KOROSHI AI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionKoroshi Ai

REVIEWS

• 

  SpiritChaser

  70/100
  A terrible adaptation that doesn't do the manga justice. I can't deny it had he hooked, regardless.

  Koroshi Ai had such an unsatisfying ending and looked like a simple ad for the manga that tells you "this is a bad adaptation. We know. Just go read the manga for the answers." There was no payoff were it looked there was going to be after it all. It is an anime that feels like the source material is good but was cursed by this adaptation. The premise is very interesting and had me hooked despite the majority issues. I can't deny I liked this and loved the story's potential among all the discussions cursing it and hating it. It's a romantic mystery story about two people with a connected past.

  Chateau is an incompetent bounty hunter that can't do anything right. She's awkward and angry much at the time while putting up with a man that reminds her of "something." Song Ryang-ha is a competent assassin of great skill who takes an interest in her. He makes the show. He's a great character and can be both funny and horrifying. Maybe it's just the terrible way the adaptation executes it, but many times when he kills someone I laughed at how they portrayed it. No matter how much she tries to push him away, smack him, and overall try to avoid and turn him down, he always comes back around to try and woo her. She's too innocent to realize what she really has.

  Even though I could easily score this so much lower, I did enjoy it. And yet, this makes it even more frustrating because the manga must be so much better than this. Song felt too goofy in his portrayal in this adaptation. It feels like he should have come off as more sinister, and I am sure the manga does this.

  After a rough start, the mystery aspect starts to kick in, and this at least made it much more better and interesting. During the later half, their pasts get explored, and their connection gets somewhat explained. For the most part, Song's past is catching up to him, and Chateau gets dragged into it. Still, no matter how much Chateau turns him down and overall sees him as a roach, he protects her and seems sincere about caring about her. Chateau, because she's clueless, oblivious, and has the personality of a lamp post, doesn't get it. Yet, there is a charm to this that made me look forward to each episode despite that the coloring in this anime is ugly.

  The only character I didn't like is Jim. Why won't they draw his mouth? that kept annoying me throughout. The animation isn't even strong or that good to begin with. At least the music seemed good with it's piano and mystery tracks. By the end, I'm internally yelling at Chateau who is much too clueless about what Song wants.

  At least this shameless ad converted me. I do want to read the manga and see where this goes. A season 2 sounds like a mistake, but I'd shamelessly watch it and continue supporting it.

  Continue on AniList
• 

  CabbagePanda

  50/100
  A romance with no romance and all backstory

  __!Not without spoilers!__ This is a bit different from most of my reviews because it's really just not that great and I highly recommend reading the manga instead. If you haven't read my other reviews, don't mind. _Koroshi Ai_ or _Love of Kill_ is supposed to be a daring romance between two assassins who meet in the middle of their bounty hunting. Ryang-ha Song, a top-class assassin who has taken out whole organizations, meets Chateau Dankworth, a professional bounty hunter, and thus should be the start of a thrilling love story. However, the reality is quite disappointing. Instead of risque dating life, there is only backstory. __Plot__ 6/10

  Despite not actually focusing on the romantic aspect as advertised, there still is some substantial plot that is actually interesting. Warning, it's really just about the backstories of Ryang-ha and Chateau.

  Ryang-ha is a powerful, intelligent guy and he has wiped out an entire "mafia" organization. Now that's a pretty interesting story to hear about when his former colleague from said organization seeks revenge. While not that impressive, this is really the first arc of the story and shows off our powerful ML. It's a plot point, it's there, and you might enjoy it. The next arc is, surprise, more of the past, but this time it's about Chateau's life. After a puzzling incident where young Chateau is found in a car with a dead boy sitting in the driver's seat, she is adopted by a detective and his wife. Throughout the last 7 episodes, things are slowly revealed about this incident as she fights and escapes with Ryang-ha. It turns out they both knew the dead boy and how they knew him is up for you to watch.

  The romance isn't there, it's really just Ryang-ha doing things for Chateau, like killing her bounties for her, because he's interested in her existence. The only real romance in this show is between Chateau's boss and his wife, of which we see a brief cute scene of them together. I really wanted to see how Ryang-ha and Chateau would fall in love but I was very disappointed.

  __Character Development__ 3/10

  It's just not there. In fact, what we see is a degradation in many characters over the course of the story, especially with Chateau. At first, she's seen as a competent bounty hunter who keeps her personal life and feelings very separate from work. But then she becomes weak in comparison to Ryang-ha, loses her confidence in herself, and pretty much turns into dead weight. I don't like saying this about what is supposed to be a strong, lethal woman, but it's what I saw happen. Ryang-ha just doesn't have any character development. He's a strong killing machine with an odd obsession with our FL and doesn't change.

  The only character to have grown a little is Jim, despite his infuriating lack of a mouth and really odd way of speaking. He grows a pair in order to save Chateau. And that's really it. I personally hate his character so I can't speak too fondly of him.

  __Animation and Music__ 6/10

  There's just not enough depth and contrast to the characters or the scenery, and it really kills the show. I haven't read the manga, but I hear that it does a much better job of detailing the right moods and expressions. I had hoped, because of the epic opening, that it would have been a lot darker, more expressive and defined. But it's really not, there isn't that pop to the show that there should have been and it feels like not a lot of effort was put into the making of this show.

  The music was good though, and the OP was a banger. It really grew on me even though I had initially liked it. There's a lot of "classical" music that gives you the feel of real espionage and professional killing, that sort of vibe. If only the art/animation used in the opening and ending was kept up in the actual anime.

  __Overall__ 5/10

  It's not great, there's little to no romance, and the only real plot is the backstories of our main characters. The animation isn't true to the feelings of the story, which makes this score even lower. Koroshi Ai could have really been something if it had stuck with the initial romance instead of a connected past that brings trouble. I didn't enjoy this, and I definitely won't be watching the second season. The first season ended right in the middle of a big fight, so I just can't bring myself to justify another season that might do the same.

  Continue on AniList

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