Netflix’s latest rom-com Romantic Killer has seen a lot of popularity since its release this fall. Mainly due to its fresh take on the genre, while still using the usual romantic tropes in a different way. Following Anzu a very unromantic heroine who enjoys playing video games, eating chocolate, and most of all her cat. However, after meeting the wizard Riri Anzu’s life gets changed.
None of these changes sit well with Anzu, as her three greatest desires get taken away from her. All in exchange for a life full of romance, which she constantly fights against. Here we’ll be going over a review (which includes some spoilers with a heads up), along with what we can expect next from the anime.
What I Disliked
In this section we’ll stay away from any major spoilers, by mainly focusing on what I felt the show failed and excelled at. I’ll be starting with the few nitpicks I had, since it was such an enjoyable binge for myself. First has to do with the overall premise of the show, with the wizard Riri and its world of magic. Although, we do get brief instances where Riri mentions its world and their job, during the show it only felt like an unimportant side story. Without the wizard stuff its just a normal romcom yet, it still would have been just as enjoyable due to its character interactions.
The next and last gripe I had with the show is with its characters backstories. While the stories themselves aren’t the issue it felt as if there wasn’t enough of a build up to them. This is more noticeable with certain characters though, it also wasn’t enough to turn me away from the show. This issue is easily understandable due to the amount of content material available at the moment. Overall these issues shouldn’t be a big deal, especially if you’re just looking for a fun experience.
What I enjoyed
As for where this anime does great at lies within the characters chemistry. The interactions here didn’t feel too forced or out of place, which made Anzu’s character feel more real and relatable. Feeling guilty of putting these random guys in this dating sim, Anzu constantly goes against any of the wizard Riri’s schemes to hook her up. This is shown perfectly in the way she unconsciously establishes genuine relationships with each potential love interest instead.
Another area this show does great at is its use of common rom-com tropes and how it pokes fun at them. If you’ve watched some rom-com animes before you would know its almost a given to have these tropes included. Having the Anzu be the anti-romantic type gives the opportunity for some funny exchanges, along with some interesting character development. All in all, this show is a fun short ride with nothing too in depth about it, which isn’t bad since it isn’t trying to be more than what it is. I’d give it a 7.5/10, if the author fleshed it out more I can see it rising to an 8.5.
Romantic Killer has some interesting developments between most of the cast in the later half of the show, which sets up a lot of material for another season. These developments range from new potential love interests, as well as side characters getting their chance at love. We’ll be starting with what exactly the show sets up in its last few episodes, beginning with Anzu’s love interests.
In episode 9 we get more of Juntas backstory revealed after a get together between Anzu’s childhood friends. Here we learned that Junta really is a childhood friend of Anzu, who just went through a drastic glow up leaving him unrecognizable. Due to this revelation Anzu learned that Riri can’t manipulate peoples emotions, Thus proving her love spell theory wrong.
Along with Juntas backstory we also get to learn more about Tsukasa’s real reason for leaving home. After helping a woman in the street she ends up falling for Tsukasa, however her obsession turns for the worst. Becoming a stalker she makes life hell for his family with even his dad pitting the blame on him. In the last two episodes we see this unfold and get an interesting conclusion which sets up future plotlines.
After Riri violated the rules of the magic world she ends up exiled from the human world. This is due to using magic to erase the memories of Tsukasa’s stalker, which led to a new wizard in charge. The new wizard named Kate fails immediately and is black mailed by Anzu, making it bring Riri back as her new potential love interest. Additionally, in the last few minutes we see Kate head to its next subject, who ends up being Tsukasa’s stalker.
Conclusion
While we didn’t get to learn as much about Hijiri the third love interest for Anzu, we can expect much more next season. Especially after Romantic Killer left us with a “to be continued…?” message meaning we can expect the manga to receive some updates for another season. It’s not surprising after its had so much success in both of its adaptations. You can expect to find any updates of its return here first.