Winter 2022 First Impressions – Love of Kill

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Chateau Dankworth is a young bounty hunter executing hits on behalf of a larger organization. One day while out on a job, she encounters an assassin named Ryang-Ha Song who immediately becomes smitten with her. His persistent advances eventually lead to him helping Chateau locate and neutralize her bounties. Ryang-Ha seems to be searching for something more substantial in compensation, though Chateau clearly finds him off-putting and only tolerates his constant phone messages in service of the “bigger picture” she operates within.

One day, Chateau’s agency is contacted by a client who plans to offer a substantial amount of money toward the capture neutralization of a certain hit man who managed to kill several high-ranking members of an Asian-based criminal organization. That bounty turns out to be none other than Ryang-Ha himself. Now Chateau must wrestle with the prospect of obtaining a substantial bounty, all the while figuring out how to handle her very dangerous romantic pursuer.

Impressions: Yeesh, after only about twenty minutes, this series is already a complete minefield of content warnings. This story of two underworld individuals who find themselves on either side of a very specific conflict is alternately framed as both a quirky opposites-attract romantic comedy and a chilling look at two obviously broken people. One might ask, what type of personality does it take to become an assassin? The answer clearly being, someone without a sense of empathy or respect for boundaries, at the very least.

Ryang-Ha’s pursuit of Chateau will likely feel uncomfortable to anyone who’s had firsthand experience being romantically pursued by someone with whom one has zero chemistry and who will not take a hint (or a blazing neon sign with arrows pointing to it). Speaking as one of those unfortunate people, within minutes I was noticing every form of red flag, from the smallest pennant to the largest mainsail. Even if the final scenes of the episode didn’t reveal it to be the case, Chateau is clearly a person struggling with some form of past trauma – her cold demeanor and workmanlike devotion to a very dirty job confirms it even if the dialog never completely does. This makes Ryang-Ha’s continual boundary stomping – the constant calling and texting, the weird video streams, and his bartering a date for information related to a high-value mark – extra gross and creepy. It’s the manipulation of someone who doesn’t seem emotionally developed and exists within an already precarious position within society. Eww.

The unfortunate thing is that, beyond the character dynamics (which admittedly will come across differently to people who haven’t been forced to deal with some of the more uncomfortable real-life issues that the episode plays against poorly) this series actually has a fairly fun premise. I think in my mind I was imagining a scenario more akin to a cat-and-mouse action/romance, where two competent, quippy people doing dangerous jobs at odds with one-another develop an unexpected affection toward each-other. If the power dynamics between the two leads felt a bit more equal, and Chateau’s reactions less uncomfortable, I think that’s more likely how this initial outing may have played out. As-is, though, it just feels like the tone has completely missed the mark.

Pros: While it’s definitely become more common lately, I’m always pleased to have more series that star adult characters. For a long time, anime has existed in a space where its source material is largely aimed at teens and thus the adaptations follow suit. This doesn’t mean that older folks can’t enjoy those stories, but they definitely resonate in a different, more distant way much of the time. With adult, career-minded characters, there’s often more to relate to – even if their careers exist largely outside the realm of legality.

Cons: Setting aside the creepiness of the execution, there’s also zero chemistry between the two leads. Zero. Even though the “enemies to lovers” trope is deeply embedded into a lot of popular fiction, I think to cultivate the illusion of longing between two characters, especially those who are so clearly at odds, requires a deft hand and a keen sense of how people operate. Hatred and passion are close cousins (at least within this framework) and to establish this kind of romance takes at least a suggestion of affection hidden in the mists of conflict. This episode does not manage to establish that at all.

Content Warnings: Stalking. Harassment (including sexual harassment). Violence, including graphic headshots and deaths.

Would I Watch More? – I had some hopes for this series after reading the synopsis, but I can’t see myself watching more of it unless I learn that there’s a major character personality transformation at some point that manages to offset the uncomfortable aspects of this episode.