My Next Life as a Villainess Romance Options Are a Chaotic Mess of Obsession and Missed Signals

My next life as a villainess romance options usually follow a simple pattern in other isekai stories. You pick the prince or the knight or the villain and you live happily ever after. But Catarina Claes broke the system by being too nice and too dense at the same time. She was supposed to die or get exiled in the Fortune Lover game world. Instead she started collecting love interests like other people collect stamps. The problem is she does not know she is collecting them. She thinks everyone is just being friendly while they are planning weddings and writing love letters. This creates a frustrating but hilarious situation where the audience sees a dating sim happening and Catarina sees a farming simulator with snacks.

The fandom calls her Bakarina because she is as dense as a brick. She has a prince fiancé who tries to kiss her without consent, an adopted brother who acts like a jealous spouse, a heroine who bakes her sweets, and a best friend who is literally her soulmate from a past life. Yet she spends her time worrying about doom flags and eating cake. This density is either the best or worst part of the series depending on who you ask. Some fans think it is funny. Others think it prevents any real romantic development from happening.

The Male Leads and Their Various Red Flags

The original Fortune Lover game had four main boys designed to be perfect princes and nobles. Catarina managed to break all of them and turn them into obsessive versions of themselves. Each one comes with baggage that ranges from annoying to genuinely creepy.

Geordo Stuart Is Way Too Pushy

Geordo is the crown prince and Catarina's official fiancé by arrangement. In the original game he was the charming golden boy who would have you killed in a bad ending. Now he is obsessed with Catarina to a degree that makes fans uncomfortable. He ignores personal boundaries constantly and treats her like property he has already acquired. He forces physical contact when she clearly looks uncomfortable. He smirks when she tries to escape. He acts like her reluctance is cute rather than a sign she does not like him back.

Fans are split on him because he is positioned as the main love interest. Some like his determination and his willingness to scheme to keep her safe. Others think he is the worst option because he does not respect her autonomy at all. The ranked list of suitors usually puts him low for these reasons. His behavior in season two got worse when he became more possessive after the sleeping incident. He represents the toxic prince trope that should have died years ago.

Keith Claes and the Brother Problem

Keith is her adopted younger brother which makes his romantic route weird for a lot of people. He was taken in by the Claes family as a child and grew up with Catarina as siblings. They share a family name and a household. The story tries to handwave the incestuous vibes by saying they are not blood related but that does not erase the sibling dynamic they grew up with. He acts like a mother hen but with romantic jealousy that is inappropriate for a brother.

In season two he had a moment where he locked Catarina in a room to keep her away from other suitors. Fans interpreted this as him warning her about the others being dangerous but it came off as possessive and creepy. He is protective and sweet when he is not being jealous. But the dynamic feels off to many viewers who see him as her brother first and a love interest second. The ranking discussions often mention this discomfort. He has a tragic backstory with his mother which makes him sympathetic but that does not fix the sibling romance issue.

Alan Stuart the Tsundere Twin

Alan is Geordo's twin brother and starts as Catarina's rival in the childhood flashbacks. He is competitive and tsundere which means he acts tough and arrogant but is actually soft and insecure. His route is refreshing because he likes Catarina's tomboyish nature. He does not try to make her act like a proper lady. He respects her boundaries more than Geordo does.

However their chemistry is sometimes weak because Catarina still sees him as the kid she fought with over toys. He realized his feelings during her deep sleep arc which gave him some growth. But he often seems resigned to her antics rather than truly connecting with her. He is a solid middle tier option. Not the best but not the worst. He is less toxic than his brother but less interesting than the girls.

Nicol Ascart and the Quiet Crush

Nicol is Sophia's older brother and he is quiet mysterious and handsome. He barely talks but when he does it is usually about Catarina. The weird thing about Nicol is that his attraction sometimes seems to come out of nowhere. He is devoted to protecting his sister Sophia but then suddenly has feelings for Catarina because she helped Sophia make friends. His motivation feels secondary to his sister's happiness.

He is polite and kind but also bland. He does not push boundaries like Geordo but he also does not have much personality beyond being the quiet hot guy. His route in the games feels disconnected from the main story energy. He is just there being handsome and sighing wistfully. That is fine for some fans but others find him boring compared to the more aggressive personalities.

Rafael Walt and the Dark Magic Trauma

Also known as Sirius Dieke, Rafael has serious childhood trauma involving dark magic and his mother's death. He starts as an antagonist using dark magic to manipulate people. His route involves heavy emotional baggage and healing from abuse. He is not fit for a healthy romance until he deals with these issues.

Some fans appreciate the depth and the slow burn of his route. Others find him too broken to be a viable option right away. He needs therapy not a girlfriend. His story is dark compared to the comedy of the main series. He ranks low on most lists because of the toxicity of his early actions even if he has reasons for them.

The Girls Who Are Obviously In Love With Her

This is where the franchise gets frustrating. The anime and manga heavily imply romantic chemistry between Catarina and the female cast. But the official games keep pretending this does not exist.

Maria Campbell Should Be Canon

Maria is the original heroine of Fortune Lover. She is kind sweet and makes amazing sweets which is Catarina's biggest weakness. Their bond is built on mutual protection and emotional comfort. Maria is devoted to Catarina in a way that looks exactly like romance. They have scenes where they link arms share intimate moments and Maria gets jealous when the boys take up too much of Catarina's time.

Maria represents the healthy option. She understands Catarina's personality. She does not try to trap her or change her. She just wants to bake for her and keep her safe. The fact that the official Switch games omits female romance options makes fans furious because the chemistry is right there on screen. Maria is consistently ranked high in fan polls because she actually pays attention to what Catarina wants.

Sophia Ascart and the Reincarnation Bond

Sophia is Nicol's sister and she is actually the reincarnation of Catarina's best friend Atsuko from her past life in Japan. This makes their connection soulmate level. They share a love of romance novels and trashy fiction. Sophia gets Catarina's references and her personality in a way nobody else does. She was literally reborn into this world specifically to reunite with Catarina.

She is willing to sacrifice anything for Catarina. Her loyalty is absolute. The twist that she is basically Catarina's childhood friend reborn makes their bond deeper than most romantic relationships in the show. She isn't just crushing she is fulfilling a destiny. The fact that she tries to set Catarina up with her brother later is seen as her trying to keep Catarina in the family which is both funny and sad.

Mary Hunt and Her Aggressive Gardening

Mary is obsessed with Catarina to a yandere degree. She loves gardening with Catarina but hates anyone else getting close. She is ruthless and aggressive in her pursuit. She sees the other suitors as obstacles to eliminate not rivals to beat fairly. Her love is intense and codependent and slightly scary.

She shares Catarina's interest in farming and plants which gives them common ground. But her jealousy makes her a chaotic option. She is fun to watch but probably not healthy for a long term relationship. She would lock Catarina in a greenhouse if she thought it would keep her safe.

The Pirate Game Newcomers Nobody Asked For

The Pirates of the Disturbance game added new romanceable boys but reception was mixed according to the Pirates of the Disturbance review.

Rozy Linde and the Age Gap

Rozy is the ship engineer and he is twenty three while Catarina is sixteen. That age gap made people uncomfortable. His route is mostly info dumps and flashbacks about the ship. He isn't terrible but the age difference is weird and his story feels disconnected from the main cast dynamics. He talks at you rather than with you.

Silva the Only Sane Pirate

Silva is the pirate captain called the Demon of the Fog. He is interesting because he has no initial feelings for Catarina. He is not part of the childhood friend group. He meets her as an adult and gets to know her without baggage. Fans liked him because he matched her chaotic energy and did not put up with her nonsense.

However his route suffered from the game's structural problems where all the good development happens in the final two chapters. He is considered the best of the new additions but that is a low bar. He is the only one who feels like a fresh option rather than a recycled trope.

Is Catarina Even Interested In Anyone

Here is the thing that breaks the romance game mechanics. Catarina might be on the asexual or aromantic spectrum. She shows no sexual or romantic interest in anyone. She acknowledges people are attractive but her personal fantasy is living alone on a farm with a cat. She does not fantasize about marriage or romance. She sees everyone as friends because she was mentally seventeen when they were children.

There is heavy speculation about her orientation suggesting she is immune to romantic advances by nature not just ignorance. This makes forcing her into romance routes feel wrong to some fans. She gains a dark magic attribute but her true power might be being accidentally aro/ace in a dating sim world. The light novels mention she eventually develops feelings for Geordo in volume eleven but it is ambiguous and feels forced to many readers.

Why the Games Keep Disappointing Everyone

The visual novels like All Routes Lead to Doom and Pirates of the Disturbance let you pursue the boys but cut the girls out. This is seen as queer baiting because the anime spent two seasons showing Catarina flirting with Maria and Sophia. Then the game says sorry girls don't get routes. The game reviews point out that the visual novels feel pointless when Catarina already has established relationships and the new routes are boring retreads of childhood flashbacks.

Fans want the yuri routes or a poly ending where she marries everyone. The Fortune Lover fanbook mentions a Marry Them All ending which should be the real goal. The franchise keeps pushing het routes in games that ignore the bisexual disaster energy the anime created. Until they give us the Maria route or the true harem ending the romance options will remain frustratingly incomplete.

Catarina herself is often ranked as the number one love interest for herself. The best option is her staying single and running her farm while her friends visit occasionally. She is the only one who truly understands her own needs which are primarily food based and farm based. The suitors are all too busy projecting their ideals onto her to see who she actually is.

The my next life as a villainess romance options work best when you accept that Catarina is not playing the same game as everyone else. She is playing Stardew Valley while everyone else is playing Amnesia Memories. The franchise will probably never commit to a single canon route because that would destroy the harem appeal. But they should at least commit to the yuri routes or the poly ending. Anything else feels like cowardice. Catarina deserves to eat her sweets in peace without Geordo breathing down her neck or Keith having a brother complex meltdown. Just let her farm and maybe hold hands with Maria while Sophia reads them romance novels. That is the true happy ending.