If you’re looking for a good story about a villainess, you can count on manhwa to have your back. There are so many villainess series that it’s practically a sub-genre on its own, and fans are loving that fact. Frequently, the villainesses of these stories wake up in a new and fantastical world, firmly placing them in the isekai genre. However, what happens next is a little bit of luck of the draw, as these characters can either embrace their new villainous origin story, desperately try to forge a path to survival, or let go and have fun. Regardless of which path you choose to follow, the odds are good that you’ll get hooked on these series.
Isekai and villainess series have been getting a lot of traction as of late, thanks to a few series hitting peak popularity. Now, if you hop on any platform like Tapas or Webtoon, you’ll have a decent selection to binge-read and obsess over. Here are some of the best villainess manhwa to get hooked on.
10) Beware the Villainess!
Beware the Villainess! has a classic isekai opening (though it’s a car crash instead of truck-kun). One moment, she was in a car, and the next, she was waking up as Melissa Podebrat. Naturally, she recognized this character from a popular fantasy novel, and she’s the villain!
Here’s where the twist comes into play, as Melissa isn’t doomed to die some horrible death, not like the ends most isekai villainesses face, at any rate. However, this new version of the villainess is far too kind to pull off the stunts of her predecessor. While Melissa is at it, she might as well toss the whole societal expectations of a noble woman out the window and try to make some friends. What could go wrong?
Beware the Villainess! is a comedic foray into the villainess sub-genre, complete with compelling characters and lots of strange antics. It’s the sort of series that will never fail to make its readers smile. It might be good to remember this for later items on the list.
9) Your Throne
In opposition to the comical and brighter style of Beware the Villainess! is Your Throne. Your Throne is another isekai manhwa, but this series does something pretty different. When our doomed lady wakes up in the body of Lady Medea Solon, she knows right away that she was reborn in a villainess tale. The difference? She embraces this life.
Lady Medea Solon had always dreamed of becoming the princess, even if that required her to swap bodies with the crown prince’s fiancée. Thus, the plotting begins. Naturally, there are a whole lot of twists and surprises that come up along the way, but it’s refreshing to see a character accept her story in life and run with it.
8) Kill the Villainess
If you’re looking for a darker or more brutal take on the villainess sub-genre, consider reading Kill the Villainess. Much like Your Throne, Kill the Villainess flips expectations on their head. However, instead of portraying a female lead who happily becomes the villainess, this tale gets a little bit darker. That’s because Eris Miserian is fully willing to welcome her demise.
Eris does not want to be in this fantasy world, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get out. That includes rushing toward death. So she runs with the villainess scheme, hoping that it’ll quickly result in her death.
Kill the Villainess defies most tropes, starting with a lead who desperately wants to get back to her home/original life. The series continues to break the mold and defy expectations, so it’s a fantastic read for anyone looking for something that still fits the genre but is simultaneously drastically different.
7) The Villainess Is a Marionette
Unsurprisingly, The Villainess Is a Marionette has another classical isekai beginning. It all starts with a woman happily binge-reading a fantasy novel before her untimely murder. She wakes up in the body of Kayena, a villainess in the series she had been so happily obsessed with.
Kayena is the stunning sister of Prince Regef, and in the novels, she’s used as a pawn at best, before also meeting her own untimely end. The new Kayene isn’t content to let that be the end of her story a second time, so she starts pulling the strings herself. Now she is the one plotting around her brother, not to mention the rest of the world.
The Villainess Is a Marionette is as clever as it is striking, with stunning artwork, carefully crafted plots, and the rest. It’s a bit more political than some other comps, making it stand out as Kayena manipulates the world around her.
6) Not Your Typical Reincarnation
Choi Suna is a pretty standard pre-isekai character; she was enjoying a good book before she found herself reincarnated into that world. Naturally, she found herself taking the role of Edith Rigelhof, the villainess with a doomed fate. She’s a classic villain, the type who creates the ending she doesn’t see coming.
When Choi becomes Edith, she realizes that the two have far too much in common when it comes to their abusive histories. This helps give her the drive and determination to change her own fate. Her biggest goal is simply to find a way out of this situation.
Not Your Typical Reincarnation is a compelling and sometimes dark story, as it is comfortable playing with common themes and tropes. However, it’s also not afraid to break your expectations, so be prepared for anything.
5) Roxane
Roxane is another villainess tale that has been getting more ink as of late. This is a world full of tragedy, romance, and politics. It all starts with a reverse harem, a quest for vengeance, and wicked political schemes. The usual, really.
Enter a young student who has just found herself taking the place of Roxane. In this world, Roxane is a villainess with familial ties and complications. Roxane knows that in order to avoid her own horrible fate, she’ll first have to save the life of another. This kickstarts a strange and daring series of events, to say the least.
Roxane is an emotionally compelling series with complex characters and motivations. If you’re willing to dive into the deep end of schemes and family drama, this is the series for you.
4) The Perks of Being a Villainess
Yoon Dohee has lived a quiet life, and her death isn’t all that much different. Mostly, it comes with the realization that everyone in her life took her for granted, seeing her as little more than a pushover. So when she’s born into the next life as a villainess, she knows what to do.
She is now Deborah Seymour, a villainess from a dark reverse harem series, and let’s just say that reincarnating into a family of wealth is a nice change of pace. Deborah has no wants in this new life, as she is pampered beyond belief. So she doesn’t much care about chasing after the things the previous incarnation wanted. However, if she wanted to avoid the fate of being sent to a Monastery, she’s still going to have to make a plan or two.
The Perks of Being a Villainess takes a lot of the common themes and tropes and flips them on their heads, but not in the way one might expect. As such, Deborah finds new ways to keep everyone on their toes.
3) Villainess Turns the Hourglass
Villainess Turns the Hourglass is a pretty different series from the rest of the list. To start with, Aria Roscente was always the villainess. She took advantage of what the world gave her, and it ultimately resulted in her demise, via execution.
Here’s the catch: Aria has been given a second chance at life. We’re not talking about reincarnation here, as Aria has literally been given a new chance at her own life. She wakes up in her past, forearmed with all the knowledge she accumulated up until her death. She can use this knowledge to avoid her death, but which paths will she choose?
Villainess Turns the Hourglass is a fantastic read, partially because of how different it is. It plays with time travel over reincarnation to get similar results. In doing so, it breaks the mold and opens the door to many surprises.
2) Villainesses Have More Fun
Sojin has never had a moment of peace or rest. Her family is dysfunctional at best, and now she’s just been cheated on. To make matters worse, Sojin is about to find herself thrown into an entirely different life. However, this could be the new beginning she needs.
Sojin wakes to find herself turned into Reilynn Candmion. In other words, she’s now the daughter of the wealthiest duke in the empire, and she’s a villainess. Of course, she’s a villainess. She could pick up with the schemes and the like, but that would result in her death. Instead, she’s just going to have fun and try to live her life in luxury.
Villainesses Have More Fun is entertaining and full of lovable characters. The female lead is competent but pretty different from the rest, as her goal is simply to extricate herself from politics so she may have her own life.
1) Villains are Destined To Die
Villains are Destined To Die has another classic isekai beginning, as the leading lady was living a very rough life before she suddenly found herself in a whole new world. Now she’s Penelope Eckhart, the adopted daughter of the Duke, and she knows this spells another hard life for her.
You see, she knows that Penelope is doomed to die a dozen different ways, depending on the path chosen. That’s because she’s the villainess, and every potential love interest in this otome game could spell her doom. To survive, she’ll have to carefully tick up their relationship status, allowing her to find a way out of this life, preferably one that doesn’t involve death.
Villains are Destined To Die is a heavy-hitting series full of drama, romance, and magic. It has some strong reverse harem elements, including a complement of otome love interests that play with familiar tropes.
