Romantic Killer is a 12 episode Netflix-produced anime adapted from an award-winning manga of the same name. The colored manga concluded in 2020 with a total of four volumes, and this animated series sees that content to its very end. Unfortunately, the official English translation licensed by Viz has only just finished the first volume, but luckily the rest is on the way.
Romantic Killer came out of nowhere and left me pleasantly surprised. From the main character's menacing dark side, the hilarious faces, and the chaotic yellow behelit that masquerades as a Cupid-esque wizard, there's really something for everyone here. This Rom-com does a lot of things right while straying from what might've been expected. However, not all of its silly charades land flat on their feet and the quality of the writing wasn't always consistent.
The plot. With the wizard Riri on a corporate mission from the magic world to abate Japan's declining population, they turn Anzu Hoshino, the "romance noob," into their first guinea pig by filling her life with hot men and taking away her three favorite things; chocolate, video games, and her cat Momohiki. The world of "otome games" become a reality for her and she fights against romance for the sake of having her three favorite things returned. It sounded unique to me, but I didn't feel like it was doing anything special or new going into it. Having finished it, I realize now that the execution and production is what really sells this show, not the plot. Nearly every encounter is either a staple trope or scene taken from otome games and old romance anime that we've seen dozens of times, but it is Anzu herself that takes what should've been cringe to an enjoyable level.
The characters. Anzu Hoshino, our female protaganist, undoubtedly carries the show. From her obsession with cats and fear of roaches to her brazen and good nature, she really is an excellent character to tell this story. Unfortunately, a lot of the rest begin to fall flat the further the story progresses. Even though each of the men have their own spot light moments and backstories, it is extremely clear that the author has a favorite. While some of the characters are able to make progress, they mostly stay in line with their original cliches which I think is just an unfortunate result of the source material being short and complete. I often felt that the author had a lot they wanted to say as new characters and dark backstories begin to litter the latter half of the series, but its a shame that they stopped themselves short.
Lastly, the production. I watched this show in Japanese and I can say that the cast really shined here. Rie Takahashi's performance as Anzu was incredible and she gave this character so much life. This anime was a textbook example of how studios should adapt a manga, because I found it actually improved upon it in many aspects. From added scenes to exagerated art, I felt it all made for a more enjoyable experience.
With teases of a second season but no further source material to adapt, its possible the author wants to make a comeback and continue to expand the world and fix the criticisms I had... Or it was just Netflix baiting us. Netflix has once again dropped an entire show in the middle of seasonal anime releases where anime fans are desperate for something complete, and this was a fairly enjoyable mess of fun that you can binge today. Enjoy!
