I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! Vol 1 Review (manga)

Based on the light novels of the same name by Reina Soratani, the manga adaptation of I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, by Haru Harukawa, feels right at home with the wave of isekai stories staring characters reincarnated as the villainess that have been flooding the manga market. This isn’t actually an isekai manga, though. Our heroine is a regular person, albeit a member of nobility living in a vaguely European-looking fantasy setting, and she doesn’t have any memories from a past life to guide her. Despite this, she is given a miraculous second chance at finding happiness.

Synopsis:

All Violette has ever wanted is to be loved, but this is something she is constantly denied. Her mother never paid her much attention, and her father clearly prefers her half-sister, Maryjune. And he isn’t the only one! Prince Claudia, who Violette was in love with, shunned her and chose Maryjune instead. Finally pushed to the breaking point, Violette snapped and attacked her sister. For this crime, she is sentenced to life in prison. There, Violette wastes away, all while wondering what her life might have been like, if only she hadn’t allowed herself to be consumed by jealousy and resentment.

Then, in a burst of light, she awakens back in her old room in her family’s estate. Violette has been miraculously granted a do-over; she’s been transported back in time to when her father had first re-married and brought Maryjune to live with them. Violette is determined to make the most of this second chance and decides to avoid Maryjune and Prince Claudia as much as possible. This might not be possible, however, as the new, enlightened Violette might just prove to be so enchanting, that no one wants to stay away from her.

Review:

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a reformed villain or villainess!

I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! has a somewhat rushed intro. We aren’t given any kind of explanation as to how or why Violette has been transported back in time, and we’re just shown the highlights of the events that led to her imprisonment.

I didn’t actually mind this, though. Breezing through the tragedy of Violette’s downfall allows us to quickly get to the good part of the narrative: Violette trying to change history and carve out a better future for herself that’s no longer ruled by hatred and loneliness.

Violette has had a rather rough go of things up until this point. Her father despised her mother for being clingy, and he essentially abandoned his family, opting to spend most of his time with his mistress and the daughter he had with her, Maryjune. Violette’s mother spent so much time obsessing over her husband, she mostly ignored Violette, eventually giving into despair and passing away. Almost as soon as her mother was buried, Violette’s father married his mistress and she and Maryjune moved in. So, it’s understandable that there would be some hard feelings there.

Since she felt rejected by her family, Violette had tried to find solace elsewhere, but her efforts to find love came to naught. Prince Claudia found her persistent pursuit to be annoying and, in the original timeline, he felt sympathy for Maryjune, who was being bullied by Violette. These protective feelings later blossomed into love, which left Violette feeling like Maryjune was responsible for stealing all of the affection that should have been hers. This led her to try and murder her sister.

Thankfully, nearly being sentenced to death for trying to kill her sister seems to have snapped Violette out of this mindset. She sees that Maryjune isn’t to blame for her father’s behaviour, and that her own actions were what caused the Prince to act so coldly towards her.

So, now that she has the opportunity to change things, Violette’s going to avoid both Marjune and Prince Claudia, and try to find a way to get away from her family. Except, now that she isn’t picking on her sister, Marjune actually really admires how composed and graceful Violette is. And, now that the girl who was constantly following him around has suddenly stopped showing up, Claudia is starting to see her in a whole new light. This is less than ideal for Violette, who desperately wants to wash her hands of both of them.

This also means that Maryjune and Claudia don’t end up romantically interested in each other, something that isn’t conducive to Violette’s plans. So, she winds up trying to play matchmaker between her sister and Prince Claudia! It’s kind of an awkward position for Violette to be in, but this humorous situation might just allow her to build a genuine connection with her sister, who is actually pretty sweet and eager to be friends.

One other unexpected bright side of letting go of her anger and bitterness is that Violette has finally come to realize that there were people in her life who cared about her and were worried about her all along. Her maid, Marin, does her best to quietly support her in her role as a servant, and Yulan, Violette’s childhood friend, clearly adores her and wants to do anything that he can to help her. It’s nice to see people start to appreciate Violette’s many good qualities, but it’s even more satisfying to see her start to recognize all of the love and support that she already has.

On the romance front, kind and devoted Yulan seems like the primary candidate for main love interest. He’s always cared for Violette and seems to have a similarly complicated family situation, meaning he can understand what she’s currently going through. We can’t count Claudia out entirely, however! While he’s rather severe and quick to jump to conclusions, he’s also noble-minded and does sympathize with Violette’s situation. He’s starting to become more interested in her, and a clear rivalry is forming between him and Yulan. Who will Violette choose?! I mean, it will probably be Yulan, but it should be fun to see all of the drama play out.

All told, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again is a fun read. For all of her previous misdeeds, Violette is easy to root for and I’m looking forward to seeing her finally find the love that she’s always yearned for. And, hopefully, someone will give her father a good smack upside the head, as he’s a right ol’ asshole to Violette in this volume!

Final Score: 8 out of 10

For more information on this manga, visit Seven Seas Entertainment’s website.

What did you think of this manga? Have you read the light novel? Let me know in the comments!

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Want to read more comics staring a villainess who’s been given a do-over? Check out these reviews!

• The Abandoned Empress Vol 1 Review

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