Romantic Killer is the latest anime comedy to hit Netflix and follows fujoshi shut-in Anzu Hoshinino, who loves three things above all else - chocolate, gaming and cats. Her interest in men is limited to the visual novels she likes to play, but the thought of having to date one of these creatures in reality has zero appeal. Enter Riri, an egg-shaped irritant with magic powers that proclaims Anzu must find love at all costs, and until she does, her cat, chocs and games will be confiscated. To increase the chances of a romantic coupling, the little bastard also has Anzu's father transferred to a post in the US as part of a promotion, which I'll grant you is pretty amusing seeing as he's a postman.
The first episode covers the entire setup in a pretty concise manner, and even manages to go beyond the initial shock of the premise by showing just how bored Anzu is once her hobbies are taken from her. The pacing is arguably the show's greatest strength, followed very closely by the rather excellent direction by Kazuya Ichikawa - there are tons of quick cuts underpinning the comedic moments, Dutch-angles aplenty and some very sharp animation. It looks absolutely fantastic. The use of bad computer graphics to show the "ikemen" (a shorthand for cool/handsome love interests in visual novels) is also rather fun, and you have to give it points on presentation alone.
Kudos too for the voice cast, with Rie Takahashi (Classroom of the Elite) taking on the role of Anzu, and honestly she plays "incredulous" with such aplomb she literally carries the first episode with her performance.
I'll admit that I wasn't really looking forward to watching this; Japanese comedy isn't something that really chimes with me, and wacky Japanese comedy, replete with shrieking, pointing and generally "over-the-top" reactions to anything and everything just aren't my cup of tea. However, thanks to Takahashi's bravura performance, I really quite enjoyed this despite myself. True, I'd happily punch Riri into paste, he's a smug, irritating and self-serving little shit, but that's entirely the point. By the time he's finished manipulating Anzu, you're totally on her side.
Having set up the premise, Riri's meddling creates the unlucky happenstance that leads Anzu to meet a handsome stranger by bumping into him and accidentally destroying his phone, for which he takes full responsibility. We soon learn that this is the most popular boy at school, Tsukasa Tazuki, and despite her determination to avoid romance at any cost, Anzu finds herself warming to his sullen but earnest personality. Sadly, Riri can't help himself and our heroine is soon encountering other handsome men who will complicate her life.
For a first episode, this packs in a huge amount of plot, story progression and character-building. The pacing is absolutely perfect, delivering the comedy in quick and pithy doses, whilst leaving room for the characters to process the events that are unfolding - we even see life from Tsukasa's point of view, and that adds a lot of depth in an episode that could have collapsed under its own quirky premise.
So, despite myself, I found myself enjoying the show. It's true, "wacky" comedy with shrieking characters and hi-pitched antagonists are still nails on a chalkboard to me (much like romance for our heroine in fact), but Romantic Killer has snuck past my defences by wit of charm, style and enthusiasm. Curses.
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