Romantic killer: a pleasant surprise
Randomly i decided to watch the new Netflix anime: romantic killer. I didn’t have any expectations, sincerely i thought that it was going to be a cliché shoujo anime, which i don’t mind at all.
But as i kept watching i was thrilled with the story, and i loved the bizarre ending of it, so i went on with more and more expectations.
Romantic Killer is a manga created by Wataru Momose, adapted by Netflix and directed by Kazuya Ichiwaka.
I was surprised when i finished it. Actually, it made me cry.
So, i will superficially develop my favourite things about it.
First of, i just loved how it was a constant mock and a exaggeration of shoujo genre and it’s unrealistic concept of love and romance. Anzu, the protagonist, was a girl who did not care at all about love and relationships, she was just fine with videogames, chocolate and her cat. And, as a way to change her destiny and well, basically her personality, Riri appears, some sort of fairy magical being, and takes aways her three favourite things.
Thats a technique that Riri uses for Anzu to have more time to flirt and fall in love, which Anzu hates so she makes an active effort to not fall into this random and frankly a bit disturbing situation.
So, it’s interesting how this artificial “otome videogame” circumstances start to happen and how the protagonist react to this, being the clear image of “not like the other girls”, which does not sound too appealing but surprisingly does not feel forced and is very funny.
Every situation is so cliché and absurd, clearly taking romance situations to the extreme, that is somehow refreshing to see. And i think that is a strong reason to watch this anime.
But the second and most touching thing in the anime was how it developed.
In the course of the plot Anzu ends up living with two classmates, Junta and Tsukasa, who are very attractive and charming and, well, basically every girl wants to be with them.
In that scenario, Anzu develops a precious friendship with both of them, specially with Tsukasa.
I was surprised by the incorporation of more complex and deep situations nearly by the end of the season only then realizing that they were slowly developing by the beginning. Themes such as severe stalking, depression, social anxiety and sexual abuse are there, shown with no soft words, and i find that remarkable.
I mentioned the relation between Anzu and Tsukasa because it’s through her sincere friendship that Tsukasa manage to voice out his trauma, were he finds support and someone who believes in him, who doesn’t question his experience and his unresolved fears.
What i strongly recall by the end of the serie (and the reason i cried lol) is how important a good friend is in order to be able to heal your inner afflictions. Is vital and is represented in this anime: positive presence in your life can change it.
At the end, the premise is quite constant, but the incorporation of these topics makes the plot richer and more intriguing.