I enjoyed this first volume of Romantic Killer. It's a fun send-off on the clichés in the shoujo manga genre and features a spirited, if dense, gamer girl as a protagonist. For a first time mangaka, the art is fairly clean and the panels easy to follow. The plot is amusing and it is kind of fun to see what terrible set-up our heroine will find herself in as the tale progresses.

Story: Anzu loves three things: gaming, chocolate, and her beloved cat. Her life is complete - until a spirit suddenly appears and decides to help Japan's declining population by ensuring Anzu doesn't end up a single old maid. Anzu has ideas of her own but will have to play along with the fairy since he is holding her chocolate, cat, and gaming consoles/games hostage. Cue a 'hot guy' love interest who gets into the cross hairs of the fairy!

The humor of the story is Anzu trying her best to foil the fairy and get her games/cat/chocolate back as quickly as possible. In this first volume, we had the amusing clichés of childhood friend to boyfriend, suddenly running into the hot guy and knocking him over into a compromising position, her parents suddenly transferring out of town and leaving her alone in the house, and a whole lot of 'disasters' that cause the hot guy to have to stay at her place. You can visibly see Anzu gritting her teeth through all the hoary clichés.

The art is clean and the characters are decently drawn; there's nothing remarkable here but it is a good clean shoujo style. Wataru Momose throws in some shounen caricatures to further emphasize that Anzu isn't the girly type at all and can keep up (and beat) the boys at their own games.

I was never bored and this kept me invested to the end. I greatly look forward to volume 2. The author won an award with this debut piece that resulted in the series being formally published here. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Oh my gOSHHHH. This manga is SO CUTE AND SO FUNNNYYY. I will say I was not expecting it to be cutesy when I started reading it - I definitely thought Romance Killer made it like this serial killer romance lol whoops. But this is so fun! My favorite manga/anime of all time is Lovely Complex and our heroine reminds me so much of Risa.
She’s hysterical, the boy is adorable and fun (reminds me of Kyo from Fruits Basket just slightly less angry) and I’m looking forward to the development of these romancessssss.
I’ve always hated harems because it’s usually a boring boy surrounded by beautiful women but I am HERE for this reverse harem where the girl only wants her cat, chocolate and video games.
10/10 I cannot wait for the rest of the series and will definitely be adding to my library!

Romantic Killer is a comedy romance shojo series from Wataru Momose and published by VIZ Media. Romantic Killer was first released as a full-color vertical webcomic series, and even won the Shonen Jump 2nd Vertical Scroll Manga Award. And like most independent webcomics, it retains a bit of a tongue and cheek vibe to it that I think is missing from most manga series. It’s snarky in it’s commentary and ridiculous in it’s setup, but that makes this one of the more refreshing new reads.

Romantic Killer Volume One is a full-color manga that won first place in Shonen Jump’s 2nd Vertical Scroll Manga Award.

Romantic Killer Volume One
Written by: Wataru Momose
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: October 4, 2022

The main character of Romantic Killer is Anzu Hoshino, a first-year high school student who’s more interested in playing video games, eating chocolate, and her cat than in relationships with boys. One day, a magical creature transports Anzu to an altered reality where she no longer has access to her games, chocolate, or to her cat. The magical creature sets her up with a life right out of a shojo manga, which includes finding a way for her to live alone and to encounter a “hot guy” that she can start getting to know.

The “hot guy” is a transfer student named Tsukasa Kazuki, and he has girls fawning over him… but he’s not interested in any of them. Anzu keeps having run-ins with Tsukasa, which are caused by the magical being’s interference. It gets to the point where Tsukasa has to stay the night at Anzu’s, because the magical creature is manipulating the weather. But during that time, Anzu finds herself starting to feel comfortable around Tsukasa and thinks they could start becoming friends.

Well, the magical creature has taken things a step further, and has caused massive flooding at Tsukasa’s apartment, and nothing new is available for a month. Which, of course, means that Tsukasa is stuck staying at Anzu’s place. Things are awkward until Tsukasa says he’s not interested in romance, and Anzu thinks she’s beaten the magical creature. But, right at the end of the volume, the magical creature creates a previously non-existent male childhood friend for Anzu who has a crush on her. And thus begins a “reverse harem.”

While this story may be on the fantastical side, I do have to give Momose credit for the setup as to why this is happening to Anzu. It involves the innocence of human children’s hearts as an important energy source for the magical creature’s world, and since Japan has been suffering from a declining birthrate, the Japanese branch is having energy shortages. The magical creature is in the middle of a project to make people like Anzu (who prioritize their hobbies are careers) fall in love to help increase the birthrate. I thought this was an interesting way to incorporate a societal issue in Japan into a manga.

I also liked Tsukasa’s portrayal of being cold and distant, but not because he’s a jerk. It’s due to the girls who keep trying to hang around him and him trying to get rid of them. Unfortunately, they don’t take the hint. But as he spends time with Anzu, he lowers that cold façade around her. By the end of this volume, I don’t think he’s become interested in her romantically, but that could possibly change with the addition of Junta Hayami, the “childhood friend.” Of course, since Junta was introduced at the end of this volume, it begs the question of whether or not we’ll see the magical creature add any more “hot guys” into the mix in future volumes of the series.

Romantic Killer is done in a comedic way, and it’s a nice light-hearted manga that you don’t have to think too much about as you read it. In some respects, the art isn’t quite as strong as it could be, but the fact that this title is in full-color helps to blunt some of that criticism. I also thought it was an interesting visual choice to give Anzu male-leaning facial features whenever she feels cocky in her interactions with Tsukasa.

This series has an interesting concept behind it, even if it comes off as a little goofy and fantastical at times. However, I’d be more than happy to read future volumes of the series if VIZ Media makes digital review copies available for them, because I’m genuinely curious to see how this story progresses. According to the publisher’s writeup about the series in the back of the volume, there are only four volumes of Romantic Killer, so it seems like there’s the potential for the concept to not get run into the ground and become stale.

3.5 stars, rounded up

I was incredibly and pleasantly surprised to see this was in full color! I am HERE for more full color manga!

This story is clearly very silly and light-hearted, gently jabbing at shojo manga tropes. It feels like someone finally wrote their answer to the story seed: a girl is born with pink hair, the doctor turns to the parents to deliver the bad news, "She's an anime protagonist." And then the girl grows up spending all her time running away from certain tropes that cause typical anime stories to start.

I'm very interested to see where this goes, but I do kind of feel like the declining birth rate is a poor excuse to force a girl to fall in love?

Anzu Hoshino has no interest in romance. A young high schooler, she just wants to live her life surrounded by the good stuff: video games, chocolate, and her cat. However, through a series a events, Anzu finds herself thrusted into the middle of a Shoujo Manga! Suddenly her reality is completely altered. She has no games, snacks, and her parents moved out, taking her beloved cat with them!

Struggling with a magical imp that pushes good looking teenage boys on her, Anzu refuses to adjust to her new life. It's bad enough that she can't game anymore, but now the imp is throwing romance at her too? This is indeed not her dream, but someone else's! She meeting Tsukasa Kazuki, a boy who (through a series of magical unfortunate events) ends up living with her. As Anzu dodges the magical romantic plans, she starts to realize that maybe having Tsukasa around isn't all that bad?

This is the first volume of the series. The art is beautifully illustrated, and I love that it is in color! The story itself is so funny, I love that our main character is doing everything she possibly can to get away from falling in love. It's definitely a different experience compared to other Shoujo manga, and I highly recommend this fun read!

Anzu Hoshino lives a very fulfilling life. She has her video games, chocolate, and her cat and that's all she needs. The trouble starts when she meets a magic fairy named Riri. Riri has this grand idea, if they can get Anzu to fall in love, then they could get anyone to fall in love and reverse the failing birth rate in Japan! Anzu wouldn't be interested in connecting with any hot guys unless all of her favorite things are taken away, so goodbye to all of her joy. That wouldn't be enough to get Anzu interested in dating, so Riri has to introduce Anzu to suitors and make the situations for love unavoidable.

I was surprised to find that Romantic Killer is presented all in color. That was my first surprise. My second surprise wasn't as enjoyable because I was hoping to read a romantic comedy about a girl who loved gaming. While there are some elements in there, it kind of feels like a bait-and-switch to take her hobbies away. Without those qualities, she's as generic as the boys that are thrown her way. Even with those reservations, Romantic Killer is a breezy and fun read. Hopefully, Anzu can find someone to love because she wants to, not because she's ultimately manipulated.

I honestly had higher hopes for the plot of this manga, but I was very sorely mistaken. Due to Japan's declining birthrate a fairy is assigned to a high school girl, Anzu Hoshino, who is uninterested in dating in order to motivate her to date... and have kids? (The latter part is insinuated.) The fairy gets Anzu's parents and cat shipped off overseas and takes away the two things she loves in life, chocolate and video games. She is determined, at first, to thwart the fairy's plans but gradually becomes interested in her high school's most popular student Tsukasa Kazuki.

I am not fond of stories that forces people into relationships. Especially when it's minors. I know that was introduced into the plot as a lighthearted and funny way to get some drama in, but I feel that could have been done better. Like, why not make Anzu a student looking for love but just not having much luck with it? Also, does she have to be a high schooler if the character is needing to fall in love in order to add to the population? Shouldn't the character be an adult? I know I'm thinking too deeply into it considering the story is supposed to be light and fun, but I feel very uncomfortable reading about people being forced into relationships.

Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't a story about a twit of a fairy who, due to Japan's declining birthrates having an adverse effect on the fairy world's magic, decides to pick a girl uninterested in romance and turn her into a shoujo heroine by stealing her games, her chocolate, and kidnapping her cat. But that's what this is, and despite some implied queer erasure (which is mostly just me thinking how horrible it would be for my aro/ace self to be in Anzu's situation), it's actually really funny. Riri the (evil) fairy pulls out all the stops, transferring Anzu's parents to the US, throwing her into as many shoujo-themed meet cutes as he can, and brainwashing some poor schlub into her childhood friend. For her part, Anzu is doing her damnedest to thwart Riri's machinations, and the result is a send-up of shoujo romance tropes that's pitch-perfect. If you read a lot of shoujo romance, you definitely want to check this full-color treat out.

...and any romance fairies out there had better keep their paws off my cats.

If you’re looking for a fresh romantic comedy that is guaranteed to be full of laughs then you should check out Romantic Killer. Readers follow the story of Anzu who is obsessed with living in a fantasy world and is constantly trying to escape from reality. Rather than getting caught up with school drama and boys, she would rather spend her days playing otome games. When she gets trapped in a game of an alternate reality with a magical guide will she be able to resist falling into the role of the main character of a shojo manga?

This is a manga that really speaks to shojo genre readers like me. As a long-time reader of shojo manga (especially Shojo Beat) titles, I love stories that can embrace the genre while also adding their own uniqueness. Reading this manga felt similar to an isekai-style story except in this one the female lead is still living in reality with touches of magic. While Anzu would love to experience her own shojo story she is solely disinterested in real-life romance and prefers the fake (gaming) ones. Watching her and the magical imp trying to one-up each other is entertaining and adds to the comedic parts of the story.

The best part of this manga is how much it pokes fun at the silliest shojo tropes in the best way. From ending up in forced proximity living situations to having to share an umbrella in the rain, this first volume has no shortage of these scenes. It’s funny and it made me laugh out loud many times. Anzu has a bright and quirky personality making her a likable main character that readers can get invested in. On top of her budding new friendship with Kazuki she also has to deal with lots of changes and romance constantly being thrown her way.

The artwork reflects the story and gives the manga that sparkly shojo touch and adds depth to each character. The advanced copy I received was in full color and it only enhanced my reading experience. I am curious to see how Anzu will navigate the new romantic relationships in her life in future volumes. Romantic Killer is a great debut series from Momose!

I love Isekai stories-- however this one fell a little flat for me. I didn't really jive with the art style-- mostly because it was colour, but there was no dimension to it. I think it would have been more visually appealing had the artist used black and white where it is less distracting when shading and dimension is not added. Likewise, I found the mechanism of the videogame narrator to not be needed. It might have felt higher stakes if there wasn't a mascot narrator, but a narrator that had no body, more of a "godly" figure, manipulating the main characters life.

The obvious world tampering was the funniest part of the story-- with literal storms being incorporated into the story to move the plot forward.

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I have conflicting feelings about this title.

On the one hand, I enjoyed the comedy and making fun of the shojo tropes. I thought that part was pretty spot on. I do not read a lot of shojo, but I have read enough to know some of the basic tropes or typical plot lines they follow. I think this was a funny creative way to make a shojo for people who may not always go straight for a shojo title but also those who love shojo. In that sense, it is good.

Now for the conflicting feelings. I was a little taken aback by how the character forcing the romantic situations on the main character was basically saying if you want a guy, you can't play video games, eat chocolate, or have a cat. Mostly, I was very upset about the taking the animal away from the main character. I thought that was a little too much for me. They also make a statement that if you eat too much chocolate, you'll get fat and then guys won't like you. Again, I thought this was a little too much as eating chocolate doesn't necessarily make you fat, and being fat doesn't mean you aren't attractive. I understand this is supposed to be humorous, but I felt it touched on some subjects that maybe didn't match the 2022 vibe check.

I am hoping that in the 2nd or 3rd volume of this title the creator will touch on how the spirit forcing this girl to not having her favorite three things doesn't mean she can't also get in a romantic relationship. That is why I am giving it 3 stars. As an optimistic hope that it gets better and starts showing just being yourself will get you a partner.

Absolutely hilarious. A fresh read for people tired of classic shojo manga tropes. More comedic than sweet with high re-readability value.

This shouldn't have been put under the Shojo Beat line. I was vastly disappointed by this title. I found the art stilted and awkward, and the storyline contrived. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Ouran High School Host Club, and She's My Knight do a far better job playing with shojo tropes without feeling like they're actually seeking to talk down to shojo fans. I think Shojo Beat really needs to consider their future and what shojosei fans actually want to see from the imprint.

Romantic Killer was funny and a good counter to all the typical harem titles out there. I never saw the vertical scroll version of this title, but it translated well to the more typical manga format. Volume 1 tackles a lot of the classic shoujo tropes of a heroine living alone, unintentional roommates, the popular guy, and a childhood friend. While I had some literally LOL moments from reading this, I'm not sure yet what will make this stand out, since so far it felt like it was checking off a list of tropes. It's worth a read, and it might be worth adding to the collection just because they already wrote in the author bio that this title will only have four volumes total. (I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

You know, I really would have liked a story where our chocolate-munching, game-playing, cat-loving MC felt no romantic attraction at all, and was just fine being that way. While I find the magical creature in need of children's energy, so get with the romance already, both cruel, and hilarious. I also feel this play on romance and Shojo tropes could go further in its social commentary and the pressure in Japan specifically, to get married and have children. It still has room to surprise me, so who knows? Then again, if some magical creature took *my* cat away from me and told me to get a boyfriend and have kids... It probably wouldn't end well for said magical creature.

Such a fun and hilarious manga! We follow Anzo Hohshino through her great life of snacks, playing video games and her beloved cat and the whirlwind of her being transported to a traditional Shojo Manga life! But with one difference, without all of her normal creature comforts! This story is funny, has certain moments where we break into the 4th wall and plenty of laughs with the protagonist and the situations she finds herself in. I look very forward to volume 2!

Loved this manga! Such a fun take on the traditional shojo manga. I was laughing so much as it made fun of all the usual stereotypes. I can’t wait to read the next volume! Thanks NetGalley and VIZ media for the advanced readers copy, will definitely be recommending this.

A lot of us want to fall in love, but there are some that don’t. For Anzu Hoshino, she would rather play video games, eat chocolate, and spend time with her cat. Unfortunately, in the world of Romantic Killer, the universe doesn’t want her to do that. After being whisked away by the magical entity Riri, needs to find someone to love. If she doesn’t, the things she wants will be gone in her life forever!

The premise begins weirdly; the reason for this magical takeover is because the birthrate in Japan is at a decline. In order for magic to exist, the wishes of children need to come true, which can’t happen without kids! Anzu protests saying that she’s only in high school, but the story needs to have her date a hot guy so there we go. The rest of the volume delves into a deconstruction of shojo tropes where Anzu needs to avoid Tsukasa Kazuki. This is easier said than done as Riri magically causes a host of different circumstances to force Anzu into conflicts. While the situations feel forced, the actual relationship between the two is genuine and quite charming. It’s when the story tries to veer off into deconstructive wackiness that it’s at its weakest. Romantic Killer works best when it’s a romance, oddly enough!

That said, I think the art style is very charming. Additionally, the whole volume is in full-color, I haven’t seen often for manga. It likewise complements the art and makes for a cutesy, soft style perfect for a shojo manga. For all the begging that Anzu doesn’t want to be in a shojo series, the whole package is quite nice. Check this one out if you want to find a romance series that’s uniquely refreshing.

This is a fun twist on the "otome" style storyline where the main character to meant to romance different love interests. Here the main character actively fights back against this concept. I enjoy how unapologetic she is about being herself and liking what she likes. I will be interested to see what direction the storyline will go in. A good start to a new series.