Are villain/villainess novels becoming cliche?

[RootBeerBert]

I’ve started to notice tons of villainess type novels be written was wondering if it was going to become a cliche like hero summoning isekais. I’ve read the descriptions of some, while I can’t talk for all of them a lot of them sorta sound the same. What do you guys think?

 

[K5Rakitan]

Yes.

 

[Lorelliad]

Yes

 

[NotaNuffian]

Fuck yes.

Because great minds don't think alike, the ignorant masses do.

 

[SakeVision]

It's cliche if it's a plot of "im a nice person reborn as a villain in a video game now I need to prove to everyone how nice I am and avoid death flags!" because that was done 10000 times

10000 times a hamefura ripoff

But if you can write an original character, design an interesting plotline, and don't follow the hamefura pattern, then it's not cliche.

 

[T.K._Paradox]

It's cliche if it's a plot of "im a nice person reborn as a villain in a video game now I need to prove to everyone how nice I am and avoid death flags!" because that was done 10000 times

10000 times a hamefura ripoff

But if you can write an original character, design an interesting plotline, and don't follow the hamefura pattern, then it's not cliche.

What is hamefura?

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

What is hamefura?

Bakarina anonymous group

So far I'd say no. They tend to diverge enough after the initial spawning into the world and getting acclimated that they still feel different enough.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

It has absolutely become cliche. However, villainess novels are just a subgenre of Isekai in my opinion. They both are usually reborn, reincarnated, or Isekai'd in some form. The only real difference is that Villainess novels rely more on political and emotional manipulation while Isekai's try to rely on a power system and adventure. Both have their place but they are both overused and rather cliche. I even jumped on the Isekai bandwagon a while back and wrote my own. That said, I try to avoid tropes as much as possible unless it's to make fun of said tropes.

 

[SakeVision]

Bakarina anonymous group

So far I'd say no. They tend to diverge enough after the initial spawning into the world and getting acclimated that they still feel different enough.

Hamefura is a shortcut to Otome Game no Hametsu no Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shiteshimatta, also known as My Next Life As Villaines:All Routes Lead to Doom, also known as Bakarina after it's main character.


HAMEtsu FUrag, get it? That's how it's known in japan, anyway.

 

[EternalSunset0]

What is hamefura?

The one with this character

If you've been anywhere close to online weeb communities/circles 2 years or so ago, you'll probably have seen it. Or the chibified memes.

 

[T.K._Paradox]

The one with this character

View attachment 11542

If you've been anywhere close to online weeb communities/circles 2 years or so ago, you'll probably have seen it. Or the chibified memes.

Oh, I have seen the show at my grandparents house. Didn't like it much.

I never had internet at my home until near the end of last year.

 

[Clori]

It's definitely one of the most popular Isekai subtropes out there. I think the main problem with villainess novels is usually that they're extremely linear, as SakeVision mentioned. If you've read the most popular one (hamefura), you're going to see a lot of similar ones with the same idea. Coupled in that the villainess stories tend to be extremely similar in what the villainess was doing beforehand. It's like the equivalent of throwing yourself in the place of the demon lord(another incidentally very used trope), people love the idea of redeeming villains, especially if it happens to be a typically pretty villainess.

 

[Mr.Grey-Cat]

However, villainess novels are just a subgenre of Isekai in my opinion.

Villainess novels are not necessarily Isekai, you know? It's just that Japanese authors have a hobby of isekaying others for no reason.

Korean villainess novels on the hand are a little better, with their female MC usually being a girl that entered a novel, a girl that had a tragic ending and reversed time, or sometimes just a normal villainess that after a heart break started to change.

Mainly those three routes, and sometimes all of them, but that's not important. Instead what's important is the fact that villainess novels are not necessarily a subgenre of isekai, No, it's just that for some damn reason, author nowadays just have to use isekaied people in every chance they get.

What? It's a Magic academy? Then let's send a Japanese person. What? The evil sect is awakening? Send a cucked Chinese guy. And what? Even the Duke is reveling? Then let's send a poor book loving Korean girl. This style here is how you can tell that a novel is a cliche or not, just by the lazy and unnecessary beginning.

 

[Kuropon]

Isn't everything at this point? It's not about the setting just how you can spin it to make it interesting.

 

[Ellen_Dunkel]

I’ve started to notice tons of villainess type novels be written was wondering if it was going to become a cliche like hero summoning isekais. I’ve read the descriptions of some, while I can’t talk for all of them a lot of them sorta sound the same. What do you guys think?

I have seen someone describe them as cliché several years ago. It doesn't really seem to matter whether or not they are cliché

 

[Deeprotsorcerer]

No.

What we're witnessing is the emergence of a genre/subgenre much in the same way .Hack and SAO and Spy Kids 3D(fight me) popularized the "trapped in a game world" genre, the problem is that the people riding on the coattails of the good ones don't know why they're good, and only want money or clicks.

So, the usual.

 

[LostLibrarian]

It's a setting for a certain kind of isekai. Nothing different from "magical high school", "kingdom building", or whatever.
The way it is executed will decide whether it makes use of the tropes of the genre to create an interesting/unique story or whether it'll become a lazy and cliché copy.

It's the execution (and through that the work you put in) that decide the worth... not the setting itself.

 

[RavenWolf]

I’ve started to notice tons of villainess type novels be written was wondering if it was going to become a cliche like hero summoning isekais. I’ve read the descriptions of some, while I can’t talk for all of them a lot of them sorta sound the same. What do you guys think?

So far there have been only one anime and that is Hamefura. I'm waiting otome game/villainess boom to begin anytime now.

But honestly, many popular villainess manga/manhwa are very similar. There are few which try to break the mold. Then there are some which I could consider masterpieces of villainess genre like Your Throne which btw. is not isekai but is very similar.

 

[AliceShiki]

The more a given trope is used, the more cliche it becomes.

Being cliche isn't bad though. Cliches are popular for a reason, it's fine to use them too~

 

[Ai-chan]

Yes, very. To the point that Ai-chan throws away every story that has the title of 'villainess'. Except for those Ai-chan already read before Ai-chan started saying no to every story with the 'villainess' as part of the title. If the story IS about a villain, such as for example My Shit Shows No Sign of Ending or... fuck, this is really hard.

You know, screw this! Villainess novels suck, you get people who reincarnate as a villain, says they're not a villain and tries to change their future so that they don't get the bad end. That is pretty much what all villainess novel is and Ai-chan is sick of it!

That's why Ai-chan writes a different kind of villain novel, but with none of the repetitive reincarnation of good people into evil people trying to change their future. Unfortunately, none of you will ever read it because Ai-chan has only written the first chapter and has not written any more for the past year. Even planned for her powers to go berserk too, but it's very likely that Ai-chan will never finish the story and posting it will just provoke ill will from readers who say Ai-chan never finish a story anymore.