Kare no Satsujin Keikaku
His Murder Scheme

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Murder sure is an interesting subject and, let's face it, some of the most intriguing works around dive into the head of a person who is just a little "off" and attempts to examine what drives them such as great stuff like Silence of the Lambs and Monster(anime).

That's exactly what Kare no Satsujin Keikaku(His Murder Scheme) does, except in this case it is a seemingly normal high school kid who decides, on a whim, that he "wants to try out killing someone." It's apparent that someone who can offhandedly decide to do this, and then actually follow through the steps to conclusion, is far ... from what is generally perceived as "normal."

The irony is that, with his specific goal in mind, the protagonist actually improves in other aspects of his life, such as acquiring a girlfriend and receiving better grades in his schoolwork. This highlights something that really intrigued me, as it shows that, no matter whether their ultimate goal is "good" or "bad", humans can and will improve themselves for the sake of completing something they "want."

The characters, this being a One-Shot, are obviously paper thin and only serve the purpose of pushing forward the Mangaka's ideas and that was fine by me. The artwork, being by Kitoh Mohiro, is very similar to his other work Shadow Star Narutaru and I've always kind of liked his drawing style and it's always nice to be able to tell who drew what without even having prior knowledge of the creator.

In any case, there isn't really much more to say as this is a very linear path through a potential murderers year of preparation. Anyone with any interest in the human condition would do well to read this.


Story: 7
A linear path down the mind of a high school student who has the desire to kill someone on a whim. An interesting ending.

Art: 8
From the little experience I've had with Kitoh Mohiro's work in the past I've always have had a liking for his drawing style, so not really many arguments here. His drawing style IS very similar from work to work, and that could be bad thing or good thing depending on the reader.

Character: 6
The only important characters are the protagonist and his target, a very young girl. There isn't much delving into the WHY he does the things he does, but that arguably makes things interesting in its own right to me.

Enjoyment: 7
I've always found criminal behavior, and what makes these kind of people tick, interesting and this is no different. Definitely an interesting experience.

Overall: 7

It isn't as detailed as what a truly great story would be, but this gets the job done in the briefest time possible. Very one note characters, though watching the main character "improve" his life as he strives for his goal is..interesting given the context. Definitely recommended.

As usual questions and comments/critiques are welcome on my profile. This is the first manga I've reviewed and I'm sure my inexperience with reviewing has shown here and there. But, believe me when I say I am confident I will only get better as I continue. Thanks.

Ever wondered what it would be like to kill someone? To rob them of their life and see how it affects the world? That's the issue pestering on Yasuhiro's mind as he prepares himself on his journey to kill a complete stranger.

Manga artist Mohiro Kitoh once again brings readers into the mind of a psychologically disturbed teen. Our mc Yasuhiro is utterly bored with life and can't see anything positive happening to him in the future. He doesn't even care much for his family and simply living through the motions. This leads to him spawning the idea to kill somebody to add much-needed spice to ... his life.

As he readies himself for murder, he contemplates how the media will react to the crime. If he were to kill his family, news outlets would suggest he was abused. Killing a celebrity would make him seem like a crazed fan and killing old people is pointless since their time is already limited. Society will form their own truths to fit their own needs. Killing a female child will yield the best result because the response will be more unanimous.

To escape society's preconceptions, Yasuhiro drastically improves his life so he doesn't fit the typical build of a killer. It was interesting to delve inside his mind and understand the reasoning for his actions. Yasuhiro didn't want to be seen as an archetypical killer so he created an idyllic life for himself to create a contrast for others to be shocked by. The psychology of the story was very well done and the background art was expertly crafted.