“Ah, crap! I totally forgot about being the villainess and let some of my fatherly feelings slip out!”

Ever since My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! premiered back in 2020, we’ve had a slew of “reincarnated as a villainess” or villainess-centric series. I’ve only sampled two, but my general impression is none have captured the brilliant magic of Bakarina. However, I’ve seen some fun twists, and I think this season’s From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! might be leading the pack. I’m not even joking when I say that title alone catapulted the show to the front of my list of most anticipated shows.

There was a lingering concern that it might turn out to be a bland photocopy with no real identity, but fortunately, From Bureaucrat to Villainess is already proving to be everything I wanted and more. While it might not succeed in matching the quality of its main competitor, My Next Life as a Villainess, this premiere proves it understands the strengths that made this show great, and supplies us with a hilarious protagonist who paves their own way in the genre.

The last thing Kenzaburo Tondabayashi remembers is getting himself Urameshi-ed one day after work. Next thing he knows, he’s awakened in the body of Grace Auvergne, a young female noble who is the villainess of his daughter’s otome game. While Kenzaburo was an otaku, and is aware of anime trends enough to figure out what has happened to him, he’s still baffled that he’s stuck in a world he has little connection to and limited awareness of. Fortunately, he does share Grace’s knowledge, even if social protocols aren’t instinctive for him. As such, Kenzaburo employs the skills he built up in a decades-long history in the public sector to attempt to keep things moving forward as normal in the game, even if that means playing the antagonistic role.

In an odd way, Kenzaburo serves as the absolute inverse of Katarina from My Next Life as a Villainess. Katarina knew tons of information about the world she was in and constructed plans to prevent her demise, but those plans were victims of her adorable incompetence. In contrast, Kenzaburo’s flying by the seat of his pants, and just trying to get a feel for the world he’s in. If anything, he’s too competent, as every attempt to make Grace come across as villainous instead just makes her seem focused, or is undercut by Kenzaburo’s deep-seated “Best Dad” instincts.

Ultimately, the biggest weakness of this first episode is that it has to devote all its time to setting up the characters, comedy, and the world. Thus, we have no time left to explore the trajectory of the show, so it’s hard to discern what the next steps are. Still, while I have no clue where the show will go from here, I’m excited to follow it.

The production is being handled by Ajia-do Animation Works, a studio that I’ve encountered a few times before. Of their recent works, From Bureaucrat to Villainess is probably the least visually appealing, though that’s not as harsh as it sounds. They were previously responsible for Kemono Jihen and A Sign of Affection, both of which were visually impressive. From Bureaucrat to Villainess has the misfortune of being contrasted against both those titles and My Next Life as a Villainess, and it falls short in both comparisons. Still, that’s not to say it looks bad or even subpar. It’s above average for romantic comedy light novel adaptations, but the character designs come off as a bit flat and unremarkable, and the show thrives more on the quality of its timing rather than animation and movement.

Fortunately, the comedy is spectacular. I was laughing multiple times throughout the episode, and the ED in particular plays into the comedy. It reminds me of the ED of So I’m a Spider, So What?, but even that comparison is underselling it. This is one of those rare instances where the ending of a show completely outstrips its opening. And the opening is great too! It just can’t hold a candle to the two voice actors for our lead performing a cover of Matusken Samba II while twirling in golden outfits. This show is bonkers.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• I recommend checking out the history of the song Matsuken Samba II, if you aren’t aware of it. This was a bit of Japanese pop-culture history that I knew nothing about, but it makes the ED even better. (I seriously went down a rabbit hole on that ED alone.)
• I’m surprised I haven’t watched more of the villainess-centric isekai, given how ubiquitous they’ve become. I saw The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady being listed as an example of the subgenre, but I don’t think it counts. Did I finish watching that show? I completely forgot about it.
• Many reincarnation/next-life isekai neglect to ever give viewers a good look at the individual who has been sent to another world, or only do it on rare occasions. From Bureaucrat to Villainess does it constantly, which works well with the humor.
• It turns out Bureaucrat is one of those words that my brain struggled with typing the correct way. After typing it dozens of times, I’ve finally gotten myself to the point where I can type it correctly on a first try. Still, when I glance over at a post it note of notable titles to check out this season, I can see that I evidently jotted it down as, “Beurocrat to Villainess.”
• I’m surprised this started out as a manga. Many of the comedy isekai seem to start out as Light Novels, so I think I assumed that was the case here.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess is a blast. I’m not about to argue it’s a masterpiece or anything, since the production quality is good but not great, and it’s hard to tell where the series will go from here, but I can’t deny I had a great time with it. This remains near the top of my Ones-to-Watch list for this season.

Score: 4/5