Please note that I decided to put "Recommended" for this review having in mind you are a fan of this type of shows in the first place. If you aren't, perhaps you should read this review further and see what things you should keep in mind before deciding whether you should watch it or not.
"Villainess" in the title:
Let's get this out of the way.
The word "villainess" was so far only relevant at the beginning of the story. Not an anime classic "villainess" definition, as in an antagonist of an original story, but just as in a "vile woman".
Society of that period would paint you as a horrible person if your engagement is broken thinking you must have done something awful for that to happen. That's it.
Rishe isn't a part of some "novel" or "game" or something else for her to actually be a villainess in that context. At least the current light novel story doesn't hint at anything like that happening or being the case.
Pace:
You might already know that light novel adaptations tend to be either detailed and slow-paced or way too fast-paced and that rarely you can find one that does everything right. I would say this adaptation is a weird mix of both. A lot of things were skipped but the source material in itself is very slow so:
- it's fast paced when compared to the novel,
- I believe it's slow paced when observed standalone.
Source material covered:
I should preface this by saying that this anime adapts only first 2 volumes of the story, which is still ongoing, and currently has 6 volumes. It is also a relatively new story with the first chapter of the web novel published in 2020. First 2 volumes are merely the setting for this story!
I might sound a little bit negative in this review but I want to cover the flaws for people that are searching for more than a time-loop romance anime.
The anime itself:
If you are a fun of: otome isekai genre, a strong female lead, political drama and classical otome isekai stereotypes you don't even have to read further, this is a show for you. I guess I should mention that this isn't an 'isekai' anime per se, but a shoujo anime with a time loop as its plot device. But! A small note regarding said stereotypes: this anime has an interesting tendency to use classic stereotypes from this genre and turn them upside down.
It edges out other similar anime for a simple reason of having an above average budget for this type of show. If you are a fan of them, you already know how your usual adaptation for an otome isekai goes: faceless people in the background, half of the time you are watching a slide show, CGI for every single object that moves (horses are unfortunately objects in this case), disfigured bodies of characters and utterly lame dancing and fighting scenes if any. This anime is significantly above this.
When it comes to the adaptation's visual quality, 7th time loop does absolute justice to its source material. Would you believe me when I say that this anime had the best dancing scene of this season and one of the better fighting scenes with actual choreography? You will definitely enjoy watching this anime if you are tired of mediocrity that is usually present in otome isekai.
The animation quality is great, OP and ED are unique but nothing special, the soundtrack wasn't too memorable in my opinion but pleasant.
Now, what if you don't like otome isekai and watching the same thing over and over again but with different characters? Is there anything new? The answer is yes and no (will be explained further).
Characters:
The main thing that you need to like to like this anime is the protagonist, Rishe. After all, the whole plot revolves around her experiencing a time loop 6 times, with the current one being her 7th. Rishe wasn't a part of any kind of conspiracy or murder plot, she just learned to live however she pleases and use her time learning new skills and meeting and helping new people. In this aspect she is a truly inspiring protagonist that is both capable, independent, curious, strong willed and good-hearted. My only regret is that this anime completely removed almost all of the funny scenes and her sense of humor from this adaptation, as well as some of her weaknesses, making her feel flat when compared to her novel counterpart.
Another thing that doesn't go in this anime's favor is the lack of the more detailed presentation of this story's mystery plot in the show-don't-tell fashion from the novel. Due to the a noticeable amount of skipped content some conclusions that the characters come to feel forced. This naturally affects Rishe the most, since she is the main "detective" of this show with her husband-to-be being "the mysterious case".
Arnold is the character that also suffered because of the (at moments) very fast pace in my opinion. This is also a little bit due to his voice actor giving an unemotional performance in scenes that call for opposite (in the novel it would be mentioned that his voice is uneven or hesitant in these scenes, we got none of that). Since Arnold is a bit of an emotionally constipated character anyways, this ruins the rare moments that should show his true personality.
At it's core, this story is a slow burn romance that doesn't want to rush its characters in any way. At the beginning the story will revolve more around slice of life, small mysteries and politics more than romance. If you cut a sizable portion of the conversation from the few romantic and character defining scenes and on top of that make them fast paced, you can imagine what you are left with. This is why Arnold unfortunately isn't portrayed as well as his novel counterpart but not all is lost.
(More about the plot and Arnold):
I mentioned how this story has an interesting tendency to use classic stereotypes from this genre and turn them upside down. In the same way Arnold is your usual cruel crown prince that is cold, kills people and doesn't bat an eye, does everything perfectly and is feared for his skills on the battlefield. But is that actually the truth? This isn't your cringe and usual "the girl melts a psychopath's heart story". It's highly speculated he is spreading his own bad rumors and acting like a villain on purpose and with a grand plan in mind, but for what reason? This is the main mystery of the novel that this anime is gently trying to introduce to you. For this reason it feels slow and can completely be missed if you only watch the first few episodes and quit. This is also why Arnold may seem a super flat character when in reality is the deepest one.
This is the reason why I said this anime is both fast and slow. For a novel reader like me, who knows how detailed the source material is, this anime is very fast paced and hasn't done too great of a job in shortening the original story in the right way.
But for an anime-only watcher I can bet this anime feels slow. This is a comedy, slice of life anime with an occasional drama that usually isn't even taken that seriously (it's one of the points I really like though) but all of that perhaps makes the viewer confused and wondering is there any point in this anime. It takes time to get to where it wants to be and, unfortunately, that is the second season if it ever gets one. These 12 episodes only cover the first 2 volumes which are only the setting for the story.
Adaptation from the novel:
I already mentioned this everywhere through out the review but this adaptation is pretty solid in my opinion even though it has its own share of problems. Some very important plot details were omitted that were even referenced later in the anime. Just how did the characters come to that conclusion if you didn't show it on screen? Others were completely ignored, as if they don't plan to make a second season (this is an exaggeration on my part; while it wouldn't be chronological, these plot points can be added anywhere and it would still work). While all of this is infuriating for a novel reader, I believe it won't hinder your experience if you are an anime-only viewer.
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TLDR:
If you like otome isekai:
Recommended! You will enjoy this and want more. This is a very interesting mix of the good old and new in a comedy, slice of life story that has an amazing potential to become very serious and emotional story in the long run. I can say that so far in the novel, while the plot still didn't get to its peak, the groundwork is being laid for exactly this. It's one of my favorite novels at the moment and I am looking forward to uncovering all the secrets and seeing how Rishe will handle her beloved husband and, at the same time, her greatest opponent. The story is set in such a way that Rishe needs to use the amazing skills she learned in her previous lives and still meets and helps people from her previous loops, making this seem like a "true route" type of experience from visual novels.
If you aren't a fan of otome isekai:
Proceed with caution but I still recommend it. This really is a promising story, but a very small amount of it was covered. If you are very analytical, some things will be simple and some will be illogical because of the omitted material. There will be asspulls since the anime didn't do a great job at show-don't-tell like the novel did. Still, if you like capable and talented characters and their clashes in: politics, mind games, romance and perhaps even war in the future, give this anime a shot and watch it until the end before delivering judgment. It is definitely better than the others that currently exist in this genre (not counting Bakarina since that is a total gag story).
Now this is the part where I have to make you roll your eyes at the obligatory "novel is better" statements but please! If you liked this story, consider reading the novel. If you are someone who prefers novels, consider reading the novel first and then watching the anime. After all, there is currently more story covered in the novel so you will be able to get to the parts where Rishe and Arnold finally get to know each other better and start getting more honest with each other and those parts beat the whole story covered in this anime by a mile.
This isn't a perfect anime, so naturally not a 10, but I would argue it could have been an easy 8 if it had more episodes. So, for me, it's a solid 7 and can't even be considered lower when you have in mind the quality it shows when compared to the other similar anime from this genre.
At any case, consider this anime a possible long term investment in case there ends up being more seasons or if you end up picking up the source material.
