The title of J-Novel Club’sThe 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?!isn’t just the only absurd aspect of this new isekai manga. Its name is just as deceiving as it is ridiculous, too, since it allows Alphina to hear the thoughts of people who just so happen to be in love with her. The fact that they love her, however, is the reason why the underlying message is so dark.
The reason why Alphina has gotten executed so many times is because she is one of many villainesses who all unfortunately face such horrible fates that usually begin by being falsely accused of something. Alphina is the rare kind of villainess, however, who’s actually from the world where the story takes place. In fact, Alphina’s predicament is a more extreme version ofwhat befalls a similar villainess,Rishe who is also from her original world in the Crunchyroll series7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!The big difference, however, is that Rishe can’t read minds. However, that might just be because she still has to die 94 more times like Alphina did before she unlocked “Super Love” mode.
The 100th Time’s the Charm Underscores The Lengths Characters Can Go To Lie
By writer Yuji Yuji and artist Roharu Kai; based on the light novel by writer Yuji Yuji and illustrator Nami Hidaka
Regardless, what’s so pitch-black dark about Alphina being telepathic is that all the characters who gleefully condemn her for what she’s framed for apparently feel very differently based on their thoughts that Alphina can read. What they think creates the impression that they are very much in love with her. The juxtaposition between this and what they tell Alphina to her face is striking just because of how much they differ.
On one level, it shows how much of a convincing facade people can put up. On another, it says a lot about these characters' devotion to the rule of law despite their personal feelings, since they are able to support something that obviously goes against what they feel so passionately. It’s similarly twisted, however, since they also adopt a vehement hatred for Alphina,which creates the impression that something is forcing them to appear like they dislike Alphina.
On yet another level, the reader’s understanding of this “Super Love” mode from chapter 1 is what’s noteworthy. There’s no indication that this power, which she unlocked the 100th time around, also made them fall in love with her. So the reader is led to believe that these characters have always felt this way and that they still executed her every time regardless. The only difference is that Alphina knows what they’re thinking, so she can exploit their true feelings. This understanding is very dark just because the manga went to great lengths to explain that Alphina tried many different tactics, and each one obviously failed.
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Without this reading, the fact that she failed 99 times just further cements how inescapable her fate is. With it, these characters' aforementioned devotion to the rule of law, despite how they feel otherwise, is underscored immensely. This is especially the case with one character in particular whose answers have apparently been exactly the same every time. This relatively minor understanding of this character is actually incredibly huge, since it’s a very drastic way of showing how steadfast someone can be. Hopefully, future chapters will explore this further just because this lack of change over so many instances promises just as shocking an explanation as his actual steadfastness.
Like the rareness of stories like7th Time Loop, not many other manga or anime have explored the protagonist’s ability to read minds except for Lady Eleanor fromThe Villainess Who Can Read Minds Is Playing With Her Puppy-Like Prince Today Too. Interestingly, the focus on how both villainesses use their powers is when they read the minds of those who love them, but howThe 100th Time’s the Charmappears to be differentiating itself is through more stereotypical means - survival.
That said,The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?!doesn’t pander to the usual problems that most telepathic characters deal with, including Eleanor, who is drawn to her love interest because he was the only one who didn’t have any negative thoughts about her. Alphina has suffered the exact opposite, with people treating her badly to her face, and that difference, narrative-wise, is a good thing.
