Ranking My Next Life as a Villainess!

Series protagonist Catarina Claes.

Words by Liam Horgan.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom was one of the more surprising shows of the 2020 anime summer season. The adaptation of the Japanese light novels was a funny, endearing, and light-hearted show. The story focuses on Catarina Claes, the young daughter of a noble family. After an accident where she bumps her head, Catarina regains memories of her past life as an otaku. She then realizes she has been reborn into the world of the fictional otome game Fortune Lover, as the game's villain. As the game’s antagonist regardless of what route the player took in the original game, she is doomed to be either exiled or killed. To avoid these fates, Catarina starts taking countermeasures, thus having unintended consequences for the game and it’s plotline. Half isekai, half harem anime and an all-round charmer, My Next Life is a fun watch and great escapism. As is natural for a harem story, there is a charismatic cast of characters, with all these characters being love rivals to one another, all vying for Catarina’s hand. As such here’s my official ranking of the cast from worst to best pairing for Catarina.

 *Note this will only cover the characters introduced in Season 1 of the anime, so characters featured in the original light novels will not feature*

Look at this Weasley looking man.

 8. Sirius

Listen Sirius is just fine, he’s a nice chap and means well but he’s really just present. This is aptly influenced by his late introduction to Catarina’s harem; however, the other factor that has resulted in Sirius’ low placement features two words: Mommy issues. Yes, unfortunately Sirius sees a lot of similarities to his deceased mother in Catarina making his romantic feelings towards her slightly too icky. On that basis alone, Sirius ends up here. 

I love Keith so much but I cannot support him.

 7. Keith

I have a confession to make, I have a soft spot for old Keith. Keith’s rivalry with Geordo is incredibly enjoyable and he truly cares for Catarina. However, being Catarina’s adoptive brother means that Keith’s relationship will always be morally icky. In the original game Keith is a cold womanizing man whose relationship with his family is distant and cold. Catarina seeks to fix this after regaining her memories becoming firm friends with the doting Keith. Despite Keith clearly having feelings for Catarina, the trope of adoptive siblings, who have grown up together, falling in love is cliched and gross. So, although I wish the best for Keith (he truly is best boi) his relationship with Catarina truly is doomed. 

Sophia is best girl.

 6. Sophia

Sophia is a bit of a tricky character and so her introduction here is suspect at best. First of all, it is eventually revealed that Sophia is the reincarnation of Catarina’s friend Aaachan from her old life. Sophia and Catarina strike up a close friendship. It’s hard to decide if Sophia is in love with Catarina or in love with the idea of Catarina. As such Sophia champions her brother Nichol to wed Catarina, as this would mean she is always close to her. Sophia is a great character but her interactions with Catarina are probably the least romantic out of the cast. As such her placement here is understandable. 

Mary is a powerful lesbian. Good for her!

 5. Mary

Mary is very clearly in love with Catarina. An elegant lady in comparison to Catarina’s clumsiness, she is not to be underestimated. Originally a meek character, through Catarina’s friendship she becomes strong willed and even outspoken at times. Mary is a cunning individual often trying to come between her rivals to prevent them from taking advantage of Catarina. She is engaged to Alan and since childhood has done everything in her power to make Alan’s true feelings for Catarina hidden. Although she acknowledges that Catarina will probably never reciprocate her feelings, she still aims to woo her. 

Every great tsundere has grey hair, I’m sorry but that’s the law.

 4. Alan

Alan fulfils the tsundere role in Catarina’s harem. The brash twin brother of Geordo, Alan falls for Catarina after she fixes the pair's relationship. Although engaged to Mary, Alan acknowledges his feelings for Catarina and even tries to end his relationship with Mary. However, both agree to put on a united front as they both love someone else. Alan enjoys Catarina’s headstrong and tomboyish nature, often keeping up with her more physical activities. Despite one of his love rivals being his brother, Alan’s feelings for Catarina are so genuine that seeing him end up with her would not be the worst thing. 

On a serious note who calls twins Alan and Geordo? Seriously?

 3. Geordo

In the original plot of the Fortune Lover, Geordo is a cold calculating man. While he is engaged to Catarina, he does not care for her and even kills her in one of the game’s original endings. Unlike his game character, Geordo in My Next Life is truly head over heels for Catarina. In contrast, Catarina knows Geordo has a dark side and for most of her life is afraid of him. Eventually when they get older, the two have a close relationship, yet due to Catarina’s obliviousness she still does not see Geordo’s true feelings. While Geordo often ignores Catarina’s attempts to cancel their nuptials, he views his various rivals as stiff competition. Despite being the obvious partner for Catarina (given their engagement and all) Geordo still shows that doesn’t mean his feelings for her should be ignored. 

He just needs a nice partner and a nice life I’m begging.

2. Nichol

Nichol is the brother of Sophia and a childhood friend of Geordo and Alan. In the original game he does not have an interaction with Catarina. However, in the series, Nichol is also in love with her. Catarina was one of the only people to acknowledge his family as children which led to him opening his heart to her. Nichol has one of the sadder backstories of Catarina’s harem. He is often silent and expressionless, only exhibiting his true feelings around Catarina. When he smiles both men and women fall for his charms, however this led to unwanted attention and even assault when he was a child, so Nichol avoids being the centre of attention when in public. Out of the trio of himself, Geordo and Alan, Nichol is the one who would benefit most from Catarina’s love. A true prince charming, it would not be unwanted to see him end up with the protagonist. 

Now THIS, THIS is great.

1. Maria

Despite stiff competition there is truly only one character that Catarina should end up with and that is her original rival from the game, Maria Cambell. Maria is the original protagonist from the game. A rare light magic user, she is a commoner who is often shunned by the elite of the school. Despite this, Catarina befriends Maria and defends her from would-be bullies. Maria loves Catarina whole-heartedly, even confessing to her at the end of the season. She uses her line that, in the game, is only used for the one she truly loves. Honestly, the idea of Maria and Catarina ending together is one that would truly be a great ending. The pair seem to be made for each other and after the events of the series it would be great for both to get the happy-ever-afters they deserve.