We're Tired of Reincarnation Anime, But One New Series Is Giving the Tired Trope a Makeover

Reincarnation anime can get tiring after a while, but some of them like Reincarnated as the 7th Prince attempt to give fresh twists to well-established tropes by making the body that the protagonist reincarnates into ridiculous. The villainess subset of the genre is naturally restricted in this regard, since the protagonist must always become a female humanoid as opposed to an inanimate object or animal, for example. However, a new venture into this reincarnation subgenre on HIDIVE called From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated! attempts to make who the protagonist was before their death the ridiculous aspect of the overall transformation.

At first glance, From Bureaucrat to Villainess appears to fall into the trap that even the best reincarnation anime succumb to. What normally happens is this ridiculousness provides a cheap shock factor that quickly wears out its welcome and fails to meaningfully contribute to the story. However, the first episode of this new villainess series is already leveraging the eponymous dad's former life and identity in multiple ways that give not only the villainess segment a much-needed makeover, but reincarnation anime as a whole and even their cousin isekai genre. The result could compete with the best villainess manhwa.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated! Doesn't Focus On The Obvious - Gender

Based on the manga by Michiro Ueyama from Shōnen Gahōsha; Anime produced by Ajia-do Animation Works

Typically in the villainess genre, the protagonist's former life is inconsequential, making the prevalence of Kenzaburo Tondabayashi's former identity as a salaryman and father in From Bureaucrat to Villainess already subversive. However, it consequently subverts numerous other tropes in the process, rather than just having him react as a younger male would, by freaking out that he's now a young woman. As an older gentleman, he's more mature and reserved when assessing his unique predicament and chooses his actions very rationally. In other words, his gender isn't the main focus.

First, he never actually played the otome game that he reincarnates into. What he knows is therefore severely limited, based entirely on what his daughter told him before his death. This not only eliminates the bulk of strategizing that villainess protagonists usually employ and that takes up the bulk of most stories, but it appears to prevent him from avoiding his character's usual fate, which is, at worst, death. As a result, his main objective isn't driven by a desire to circumvent them. Hilariously, he tries to fit within the confines of what he believes a villainess should act.

Kenzaburo's Actions Are Based On Who He Was Before

His experiences as a father and a respectable businessman shape his relationship with other characters

While this might seem ingenious on its own, Kenzaburo's attempts are either purposefully or inadvertently informed by his identity as a dad, causing him to break from character. The best examples are when he connects with the otome's heroine. This is ingenious because the anime has his parental experiences naturally alter the course of their initial relationship based on a key moment in the otome that was influenced by the heroine's parents.

In the game, they originally became enemies because Kenzaburo's character mocks her parents. However, as a father, he is able to recognize and can't help but gush over their contributions to the heroine's education and what they hope she will be able to achieve once educated. This changes the course of their relationship in this altered reality, and it's because of who he was before.

This Altered Reality in the Otome Introduces Rare New "Rule"

When Kenzaburo bows, his character doesn't actually bow

Undoubtedly, the most original contribution the anime makes is how this altered reality translates Kenzaburo's physical actions into how they would normally have occurred if the original character was in control. A key point is that their effectiveness is influenced by how well he executes his own movements, and they're based on how his time as a bureaucrat shaped them to perfection. In one scene, he executes a flawless bow of respect that Japanese businessmen give to others, and it's translated into a stunning curtsy. A normal girl who is usually reincarnated into otome, wouldn't have these skill sets.

On a lesser level, it is appreciated how Kenzaburo's respectful gestures and mannerisms are positively influencing otherwise negative characters and even changing the culture of the school they attend for the better. But to a much larger extent, Kenzaburo usually resorts to his former life experiences because he doesn't know how the villainess normally acts, that is, unless his fatherly personality accidentally slips out or is impossible to hold back.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!'s initial draw factor is that his change in gender would be a major focus to the extreme. Ironically, too many series that are officially gender-benders don't actually capitalize on this, and they suffer as a result. However, it works for HIDIVE's new series because it instead uses reincarnation to capitalize on more critical aspects of the protagonist's former life that lead to more nuanced alternations in his new altered reality.