This anime series has the same premise as Bakarina*: an otome games fan reincarnates in one of them, some childhood event forces her to remember her life on Earth, and she realises that she has been reincarnated as the villainess. Then she tries to avoid the bad end of the game at all costs.

But beyond the premise, Last Boss Queen and Bakarina are nothing alike. Pride Royal Ivy is actually insightful and smart, unlike Katarina Claes; what motivates Pride is not fear of her own doom, but to avoid the suffering of the people around her; and the general tone of the Last Boss Queen series is heavier, more likely to pull your emotional strings than to make you laugh.

Overall, based on the manga and WN, I’d say that this is worth watching if you want something more serious in the genre.

The first episode was rather good IMO. It’s no high-budget production, but it follows the script of the WN rather well, focusing on Pride and Stale. I feel like some context might be missing for non-readers, but it should be still enjoyable for them.

*Bakarina: fan nickname for the My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! series.