Stories centered around villainesses are quickly rising to become one of the most popular genres in the webcomic industry, and there's a reason for it.
Some of these stories are a subgenre of isekai where the female protagonist dies and finds themselves transported into the body of the villainess from the book they were reading. Others have the villainess reincarnated a few years before their untimely death, with the protagonist determined to avoid meeting the same ending. One of the biggest webcomics platforms worldwide, Tappytoon is home to numerous such works like Father, I don't Want this Marriage, What It Takes to be a Villainess and The Villainess Lives Again. In an interview with Anime Corner, Sun Bang and Ernest Woo, the founders of Tappytoon, spoke about why they believed there had been a growing interest in stories with a villainess protagonist.
Readers Appreciate Fresh Stories
While villainess stories appear to be the current trend, Bang believes the enthusiasm and passion for these types of stories come from "originality from story and character building." Bang said, "I don't think it's limited to a certain genre or trend [...] The reason why K-webtoons are so popular now is that the stories are fresh and new, that readers have never seen before." Woo agreed and added, "Stories about villainesses, royalty, kings, queens, etc., will always be around. I don't think they are going away."
Woo had theories on what genres might see a rise in popularity. "I do think [Boys Love] and [Girls Love] are on the rise and will gain even more ground. Action and Fantasy titles tend to have a lot of world-building, and the ones that do it well will cross over to other mediums, such as animations and games like Solo Leveling. But in the near future, the dramas with a hint of fantasy or K-dramas will dominate more quickly."
Tappytoon Grew In Only 6 Years
Launched in 2016, Tappytoon has amassed 7 million members from 241 countries and territories as of November 2022. Most of their readership comes from millennials, Gen Z and female readers. 78.6% of their readership comes from the U.S., with 74% in the 18-24 year range. The platform initially offered webcomics but has expanded its services to include web novels in August 2021. "Having both the novel and webtoon versions creates a synergy so that readers from one version can easily try out the other format, and they end up enjoying both." Sun said.
According to Tappytoon's infographic, the platform's top genres for the U.S. are romance at 57%, Boys Love (BL) at 17%, action at 12% and other genres at 14%. Action webcomic Solo Leveling, written by Chugong and illustrated by Dubu, came out on top as the most popular webcomic in the U.S., followed by BL webcomic Cherry Blossoms After Winter and lastly romance drama Light and Shadow. Solo Leveling will receive an anime adaptation that premieres in 2023, and Cherry Blossoms After Winter had a live-action drama adaptation in 2022.
Tappytoon is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Source: Anime Corner