An isekai that SMASHES typical isekai tropes.
The FL has a realistic (for most people) previous life, and thus, has incredibly realistic feelings when she's transported to a whole new world. We are shown a lot of her inner thoughts and her regrets. They aren't just regrets like "urgh I should have stood up for myself when my best friend betrayed me", then the author throws some sad scenes in there and never talks about the trauma again until they need something to excuse the misunderstandings their FL had dragged out.
Instead, this author shows us FL's point of view, then shows both sides of the situation FL thinks back to. Something about FL's thought flow just feels very realistic to me. In my view, they give her a lot of depth, and show us she is just another flawed human trying to stay afloat in a very strange world.
FL misses her family. She muses about her past life, the "should'ves and would'ves". She's suicidal (partly because she's depressed in this new world, and partly because dying is the only way to return to her previous world. Spoiler: this new world doesn't allow dying by suicide).
She comes up with plans, not the oh-so very cunning plans that authors just throw in your face to prove how smart their FL is, but sensible ones that a typical flawed human might think of. She is level-headed, but still has breaking points like a real human and has spontaneous actions. She brings a mature, muted air to the story. It's just very interesting to see her navigate the world.
FL has different mannerisms from the previous owner of the body. The father and maid of the original owner of the new body notice the differences right away in the first 11 chapters. I am relieved that characters in this story won't be dense people.
Also, I don't mean for this to come off as promoting tokenism or anything, but this is the first isekai I've seen that includes a dark-skinned priest. It might not matter much, but I really like that the manhwa is diverse.
Not much to say about ML yet (just know it's not the asshole prince). There are novel spoilers if you want some info: https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/kill-the-villainess.118265/. At chapter 22, combined with knowledge of endgame spoilers, I can say I love the pairing. The ML will be *SPOILERS* the FL's personal knight (first appearance in chapter 12). It's the first time I've seen a commoner ML. He's also a sensible person. I like his character design because it's the first time I've seen a ML with just... hazel eyes and brown hair. His face is handsome and quite stoic. The half-lidded eyes and stable eyebrows make him look unwavering - which he is. He's a clever person with morals, which is why he's such a great match with FL.
The dynamic between FL and ML is done well. It's interesting to see the normally-typical power imbalance between knight and lady still be somewhat implemented, but the FL and ML still have a good understanding of and sympathy for each other. Their conversations are enjoyable to read.
Another trope the webtoon somewhat subverts is that the original protagonist (Helena) in the novel didn't turn out to be a villainess at all. She's just a very naive person and actually wants to be friends with FL. Reading this brought me complex feelings about Helena. It's the grey-ish stuff - I am annoyed but don't dislike her greatly. I liked the way that FL interacts with and handles her relationship with Helena.
Also, I really like the sorceress in the story. She's so cool and her character design is also awesome.
The art is top-notch. The outfit, hair, and glowing eyes are gorgeous.
I recommend you read this if you want an isekai with substance and some serious air to it. It's an excellent story where you don't feel like it's all bouncy and carefree. Not sure if this has a bittersweet ending or not, but even if it does, it's well worth the read as the FL is a great character to read.
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