Summary
The Shojo Love of Kill anime is darkly violent, blurring genre boundaries with suspense and mystery. The violent pasts that connect the main characters add depth to the story, which unfolds through flashbacks. Ryang-ha's mysterious treatment of Chateau adds to the suspense, leading to a shocking reveal.
Shojo is understandably famous for its cute romance stories tailored for teenage girls, but a dark and bloody anime series called Love kills proving that the demographics can also be similar to their Shonen counterparts and possibly even Seinen-like. In fact, it would be difficult for Love of Kill to not have at least a little violence, just taking into account the specific dealings of both main characters. Song Ryang-ha is an assassin and Chateau Dankworth is a bounty hunter, and of course it's both of them. met in the bloody aftermath of a successful mission (i.e. the target is killed).
Of course, Love of Kill still has romantic moments like most other shoujo. In fact, the entire story is driven by Ryang-ha's unrequited crush and unhealthy obsession with the Chateau.
However, it is Ryang-ha's disturbing treatment of Chateau that ironically makes Love of Kill even less like most other shoujo, despite the anime's conscientious efforts to depict the similarities. as innocuous as possible to resonate more with the target audience. Chateau's sometimes humorous reactions and expressions of anger are somewhat successful in minimizing the severity of his violation against her. Clear, it is both violent and questionable in how Ryang-ha treats Chateau That makes classifying Love of Kill as a shojo work confusing.
Love of Kill's shocking amount of violence is complemented by well-executed mystery and suspense
Based on the manga by Fe; produced by Platinum Vision
What is particularly striking is how Ryang-ha and Chateau's Past lives are connected by bloodshed beyond their similar professions. However, the origin of this connection is kept a secret until the very end, which is the third distinguishing factor of this mystery series. Love of Kill is as much a mystery as it is a romance and suspense anime. The viewer is slowly given clues and flashbacks, eventually adding some context to the situation, as is the case with most mysteries.
What's especially artistic, however, is that all the violence culminates in Chateau and Ryang-ha's first meeting so long ago, making their past a bloody circle.
Taking the usual tone of shojo series, it is even more ironic that the exceptionally violent nature of how Ryang-ha and Chateau actually first met actually explains why the truth was hidden. from viewers. Even though the story is primarily from Chateau's perspective, she is somehow left in the dark.
Fortunately, the journey to that revelation is as gripping as one might expect from a thriller. The more Chateau is drawn into Ryang-ha's orbit, the more danger she faces. As their lives begin to unravel into a bloody mess, Cars plunge into ravines in epic chases, characters are shot point blank and others are stabbed in the neck. What's especially artistic, however, is that all the violence culminates in Chateau and Ryang-ha's first meeting long ago, allowing their past to come back in a bloody circle.
For those understandably frustrated by Ryang-ha's interactions with Chateau, skeptical viewers can rest assured that the answer to this mystery does, at least, salvage some of his character. In fact, his devotion to her is almost admirable when the story as a whole is considered. That alone is enough to hold the attention of those who haven't seen it yet. Love Kills, is now streaming on Crunchyroll. That is, if the prospect of bloodshed and violenceshojo not attractive enough