Villainess Level 99 Volume 1: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord (Villainess Level 99 Series)

This series' serialization has great timing. Just a few more months and we'll have the anime followed by the next volume! So excited to see how she beats the societal norms and odds!

3.5 starsWhen I first finished this, I really didn't know what I felt. I knew I didn't dislike it, but I also didn't know if I wanted to keep going despite that I LOVE this manga cover! I think having the font behind Eumiella makes her stand out in a really cool way that makes me want to take notice. I really like it!Moving on from the cover love though (LOL), I realized that despite two parts that I felt were a major info dump and then absolutely hating the heroine's party (the love interests are just plain dumb, and was irked every time they were on page, which is a first for me in feeling so strongly against a set of characters that aren't the bad guy. Also just to reaffirm, that's ONLY for the love interests. Alicia herself is fine.) I did actually enjoy this first volume!What makes this series stand out from others in this genre is that Eumiella is all about leveling up and rising up to new challenges to help her abilities grow. She has ZERO interest in love or romance, which was quite a surprise for me personally because I only know of one villainess isekai where there is NO romance. Surprisingly, for her being a person who shows very little emotion (which made it a little hard for me to connect with her because I love my bright but naive villainesses LOL) you can really feel her excitement when she is realizing that despite being at level 99, she might be able to grow further or learn a new skill. I also appreciated her earnestness(?) to share her "hack" of how to level up quickly, but everyone feels like she is just "out to get them" when she's honestly not. LOL! She genuinely wants to help and doesn't understand what's wrong with it because to her it was pretty easy. LOL! I also liked how she is so OP that she has to think about what will create the LEAST damage or energy to a person or environment. LOL!Overall, I liked this volume more than I thought I did! While I'm unsure about getting the next manga volume, I am VERY excited about the anime! I honestly feel this might be more of a story I'll enjoy through animation where I can hear the voices and therefore "hear" more of the humor in the story.Would recommend it to those who are looking for a non-romantic villainess isekai with an interesting "villainess" who just wants to live a calm and peaceful life!