The Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide

An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess

Exceptionally gifted to his own detriment, Prince Cecil had always found life effortlessly mundane. One ordinary day, his life took an unexpected turn when he became engaged to Miss Bertia, the Chancellor's daughter. This engagement, however, was anything but typical. Bertia declares herself a villainess. She claimed to have memories of her former life, where she had been the antagonist in an "otome game". Her lofty ambition was to excel as a villainess and thus have her engagement annulled. However, despite her plans for various misdeeds, her attempts have always been unsuccessful.

An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess is based on the light novel series by author Shiki and illustrator Wan Hachipisu. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Mondays.

I think we all know the drill by now: otome game player from Japan ends up reincarnated in a game she once played, but as the villainess rather than the heroine. She proceeds to not be a villainess, winning the heart of the main lead. An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess has no interest in subverting that part of the narrative. So what's its angle? That Bertia not only is gleeful about getting to play her evil role in her favorite story, but that she tells Prince Cecil all about it.

It might not be particularly innovative, but it certainly is fun. Bertia's a ball of sunshine and mostly joyful energy. She's genuinely enthused about being part of the story, and she's fully aware that she's not the real Bertia, and therefore won't act exactly like her. She aspires to a more elegant villainy than the original, and while that's at least in part an excuse to have her lose a substantial amount of weight – and I don't love that “elegance” and “plus sized” are treated as incompatible – it's also a bit of fresh air. So many otome reincarnators act as though everyone involved is just a game character. Bertia seems to know that they're people in their own right; it's the story she feels ought to be set in stone. As long as the plot plays out as it's meant to, she's okay with other changes.

Or at least, she is after Prince Cecil talks a bit of sense into her. He's the point of view character, which is another trick up this show's sleeve, and he's not sure he buys Bertia's otome game story. But he recognizes that it's important to her, and he's fascinated by the girl herself. And frankly, even though he's only eleven, he doesn't care to end up with some random heroine, so it's probably in his best interests to humor his fiancée…while gently guiding her away from this story she feels is so important. As he says to her when she's recounting a future event, what's more important, the story or your mother's life?

The vibrant colors of this show do a very nice job emphasizing Bertia's energy and how bland Cecil's life was before she came into it. Bertia appeals to him because she pulls him out of his proscribed role as Mr. Perfect Prince. She gives him ways to use his immense talent that he otherwise wouldn't have thought of. I called her a ball of sunshine earlier, and that's exactly what she is for him: someone who illuminates his drab life. While I find her ojou-sama speech patterns kind of annoying (a case where I prefer the silence of the light novel), this is still a lot of fun to watch. It's not reinventing the villainess wheel, but it does enough to make it appealing.