Thank you for coming to my blog today. Your readership is much appreciated. RekiAku is the short nickname for Rekishi ni Nokoru Akujo ni Naru zo, or in English, I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History. The fourth episode is what I’m responding to today. My brief notes are below.
Episode 4: The Villainess and the Flower Field
Episode Rating: 7/10
I’m honestly a little annoyed at Alicia’s obsession with the idea of being a “villainess.” Maybe this series isn’t really right for me, but I want to keep watching anyway because it’s still moderately interesting and I still have the available time. Anyway, the main problem with Alicia’s fixation is that it all operates on a misunderstanding. Alicia seems to think that assertive, logical, or clever are the traits that make up a villainess. She’s confusing “assertive girl” and “evil girl.”
I do understand where her mistake comes from. Due to misogyny across multiple cultures, villainesses in media were often written to be strong, independent women. This was to push the narrative that good women stay home and are always gentle. Although they do it to a less obvious degree, you still see Christian fundamentalist film studios using the same idea. Heroines are cute and sweet, while villainesses are not as sentimental, blindly obedient, or socially meek.
If Alicia saw this old media trend and is trying to reject it by embracing the role of the villainess, that’s fine. But it seems to me like she’s genuinely mixed up about the definition of a villainess. Usually evil by matter of course, a villainess is a female antagonist. If you’re not antagonizing the story or characters, you can’t be a villainess. That’s where I think the labeling she uses is a mistake. Regardless, I’m already resigned to watching this show, so I’ll just have to accept that it’s not really about a villainess.
We’ve established that Alicia is not a villainess because 1) she’s not remotely evil, and 2) she’s helping rather than antagonizing the heroine and the main story. Other than that rant, I only have a few more thoughts to share on this episode. First of all, Prince Duke is extremely good at magic now, considering he can force a more powerful magic user (Alicia) to teleport to him against her will. By the way, Duke’s behavior was very creepy when he cornered Alicia. I don’t like him much.
In other news, I’m very glad that Gill is getting the chance to improve his life and acquire more education. Alicia is already helping people far more than Liz as she writes naïve essays at the academy. And my final note for today is that I enjoyed the scene where Alicia used magic to save the burn victim. She turned out to be a girl named Rebecca who will serve as an informant to Alicia. The music was good in this relatively intense scene, and it was great seeing Alicia use powerful magic with ease.
~Thanks for reading~
Anime Rants 
I don’t think it’s misogyny that makes villainesses strong women (of at least one variety), I think it’s because villains and villainesses alike need to be an actual threat.
As for Alicia’s obsession with being the best villainess, well, she was reborn as the character who *is* a villainess in the game. Rather than try to fight it for the sake of self-preservation, as many other similar characters do, she embraces it and strives to be the best and most formidable “villainess” she can be. It’s a bit ridiculous, yes, but it’s not because she’s confusing “strong” with “evil.”
As for Duke, I have been creeped out by his behavior towards Alicia from the first episode. I mean, he was coming to see her and give her lavish gifts by the time she was eight, if I recall rightly. He had his sights set on her way too early, with too much of an initial age gap, for me to feel comfortable with. Sure, she’d make a fantastic queen, and she was always charming, but the romantic and intimate overtones of his attentions has just always felt wildly inappropriate.
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“Rather than try to fight it for the sake of self-preservation, as many other similar characters do, she embraces it and strives to be the best and most formidable “villainess” she can be. It’s a bit ridiculous, yes, but it’s not because she’s confusing “strong” with “evil.” “
Thanks for the comment! I like this take. It makes more sense than her actually being confused about things. I think you’re right and Alicia is just doing her best to cope with being in this world.
Also, good job catching on to Duke’s creepiness early on. It really is uncomfortable.
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Is it just me, or do we suddenly have a bunch of creepy couplings like that this season? This one, the Do-Over Damsel one, TsumaSho where the guy’s wife reincarnates and comes back when she’s ten, and Nina the Starry Bride all come to mind.
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Hmm, I kind of think that Alicia’s misunderstanding with “Evil” and assertiveness is part of a running gag. She childishly thinks she’s being a villainess, when actually she is just showing over and over again that she’s really a smart and good person. It’s a kind of joke watching a good person trying to be evil and completely failing. Personally, I think the series would have been more interesting if the main character was an honestly evil villain, that understood what villainy was, and complete owned their villain persona. A series more like “Villains are Destined to Die”. Granted, that series is a lot more dark than this one! But, this series is pretty good if you are looking more for a comedy rather than a anime about a villainous main character.
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Good points and thanks for the comment. 🙂
I really did want Alicia to be evil at first, but now, I think I’m down for the more comedic route of the anime. Plus, since Alicia is genuinely so good and wise, I hope we’ll see her doing more amazing and empowering things as the series goes on.
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