Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord (Season One) – Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen

Yumiella Dorkness retained her memories of her previous life, which is helpful because she’s now the secret villain in her favourite otome game. Desperate to avoid that fate, she focused on levelling up. Then, she can do what she wants!

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord (Season One) – Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen

What did you watch?

The spring anime schedule is almost over and I’ve just about finished watching everything that I wanted to from the winter lineup. This is my fourteenth and penultimate series. I’ve been really impressed with my selections so far. There have been some incredible shows. Of course, there have been some that haven’t hit as hard as they could have, but nothing has disappointed me yet. Those might be considered famous last words as I look at another show with an incredibly long title. At least, I should have some idea of what I’m getting into. Let’s dive in!

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What happened?

Yumiella Dorkness was born with dark hair and an affinity for dark magic. Since her parents were lords from outside the capital they were keen to leave her behind and attempt to socialise their way to the top. That was fine for Yumiella as she already knew what was going on. You see, Yumiella had retained her memories from her past life and this world was identical to the one in her favourite Otome game – Light, Magic, and the Hero. However, knowing that also revealed that she was the hidden villain who attacked the hero after they defeated the demon lord. That’s not really the life she wants to lead, so Yumiella took more of her knowledge of this world and decided to raise her level. If it was high enough, she wouldn’t have to worry about the things that might lead to her becoming the hidden villain.

Being a bit of a gamer, she understood how to level up fast. She hit the local dungeon, defeating the lower levels over and over again. Once ready, she moved on to the next level and repeated. By the time she reached the final level of the dungeon, she was so over-levelled that it barely stretched her. There was one key decision that sped her progress. She decided to spend her money on an amulet that increased the speed with which her levels rose rather than the amulet that would protect her if she died. And, since she never moved on until it became easy, it was never really a concern. Finally, it was time to attend the Royal Academy where she would meet the hero and her various love interests. Day one included a chance for the school to assess everyone’s levels. Unfortunately, Yumiella had overdone it. When her level was revealed to be 99, many thought she was cheating, some considered that she might be the demon lord. So much for that quiet life she hoped for!

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What did you think?

I actually really enjoyed this one too! It’s not as polished as 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! but it was still a lot of fun. As a fellow grinder, I have a lot of time for characters who are prepared to put in the time to over-level. I remember when my kids made me play Pokemon Scarlet and then wondered why I was still in the first area after a day. They thought I couldn’t beat the first boss when in actual fact, I was already twenty levels higher than them and when I did eventually fight them, I one-shotted everything. So, when I find a series where there is a character like that, I can completely buy into the reason they did it and the benefits that will follow. I also really enjoyed Yumiella. She was a fun main character.

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What was your favourite moment?

Since Yumiella was level 99 there was no need for her to participate in the school’s practical skills sessions so she was invited to watch. Her initial thoughts were that they were so inefficient at levelling up. A large group like this was going to split the XP so thinly that no one gains much from it. Her opinion was shared by Patrick Ashbatten. He was also the first person to talk to her who wasn’t accusing her of cheating. She wanted to help Patrick and the others, so they came up with a plan. Or rather, Yumiella did and then forced Patrick into doing it when she blew on her monster-summoning flute. The other students fought under Patrick’s leadership and won. He was upset at Yumiella for blowing the flute, but she thought he was upset because everyone didn’t get a turn, so she blew it again.

This time she restrained all the monsters with her magic and let the students who didn’t get a kill the first time do so. Pleased with how well it went, she blew it again, and again, and again. By the end of the session, they’d lost count of how many times she used it. No one got hurt, but they were all exhausted and a little traumatized from seeing Yumiella’s dark healing magic. Of course, she didn’t see the problem. They all got some good experience. The principal didn’t agree with her either and banned her from using the flute again.

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What was your least favourite moment?

The series started by following Alicia Ehnleit, the hero of the Otome game. We saw her meet the three main love interests as she began her life at the school. Then, she bumped into Yumiella at the opening ceremony. Then, the OP kicked in. However, it was the OP for Light, Magic, and the Hero. I’ll admit that I paused the episode and went to the comments. Was I watching the right show? Thankfully, I was not the only one who experienced that as many others pointed out the same thing, so I merely went back to watching the first episode.

Now, it was a fairly clever idea and it worked only because I kept watching. However, had I decided that it was the wrong show and went on to watch something else, it could have been a terrible decision. I think you have to be careful with anything that might pull the audience out of the story, even if it is a clever idea. I have to wonder if there were people who stopped at that point and didn’t continue.

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Who was your favourite character?

I loved Yumiella, so there’s no question that she was my favourite character. She was a grinder after all. I also loved how she would sigh and roll her eyes at the love interests who were busy calling her a cheat and trying to get her expelled. The moment she showed them Black Hole and proved that she was level 99 was hilarious. It was even funnier when she did it again at a tournament and won because they were terrified of what she might do next. The sword-fighting tournament was good too. She realized that her sword was going to break because it wasn’t strong enough to withstand her attacks so she punched her opponent’s sword shattering it. She did it so fast that she was sure no one noticed, however, the head of royal guards, a level 60 warrior, saw it and just stared blankly at her for shattering a broadsword with her fist.

There were lots of great moments where she used her speed and strength to great effect. She also took advantage of the side quests to get herself a dragon egg. After it was born, she kept it, scaring everyone. It was funny when the dragon would playfully bite people’s heads, especially how Yumiella took that to mean they were animal people. Yumiella was also incredibly slow to notice that Patrick liked her and he had to kiss her for her to finally take notice. She was as clueless as your average male isekai protagonist so that made me laugh. She was hilarious.

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Who was your least favourite character?

They did a great job of flipping things. I couldn’t stand any of the love interests and felt like Alicia Ehnleit was not missed as the protagonist. I can’t say I liked any of them, whereas the ones that were more influential in the villain’s side of the Otome game ended up being much more likeable. Characters such as Eleanora HIllrose who was the person who twisted Yumiella in the game ended up becoming a good friend to Yumiella and far more interesting than any of the heroes.

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Would you like some more?

I think this story is done. It reached the end of the game and now it’s for Yumiella to go off and live. I wouldn’t mind seeing how that goes, but I don’t think there’s any real development hinted at in this season that would justify another one. As much as I love longer series, I also appreciate a season that can deliver a satisfactory ending in a single season. Every show can’t be Fullmetal Alchemist and nor should it be. This was a fun series and I’d be more than happy to give other shows of a similar nature a chance.

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What have you learned?

One of the most interesting aspects of this series was the fact that the story wanted to follow the story in the game despite Yumiella changing things. Alicia told her about how she would occasionally just do things without thinking. That led us to the point where Yumiella defeated the demon lord while the others did nothing. In the game, Alicia and the love interests defeated the demon lord and then faced Yumiella as the hidden boss. Of course, it didn’t work that way, but the story still wanted it to, so it took control of Alicia and had her stab Yumiella in the back. Luckily, Yumiella understood what had happened and why and was able to work they way out of it. That made for an interesting plot device that they could use in different ways. In this instance, it almost flipped their roles entirely.

Series Information

English Title	Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord
Japanese Title	Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen
Medium	Anime
Released	Winter 2024
Episodes	12
Animation Studios	Jumondo
Genres	Fantasy, Isekai, Romance, School
Demographic	Josei

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• The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Season One) – Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha
• Tales of Wedding Rings (Season One) – Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari
• Gushing over Magical Girls (Season One) – Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
• My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! (Season One) – Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga
• The Witch and the Beast (Season One) – Majo to Yajuu
• The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (Season One) – Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata
• Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Season One) – Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi
• ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess (Season One) – Himesama “Goumon” no Jikan desu
• The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero’s Party- (Season One) – Saikyou Tank no Meikyuu Kouryaku: Tairyoku 9999 no Rare Skill-mochi Tank, Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou sareru
• 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Season One) – Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsu suru
• Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord (Season One) – Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen

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