Villains Are Destined to Die - Reviews

A good villianess reincarnation manhwa i found out recently. I would recommend people to give it a try  especially if you are into villianess reincarnation themed manhwa/novel.😌

This is not a light-hearted drama. Don't expect comedy shenanigans or meme faces. This manga is in fact hard to read at times because it makes your heart ache. I loved the depth of emotion, the darkness. But if you're not into that don't read!

She is trapped in a game and it's very obvious. I love how she's not suddenly in love with her brothers in the game, or her father- she truly is playing to survive and you can see that.

I wish for her happiness and I wish that she would smile but I understand that she's into difficult position, the sudden romance was very unexpected and I love where the story is going. Can't wait for more

A história até que é boa mas a protagonista é muito injustiçada e todos os ML e figurantes são ruins simplesmente não consigo passar pano pra eles não gosto que a protagonista tenha que se humilhar constantemente pra eles e todos fizeram coisas horríveis com a protagonista e nem sequer pediram desculpas só fingiram que nada aconteceu e agora agem como se gostassem da protagonista acho que a única coisa que salva esse manhwa é a arte todos os personagens são bonitos e os cenários também isso é inegável eu infelizmente dropei essa obra no capítulo 30 por que não é interessante um manhwa onde a protagonista só pede desculpas e é humilhada e culpada por qualquer coisa independente se ela fez ou não além de que não vale a pena torcer por ML lixo

URGH. I am genualiy so pissed, I've been reading this story for a weak straight. I thought it was finished, and JUST AS IT GETS TO THE BEST PART- the chapters stop. I'm currently on chapter 138, there are no more chapters. I feel like I'm going to get violent. 

To the review. Honestly, an amazing read, if you like angst, character growth and some funny and cute moments. THIS IS FOR YOU! So far I quite like it, although I do not agree with everything the FL has done, it is still a very fun read.

All in all it is a solid story with very good art, especially for colored webtoon standards, but I do have to give some point deductions for the main character in particular.

I get that she grew up in terrible circumstances and I certainly don't expect her to be a cheerful airhead because of it, but her justifications and victim mentality are incredibly bothersome. She cares for no one but herself, which wouldn't be a problem in and of itself if it was a character development thing, but she also acts like her story is the most tragic of all, even claiming numerous times that she is the actual victim. Maybe a part stems from her still continuing to see the characters as part of a game but I find it incredibly conceited and self-centered to treat yourself as the only victim with the worst fate when met with characters who were constantly the target of assasination attempts, sold as war slaves and abused, hunted and murdered for their abilities, and so on. I'm not making light of abuse and neglect, but instead of using these opportunities to bond with people and show empathy, she is cold and detached in 99% of the cases and somehow even gets rewarded for it by the characters with favorability?

I'm not expecting her to act cutesy or anything but it's just unlikely that she'd get the same result from various men for basically treating them like crap, manipulating an emotionally unstable boy and making him dependent on her to use him, neglecting him and then wondering why he's upset after she basically ignored him and only seeks him out when she remembers he exists despite knowing he's being ostracized?

Sorry, but her having zero enpathy and expecting others to feel sorry for her just doesn't make sense. I understand that standing up to those who resemble your bullies feels good and even if she and Penelope are not the same person, they share a lot. But constantly acting out and going against common sense is simply not logical. And especially getting rewarded for the same behavior the old Penelope got reprimanded for. She always makes a point about how she has to act so much and when will she stop having to act nice but she hardly ever acted nice. We all sometimes have to be respectful and nice to people we dislike, darling, that's called life. We can't all act out either just because we feel like it.

It currently just seems that everyone is mostly interested in her because she's hard to get. She doesn't care and the men are shown to be interested in that. Which doesn't make the interactions very appealing or profound. Her abilities are also kinda granted willy-nilly without explanation of what stays and what's a one time thing and in general, the characters just don't make me care much. The novel is even worse in that regard though.

Yes, her goal is to escape but why should I care about characters who don't care about anyone, whose favor is strangely distorted and where the MC is so dislikeable that I wouldn't even care if she died in the end? Simply because she's all about her own issues, her own benefits and it just never changes or develops much. I just don't enjoy someone acting like they are the only victim and anything they do just feels unmotivated because she's not shown to care for anyone nor even beginning to care beyond a character's usefulness to her and how much of a threat they are. The few characters she's shown to show some favor to are children and maybe her maid, but even that is vastly overshadowed by her not caring about anyone else but herself.

It would simply be more interesting if she simply grew to care about some people at least. It doesn't have to be a love interest either. Or that she's learning to heal for herself. But this whole tragic heroine act when tons of other characters have had it worse than her and are kinder to her than that is annoying in the long run. Because I just don't care about a character who doesn't have a goal other than getting out. Even the independent life she wants to return to so badly where she was supposedly becoming happy is barely shown so it just doesn't even seem like such a worthwhile goal to return to some face- and nameless friends that were introduced in the background. Make me care for her return then if she isn't going to care about any of the characters.

I get that she finds it hard to trust with her backstory and Penelope's. But the thing is, it stands out as odd when everyone is changing their behavior to be more kind to her and she just never even considers it. It's not even made a point that she's struggling due to trust issues but she makes it clear that she doesn't care and doesn't want it from anyone, not even those who did nothing to her. Yet at the same time she's constantly wallowing in self pity how mistreated she is. I understand not wanting any kindness from previous abusers and not wanting to forgive that. Very well. No issue there. Some things can't be forgiven. But if she's not even willing to form any bonds, did she even have friends in her own world? 

Because she's not just not making friends because it's just a game. Even though she could use allies. She's making enemies on purpose. It all is very contradictory. If someone doesn't want to believe in a single good thing, why bother fighting this hard? I'd just wish there was even a little progress that feels natural with someone. Something that's the result of genuine kindness and not just licking each other's wounds or others being interested because she doesn't want to give them attention. That's just not healthy. And if that's the point to showcase... Then it's not very engaging. I don't need her to be a selfless ray of sunshine. But caring about characters is the result of them being likeable and currently, she may be relatable for some but she barely has a single good character trait. And she's made no progress in her personal development. Yes, trauma isn't something you solve on the fly. But at some point I lose my empathy for her when she is becoming the abuser herself. Because that's what she's doing to the character she's chosen as her way out. She is manipulating him, sometimes showing kindness and then throwing him away. And when she realizes that she's important to him, she doesn't change her behavior but doubles down, repeating the same cycle of neglect she has experienced.

I personally already disliked Aria for the same reasons of her  using other people but Penelope does it worse and is somehow rewwarded for it. Garnering some sympathy for making up a story will realistically not override your mocking of someone's missing sister for example.

The whole story is just not moving at all in terms of character development. The only one I'm seeing a decent shift from is Callisto but her behavior being seen as favorable... Maybe they are all mad. Because she's not even feeding into a tsundere trope. She's just having outbursts, lies, manipulates and barely even acts polite and everyone likes that somehow? It's just not very believable and wouldn't make for longterm connections between characters because she's just showing a very stubborn and self-centered personality to everyone. The same personality she was berated and disliked for before. And then she wonders why no one trusts her?  Constantly apologizing and then doing the same thing you apologized for is not giving people grounds for trust.

Perhaps I'm getting too old for stuff where characters aren't rewarded for mature and intelligent behavior but instead for the most toxic, selfish, entitled and contradictory behavior they can think of. Maybe I'm too old to think of such a character strong because to me, she is just obnoxious and awful by doing exactly the same things she is rebuking others for. Yes, trauma depiction isn't bad in this but her reaction to it is definitely in the unhealthy  and negative spectrum and not pursuing healing but self-pity.

Being a victim of abuse and neglect doesn't mean she gets a wild card to become just as bad or worse. It also doesn't mean that lashing out at everyone is healthy. This isn't a strong character but a fragile one. Which would be fine to pursue. It's even fine to showcase someone self-desteucting if it's done with consideration. But she is getting rewarded for taking petty and personal revenge by the very characters she is taking it on. Yet she claims she wants no sympathy but is exactly pursuing that. It's just never shown as negative what she's doing because it always works out in her favor. And that will not help her grow or heal. Which would be okay if it wasn't depicted as positively. But it is. She is shown to receive favor for very problematic characteristics. This is sending all the wrong messages about dealing with psychological trauma because instead of trying to build a support system, she is tearing everyone down and gets rewarded. I just think trauma in itself needs to be treated carefully because there is always the potential that the abused continues the cycle. And that's what we're currently seeing with Penelope despite her claiming it's all just to become happy. Because she thinks she deserves it and it's just a game.

I just wish she would take actual steps toward a slow healing. To get people to care for her without her being shown as just rude and condescending. While people should understand it to some degree, someone just biting any hand trying to help and never even daring to take a single step will not cause changes to happen. Because at some point, these people can only become cruel or so fragile that picking up the pieces is impossible.

I'm not saying she should trust everyone. But this mentality of her against the world will also not help. And what many want to see is not the realistic version of things taking decades to fix but characters taking active steps forward and evolving beyond their  goal. Because otherwise the story would have no point. Just seeing someone suffer without growth isn't my personal preference at least. Yes, anyone can fail in the end but being way over 100 chapters in and only her surroundings changing a bit is boring in the long run. I don't just want her to reach her goal of getting out  after all because there is more purpose in the similar backgrounds than just constant suffering. It's not a game nor competition of which character can be most tragic after all.