Introduction

Hamefura is a generic wholesome harem anime with isekai and romcom tropes. We're introduced to the protagonist, Katerina Claes as young girl entering her first year at a magical school, before a flashback immediately takes us back to her as young child.

Boisterous and spoiled, she's introduced as the only daughter of an affluent family who wants for nothing. One day while on a walk with a prince she trips and has an awakening. She remembers her past life as a normal high school girl who enjoyed playing otome games*. She then realises that she's in one of those games right now... and she's the villainess (・｀ω´・).

The first of many twists, the series introduces our character as the antagonist. She has memories of how her story will unfold, ending with the protagonist taking her fiance and her being exiled far away . The series then proceeds with her trying to piece together how her story will develop and trying to prevent the absolute worst, doom, ending.

Story & Character

A key theme throughout the story is that the capture targets from the original game will all end up tied to Katerina in one way or another. The prince, Gerald Stuart, with whom she was walking felt guilty about her accident and proposed. Katerina becomes close friends with Mary Hunt whose engaged to the princes brother, Alan Stuart, another capture target. Keith Claes is a distant relative of Katerina who ends up becoming her adopted brother, he's yet another capture target. Lastly Katerina befriends Sophia Ascart ( A girl who it's later revealed is also someone Katerina knew from a past life ) whose brother, Nicole Ascart is the final capture target.

By the end of episode 3, the flashback sequence is over and all the main characters and their dynamics have been established (excluding the protaganist Maria Cambell). Surprisingly enough all of these characters have, in one form or another, developed a positive relationship with Katerina. All the capture targets are in love with her. Even her close friend Mary loves her; and comedically prevents her fiance Alan from realising his love so as to diminish her own rival count. Katerina, despite being a voracious otome game player is completely oblivious to this. Partially because knowing this would sap the driving goal of the narrative. If everyone loves her, they won't turn against her in the bad end. But more so because knowing would harm the group dynamic.

Throughout the series, Katarina also escapes into a sort of mental conference. The metaphorical pause state of the game. She goes to speak to her conflicted personalities and deliberate on her next course of action. Honestly I found this to be the funniest part of the series. It reiterates how little actual tension there is about Caterina's demise. The heartfelt and comedic undertones of the show never fail to put one at ease. In that regards the series is almost like a slice of life show; in the vein of KonoSuba.

Conclusions

I found Hamefura to be an amusing if lack-luster series. The characters all fall into some sort of a classic trope and there's next to no character development. Everyone seems to be introduced to fulfil some role in the narrative and beyond that they seem to exist simply as remnants of that plot-point. Given that Katerina has no chance of actually being a villain the story veers into developments with other characters trying to wrongfully vilify her but through her oblivious and somewhat blunt nature any claim that she's some sort of mad-genius just fall flat. The art and animation of the show is well done, not immaculate like the Monogatari series or Attack on Titans numerous Levi scenes but satisfactory for what amounts to be a comedic slice-of-life series. All in all I'd recommend Hamefura and should a second season come out I'll most likely watch it but I see little merit in re-watching the first season.

*otome games - visual novels targeted towards women. mostly consisting of a single heroine trying to conquer one (or more) possible targets (quite often men).