The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess Spins Troubled Pasts Into Comedic Fun

A lot of us wish we could go back and remake the mistakes of the past, and nothing makes that point more than the first episode of The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess. Talk about something that takes the phrase “skeletons in the closet” to a literal level! Because this villainess main character was charged with trying to kill her sister.

But no need for things to be too dramatic and grim—thanks to a fateful encounter with Truck-kun, the anime becomes a comedy of errors when our leading heroine becomes the wrong character after being teleported into the dark fantasy novel she wrote herself. Mismatched as the bad instead of the good, our lead's attempts to redeem her pre-existingly wicked past make for an enjoyable and silly start to the series.

The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess had its premiere at Otakon, featuring series director Hiroaki Sakurai and producer Ayano Kanako. They set the tone of the panel just right when they discussed the theme of having a dark history. The two cracked some self-deprecating jokes about memories of their past they'd like to forget before launching their sarcastic quip towards the audience.

“Otaku in Japan share the idea that we have a dark history and an embarrassing past,” Kanako said. “I'm curious to see if this is something American fans can relate to.” Mind you, this was said in Washington, D.C in 2025. Never have I ever heard such an uncomfortable laugh of “Hahaha, yeah....... about that.”

As a longtime shoujo director, Sakurai was asked what challenges arose in Reincarnated Villainess's production. “When you read shoujo manga,” Sakurai said. “Outside of dialogue balloons, there's also a lot of internal monologue, and if I wanted to put vocalized dialogue into anime, the show would increase in length and the timing would get difficult. And that is something I still wanted to incorporate, and managed, hopefully.”

When it came to the possibility of a season two, Kanako and Sakurai said that a surge of popularity would be necessary, but only after making a self-contained arc within the first season—Sakurai pointed out that his other work, The Demon Girl Next Door, was a good example of that. “There might be elements you want to incorporate into the show and make sure it gets in, and so you might stretch season one into that,” Sakurai mused. “But if that destroys the composition of the manga, that goes directly against my philosophy—I wouldn't think of changing the source material.”

As for the episode itself? I liked what I saw. The art and animation are wonderful to look at, and Sakurai being in familiar territory leads to very well-executed direction on his end. Even if the idea of being teleported into your own story has been done before, the comedic element of the show made way for some great slapstick that boasted perfect timing. Granted, nothing made me bust a gut, although the audience was laughing like hyenas at certain scenes, and those laughs were deserved. One scene in particular, where a man gets the wind knocked out of him by a horse's swift kick, left the audience in stitches, and when he got kicked a second time, the audience applauded. I won't say exactly how this scene unfolds, but I will say: I guess that's what an antagonistic uncle gets for horsing around.

The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess will make its premiere on October 8, 2025!