The Role of the Femme Fatale - Ch. 2

[NinjaGoemon]

Maybe I've been reading too many Villainess ideal types but Hanako isn't being a villainess? So maybe there's a better word to translate the connotations the other girls have of her? Because to me immediately "confessing" to three women at once isn't really villainous and she hasn't even picked a commoner to pick on but everyone else think she fits the role to a T.

If it's anything like Yuricam she'd be a giggolette.

Villainess here likely just means "wicked woman". Her role's first goal to get a lover morphs into multiple lovers each that she plays with. She's not supposed to abide by conformity and from everyone's pov she doesn't.

 

[HamboneJalopy]

I liked the previous two stories characters, art and story&setting, but this time the story&setting part just doesn't click for me.
Forced fake names, forced roles, somehow that makes the whole premise feel, well, I don't know, slimy?

I'm not overly familiar with the subject but when joining a monestary, individuals often choose (or have chosen for them) a new name. The name change is something of an indicator of a new chapter in one's life. Given the religious trappings of the boarding school/orphanage in this manga it could be intended as something similar to that.

 

[HamboneJalopy]

Maybe I've been reading too many Villainess ideal types but Hanako isn't being a villainess? So maybe there's a better word to translate the connotations the other girls have of her? Because to me immediately "confessing" to three women at once isn't really villainous and she hasn't even picked a commoner to pick on but everyone else think she fits the role to a T.

Honestly, "femme fatale" as used in the title would fit much better. Or if one wanted a more benign sounding option, just "flirt".

 

[rooksdaw]

Once again, contrary to pretty much everyone else here who hating on the setup, I really dig this manga.

Maybe i am just weird like that.

 

[shittycoolusername69]

Once again, contrary to pretty much everyone else here who hating on the setup, I really dig this manga.

Maybe i am just weird like that.

No, there's a lot of us here who like it. Some people just assume that the absurdity of the premise is a bug instead of a feature.

Honestly, "femme fatale" as used in the title would fit much better. Or if one wanted a more benign sounding option, just "flirt".

Disclaimer: I'm very grateful to Sappho Scans for providing the translation, so the below is not meant to be criticism of their work! I'd just like to expand on the context with what I've been able to find.

The original title mentions 魔性の乙女 /mashou no otome/ which means 'devilish maiden'. In the raws when Hanako's name is called at the end of chapter 1, her role is announced as 悪女 /akujo/ or 'wicked woman'. The girls call her the same term in chapter 2 after Hanako "confessed" to Akari.

The term 'villainess' sounds pretty similar to the above, though a lot of people associate it with the role of a haughty young woman of high status who plots against the female lead in a straight romance, which has become a staple of the "otome game isekai" subgenre in recent years. The Japanese term for this trope is 悪役令嬢 /akuyaku reijou/ where /akuyaku/ means 'villain' and /reijou/ is a polite term for a 'daughter of a good family' (in this context the daughter of a high ranking noble).

The 'femme fatale' trope refers to a female character archetype who seduces men in order to use them for a secret purpose. That seems pretty close to Hanako's role here, since the other girls accuse her specificaly of trying to seduce them.

 

[OnewingedMasios]

Maybe I've been reading too many Villainess ideal types but Hanako isn't being a villainess? So maybe there's a better word to translate the connotations the other girls have of her? Because to me immediately "confessing" to three women at once isn't really villainous and she hasn't even picked a commoner to pick on but everyone else think she fits the role to a T.

the word you are looking for is ironically the title of the manga "femme fatale". Not sure why they translated it as "villainness" when it even says in the title "The Role of the Femme Fatale" even in the original japanese covers

 

[SkyVentus]

We all know the premise is pretty dumb, as we can see from this chapter everyone assumes the worst from Hanako cause her role is to be the villainess, since they think it's all part of her plan.

Ok, so hear me out, if the story will be like that with everything she does, isn't this effectively lesbian version of Eminence in Shadows?

Maybe we should read this manga with the same mentality as one would read Eminence in Shadows or Let This Grieving Soul Retire!, we're not supposed to take it seriously.

Until the end when we find out all the girls are literally being groomed into their roles and Hanako is put in charge of a evil organization

HOLD ON, THEIR WRITING IS THIS FIRE?.jpg

 

[Colonel-Picquart]

Honestly, "femme fatale" as used in the title would fit much better. Or if one wanted a more benign sounding option, just "flirt".

the word you are looking for is ironically the title of the manga "femme fatale". Not sure why they translated it as "villainness" when it even says in the title "The Role of the Femme Fatale" even in the original japanese covers

This was my thinking too but I was assuming the translators must be seeing some nuance in the Japanese that they felt the need to avoid Femme Fatale.

 

[yaboimags]

I've followed all of this artists last few works and they all have amazing art but seem to always be missing something story wise. This one has an interesting idea but I don't know if I like how it's been presented to us at all. I feel like giving us some insight as to why they were given the roles, who gives the, and why they matter would have been better to spend this chapter on rather than spending it all on the MC saying she wants friends and the whole class misunderstanding it.

 

[T-sama]

HOLD ON, THEIR WRITING IS THIS FIRE?.jpg

If you mean what I hid behind spoilers I was just joking lol

 

[T-sama]

On what everyone else discussed over the use of "villainess", I believe there's two issues with it:

1 - although the mangaka uses the term femme fatalle with the English version on the title, we need to keep in mind Japanese tend to not  really understand context of many foreign words

2 - in Japanese she used 悪女 /akujo/"wicked woman", now, I don't know how deep the context for that word goes, so I can't really say anything about it unfortunately

So my point is that depending on how the story actually goes villainess might be the more fitting word for her, reason I say that is because everyone clearly expect her to be a "wicked woman" rather than just seduce other girls, they expect her to basically be bad, to be eeeeevil, to manipulate, lie, probably bully too, so femme fatalle wouldn't fit as that generally implies only seduction and manipulation.

Mind you I agree that perhaps villainess isn't ideal either, but we probably don't have a word equivalent to 悪女 /akujo/"wicked woman", so between femme fatalle, wicked woman and villainess, villainess might better fit the spirit of what the mangaka meant even if it's not the best word to use.

 

[OnewingedMasios]

On what everyone else discussed over the use of "villainess", I believe there's two issues with it:

1 - although the mangaka uses the term femme fatalle with the English version on the title, we need to keep in mind Japanese tend to not  really understand context of many foreign words

2 - in Japanese she used 悪女 /akujo/"wicked woman", now, I don't know how deep the context for that word goes, so I can't really say anything about it unfortunately

So my point is that depending on how the story actually goes villainess might be the more fitting word for her, reason I say that is because everyone clearly expect her to be a "wicked woman" rather than just seduce other girls, they expect her to basically be bad, to be eeeeevil, to manipulate, lie, probably bully too, so femme fatalle wouldn't fit as that generally implies only seduction and manipulation.

Mind you I agree that perhaps villainess isn't ideal either, but we probably don't have a word equivalent to 悪女 /akujo/"wicked woman", so between femme fatalle, wicked woman and villainess, villainess might better fit the spirit of what the mangaka meant even if it's not the best word to use.

the issue there is that 悪女 actually doesn't mean wicked woman. It means "an ugly woman; a woman with a bad nature" with the second one being the actual use here which doesn't really mean a villainness (which is 悪役令嬢 meaning daughter of a villain). It actually refers to a woman who is 腹黑 that is a corruption of 腹心 meaning trusted friend of retainer, with 腹黑 describing a person who is sly, manipulative, and dangerous to some extent while outwardly pretending to be good, trust worthy, and someone to let your guard down around. All of which describe a femme fatale which is someone, typically a woman, who's purpose is to be a beautiful and seductive person that is in reality manipulative, sly, and often dangerous

 

[DVO19]

Thanks for the chapter

perhaps villainess in a Bakarina sense hahhahahah

 

[YuriFanQ]

ok now we gonna wait to chapter 3 to see if she achieved her seducing before making friends

 

[vixawi1793]

the last panel seems to imply that she got an incorrect role so maybe "villainess" and "femme fatale" are separate roles

if she got the correct one then I agree that it seems like an awkward translation specially with the "confession" part. i also think "wicked woman" might be a better fit for that

based on the author's other works it seems like they use the world building to put characters in a situation instead of it having a deeper meaning that needs exploration. i wouldn't be surprised if we only get surface level lore here

also, although being assigned roles is a bit of a tired trope i'm glad that author is doing something different than assigning family roles

 

[Shtoops]

hmm

 

[silverpetricof]

I still like this so far, but I know I'm not thinking too hard about it as much as most people here. Honestly, I'm mostly here for Sasuke's art (because it's so nice; all the female characters are so attractive, plus I love how Sasuke does facial expressions).

Thank you for the translation.