First off, Chateau Dankworth is worthy of her name. She is not your typical doormat character, and her job is to freaking hunt people down because she's a bounty hunter. Yes, Ryang-ha may be stronger than her, but she is formidable in her own right. She was doing well for herself before he showed up in her life, which I find to be incredibly important. She was never a character who waited for her prince charming. However, when he does finally appear, it certainly is not in the traditional aspect.
Ryang-ha is mysterious in every sense of the word. He looks the part, (hot) and he's even more lethal than our lovely Chateau. When he suddenly shows up in Chateau's life and attempts to gain her favor by helping take down targets, she lets him. She waits to see what his game is, what he has to gain. How he knows her, and how he knows things she can't even remember about herself. Also, when you find out how Ryang-ha knows Chateau, man, it explains everything--even Ryang-ha's questionable actions--while also being depressing as f*ck.
The characters are amazing, obviously. Chateau may seem stiff at first, but that's because she thinks things through thoroughly and gives us a female lead that's realistic and more relatable. Ryang-ha is the character you desperately want to figure out, and as the chapters go on, you're left wanting more and more. I suppose this manga could be considered a psychological thriller in a sense, especially as you get deeper into the story.
I want to note that the side characters are interesting and full of depth as well. Indian-Kun will forever have one of my favorite character designs, despite it being stubbornly simplistic. It matches his personality, which makes it even better.
My enjoyment for this manga is a 10. I mean, it's one of the best ongoing joseis out there, in my opinion. Not only does the story progress at a stable rate, but you don't lose interest because everything isn't revealed all at once or not at all. You're given just enough to keep coming back for more, and the action scenes are nail-biting as well. Some of the scenes had me making dying sounds out loud, or practically falling out of my seat.
Overall, this story is just so well-crafted compared to a lot of other stories out there right now. Please read the first volume or two before deciding to continue with it or not. In all honesty, for some reason, I didn't get sucked into the story until my second try at reading it. I often look back at my younger self and cringe, especially seeing how my taste in manga, or really anything else, has changed. Also, in case you live under a rock, Koroshi Ai is being turned into an anime, and the first two volumes are coming out, in the US, on the 30th of this month and May 18th. I suggest buying them if you want to support the mangaka and a second season of the anime!
