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In short: If you haven't read danmei before, this isn't the best introduction to the genre (basically Chinese BL) because it plays off more as a parody of the "overpowered protagonist" genre that doesn't take itself seriously in the least so it doesn't have many character moments that are being treated seriously (granted when they are it's absolutely amazing). I'd only recommend it if you want to have a laugh or if you like the writer and/or have enjoyed some of her other works like "The Grandmaster of demonic cultivation" or "Heaven Official's Blessing" and are curious how the writer started her writing carreer, tho ... be warned that the only thing these works have in common might be the sense of humor and the entertaining back and forths between characters which is pretty over the top in "Scum Villain's Self Saving System".

That said, this actually WAS my introduction to danmei (if we don't consider the Chinese drama "Untamed" which is the adaptation of "Grandmaster of Demonic cultivation") and it's why I can say firsthand that if you want to see what the genre has to offer this definitely ain't it! lol
"Scum Villain" is basically an isekai where the protagonist gets reincarnated into his favorite "stallion" web novel...as the villain shizun (cultivation teacher) who obviously gets tortured and dies by the hand of the overpowered novel protagonist. So if you read any of "villainess isekai" type romance webtoons then this is that but making everything gay because why the heck not! I know the genre has been done to death at this point but who is a sucker for isekai romance will definitely get some kinda enjoyment out of this at least on a superficial level.
The reincarnated Shen Qingqiu and the OP novel protagonist Lou Binghe have a really cute and well done chemistry that despite some (or more) creepy aspects of their relationship mainly related to Lou Binghe's unhealthy obsession with his "isekai-ed" shizun, they do end up being quite the satisfying ship to see develop on the pages of the novel and everytime they interact it's an absolute feast.
I do have some points i'd like to raise a finger at especially in volume 3 which is the resolution of the main story, but without entering spoiler territory let me just leave a big Trigger warning if you're uncomfortable with sexual assault. The writer isn't exactly good (at least in this book) at treating the subject matter in a sensitive way and while r@pe fetishes exist and this novel isn't the best at taking itself seriously I'd say it doesn't do that much harm (at least consdering the BL genre is already sprinkled with too much sexual assault for comfort anyway) and it overall tries to fix itself with the short story collection in volume 4, but yeah, it still exists.

That said tho, Scum Villain does have a cozy spot in my heart and I didn't yet have as much fun with a danmei like I did with this one, but my experience is pretty limited so take it for what it's worth.

I don't know how else to describe this show in short besides "Sexual harassement/stalking of a teenage girl is fine and will eventually get rewarded!"- The Anime.

Honestly, that's it. That's the anime.

When I started I thought I'd at least be in for at least SOME nuance, since I'm not inherently against age gap romances, I wouldn't even be against sexual harassement of a teenage girl in fiction if it's done with the purpose of exploring a certain toxic type of relationship, but this does neither explore or make a commentary. It's supposed to be cute. Yeah. But I can't possibly find it cute ... when the ML does nothing but be insisting, possessive, do things nobody asked for and continously profess he's undying love because this one girl just happened to be a normal human being with common sense. It's even more jarring when the anime tries to make a sort of love triangle with a guy that at least has some chemistry with her, but ultimately ends up being entirely pointless.

Honestly I just felt like I wasted my time here, so if you're not into this weird trope, just listen to my advice and stay away. I watched it so you don't have to.

In short: The only good thing about this manga is the art and the character designs.

I don't really know what else to say. Its main issue is the overall plot, I guess they tried to make it some sort of Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge, as in the concept of the guys having to turn this manga loving plain girl into a fine woman (just without the comedy), but the result of it is not funny nor cute. In the first half the guys do nothing but showing main girl how inadequate she is, how being a fine woman requires you to act, speak, smell in ... a certain way, which tbh is just plain sexist.
Some might argue that by the end she was accepted for who she is, but I can't help but think that what she needed to even be considered a fine woman was to fall in love with/give herself to a hot guy (who btw treated her the worst out of 4 guys, but love is enough to change everything after all!). Please tell me i'm not the only one seeing a problem with that. Her way of life wasn't even addressed later on, we just know she started dressing cutely and using makeup because she wanted main guy to like her. And I'm plain indifferent to that.

This manga was more obnoxious than it's worth.

In short, I feel like this 3 episode series managed to achieve a lot of what the 2004 version didn't in 26 episodes...It's pretty darn cool.

The original is pretty mediocre on pretty much all aspects and besides its movie i wouldn't really recommend any of it. THIS on the other hand has a lot of potential, it establishes the world and conflict quite well, especially when it comes to the guardians. They have their own lives and their own conflicts outside of the Priestess, which is why initially most of them are reluctant to join Karin, or even downright reject her.
From the very ... beginning Karin isn't babied because she's the priestess, she's instantly faced with the difficulty and responsibility of being the Priestess of the white dragon, also with all the political and social consequences that entails. The feeling of isolation and loneliness makes Karin very likable as a heroine from the get-go, as well her modern way of being (such as playing ball with the nobles, something unheard of for a lady to do at the time).

One thing I don't understand though is why the change of character design and names when it's obvious who is supposed to be who from the 2004 version. Like seriously, ThErE'S sO LiTtLe ReSeMbLaNcE IT'S AMAZING! *obviously sarcastic*
I can't treat it as a sequel either despite the "2" in the title since it's basically the same thing, just an alternate setting of events. I guess that's exactly what it is and the designs were changed in order to maybe, either differentiate it from the original to make an entirely new experience, or maybe they thought it'd have been more marketable to introduce more bishies than keep the original cast...I wouldn't know tho. xD

Still...very good. I wish it were an actual series

Holy hecking sh*t-balls, why wasn't this the way all of the original series was directed and executed?

After I watched the original anime of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de I was left quite disappointed by its mediocrity in basically every aspect; this movie entirely changes that, from its obvious improve of budget (or its use) to ost, execution and character writing. It's really great to be able to see actual struggle, Akane wanting to help and tired of being useless, the Guardians being sort of douchebags and forcing her to always stay behind (even if their concerns are understandable), the way the title of priestess ... weights on Akane like never before, how she tries to do stuff but is too nice and emotional to manage to do her job well which in turn makes her feel even more depressed, finding comfort in this random stranger that never treats her as anything more than just a girl. It was all just so genuine and heartwarming!
If somebody would have told me Harukanaru Toki no Naka de would make me teary-eyed I'd have snorted in their faces. And yet, it really did make me emotional. I feel this movie contains what reverse harems nowadays tend to lack: a "soul". How characters should stay characters before the need of offering fanservice, genuine feelings, characters that we can actually relate to, struggles than we can cheer for the characters to overcome etc. I'm only giving this an 8 because of the original material being the way it is and despite me raving about it, this movie isn't actually a complex masterpiece, it's just infinite times better than the original lol

It was absolutely amazing and if anybody actually managed to go through the main series or get at least halfway through, then I definitely recommend this movie.

In short: If you're a fan of reverse harems you might get some enjoyment out of this, but I warn you it's fairly mediocre, everything about it is mediocre, from simple characters, to simple story, to its sort of episodic structure to it's art and its sound. If you're not a fan I don't think this will blow your mind in the least and might result in a painful experience.

I recently started going on a journey to watch and read all reverse harems I manage to come across and this is one of the first I started with. Am I disappointed? Sort of. Do ... I regret putting my time into it? Actually... not really.
Hear me out.

My overall main issue with this show is that the story isn't very fleshed out and everything appears to be inconsequential even if it pretends it isn't. It's a very character driven story, as otome game adaptations often are, and unfortunately most of the characters aren't interesting enough in my opinion to manage to make up for the lack of overarching plot (besides defeat the demons, purify the town, bring peace), safe for few exceptions such as Yasuaki and Tomomasa which offer some sort of character complexity, but even here would be stretching it since their arcs (and those of the others) are usually dealt with in one episode almost as if they were swept under a rug for how easy it was for all of their issues to disappear. There are also a couple characters defined by their flaws such as Inori and Tenma which provided some interesting episodes, but again, in Inori's case the resolution is so easy that his character being centered on hating demons seemed basically inconsequential in the end and Tenma started as a control freak and remained a control freak making him one of the most dislikeable characters of the show, which I doubt was actually the intent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Honorable mention to Yorihisa and Eisen being, while still pretty average in execution, probably some of the most likeable, despite their lack of character building.

The heroine doesn't provide a much different experience either, since she tends to be the typical average highschooler whose only purpose is to get protected by her guardians. She does get a level up in the end and becomes more active, but unfortunately it was too late for me to manage to find any sort of interest in her struggles. It's also sort of unforgivable how her crush on the villain of the show is forgotten for like more than 15 episodes only to be suddenly brought back at the end. lol It's also amazing how the show basically got a "choose your own ending" feature with different ending clips. Not sure how much of a spoiler that is but if you expect a canon end romance, you might once again be disappointed...

That said though, the anime is FINE. Like really, it's just fine! I might have sounded like I tore it to pieces but, while simple and not ground-breaking (even for the time it got released in since we already had stuff like Angelique and Fuushigi Yugi released a bit earlier), there's nothing wrong in being mediocre. I think the anime can be enjoyed just fine if you like more of the cheesy, dramatical, sorta cliché experience of the genre (which is typical of the 90ties, early 2000s overall). Personally, i really would like playing the otome game for this and it makes me sad there's no English release of it or any translation to be found online. But eh, so be it.

In short: The only redeeming point of this manga for me was the art. There was some good sex, but overall Inuzuka is just such a horrible male protagonist that I remained dry as a bone. If you like rape fantasy or like forceful boyfriends you might like this, if you expect something wholesome, stay away.

There's not much else to add besides that tbh, just that maybe I wouldn't have even written a review for this if it didn't have such a high rating and such good reviews. I just fail to understand what is fun about a guy coming off at a girl ... (genderbent, but whatever, that barely seems to matter here) with the amount of cockiness Inuzuka has, turning into a context that's borderline rape-y and highly unhealthy and forceful. And I have no shame spoiling here, at one point he says he'd impregnate her just to force her to stay with him. I can deal with rape fantasy porn, but that's when my patience died entirely when being a rape-y forceful prick ready to ruin a teenager girl's life out of selfish reasons is everything this manga has to offer.
I've been even watching quite a couple of these "soft porn for girls" shows but they all just have the same main protagonist, wtf is wrong with this "genre"? Isn't there enough rape in hentais (intended for straight men), I gotta deal with it in my smut too? Some people like that, that's fine, I can enjoy it too, but I really see no diversity here and it's worrying me lol.

There, now I can leave this behind me. Again, if you like this, good for you, I'm not shaming, everybody got their own kinks and fetishes, but if anybody is looking for emotional connection in their smut, look elsewhere.

I'm absolutely shocked and outraged this anime got only a 6.62 rating on MAL at the time of this review. I can only explain it with two reasons:

1. People gave this a try and dropped it the moment they figured out it was a reverse harem.
2. The comedy just didn't work for them.

Both of those reasons are fair in a way, you are free to not like reverse harems, even though I think they always come with an unfair prejudice I don't feel harem shows (generally directed to straight men) are subjected to the same treatment even if they can equal in ... shittiness at times; and comedy is subjective so obviously it can't always land. But if you go into this with an open mind and don't expect too much of a plot besides just having a good time, watching DamePri might be the best decision of the day you could possibly make.

First of all, I'm an avid otome game fan and I can't deny I've been often displeased with otome games adaptations and a lot of reverse harems. Mostly lately it just feels the joy of making a good reverse harem (no matter the actual result) is dead, so it's way easier to push out all the ikemen idol shows and cliche otome game premises with absolutely zero effort. This is where DamePri shines.

DamePri is fully self-aware of its genre, of its tropes, of its character stereotypes and definitely doesn't shy away from it, it glorifies it and exaggerates it tenfold, also sometimes breaking the 4th wall. Prince Narek is one of the best examples of this. Go figure his introduction is basically "You there, woman! I see you admiring my gloriousness!", then, upon the heroine's utmost confusion at this weird claim, soon followed by "OMG! how can she not know the magnificent beast that it is I..??! Oh i know! You're so struck that I made you lose your memories!" leaving everybody including me either shaking their heads in utter shame or laughing their asses off. I definitely reflected both of those states at the same time. Honestly I don't know about you, but that's peak comedy for me. Especially when the rest of the characters are equally exaggerated: the flirt, the childhood friend/knight, the pretty-as-a-flower-bishonen, the emo depressive shut-in sprinkled with the mysterious sadist and the rigid duty-is-all-that-matters older man.

And it brings me to the heroine. If you are looking for competent heroines, LOOK NO MORE FOR YOUR WISH WAS GRANTED! Ani is everything that I wished for in a reverse harem/shoujo heroine. She can be nice and oblivious but also very smart and competent. She often acts as the straight-woman of the situation everytime she's surrounded by the quirky princes/nobles that make up the cast of love interests for this show. She thinks what any normal person would think when surrounded by, albeit very handsome, weirdos, who in any normal situation would be called creeps, if they just weren't part of a reverse harem lol. (maybe with the exception of Teo, Teo is an angel).

And there is more! Don't dismiss DamePri as a just a comedy show that goes nowhere either, the characters have substance and go past their initial stereotypes, they have character arcs, they change and they evolve. By three quarters in you'll actually find yourself immersed in a story of betrayals, of loyalty, of friendship and what it means to take things in your own hands instead of remaining a passive bystander, either too preoccupied with one's selfish ego or too insecure to take a step by yourself without anybody else's control.

I admit the pacing isn't always that good, some jokes do become old, especially if you binge this show, characters sometimes reach convenient conclusions at the right time, but as far as I'm regarded it is ultimately all justified and nothing could impede my enjoyment of this anime. In the end, it just doesn't have to be taken that seriously when it isn't taking itself that seriously either and giving it the benefit of the doubt when it tries to actually move things forward in a more serious manner.

It is definitely one of the best reverse harem shows out there and seeing it being dismissed and this underrated hurts my soul. So I'm going to join the people that left mostly positive reviews for it in hope that it might persuade more people to check it out. Please, do check it out!

Honestly. there's really not much to say about this manga besides that it's a pretty standard typical ghost story that works a lot more in rpg format, how it was initially meant to be experienced. You can find the game for free under the name of Forest of drizzling rain if you're interested, but this is a pretty fair adaptation, that even expands on the game, at least from main male protagonist Suga's perspective which was very welcome on my part. (More Suga is never a sin *coughs* stan BTS *coughs* <- no they have nothing to do with eachother besides a BTS member sharing ... the same stage name, but I couldn't resist, pls don't kill me T-T)
So I recommend to go into this while already being aware of the game, without it it might just come out as heavily mediocre and uninteresting, though without having absolutely nothing to offer. The characters are likable and the art is really good, the only thing is that the plot plays a lot like a game which gives it an unnatural progression in manga form.

Also a lot of you might come here after experiencing Satsuriku no Tenshi or otherwise known as Angels of Death which is a story created by the same author as Kirisame ga Furu Mori. From that perspective, you definitely won't be disappointed here. You can see some ideas that might represent themselves in Angels of death as well as some initial character dynamics between the main protagonists. It was amusing for me personally.

All in all a little story I recommend no matter what if you are into these sort of rpg horror stories.

In short: Entertaining, but don’t expect too much out of it nor attempt to try thinking too much about it.

Let me get this out of the way first: from an Entertainment point of view, it would probably get an 8, really. It’s lighthearted, it’s fun and if you don’t think too much about it, it’s really a must-watch for reverse harems/otome fans. I don’t think it’d be a waste of your time anyway, since it’s so short. What are you waiting for?
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But since this aspect is what counts the least for me, let me get to the juice.

From an overall perspective, I seriously ... don’t know if I am just starting to grow out of these reverse harem animes, but from when UtaPri proved to be so marketable, I have the impression it just triggered the path towards “standard-ness” and just generally fear of risk. I used to be a big defender of fanservice animes directed to a straight girls audience in the past because of how little there even were: I liked Hanasakeru Seishonen, I liked Amnesia (despite the general complaints), I liked Arcana Famiglia and I even liked UtaPri for being so cutely cringy and aware of itself. But do you know what these reverse harems had in common? Potential and a great deal of passion. That’s something that I feel less and less the more the genre is starting to become more mainstream in recent days and Girl beats Boys is a very good example.

Story

Well, one thing is certain; this anime is a great advertisement for its otome game counterpart. I love otome games so there’s that, but on the other hand, saying it’s like an “advertisement” is not exactly a compliment when it comes to a show.

The main issue with it is that it’s unsure of what its point is. Is it commenting on gender stereotypes? Is it enforcing gender stereotypes? The dialogues were ambiguous enough to manage to lean towards both and none. Then, is it about the heroine discovering love by beating guys up in an all-male school to get to be the boss of the entire said-school for her twin brother? Eeeehhh….Yes, but not as much as it is about her discovering the power of bromance and yet still managing to treat it superficially when she just went through all these poster-perfect guys, defeated them and collected them to her bro-team because that’s totally what guys do after being defeated in battle, am I right? 8D

.... Am I to understand the male gender is like pokemons then? O-o Let me try that the next time I find myself in an all-male school and try, for reasons, to just defeat all dungeon bosses and get to the top of the castle to save the prince only to discover he is in a different castle---wait what? Wrong story? My bad, it gets tough to figure out at one point.
Ehm, Mirakochu, I CHOOSE YOU!

If you somehow get around the “point”, the next issue is about the short-lived conflicts. It’s really hard to care when everything just gets settled in what is like 5 seconds and I wouldn’t blame that on the lack of screening time seeing how there are shows that manage to convey more and better in less time (unless the otome game is just that bad...).
For example, what I’d take out are those instances when the characters seem to be narrating to somebody at times, but it’s never revealed who they’re actually talking to. Are they talking to me? Because if so there’s a very weird unnecessary disconnect there; the narrating could have perfectly been integrated in the show or just have more of that small, little, “show don’t tell” technique. It appears to me that the reverse harem industry thinks we’re stupid or something if they don’t just tell us everything, but I guess that’s an issue of nowadays media as a whole.

Lastly, they aren’t even consistent with the little plot there is. It’s just offending to have one scene be recognized as acknowledgement and a hinted silent nod from one of the guys, only for the next episode to deny it by dumbing up said-involved-character. How are people possibly that stupid, I ask? (I'd have given it a 5 for managing to be so fun, if it weren't for this )

And by the way of Characters…

I probably wouldn’t have been so salty at this anime if the characters at least showed some potential, but unfortunately they’re the standard-est of stereotypes. They are supposed to have some sort of character arc in each episode, but besides Mirako, shortened as “idol guy”, where they tried to do something with his cynical attitude (but ultimately failing because “by the power of bromance” ), the others don’t really go beyond “that cool guy who was an orphan” or “that short guy with a big family”. It’s particularly worrying when nobody really sticks up in your mind, if not for superficial biased reasons. I’m really questioning if they can be called “characters” at this point.

And now let’s finally talk about the heroine. Fortunately, I think we are starting to get over the bland self-insert heroine who’s main traits are being clumsy and furiously blushing everytime a person of the opposite gender pokes her. And thanks God for that, but at the same time, she doesn’t have enough character to do main heroines justice either. She knows martial arts, she’s nice and she always felt lonely, but that’s basically how you can resume her entire character. Unfortunately, with the add of the “badass” trait, you don’t automatically make a “strong female protagonist”. I’ll stop being a b*tch and at least give it props for trying though.

Animation

Well, that is also quite standard switching to hilariously bad looking during the fighting scenes, but hey. Standard is not bad, I’m sure they did what they could with that. The color palette is quite bright and colorful with a switch of darker tones during the school scenes, probably to emphasize the overall competitive aura of it.

Sound

I honestly really liked the opening song, also the fact that they didn’t lose time with it and decided to throw in some scenes of what was currently going on in the episode which worked great with the song. They did a good job there.

In conclusion, only check it out if you want to see something bright and fun. Really.