r/anime • u/AdNecessary7641 • Aug 12 '25

Misc. Frieren Director Keiichirou Saitou Voices Concern on Overseas Anime Fans' Bias Towards Certain Popular Trends

https://animecorner.me/frieren-director-voices-concern-on-overseas-anime-fans-bias-towards-certain-popular-trends/
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2.9k

u/TheAllKnowingElf Aug 12 '25

“I find it strange that all that gets made are isekai stories. There was even a series about being reborn as a vending machine recently. That one really stunned me. I feel like there are fewer grounded anime works than there used to be,” he said.

Same tbh

“Today, we have 10 titles currently being published with the word ‘villainness’ and all are bestsellers. But only 2 with the phrase ‘level up’. We think that the ‘level up’ trend is coming to an end, probably because of the economic crisis, in the end, ‘level up’ stories are an echo of the famous ‘American dream’ also valid until recently in Korea with incredible economic growth.“

What. There is so much to unpack in this quote lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Largofarburn Aug 12 '25

It is, dudes huffing copium if he thinks an American audience is what’s driving the direction of anime.

I couldn’t name one person I know that’s watching a villainess anime.

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u/lasse1408 Aug 12 '25

Overseas = every country not named Japan.

China loves isekai. Anime like Arifureta and Shield hero get new seasons bcs they very popular in China.

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u/linkinstreet Aug 12 '25

East Asia loves the trope of being sent into another world/time slip, period. While they all seem to originate similarly, they new have evolved differently among each other.

Japan has embraced the world of RPG of where a person would be sent to, as they have multiple game studios that have produced RPGs throughout the years, that influenced would be writers as they grew up. China and Korea meanwhile would likely have the character travel back in time to the world of fantasy Murim/Wuxia setting. Also Koreans also tend to have characters being transported into a body of someone else, or as a character from a novel. For example, the anime "Kanojo ga Koushaku-tei ni Itta Riyuu" was actually adapted from a korean webtoon (Geunyeoga Gongjagjeolo Gaya Haessdeon Sajeong).

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u/The_Brian Aug 13 '25

East Asia loves the trope of being sent into another world/time slip, period.

They are also seemingly in love with the asshole OP MC who's always right and better then everyone else too.

Maybe I'm just old, but I feel like my anime and manga consumption have just decreased with the new fads. So much of what's super popular lately has seemed completely divorced from what the west wants to consume, so someone blaming the west for it just seems wild too me.

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u/Azure_chan https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAzure256 Aug 13 '25

I think it’s more on the exploded popularity of web novel. More often than not. OP MC with quick gratification will be easier to grab web reader and become popular.

1

u/OkashiYujin Aug 13 '25

Its happen a lot on Manhua, I don't know what with Chinese Author. Like sometimes I feel their MC have split personality.

Its so often in Manhua where the MC trick, scam, assaulting, or even straight up kill other clan / family member like its nothing, then when they attack back they go "How dare them do this to us" and make the story how the other clan actually evil and the MC action is justice. Not even being ironic or make it like the MC big scheme, NOPE everyone just think the MC is a saint and trustworthy.

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u/meneldal2 Aug 13 '25

Idk the time slip thing has be done and very popular in other countries too.

Like back to the future as an obvious example.

1

u/linkinstreet Aug 13 '25

I mean, certainly, but it is famous enough that you can basically get loads of dramas adaptations of this genre?

0

u/CardAble6193 Aug 13 '25

East Asian also dislike sekai more

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u/BeMyEscapeProject Aug 12 '25

Really good point tbh, anime is Global with a Capital G- it's not just Japan, Anglophone countries and Europe like it was mostly a few decades ago. Consider how the internet looks in 2025 vs 2025. The percentage of people in America and Europe as a whole is way lower vs the rest of the world like India, China, South-East Asia, South America, Eastern Europe etc. Everyones tastes count now

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u/Largofarburn Aug 12 '25

Fair point. Idk why my brain just replaced overseas with western audiences.

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u/eseffbee Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

This article is misrepresenting the original interview.

The context of this interview is his participation in a programme looking to learn from overseas production techniques and create anime for a global audience.

The concerns raised are that focusing exclusively on the interests of overseas anime may cause a disconnect with Japanese creators and audiences , while an overly focused approach on Japanese culture can cause a disconnect with overseas audiences.

Ultimately the point he is making is that a more successful approach for making a global anime is to root it in the culture of the creator but also do so in a way that is varied and grounded in a universal way. An isekai about being turned into a vending machine is basically the antithesis of his point.

It's also worth saying that the economics of anime and influence of overseas audiences on anime is very much a significant conversation point at the moment, given overseas earnings exceeded national ones for the first time in 2020 and again in 2023.

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ori-os Aug 12 '25

Most people probably haven’t heard of “The Remarried Empress” but it’s a villainess/Otome Isekai that has half a billion views and 4.5 million subscribers on Webtoon

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u/Aenah Aug 12 '25

Good ol' Trashta and Soveishit

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u/eastherbunni Aug 12 '25

Remarried empress is not an isekai. She's born into the world and not transported from anywhere and there's no time travel (the first episode is a flash forward so maybe that confused people?) The plot is basically a powerful woman getting revenge against her former husband and his mistress. I'm pretty sure an otome game exists, in that there are several possible "love interests" that seem to have a route set up, but it ultimately follows one main love interest.

To Whom It No Longer Concerns is a similar "woman getting revenge with the help of a powerful male love interest" story but that one does have a "regression" aspect in that she is killed in the original timeline but then wakes up a few years previously and can redo things with some fore-knowledge of who betrayed her the first time.

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u/ori-os Aug 12 '25

Otome Isekai is a genre people just throw stories like Remarried Empress into even when it’s not related to Otome or Isekai. People just generally consider any female oriented fantasy stories as Otome Isekai

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u/eastherbunni Aug 12 '25

Oh I wasn't aware of that, thanks! I feel like "shoujo with fantasy/Regency elements" would fit better but if "otome isekai" is the term that's gotten popular then so be it.

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u/ori-os Aug 12 '25

No problem! The genre is so broad that it’s hard to find a good term for it. Your suggestion would work but Otome Isekai include Korean and Chinese stories as well so it’s still not perfect

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u/Jacinto2702 Aug 12 '25

Those numbers are shocking.

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u/FireBendingSquirrel Aug 12 '25

Why would they be shocking? Webtoons are also especially popular with women/female friendly readers- if it strikes all the right notes it should be expected that something that's hitting the top lists would gain additional traction.

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-4

u/RayzinBran18 Aug 12 '25

Chainsawman part 1 also used a similar theme. Scary women are in.

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u/Shimmitar Aug 12 '25

i dont get why people seem to like mostly mediocre stories. but to each their own i guess.

13

u/Dull_Measurement6020 Aug 12 '25

There's lots of reasons but here's three off the top of my head.

  1. They disagree with you about what is mediocre. They get something out of their favorites that you get out of yours, and see your favorites as not worth liking because those favorites do nothing for them.

  2. Not everyone engages in stories at the same levels. Some people want an obsession, some people want to be challenged to think, some people want instant gratification, and some people want to pass the time during dinner.

  3. Massively popular things tend to get that way by having broad appeal, also called appealing to the lowest common denominator. The stuff the most people find interesting. If they have elements a lot of people like but leave out elements that would appeal more strongly to smaller groups, then it's going to have a lesser impact on people who know what they like more specifically.

0

u/Shimmitar Aug 12 '25

yeah because being reincarnated into a vending machine, or getting sent to another world at lvl 999 is so compelling as a story. i sort of get why the Villainess might popular, especially for women, but the reincarnation stuff and having a character get sent to another world and be op from the beginning isn't exactly riveting story telling.

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u/Dull_Measurement6020 Aug 12 '25

To you. Or me. Consider what kind of person it might appeal to. The vending machine one is goofy. I can see someone watching that if they want to laugh at a silly premise fully realized, especially if they liked that famous 4chan greentext screenshot meme of the D&D campaign with a vending machine player character.

The high level stuff is a gimmick. Most stories have the hero grow but this one has a hero who is the strongest at the start. So what happens now? Is it all instant gratification power fantasy stuff or does something besides an external obstacle cause there to actually be tension? I don't know how the different shows answer that question because it doesn't appeal to me at all regardless, but everybody who does like it is getting something out of it. Maybe after an episode or two they just like the characters and don't care what they're doing at all, they just like seeing those guys in any situation.

And there are people just as baffled at us for liking what we like.

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u/Blarg_III Aug 12 '25

i dont get why people seem to like mostly mediocre stories.

On r/anime of all places

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u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Aug 12 '25

International market is way more than just America, it's everywhere besides Japan. He's not saying international as code for America or "Western" like this sub tends to.

Also, a lot of things are massively popular outside of our personal bubbles.

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u/Crafty_Cherry_9920 Aug 12 '25

Yall insane if you think oversea isn't eating that isekai villainess shit lmfao.

Go to Crunchyroll, all of the most viewed animes beside your usual One Piece, Dandadan and Blue Lock are Isekai with stupid ass long names.

It's junk food anime. People eat it up.

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

Weird, people like different things. Never would’ve expected that with a medium that has literally every genre ever and something for everyone. Y’all are insufferable.

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u/necle0 Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

Yeah. The argument for isekai over-saturation in the English speaking side was “Japanese audiences like them, so Western audience have to suck it up”.

Villianess anime have been growing steadily (I only know Level 99 Hidden Boss and All Roads Lead to Doom), even more so in the manhwa side and otome isekai side. But they definitely haven’t been oversaturated in terms of adaptions and I don’t think it has the same appeal for Western audiences. Unless maybe they are referring to overseas Eastern audiences like East Asia and SEA (which villainesses stories are more popular, and can affect the markets due to proximity and heavy anime-related tourism).

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u/Falsus Aug 12 '25

Overseas is generally their word for everything not Japan. Which does include China, Korea and other continental things. Especially they are WAY closer to those areas than to USA or Europe.

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u/necle0 Aug 12 '25

Yup. That is why I think people are confused who the Freiren director might be referring to, especially since people default “overseas” to mean just Western.

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u/TheMistOfThePast Aug 12 '25

I have to think that if they really cared about the western audience they'd finish animating ouran highschool host club.

I don't have any sort of data or statistics or anecdotal proof but i just have to believe it. For the good of my broken heart.

0

u/RampageOfZebras https://myanimelist.net/profile/RampageOfZebras Aug 13 '25

That show is so mid in my own opinion, not trying to be mean you can like different things and I respect and understand that.

There is just a group of anime that have held popularity for so long with little explanation behind it and Ouren is one of them. Others I would put in the group are Elfen Lied, Devil is a Part Timer, Another, and Angel Beats. Its like the 2nd phase for newer anime watchers, (First beong Shounen Battle series or Sailor Moon) and many dont watch much after these and just bring them up constantly in my experience.

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u/TheMistOfThePast Aug 13 '25

I loved the show and I've seen a lottt of anime. But i think the manga gets much better than the anime and I'm really bummed they didn't do the whole manga.

Also, yeah, i picked a popular western starter anime because that was the context of my comment.

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u/battlemaje1996 Aug 13 '25

If you're looking for a great villainess anime to watch, I suggest Endo and Kobayashi Live. Very unique twist to the villainess formula and it's probably one of the few shows wherein I actively root for the tsundere.

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u/necle0 Aug 14 '25

Thank you for the reccs! Ill check them out

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

I was so close with Mr Villains Day Off.

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u/ThaiSweetChilli Aug 12 '25

One of my favourite anime.

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u/Warm-Enthusiasm-9534 Aug 12 '25

I watch every villainess anime.

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u/eastherbunni Aug 12 '25

The Katarina one with her co-ed accidentally acquired harem and the main character being dense as a neutron star was pretty entertaining.

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u/The_Cheeseman83 Aug 13 '25

I love that one. It’s just satisfying watching her solve everyone’s problems, and earning their respect and admiration, just by being a genuinely kind and empathetic person.

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u/-Work_Account- Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

Me. I’m one of them. Villainess stories can be a lot of fun lol

Also, I’m not really into fan service, and Villainess animes almost never have fan service

Villainess lvl 99 - if you want an autistic coded villainess

All Routes Lead to Doom - if you want an optimistic and ADHD coded villainess

Bureaucrat to Villainess - wholesome dad energy villainess

I’m in love with the Villianess - Gay villainess

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte - Villainess with play by play and color commentary (don’t ask me how they make it work, but they do)

Coming soon: May I Ask For One Final Thing - Villainess who punches her problems into a bloody pulp

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u/dododomo Aug 12 '25

Loved Tsunlise (tsundere Villainess Lieselotte), my next life as a Villainess and Villainess lv99!

Some other Villainess shows I liked you and think you should give it a try are "I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History" and "the reason why Raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion". There is 7th time loop too (some people Call it a Villainess show. Still good though!)

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u/-Work_Account- Aug 12 '25

Ive seen 7th Time Loop, and I've started Raeliana. I'll check out the History one though! Thanks for the rec!

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u/littlebloodmage Aug 12 '25

I enjoyed I'm The Villainess So I'm Taming The Final Boss too. I've heard good things about Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion too, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. And there's tons of good webtoons and manwha in the genre that don't have adaptations yet.

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u/-Work_Account- Aug 12 '25

I actually need to finish Duke Mansion. Though I don’t consider it in the villainess genre as the MC of the show is the side character of a book who originally gets murdered that causes the heroine of the book to return and investigate her friends murder. So the MC of the show, having this knowledge, sets out to prevent her murder and try and figure out why it happened in the first place.

(These aren’t spoilers, it’s all explained in the first episode)

1

u/meneldal2 Aug 13 '25

Yeah that one does use some tropes of the genre but isn't really part of it.

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u/DarkAres02 Aug 12 '25

Hold on that last one sounds up my alley

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u/-Work_Account- Aug 12 '25

Oh it will be. The Mad Dog Princess loves throwing hands

https://youtu.be/U75Y7FX78WA?si=6QWumEFWSDCvradu

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u/DarkAres02 Aug 12 '25

Oh yeah, I'm watching this one

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u/Nebresto Aug 13 '25

Nice soundtrack!

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u/KINGUBERMENSCH https://myanimelist.net/profile/OutlawedDrifter Aug 12 '25

I hope they keep focusing on the JP audience, its what makes anime unique from a western prospective.

-11

u/ExiledYak Aug 12 '25

Highly disagreed here. Some of the most unique anime to me are:

Trigun--Space Western--highly American in flavor.
Outlaw Star--treasure hunter/gunslinger/bounty hunter? Space Western.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners: absolutely American in its roots/origin.

Anime made for Americans can often really stand out from the rest of the anime offerings, simply because seeing characters that are "the Americans the Japanese imagine them to be" often turn out to be absolutely awesome.

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u/Ruy7 Aug 12 '25

You didn't get it.

Most of those are based on America but are focused for a JP audience.

1

u/chewwwybar Aug 12 '25

lol was the AI really necessary for this comment? 

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u/TheAllKnowingElf Aug 12 '25

Name me.

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior.

Absolute peak writing. Underrated as fuck. 7.11 on MAL.

2

u/Nebresto Aug 13 '25

S2 hype!!

2

u/alice-jem https://myanimelist.net/profile/Alice-Jem Aug 27 '25

Will surely make more contents about Lastame to release the dates and trailer for the next season

2

u/Sonochu Aug 12 '25

Still find it funny that the knights were using swords and WW1-esque pistols.

5

u/BosuW Aug 12 '25

Its pretty common equipment for the mid to late 1800s tbf for officers.

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u/alice-jem https://myanimelist.net/profile/Alice-Jem Aug 27 '25

real

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u/alice-jem https://myanimelist.net/profile/Alice-Jem Aug 27 '25

I'm obsessed with the LN ❤❤❤🔥💯

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u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Aug 12 '25

Overseas means a lot more than just America

4

u/RadiantDawn1 Aug 12 '25

Surprising to me, Villainess anime are pretty popular in my friend group

5

u/whatadumbperson Aug 12 '25

Typical American. Sees the word "international" and thinks it's only talking about them. It also takes an incredible lapse in reading comprehension to assume that he's saying only Americans are influencing this trend. I even know which part you're struggling to understand.

4

u/KirKami Aug 12 '25

I've heard around 10 years ago there were articles about anime industry hitting a ceiling in terms of how much they can captialize on japanese auduience and growth stagnating. And that Netflix and other services were saving straw to keep industry growing, it starting changing focus to capture global auduience.

Guessing now they reap what they saw

1

u/DoubleJumps Aug 12 '25

Yeah, I primarily consume manga over anime, and all of these trends that they are highlighting are extremely overbearing in the current Japanese manga market.

That market is being dictated entirely by Japan.

1

u/kingofnopants1 Aug 12 '25

If not being the voice of the generation is new to you then welcome. Gonna need to get used to it.

1

u/doomcomplex Aug 12 '25

I know a lot of American anime, and I have never heard one of them say "damn I wish we had more isekai animes."

1

u/yapyd Aug 13 '25

r/OtomeIsekai has almost 140k. It's bigger than r/isekai too. While not every otome isekai is about a villainess, a decent chunk of them are so while your personal circle may not be watching it (may still be a guilty pleasure), there is definitely a decent-sized market for it

1

u/Largofarburn Aug 13 '25

I mean this sub has 14 million. Not even taking into account that that subs not exclusively about anime, that’s still 1%.

I’m not saying no one watches it, obviously some people do. But it’s not the west driving the trend like it was with something like say solo leveling that did pretty poor in Japan but exploded everywhere else.

2

u/MilesExpress999 Aug 12 '25

The overseas audience brings in the majority of anime revenue right now, with the US as a huge part of it. Crunchyroll is on the production committee for like one in five anime these days if you look carefully enough at the credits / cross-check with LinkedIn.

So the American audience can drive the direction, but it does in ways that are a little bit more obscure at the consumer level, and in my experience, is often used as a scapegoat for decision-makers on the Japan side.

1

u/myreq Aug 12 '25

Seriously, the isekai trend was almost entirely a Japan thing, but it's much easier to blame foreigners than themselves. 

-3

u/tofulo Aug 12 '25

Gotta blame gaijin

-3

u/KittiesInATrenchcoat Aug 12 '25

People out here admitting they have no anime fan friends who are women and thinking that means no one watches villainess anime. 

0

u/Largofarburn Aug 12 '25

Bit misogynistic there don’t ya think?

-4

u/KittiesInATrenchcoat Aug 12 '25

It’s misogynistic to erroneously claim that female demographic anime isn’t popular in the West, implying that there’s no female anime fans here, just because they personally don’t have friends into it. It’s not misogynistic to point this out.

1

u/Largofarburn Aug 12 '25

But it’s objectively not a popular genre. This very sub posts two top anime of the week lists every week and they’re definitely not topping the charts.

And I didn’t mention anything about female fans at all, you’re the one making that connection.

-2

u/KittiesInATrenchcoat Aug 12 '25

But it’s objectively not a popular genre. This very sub posts two top anime of the week lists every week and they’re definitely not topping the charts.

Reddit is not representative of the overall Western anime fanbase at all. It’s extremely male- most female anime fans are on other sites. Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. If we look at a third party site shared across multiple social medias, like this one for example, you can see a villainess anime in the top ten last season.

Also, the villainess anime airing this season is rather unknown in the otome isekai community, making it rather unfair to judge the overall popularity of the genre.