Alternative title(s): Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijō wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyū Kimamana Hanayome Seikatsu o Mankitsu Suru
Light Novel Adaptation by Studio Kai, Hornets
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Banished from her noble family, Rishe makes the best of her life until her untimely death in The War. She does not actually die though, and finds herself back at the moment she is banished. This happens six times, and by her seventh loop, she’s ready to settle down and take it easy for a change.

Jel’s verdict: Deja Vu

If there’s two things I’m tired of, its time loops and the villainess sub-genre of anime. Combining them both in this episode does not help. The time loop aspect just overcomplicates things, and I feel like they could have put Rishe in a similar situation with some basic political machinations or something like that. I suppose the time loops allowed her to acquire additional skills and life experience, but when has that ever been necessary for an anime to have a know-it-all protagonist prepared for every situation?

As for the villainess aspect, anime villainess shows have lost the meaning of the word. Rishe has done nothing wrong, and she is being unfairly punished for false accusations. She is only a villainess in that they have copied the plot of other villainess shows, because that’s all most anime seems to be capable of this season. Maybe the real time loop is the viewer feeling like they have been watching the same show over and over again.

To be fair, I was a little surprised at the serious tone of the first episode. In fact, there is a more interesting version of this show that leans into its dark side. Rishe’s future husband is already established to be a villain in previous timelines, what if she marries him and supports his conquest? She can finally put an end to this loop and destroy the family that keeps doing this to her. Then she would be a legit villainess, and this would be her origin story. That could be potentially good.

Unfortunately there is no way in hell that is happening, as we establish Rishe’s goal is to chill in her seventh life. I mean, we already know what happens because they tell us in the insufferably long light novel title. So I fully expect this to turn into every other show riding the coattails of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, a show that was maybe a 7/10 at best to begin with. I could barely finish that show, I’m certainly not watching this one.