The Villainess Becomes the Leading Lady

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

As the title says, these are manga that focus on a female protagonist that seeks revenge. Whether fantasy or a modern setting, these center on blackened main characters who, after having their morals tainted, aim to exact revenge on those who wronged them. Unlike their male-protagonist counterpart, the female-centric stories tend to feature less gore, but they are not excluded from it.

Note: If a series had both a LN/novel and manga, then only the manga was included to allow space for more entries.

Revenge-centric with Male Protagonist Stack: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/1307

Part 1 on https://myanimelist.net/stacks/3284
Part 2 on https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5964
Part 3 on https://myanimelist.net/stacks/6727
Part 4 on https://myanimelist.net/stacks/7910
Part 5 on https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9417

Otome Isekai is a sub-genre of Isekai where the main character(s) are in some way transported to another world that resembles an otome game...

It is essentially the girly version of the modern shounen isekai that goes in the direction of female wish fulfillment. Instead of stuck in an action game, she's stuck in a romance novel or romance game. It is almost always "died and reborn there" rather than the sort of "stuck" we see in Sword Art Online or the "teleported" we saw in the 90s.

—r/OtomeIsekai (credit to definition)

Here I put some of the romance manhwas that I love and some even have a few similarities, types like Historical (Duke/Duchess, Prince/Princess, Empress/Emperor, King/Queen, Lady), Villainess/Villains, Family, Magic, and a few modern ones...

links to the rest:
favs 1 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/8551
favs 2 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/8552
favs 3 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/8553
favs 4 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/8554
favs 6 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/10454
favs 7 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/14386
favs 8 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/14989
favs 9 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/16432
favs 10 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/21244

It was so difficult to find the manhwa I like that My Anime List even had, lmfao! I thought they had more of a selection but I guess not. It makes sense though, this is a Anime and Manga site mostly? This list is just a selection of some isekai romance manhwa’s. I hope you find something new, I did put a solid two hours into this list. (Explanations Coming Soon)

"I'll Pay You Back Twice!"

Reincarnated/iskeiaed/went back in time, I want them to ruin my life

Not on MAL
Depths of Malice
Vengeance from a Saint Full of Wounds
Why Would a Villainess Have Virtues?
Political Marriage With a Friendly Enemy
Abandoned Wife Has a New Husband
I Won't Pick Up The Trash I Threw Away Again

manhwa about main character who reverse time or reincarnation to novel/game/ other character (PART 2)

Notes: I have definitely watched/read the anime/manga that I give a rating
I will not give a rating below 5, Rating 5 for me = 1, >8 = recommended
if it's not good for me, the status "Dropped" and no rating

A compilation of FLs with silver or white hair. Might dash in a few grey ones somewhere because why not?

🤍 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭? 𝐍𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐!
➡️ https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39193

🤍 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞-𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 ⬇️
➡️ https://myanimelist.net/stacks/13743
➡️ https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39061

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞- 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨! 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐋-𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫-𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫-𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 ツ
🌸 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐒𝟏 | https://myanimelist.net/stacks/15011
🌸 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐒𝟐 | https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39047
💜 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐋𝐄 | https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39044

🤍 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐀𝐋, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞- 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭!
☁️ May I Ask for One Final Thing?
☁️ Neyra's Dragon
☁️ Rewriting My Dark Past
☁️ Duchess's Lo-Fi Coffeehouse

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: I do not guarantee the quality of the story. This is merely a compilation list. Happy reading! ☁️

Some of my favorite manhwa's with villainess/ isekai/ Fantasy/ romance tropes + a strong FL.

Manhwas that have “villainess” or “villainess’s” or “villainesses” word in the title.
*There is a separate stack for “villain”.
**This includes only the top 50 read “villainess” title Manhwas.

Updated: 1/26/2025

This stack contains my current reads and favourite villainess mamwhas. The stories of the villainess genre usually follow a female lead who has been transported into the story of a novel, as the storey villainess, and how she manages to turn her life around to not the the original villainess's bad ending.

A list of Manhwas that finished in June 2023.


Updated: 12/15/2024

Looking for new manhwa but all you can find it ongoing? Here’s a list of completed Manhwa! :)