The treat of fanfic is so alluring because I can time-travel break it by making a character become another character via closed time loops. And then everyone hates them forever because of One Neat Trick: propaganda. And the character just has to deal with it. And the readers know alllll about the character you're making them become because they know the story. You can't do that with original fiction because they have no stakes in who this random guy is. Guy that we already know? That's the ticket.
I like really complicated identity reveals can you tell. Write what you want.
--
You could do it in a Villainess light novel. Most are reincarnations but Time-travelers are also common. BUT! All the time-travel ones I know are either villainess redemptions, or False Accusations. There's a gaping hole where *the heroine* reincarnates as the villainess.
For those who are confused, the genre is based on Otome Games (reverse harem dating sims) which are tropetastic already. There is typically a route where The Prince's Fiance bullies the heroine at magic high-school and when they have enough evidence there's a huge reveal of how evil she is and she gets her comeuppance.
All Routes Lead to Doom decided "what if reincarnated into villainess?" Made a co-ed harem and now we get at least one villainess anime per season. A rather common subversion is that the Villainess is being Framed, but the she *still* has to deal with the propaganda. To the point where "may I ask one final thing" subvert it with extreme violence.
Anyway, I suggest All Routes Lead to Doom, 7th Loop Villainess, and May I Ask One Final Thing, in that watch order if the genre feels like your speed. 99 Level Villainess is also one of my faves but kinda mid production-wise (and the only one on this list with Gamer Mechanics). The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen is also good but the opposite of what anon is asking for, since the reincarnator goes back far enough for the propaganda to not apply.
