Anime

I loved the opening half of this episode, just super well done. We see the story from Alicia's POV, get the reveal as we find out that it was all taking place in a game, and then later the final layer is that it might have originated in a game, but it is also real with this new character, Yumiella, lurking out of view in those previous scenes. The way they revealed those layers of plot is anime-original and it was fantastic, even including an entire fake OP. The way this opened up from a different character's POV reminds me of how they did the first episode of Eminence in Shadow.

The comedy portion of this story hasn't really kicked into gear yet, but I think they did a great job of setting up the story. The fact that they did such a great job rearranging and playing with POV/characters in this opening episode gives me a lot more confidence that they "get" the series and what makes it funny and enjoyable. Yeah, the animation is pretty lackluster with some sketchy CG horses/monsters, but I can deal with that if they tell the story well.

I love a good fake-out mc, and the fake op was a masterpiece, but they dragged it out way too long. Like, the title already gives away the twist.

Even with the anime stalling, I was fully on board when we switched characters, but that good will ran out fast when the real main character was just grinding video game levels for her whole childhood. Like, if she doesn't want to be the last boss, can't she just.... not attack the main characters? Doesn't she have any interest in learning why her game counterpart did what she did (so she can avoid that plotline?)

I really wanted to like this one, but the poor storytelling got in the way for me, and the premiere ended up at a 3/5.

Like others have said, I appreciated the effort they put into making the first half of the heroine POV show and the fake OP.

I enjoyed the first episode, but I'm somewhat pessimistic whether story has anything new to offer.

The "reincarnated as an otome villainess" premise is really common; you probably saw this in Bakarina, or The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen, or going full meta- in Endo and Kobayashi, so goes on.

Even then I think that this story is worth watching. Yumiella is surprisingly relatable; she's simply trying to step off trouble, but by doing so she ends becoming the center of attention.

I really like what they did in the first episode - first showing the story from within the game, only introducing the actual protagonist (the "villainess") in the second half of the episode.

If in the game she's the hidden boss that requires a max level team to beat does that mean what she did is canon? I mean, Yumelia had to have gotten strong somehow in game too.