My Next Life as a Villainess is a popular isekai anime series with a distinct otome game edge to it. The heroine is a girl who found herself reborn in the world of Fortune Lover, her favorite otome game, and she was reborn not as the gentle heroine but as the villainess, the cruel and arrogant Katarina Claes. It's now her mission to rewrite Fortune Lover's entire plot to avoid her own doom.
Katarina Claes completely reinvented herself, becoming a kind and generous girl who looks out for all her friends, and she fights back against the kind of bully she used to be. Along the way, she also enrolled at a magical school along with most of Fortune Lover's adolescent characters, and it soon became clear who's an ace student, and who's not. Some characters are smart and clever, while others are either poor students or never showed any serious cunning or academic brilliance.
10 SMART: Lady Larna Runs The Department Of Magic
Lady Larna is also Susanna Randall, the fiancee of prince Jeffrey Stuart. She is more than that, though. Lady Larna is also the director of the department of magic, and many skilled researchers and wizards look up to her for guidance. She has a lot on her plate, but she can handle it.
Larna is one of the smartest and most accomplished women in the nation, and she easily tracked down the poor kidnapped Keith Claes with a magic teddy bear. She and her fellows are also tracking the activity of dark wizards, and very little escapes her notice. Larna is a vital ally for both Katarina and Maria Campbell.
9 NOT SO BRIGHT: Katarina Claes Is Known As Bakarina
The isekai heroine herself, Katarina Claes, is known for many things, with academic brilliance not being one of them. She tends to struggle in school, and most notably, she is incredibly dense when it comes to the thoughts and feelings of everyone around her, including her best friends.
Katarina is thus nicknamed "Bakarina" by the fandom, and she often exasperates the other characters with her clueless behavior. Still, she was at least clever enough to prevent anyone from falling in love with Maria, so Fortune Lover's story would never end, and Katarina would never suffer her final fate as the antagonist.
8 SMART: Jeffrey Stuart Keeps Track Of Everything
The story of Fortune Lover features the four royal Stuart brothers, with Katarina's fiance, Geordo Stuart, being one of the youngest. The oldest of the four is the flamboyant Jeffrey Stuart, who made it his personal mission to always look after the well-being of the other three, Ian, Alan, and Geordo.
Jeffrey may act silly and carefree in many scenes, but he is not foolish. Jeffrey carefully keeps track of his three brothers to protect them, and he is also keeping tabs on the growing presence of dark magic. He and his fiancee, Susanna Randall/Larna, are on top of everything.
7 NOT SO BRIGHT: Atsuko Sasaki Is Only Known For Playing Fortune Lover
Several characters in Villainess can be ranked among the least intelligent not because they are foolish or dense, but because nothing is seen of their academic brilliance or crafty ways. Katarina's real-life friend and classmate Atsuko Sasaki is one such character.
Atsuko and Katarina attended an ordinary Japanese high school, and Atsuko, or "Acchan," is best known for playing Fortune Lover and exploring its many possibilities. Outside of playing that game and its sequel, little is known of Acchan's capabilities or interests.
6 SMART: Mary Hunt Is A Crafty Noble Lady
Mary Hunt is a borderline yandere character who, in this new timeline, is fanatically loyal to Katarina Claes, the apple of her eye. Mary Hunt may act like an airhead at times, yet she is anything but that. She is actually a well-educated and crafty girl who always knows what to do next.
Mary was born into high society, and she is an expert at navigating that society and getting people to like her and listen to her. She is also fairly adept at manipulating events to get herself closer to Katarina and chase off rivals such as Keith, Geordo, and even Maria Campbell.
5 NOT SO BRIGHT: Selena Berg Has Weak Magic
Selena Berg is another Villainess character who isn't necessarily clueless or foolish. She just hasn't said or done much to establish herself as a clever or talented character, but then again, not everyone needs to be. Selena has found other ways to be happy.
Selena is Ian Stuart's fiancee, despite having weak magical talents, and she isn't known for much else. She suffered from serious insecurities until Katarina cheered her up, and then Ian helped cheer her up some more. Now Selena can hold her head high.
4 SMART: Keith Claes Is Well-Educated
Katarina's foster brother is Keith Claes, who was born into poverty until the Claes family took him in. In the original Fortune Lover, Katarina was a bully to her brother, but no longer. The new Katarina is very kind to him, and Keith became a much more confident and cheerful young man as a result.
Keith is also a smart fellow, and he is well-educated as a new member of the Claes family. He gets fairly good grades at the magical academy, and he isn't afraid to gently correct his foster sister when she is being her usual "Bakarina" self. He also had the discretion to wait until he had a moment alone with Katarina to profess his love to her.
3 NOT SO BRIGHT: Millidiana Claes Isn't Known For Her Academics
Katarina's mother, Millidiana Claes, has done little to prove herself as anything but a strict and vain person. She is almost like a villainess herself, quickly losing her temper with Katarina and even speaking ill of her after Keith Claes seemingly ran from home.
Millidiana can navigate high society as a noblewoman, but little else can be said about her wits or intelligence. She's more interested in living the good life and looking good to others. She is what Katarina Claes could have grown up to become.
2 SMART: Sophia Ascart Loves Books & Works With Her Father
Sophia Ascart used to be insecure about her appearance, having white hair and red eyes, but Katarina assured her that she is beautiful and a wonderful person. Sopha took that to heart, and she thus became one of Katarina's most loyal friends.
Sophia is defined by more than that, though. She is a smart and studious girl who loves books, especially romance tales, and no doubt her knowledge of many topics runs deep. On top of that, she helps her father work at an infirmary, giving her some much-needed work experience.
1 NOT SO BRIGHT: Thomas Coleman Was A Bad Student
Keith's worst enemy is Thomas Coleman, who greatly envied Keith's adoption into the wealthy Claes family. In Thomas' eyes, it was outrageous for someone like Keith to get a leg up like that while Thomas got no such favors, but in reality, Thomas did himself no favors.
Thomas was a bad student and a troublemaker, and he eventually got thrown out of the family. Now, he's teaming up with Sarah the dark wizard to capture Keith and punish him, all while failing to hold himself accountable for his misfortune. Thomas has no clue at all.