Konnichiwa Hivers! It's been almost a week since I last watched an anime. Many schoolwork and unexpected responsibilities came up, so unfortunately I haven't watched any anime videos for days. I was really drained at the end of the week, plus my emotions have been pretty messed up because I wrote a script for our play, and it's a tragic one. I really don't want how it ended, but I have no choice because I'm not the concept writer or the director. They say it's more appealing to end that way, so as a dialogue writer, I have to abide by their story line. By the end of the process, I was left with an empty feeling and almost swollen eyes.
Enough with my rants—since Friday nights were pretty much my free night (my only free night—perhaps), I decided to binge-watch an anime to lighten up my mood. And this time it's all about a romcom anime—but there's a catch—it's harem—reverse harem to be exact! My red flag radar suddenly perked up when I discovered that it has harem thingy involved. I'm not really fond of such tropes, so as much as possible I avoid them. However, my curiosity got ahead of me, so I downloaded all the episodes, and indeed, it's something else! So now join me as we enter the life of our non-heroine FL in her ever-colorful journey towards finding romance in Romantic Thriller Killer.
About the Anime:
Romantic Killer is a shounen anime that aired on October 27, 2022. It was produced by Shueisha and Netflix and was animated by domerica. Its genres are comedy and romance with a little bit of supernatural, while its main themes are parody and reverse harem. All in all, it has 12 episodes, and it's an adaptation of the manga written and illustrated by Wataru Momose.
After she started playing a poorly animated otome game, Anzu Hoshino unknowingly fell into a trap she couldn't escape. She had been living her best with only three things she desires in life—videogames, chocolates, and ultimately her beloved cat, Momohiki. With her desires fulfilled, Anzu never once seeked out other things than them, and that includes a romance in her life. However, the trap that she had fallen into forced her to give up the current way of life she's living.
Apparently she had been chosen as the first test subject of a supernatural company. They aim to revitalize the dwindling population of Japan through helping people find romance and secure a happy ending with their love interest. Since her three desires prevented her from seeing the need for romance in her life before, Riri–the wizard confiscated all of them. Despite being deprived of her great desires, Anzu was determined to not give in to any potential romance that may come in her life. She is confident that no mortal man could ever possibly live up to the high standards she has built by playing video games for years. If there's no romance that will flourish, she thought that the pesky wizard would leave her alone.
Depriving her of her desires just made her more desperate to resist any ikemen that will show up in her life. But the wizard was no easy opponent, for it had already planned out how to make her life like the ones she'd seen when she played otome game. A series of unlucky events and romantic cliches were plotted by Riri to make her meet her first love interest—an ikemen—and he's an extremely attractive one! Tsukasa Kazuki is sure one of the most handsome boys from her school, but her rage still runs high. She is really determined to resist any ikemen charms that will come on her way.
However, Tsukasa-kun is just the first one, and there are still more love interests that Riri plans to bring into her life. But an anti-heroine will always be an anti-heroine. Can she really resist the charms of those ikemen? Or will the wizard triumph in transforming her once romance-devoid life into a fully fledged romantic one?
This is definitely the first harem anime that I really like. The plot was like it's FL, for they're both unusual. Although it has romance in its genre, the comedy is definitely more dominant in this anime. It really made me laugh, and it's the first time I encounter a FL who's not annoying. I know that lately there's a surge of non-heroine FLs, but I think way back in 2022 it isn't that famous yet (I guess). Also, I like her love interests because they're not like the usual showy and often push-over ones. Of 'course there are the usual romantic cliches, but unlike the cringy ones that I've watched before, I really find them entertaining because they somehow incorporated comedy and parody in those cliche scenes.
Like I've said, it isn't like the usual reverse harem because I never felt much tension on its romance part. Based on the reverse harem anime I've seen before, the FL usually undergoes grueling decision-making where she needs to decide to choose a ML over another. The love rivalries were usually not friendly, and the story focuses more on the FL struggles in choosing her ML, but that is not really the case in this anime. The FL, in the first place, doesn't want any romance in her life. She may be deprived of romance, but she never felt deprived at all. I'm really glad that it tackled some topics that were often overlooked in our patriarchal society. I don't want to share further about what it is because I'll really end up spoiling the main part of the anime.
Further, the romance was really wholesome because it doesn't only focus on the sexual tension that the characters felt; it also explored the part that's often overshadowed in romance anime—and it's the friendship part. I'm glad that the FL is a friend first of her love interest. I'm not really fond of toxic love stories where FLs were treated poorly by their love interests. My blood boils for those girls who can't defend themselves from dominant MLs. So I'm really happy that their romance is wholesome!
As for its art style, it isn't that unique, but it's definitely neat and decent. Most of the characters were cute, and what I like the most is how dynamic they portrayed the FL's facial expressions. Her ridiculous face did really enhance the comedic impact of the parodies and gags. Also, her buff figure was something that I can't really forget because it's really funny whenever she's in that form. On the other hand, its animation is surprisingly decent and smooth. Of 'course there's the usual overdramatic visuals like their poses and effects, but I think that's just usual in anime comedy.
I don't have qualms for the soundtrack because I think it just suited the anime. The opening song was really like the opening of a rom-com anime with its ever-light-tuned song that emanates wholesome romance vibes. It's kinda not my type in songs, so I'm really guilty that I skip it most of the time, but the ending was another story. It's catchy beat was something that hard to miss. Hearing a character from the anime singing made me recall the singing Kon from Bleach (ahahahha). Riri singing the ending song made it hard for me to skip it because it's definitely unlike the usual melancholic anime endings.
I really like how this anime turned out. Despite my dislike for anything that involves harem, it really proves to me that not all harem are horrible. Overall, my personal rating for this anime is 9/10. Even though I liked how it ended, I felt that something was amiss. I know it's supposed to be a romance anime, so I kinda expected more thrilling romantic scenes. Anyways, I really loved how likeable the FL is; she's definitely my main reason why I decided to watch this anime. So if you're up for an unusual romcom anime with a headstrong FL and interesting ikemen as her love interests—te-hee-hee~ you're in luck because Romantic Killer is definitely a must-watch!
A fanfare, please! Omedetou gozaimasu~ You've reached the end of my review, but before I end this, I gladly share with you its ending song, so—
Have you encountered this anime before? Or is this your first time seeing it? Feel free to share your opinion about it in the comment. That's all for now, minna-san! I hoped you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.