"Alright, lets avoid any flags!"
Immediately falters in her will and goes to the same place as the other main characters. Proceeds to intentionally trail the rival character in order peek on main characters and get caught by another male lead (Hasumi) instead. And of course she immediately does something s*upid trying to hide themselves and ends up mounting this guy, like seriously? Can't you just normally push someone away out of sight???
The thoughts such as "The Hasumi cooperating measure is rejected!" or "I don't want to be involved... more>> with them" and "I'll just become air" just a few chapters ago flies out of the window as of course this other male lead immediately blackmails her into cooperation. Ah yes, the infamous black bellied friend of the prince who uses all kinds of measures that are literally considered as harassment to get the female lead to cooperate. And she just goes along with it, thinks that she should help him emotionally, gets heart throbs and falls in love with him but she keeps denying it. Like wth, not only did you just contradict yourself, but you are also dense and in denial. I really dislike these type of heroines. It's also ironic because she became the type of heroine she didn't want to become.
I would've rated it much higher if she was a bit more honest with herself. <<less

If you are a masochistic fan of "Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu", you'll love this novel, as it is a similar concept with it's own unique flavor. Where Reika is a happy go lucky odd ball in a ojou-sama's body, Rinka is similarly thrown into a rich person's world with the mentality of a commoner. She's adorable to watch as she happily lives life and makes friends.

Now when I say 'masochistic fan' I'm poking fun at the 300+ story of Reika and her friends that shows next to... more>> no sign of ending or her getting a boyfriend. Anyone who faithfully follows it, knows that Reika will always be part of "forever alone village" :')

This novel, and Rinka, are far more fulfilling in the romance aspect, all without jumping the punch too much. There's plenty of waiting, but oh sweet waiting it is. I fear we will never escape the 'dense' protagonist trope, but this novel is amusing and well worth a casual read :P <<less

TL;DR it's a decent shoujo novel, cliche but good. Read the rest below if you want more info but it's compared to Kenkyo the entire time.

It's a solid novel that waivers between 3 and 4 stars depending on your mood. It's essentially Kenkyo's little sister, the premise is very very similar. From the all-rich kid escalator school to the "i was reborn into a manga!" And the dense yet not-your-typical-oujo protagonist. Even the first 20-30 chapters had me slightly slugging through them as it felt like Kenkyo, the cliff notes version (Heroine dakedo moves faster, she catches the eye of the "black bellied best friend" faster and more noticeably). Even the sis-con sibling is similar, though Yuto is her younger brother, and more transparent and forthright on keeping bugs from her sister. While they're very similar, they have key differences. The good:

- Heroine dakedo follows the heroine Rinka rather than the villainess, and rather than trying to avoid the bad end, it's more of a strict "I ship the villainess and the hero so I'm trying to make my OTP come true!!" And thus she avoids the hero at every turn. It gives a very interesting plot point when she . I think would have been a very interesting story if she was , but it's a happy shoujo story not an angst one so alas, I'm sighing at the waste of such potential.

- depending on your mood/feelings, it's Kenkyo lite, so if you feel like Kenkyo has too many chapters, not enough romance/slow, this might fulfill your need instead. The romance is more pronounced and straightforward, where kenkyo's so subtle you're shaking the screen because you want more action to happen already.

The bad:

- Heroine dakedo's characters are decent, and Rinka is likeable but the characters sometimes fall flat or cliche. Everyone seems to just kinda be stuck in their role (MC is gorgeous but quirky, ML is a cold tsundere, etc etc). Kenkyo's Reika carry's her entire story, while Heroine's Rinka is solid but it's more dependent on the story events that make you wonder what happens next.

- It's Kenkyo lite! While some characters have another person's part mixed in or changed (best friend was in love with the childhood friend instead of the hero, best friend is the one whose colder and cooler while the hero is sunny and warm, rival villainess is an Oujo typical character whose good friends with MC rather than a completely different character, etc) it feels very very similar. Escalator school, a sports festival, forced to join student council, even an aquarium scene! When I first saw the names, Rinka and Reika were so similar my first response was Oi!!! (°ㅂ° ╬) They even both have a huge weakness for sweets and are "perfect Oujo" looking characters but super goofy on the inside!

That aside, it's not a bad novel and the translations are good so give it a shot. If you can tolerate the beginning, it starts picking up near chapter 40, where the fact that she's the heroine kicks in and branches off into a more original plot line.

I recommend this novel! It's super fluffy and the main characters are so funny and cute. ??? P.S: Dear translator please don't be discouraged by those (10) 1 star vote. Your translation is good without any errors (for me ?).

Honestly it turned out way better than expected. The chemistry between the MC and Hasumi (love interest) is good. They don't really go anywhere with the reincarnated plot since at a really early point the story diverges from her memories. It doesn't turn into a harem situation like a lot of other similar novels and the romance moves along at a quick pace with the recent ch 20 and 21 being the turning point to where it becomes more of the focus. The main character is an air headed character... more>> though so she doesn't really pick up on the changes in Hatsumi's emotions, but it really isn't that bad. Overall I like this more than a lot of similar novels. <<less

My second favourite next to kenkyo! I really love the MC and ML. It’s light, fluffy and full of chemistry. I also love the translations and the fast updates. Please keep up the good work Ms./Mr. Nao! Thank you for all of your hardwork!

This is really cute. I recommend it!

I really enjoy the FMC as well as the ML. The other characters are good too and their interactions are funny. Sometimes a little too much talk about sweets, but overall it's amusing and enjoyable. The translation isn't perfect, but still good and easy to read. Overall this gets a 5/5 from me, not legendary, but perfectly fun and serviceable.

Also, lol, there is a character with the same name as the translator so one reviewer apparently got a bit confused.

With all the villainess based ones, it was really only a matter of time until someone wrote the inverse, where the heroine doesn't want her role. I'm not even sure if this is the first and wouldn't be surprised at finding others older than it. At least its the first I've seen. Gave it a go. Interesting enough as a starting. A bit early to say one way or another on it even at the current latest chapter (12) though I havent gotten to that yet.

The story is enjoyable in my opinion. However, it seems to have become the same sort of story that it taunted in the beginning. The MC dislikes the original airheaded heroine who grabs the attention of the school prince; however, the MC herself ends up being an airheaded character, except that the ML is the black-bellied popular guy rather than the prince-like popular guy.

Overall, the story has a somewhat generic Japanese school setting with pretty generic character types, but I feel that this story has some unique aspects in some... more>> of the character interactions and storyline.

I think that it's a more lighthearted read overall though.

I think some people have be horribly mistaken. Although the translator joked that they had an appearance in the story (because the translator translates under the name Naoriel, which can be shortened to Nao), the translation is accurate to the raws. There is an actual character named Ootsuki Nao introduced in chapter 22 in the raws. <<less

i apprecaite the effort but overall the translation is stiff and it hurt the story, which wasn't all that good to begin with so dropping

This novel is definitely worth a read, where most villain/heroine reincarnation novels focus on changing the personality of the heroine and changing the direction of the novel rather early on this one has the MC whom hated the heroine in the manga end up in similar situations with a similar personality as she's ridiculously dense and oblivious to her own feelings and the feelings of others (unless they were included in the manga) and the fact that she herself has most of the qualities the original heroine had so despite... more>> how hard she tries to remove the flags she ends up encountering them anyway albeit making things go in another direction or rather; route if you will as she loves the love rival and doesn't want her friends relationship to fail because of her own existence.

I rate this novel 4/5, I would rate this 4.5-5.0 if the mc's obliviousness to relationships were not to such an unbelievable extent; it's basically what keeps the "comedy" going, however comedy at the expense of peoples feelings is pretty painful to read in places, and this is the only negative I've encountered throughout the novel.

Side note: The EX chapters (109 main chapters and 40 EX) are dotted throughout the story as other peoples pov and extra events that occurred throughout the three years at school as well as events that happen in university up to two years past the end of the main novel. (There are two whole arcs from the pov of

Spoiler

ML's fiance and MC's childhood friend including their backstory and is further expanded upon in the ex chapters which resolve a few issues and show that one is quite the yandere at heart whilst the other is quite the tsuntsun.)

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There are two or three half chapters devoted to how an incest novel was circulating throughout the school focusing on steamy love between MC and her brother which is absolutely hilarious when he finds out and tries to destroy all of them and ends up driving it further underground. (MC is also an avid reader of each publication too. XD)

Fun fact: The heroine's name on Syosetu is more often than not translated as Reika and not Rinka so comparisons drawn between both novels become even more blurred. <<less

There's no reason for this to be an isekai reincarnation manga. The MC does nothing with character knowledge from the manga other than insight into one conversation that probably anyone could have guessed. There is no mention of the past life at all other than to say that she liked the "villainess" character. There's no need for the normal isekai "Modern Japanese culture knock-offs revitalize medieval fantasy world" since the isekai is just set in fictional Japan.

If the life experience, advance knowledge of the plot, deeper knowledge of the characters,... more>> or knowledge of an advanced or even just different society aren't being used, and the main character doesn't reflect on the differences between the old world and the new, regardless of if they debate trying to return or not, there's no reason to have the isekai/reincarnation plot.

It is only used as a cheap excuse for the MC to avoid a single person and like a single person. There's plenty of other ways to justify both of those things.

That said, it's a pretty heartwarming cute romance. Every character is adorable and charming. <<less

Nothing special. It's a typical otome novel where the heroin tries to avoid the flags/scenarios set. The heroin also typically avoids the main characters as much as possible and try to live "simply" and avoid standing out but of course it doesn't happen. I mean, no otome novel ever does (??).

The format and the how it was being narrated is also common among otome novels around the years 2012-2018. I wouldn't really recommend it but if you ever ran out of things to read you might want to give this... more>> a try.

There was also a prev review abt this being Kenkyo Kenjitsu's sister story bec of it's similarities. I do agree but I had more fun with Kenyo Kenjitsu and its characters bec I think Reika was able to really stick to avoiding the set ups and the characters even though it don't always work. Also Reika has the least romantic bone and romance (in general) going on. Lol. <<less

In few words, it's a shoujo. If you like shoujo's typical tropes, you'll enjoy this.

The main idea behind this novel is like a washed out version of Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu, with slight differences. Reika, our protagonist, discovers that the world she's reborn into resembles a shoujo manga she read on her previous life, and that she is the heroine of that manga. Problem is, she hates the path her character follows in the manga and, while (trying) avoiding every "event" that'll... more>> lead her that way, she'll root for her favorite character, the rival of the heroine.

Personally, I don't have many problems with this novel, except for the typical cliches and inconsistencies that most shoujos have. But, hey! It's a shoujo, what else am I expecting from it?!. If I have to point out something positive, I'd say the character development of the main cast. Of course they're still inconsistent, and pretty shoujo-like (especially our mc), but overall they're very likable and you can feel their growth along the chapters. <<less

Give it a chance, I'd say 10 chapters in you'll get a good feel of the story pace.

The MC is a little dense, not on a Bakarina level though. Actually, I feel like she has a good reason for being dense, and that is because humans get tricked by their first impressions on people.

... more>>

Spoiler

For example: Someone falls in love with her, but he originally liked someone else and she was helping him out with things that involved her. Is it not common sense to just think they're just becoming closer as friends when there's some intimacy signs? They weren't that obvious. As a reader on the more objective path, it's pretty obvious to see though.

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I can't get myself to like the original ML and I like that about the story; they are all flawed "real" characters unlike what the MC originally read in her manga.

Other than that, they all have a good friendship and you get to see most things happen as a slice of life/school life kinda thing. The romance is slowly progressing. It's a good read. <<less

Thank you to the translator, for translating this novel.

This novel has a lot of fluff and its very fun to read. This novel also doesn't have a complicated plot. The relationship and interaction between the characters is heartwarming and cute.

But if you're not into dense FL, then dont read the novel.

Wow, I can just say, thank you thank you to translator M/Ms Nao-san, for sharing this novel with us! It's so refreshing, it has a 'kenkyo' x 'the male leads villainess fiancé' vibe. But sometimes I find the plot to be too fast-paced, or maybe it's because all the events are going one after the other and the time skip can be very quick, like you read a line, and the following one is already one and a half month later. But it's not a setback at all. It certainly... more>> follows shoujo manga pace ~ <<less

If you want fluff, comedy, parody, and a relationship that starts mildly antagonist, this is the perfect story!