No genre is as creatively flexible as isekai. Not only does isekai allow authors to stretch the boundaries of traditional stories, themes, and genres, but it also provides ample opportunity to rethink, reinterpret, or update classic ideas that have long been taken for granted — or overused to the point of becoming clichés. This is exactly what fans get with I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!

Yomu Mishima and Kai Nadashima’s I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! is a light novel series that follows the story of Liam Sera Banfield, a morally upright “goody two shoes” who is reincarnated in another world after he is driven to exhaustion trying to overcome the debts his cheating wife accrued. Convinced by his prior existence that being a “do-gooder” is a worthless and painful, Liam fully embraces the opposite route in his new life. Unfortunately, while his innate goodness helps attract people to his cause and s him blindly, it also acts as an infernal obstacle to him fully embracing his dark side – or that’s what readers are led to believe.

This Fun Isekai Series Proves Evilness Is Not A Mistake

Manga Adaptation Illustrated by Kai Nadashima

What makes I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! so interesting is its depiction of the transformation that a good person goes through to even consider evil as an option to achieve their desires. Once the decision is made, it also identifies the steps good people go through during their descent into the darkness. Indeed, perhaps the biggest takeaway of the story is that truly good people are never tricked into doing evil. Instead, their embrace of evilness is a deliberate, voluntary, and conscious choice.

I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! offers a comprehensive guide to the mindset of heroes who have turned to the dark side. Unlike many other stories that often gloss over or summarize this process, this work delves deep into the gradual shift from light to darkness. By reading I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!, fans can gain a deeper understanding of why characters like Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan or Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul ultimately become so consumed by evil.

Being A Tyrant Isn't Easy Even For The Evil Lord Of An Intergalactic Empire

If Fans Knew How Draining It Is To Be Evil, They May Not Hate Villains So Much

While a good person’s decision to embrace evil is a challenge on its own, actually carrying out evil deeds is an even greater challenge. Indeed, I’m an Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! shows that “goodness” built up over a lifetime is not easy to forget. While Liam strives to embody the role of an evil lord, he constantly battles his innate instincts to assist, comfort, and apologize.

This internal conflict leads to an exhausting lifestyle, causing him to appear weak and vulnerable at times - a potentially perilous trait for an evil lord, when surrounded by genuinely despicable characters. There's also an interesting twist where Liam's evil plans and choices unexpectedly benefit the very people he intends to abuse, manipulate, and torture. This raises the question: what happens when one's evil deeds, by some strange twist of fate, actually do good? What is a former hero turned villain supposed to do in such a situation?

As such, I'm an Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in exploring the journey from light to dark. While the story has its fair share of comedic scenes and action-packed fights, as is common in most isekai, underneath it all lies an intriguing discussion of good and evil.

I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! is now available from Seven Seas Entertainment.