The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (悲劇の元凶となる最強外道ラスボス女王は民の為に尽くします.) is a Japanese light novel series written by Tenichi. The series originated on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in April 2018, before being published in print with illustrations by Suzunosuke by Ichijinsha beginning in June 2019. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Bunko Matsuura, was serialized on the Zero-Sum Online website between March 2020 and March 2022. An anime television series adaptation by OLM aired from July to September 2023.

Plot
One day, an eight-year-old girl named Pride Royal Ivy regains memories of her past life and discovers she has been reincarnated in the otome game Our Ray of Light. In-game, Pride is a sadistic and monstrous young girl who grows up to become a callous queen and serves as the final boss, who meets her end at the hands of her younger sister whom she wronged. Realizing this, Pride uses her skills and knowledge of the game to become a compassionate and benevolent ruler. She hopes that by changing her ways, this will lead to a better future for her kingdom and the people around her.

Characters

 * Pride Royal Ivy (プライド・ロイヤル・アイビー)
 * Pride is the main protagonist, being a person who is incarnated from the real world into the current game world. The original Pride was a monstrously selfish woman who callously abused everyone, being seen as a devil in human form; only to eventually meet her end at the hands of her younger sister. The current Pride uses her memory of the original timeline to save and protect everyone that would have been abused by her; unintentionally causing them and herself to have glimpses of the original timeline. Whenever she makes alterations to the current timeline, the actions of her original self are seemingly imprinted onto others who carry them out in her place. She possesses a "cheat ability" that makes her an incredibly strong fighter.
 * Pride is the main protagonist, being a person who is incarnated from the real world into the current game world. The original Pride was a monstrously selfish woman who callously abused everyone, being seen as a devil in human form; only to eventually meet her end at the hands of her younger sister. The current Pride uses her memory of the original timeline to save and protect everyone that would have been abused by her; unintentionally causing them and herself to have glimpses of the original timeline. Whenever she makes alterations to the current timeline, the actions of her original self are seemingly imprinted onto others who carry them out in her place. She possesses a "cheat ability" that makes her an incredibly strong fighter.


 * Stale Royal Ivy (ステイル・ロイヤル・アイビー)
 * Stale is the adopted brother and assistant of Pride and possesses the power of teleportation. The original Pride placed him under a magical contract which forced him to obey her, taking advantage of his inability to read, and then ordered him to murder his birth mother, leading him to swear revenge. The current Pride has treated him with great care and compassion, notably allowing him to communicate with his birth mother, and so earning his loyalty and love. He is frenemies with Arthur.
 * Stale is the adopted brother and assistant of Pride and possesses the power of teleportation. The original Pride placed him under a magical contract which forced him to obey her, taking advantage of his inability to read, and then ordered him to murder his birth mother, leading him to swear revenge. The current Pride has treated him with great care and compassion, notably allowing him to communicate with his birth mother, and so earning his loyalty and love. He is frenemies with Arthur.


 * Tiara Royal Ivy (ティアラ・ロイヤル・アイビー)
 * Tiara is the younger sister of Pride and would have been the protagonist in the original version of the game's events, where she would kill her older sister. In this alternate timeline, she instead has a close relationship with Pride and does not fight.
 * Tiara is the younger sister of Pride and would have been the protagonist in the original version of the game's events, where she would kill her older sister. In this alternate timeline, she instead has a close relationship with Pride and does not fight.


 * Arthur Beresford (アーサー・ベレスフォード)
 * Arthur is the son of the Knight Captain Rodrick who possesses the power to improve the vitality of plants. In the original timeline, he watched as his father died in battle while the original Pride mocked the fallen soldiers, leading him to swear vengeance against her to the point of not allowing the original Tiara to get close to him due to her relation to Pride. The current Pride used her skill to enter the battle herself, saving his father's life and earning Arthur's loyalty. He is frenemies with Stale.
 * Arthur is the son of the Knight Captain Rodrick who possesses the power to improve the vitality of plants. In the original timeline, he watched as his father died in battle while the original Pride mocked the fallen soldiers, leading him to swear vengeance against her to the point of not allowing the original Tiara to get close to him due to her relation to Pride. The current Pride used her skill to enter the battle herself, saving his father's life and earning Arthur's loyalty. He is frenemies with Stale.


 * Rosa Royal Ivy (ローザ・ロイヤル・アイビー)
 * Pride and Tiara's mother.
 * Pride and Tiara's mother.


 * Albert Royal Ivy (アルバート・ロイヤル・アイビー)
 * Pride and Tiara's father.
 * Pride and Tiara's father.


 * Gilbert Butler (ジルベール・バトラー)
 * A chancellor who works for Albert. In the original timeline, he committed shady acts to save his wife, but fell victim to Pride's plans. In the alternate timeline, this was changed when Pride helped to save his wife's life. He can change his appearance to make himself younger or older.
 * A chancellor who works for Albert. In the original timeline, he committed shady acts to save his wife, but fell victim to Pride's plans. In the alternate timeline, this was changed when Pride helped to save his wife's life. He can change his appearance to make himself younger or older.


 * Roderick Beresford (ロデリック・ベレスフォード)
 * Arthur's father and the Knight Captain.
 * Arthur's father and the Knight Captain.


 * Clark Darwin (クラーク・ダーウィン)
 * One of the royal knights.
 * One of the royal knights.


 * Callum Bordeaux (カラム・ボルドー)
 * One of the royal knights.
 * One of the royal knights.


 * Eric Gilchrist (エリック・ギルクリスト)
 * One of the royal knights.
 * One of the royal knights.


 * Alan Berners (アラン・バーナーズ)
 * One of the royal knights.
 * One of the royal knights.


 * Val (ヴァル)
 * A criminal who leads an army of rebels against the kingdom. He possesses Earth magic. His actions are really to save two orphans Sefek and Kemet, who were captured by criminals. In the alternate timeline, Pride helped to save the kids and he becomes her subordinate in return. His time with Pride makes Stale and Arthur jealous.
 * A criminal who leads an army of rebels against the kingdom. He possesses Earth magic. His actions are really to save two orphans Sefek and Kemet, who were captured by criminals. In the alternate timeline, Pride helped to save the kids and he becomes her subordinate in return. His time with Pride makes Stale and Arthur jealous.


 * Sefek (セフェク)
 * One of the orphans whom Val befriends. She possesses water magic.
 * One of the orphans whom Val befriends. She possesses water magic.


 * Kemet (ケメト)
 * One of the orphans whom Val befriends.
 * One of the orphans whom Val befriends.

Light novel
Written by Tenichi, the series began serialization on the novel posting website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on April 19, 2018. The series was later acquired by Ichijinsha, who began publishing the series in print with illustrations by Suzunosuke on June 4, 2019. As of April 2024, eight volumes have been released.

In June 2021, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

Manga
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Bunko Matsuura, was serialized on Ichijinsha's Zero-Sum Online website from March 19, 2020, to March 18, 2022. As of January 2022, the series' individual chapters have been collected into three tankōbon volumes. In October 2022, it was announced that the manga adaptation had been cancelled due to the poor health of the artist. A new manga adaptation, illustrated by Akiko Kawano, began serialization in Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Zero Sum magazine on June 28, 2023.

Seven Seas Entertainment is also publishing the manga adaptation in English.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on October 28, 2022. It is produced by OLM and directed by Norio Nitta, with Deko Akao writing the scripts, Hitomi Kōno designing the characters, and Hanae Nakamura, Tatsuhiko Saiki, Kanade Sakuma, and Junko Nakajima composing the music. It aired from July 7 to September 22, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Kyūseishu" (救世主) by Tsukuyomi, while the ending theme song is "Pride" by ChoQMay. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, and is streaming it on HIDIVE. Muse Communication also licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.

Reception
In 2021, the first manga adaptation was nominated for the Next Manga Awards in the web category. In 2022, the first manga adaptation, along with Cafe Happiness: Food From Out of This World, won the Different World category award at NTT Solmare's "Minna ga Erabu!! Denshi Comic Taishō 2022".