, on the last day of summer vacation, they find themselves extremely anxious about their homework. Katarina had done something similar in her past life, and it triggers a flashback. On the first day back at school after the break, her classmate, Atchan, tells her that there is an incredibly difficult route in "FORTUNE LOVER," but she has forgotten what it is.
[My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!] Season 1 Episode Recap - First Half
Here's a summary of the first season of "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!." This article covers episodes 1 through 6, but there is also an article covering the second half of episodes 7 through 12, so be sure to check it out!
