The Villainess Lives Again

The Villainess Lives Again is a masterclass in writing political intrigue. A great deal of character backstories and competing motivations are weaved together in a narrative full of drama and suspense. It also has a very sweet and cute romance. The story follows Artezia Rosan, a former villainess who has travelled back in time to change history to ensure her former schemes and its consequences do not occur again. She starts off as a strong female character with agency, remains so, and her character development throughout the story is intertwined with both the schemes that are concocted and the friends and family she makes. Despite ourprotagonist’s status as a genius and time-traveller, the story throws very difficult problems and consequences at her, which ensures that she does not feel invincible, and that her happiness is earned through trials. This does mean that the events feel difficult to stomach at times, so keep that in mind. And remember to pray to your Saintess, Lisia. For this manhwa specifically, I’m going to give some unorthodox advice: avoid reading more than 30 chapters a day, and/or after 11pm. The author has done such a magnificent job at constructing labyrinthine and intricate plotlines that it can be overbearing if the reader tries to absorb too much in one sitting. To put it another way: every necessary piece of the puzzle is always present to allow the reader to understand what is happening, but it is a 1000-piece puzzle. This effect is especially pronounced if one makes a habit of reading in the wee hours of the night. Of course, restricting oneself can be very difficult, especially as this story does such a fantastic job at creating suspense (and heartwarming romance). But, although one can derive great enjoyment from binging and cooing to the cute Artezia x Cedric moments (and there are many), the reader would miss a lot of what makes the story so great if they forego trying to understand everything else. Not that I can read minds, but I suspect that the mid-low ratings are a product of people reading in this exact manner. The only complaints I have about the manhwa are that the background art is… not good (this is a common KakaoPage/Webtoon problem), and that the author could theoretically be more liberal with the metaphorical guillotine (kill off more characters) to further enhance suspense. In conclusion, The Villainess Lives Again is a very smartly written narrative with a deep and fascinating world, characters and romance. Much like a 5-course service à la française meal, its flavour profile is delicate and rich. You can snarf it all at once, and it will nonetheless taste lovely. However, please do try to savour each part of it, lest a great deal of the chefs’ (author’s) efforts go to waste (it is worth savouring). I will be very unhappy with you if you slap this manhwa with a middling rating simply because you fail to comprehend the story.