Best Villainess Manga and Manhwa

Being acutely ill, a young girl has spent most of her life in a hospital room playing otome games to fill her time. However, she one day finds herself in the midst of a scene from one of these games as the story's villainess, Aileen Lauren Dautriche. At the banquet to celebrate the end of the academy's winter term, the crown prince and Aileen's childhood friend, Cedric Jeanne Elmir, publicly annuls his engagement with Aileen and announces that he is in love with Lilia Rainworth, the game's female protagonist. Aware of the tragic future ahead of her and determined to change it, the young girl resolves to conquer the game's final boss, the "Demon King" and Cedric's half-brother, Claude Jeanne Elmir, by making him fall in love with her instead. With time running out, can Irene succeed with her plans, or will she remain bound to the ill-fated ending that awaits her? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

As Aria Roscente walks to the gallows, the people cheer, elated to see the death of a true villainess. Her tale is a rags-to-riches story; after her mother married a count, Aria began flaunting her newfound wealth and abusing her status. The people could only pity her saint-like sister, Mielle, who had to put up with such a sibling for many years. But right before she dies, Aria learns the truth—her downfall was all part of Mielle's plan. When Aria reawakens, she finds she is in the past, and beside her is a mysterious hourglass. The former villainess now has only one goal: revenge. From the count's respect to her fiance's affection, everything that Mielle once loved will be Aria's. Using her knowledge of the future and the hourglass' power to turn back time, Aria will do whatever it takes, even if that means using others or faking a smile, to see her vengeance through. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Before she was killed by a man holding a grudge against her, a woman from modern-day Korea was immersed in a wonderful fantasy novel about a courteous beauty with two powerful suitors. Duke Raffaello Kidrey was the true love of Olivia Grace, while the tyrannical Prince Regef Hill wanted her solely for himself by any means necessary. To this end, Regef exploited his foolish yet stunningly beautiful sister, Kayena, controlling her like a mere marionette before sending her to a violent death. The murdered woman reincarnates as the villainess Kayena, but she refuses to accept another unjust end. This time, she decides to be the one pulling the strings. She allies herself with her greatest enemy, Regef, and concocts a plan to enlist Raffaello as her aide. Once she ensures that Regef is made the next emperor and Raffaello is united with his fated one, Kayena intends to escape and lead a humble life. However, royal intrigue is merciless and inescapable, and she must carefully manipulate the novel's leading men to stand a chance at survival. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Alicia is the eldest daughter of the noble Williams family—a bloodline that excels in dark magic. Her jet-black hair and golden eyes command a powerful presence, but her most unique features are, without a doubt, her sharp tongue and malevolent nature. By all means, she is a villainess, but also a fictional character from an otome game! As an ardent admirer of Alicia, a young, unnamed woman wishes to be her. Fortunately, a sleepy truck driver grants her wish in a bizarre twist of events—killing and consequently reincarnating her as a seven-year-old Alicia inside the game. With sufficient knowledge of how the game plays out, "Alicia" is confident that she will go down as the greatest villainess in history as long as she endeavors to work hard. However, she soon begins to realize that escaping Alicia's fate is not so simple as it seemed. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Be it throwing herself off her balcony, drinking poison, or even stabbing herself, Eris Miserian has attempted every means to end her miserable existence and return to her real home in South Korea. But—trapped within the confines of a novel she only skimmed through—Eris is denied death until she fulfills her purpose as a minor character, a mad villainess. There is not a single upside to her situation, as only people who eagerly anticipate her humiliation and suffering surround her. Instead of trying to change the course of the novel, Eris wholeheartedly embraces the role of a villainess. She wishes to perish and avoid reincarnation in this realm, hastening her return to her own reality. That is why she must let the novel's plot unfold and ultimately die by execution. In the meantime, she leverages her high social status to manipulate other characters and seek out those who can ensure her soul will be sent back to Korea. Even in the face of insurmountable plot restrictions, Eris intends to break every law to finally escape this wretched world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Although Lee Lily's childhood dream to become a princess seems unattainable because of her average appearance, she finds her passion in designing children's clothes. Ultimately, her job results in her demise, as she works herself to death at the age of 30. Lily is reincarnated in what appears to be the tale of Snow White as the story's villainess—the cruel and vain queen Abigail Freidkin. Now in Abigail's body, Lily wishes to befriend her stepdaughter Blanche, a sweet girl and her latest muse. However, it is a challenging feat, as Blanche fears her stepmother. Furthermore, Sabrian—the current king and Abigail's spouse—may be an outstanding regent, but as a father and husband, he is uncaring and neglectful. Although she is not fond of Sabrian, Abigail will go to any length to fix the broken relationship between the Freidkins and give her stepdaughter the happiest of endings. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Choi Suna once enjoyed the familiar plot of a novel following Rhyse Sinclair—the virtuous ward of the prominent Rudwick family—who is entangled in a love triangle with the Rudwick sons. The elder Cliff becomes her main love interest, while the younger Killian remains lovelorn forevermore, trapped in a loveless marriage with the vile Edith Rigelhof from an opposing family. Seductive and cunning, Edith is a textbook villainess destined to die at Killian's hands after relentlessly tormenting Rhyse and serving as a spy for the Rigelhofs. When Suna unexpectedly reincarnates as Edith, she finds her new life all too similar to her own abusive past. Determined to change Edith's fate and live, Suna swears off villainy and refuses to let Killian and his family mistreat her by showing them she is nothing like the other Rigelhofs. As she plans her escape while occasionally flirting with the endearingly distrustful Killian, she vows that her reincarnation story will be anything but typical. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

It is common knowledge that nobles will do anything for power; lying, manipulation, and extortion are the usual tactics. However, one family is exempt from this generalization: House Grail, whose main tenets are truth and integrity. The youngest daughter, Constance Grail, is just as moral as the rest of her family, believing in always doing the right thing and helping those in need. However, these ideals do not help her when her fiancé cheats on her with another woman. Framed by his lover in the hope of her downfall, Constance has no one to hear her pleas for justice. Everyone turns a blind eye, save for one—the spirit of the infamous Scarlett Castiel—who possesses Constance and turns the tables on her accuser. However, this aid does not come without a price. Ten years ago, Scarlett was executed for the attempted murder of Princess Cecilia. But this was actually a setup; as blunt and harsh as Scarlett could be, she would never stoop so low as to use poison. She has no idea who orchestrated her incrimination, but Scarlett demands that Constance—as the only one who can see her—help her exact revenge on all those who wronged her! [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Cecilia Sylvie was born with a silver spoon. Surrounded by sweets galore, wonderfully fine clothing, and spoiled rotten, she became an arrogant and selfish child. That was until, at five years of age, she realized that she was the villainess of an otome game she played in her previous life. Even worse, every ending leads to death! Resolved to turn her miserable fate around, Cecilia decides to become a man! Twelve years later, she enters an academy under the alias "Cecil," an unknown boy of lower nobility. All she wants is a peaceful school life, yet she finds herself at the center of attention anyway. Her female classmates are infatuated with her, the crown prince won't stop pestering "Cecil" about Cecilia, and the main heroine is acting entirely out of character. Having her hands full with all kinds of unexpected developments, can Cecilia keep her gender a secret and avoid a bad end? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Konoha Satou has a dark history. After all, she spent her teen years writing self-indulgent fantasy romance fics—like her Dark History. But since she's become its most despicable villainess, remembering every last detail is now a matter of life-and-death. Having avoided the first couple of death flags, Satou's suddenly left in the dark when a mysterious stranger returns from the Lily Kingdom—a character she doesn't recall writing in the original script. Although Yomi claims to be her ally, can Satou really trust a character she knows nothing about in such a dangerous world? (Source: Yen Press)