CHARACTERS = 17/25
The protagonist of the series is Anzu Hoshino, who is thrust into an otome game-like experience because of Riri, a wizard. Her love interests include Tsukasa Kazuki, Junta Hayami, Hijiri Koganei, and Ryuuya. There are side characters worth mentioning, such as Anzu's friend Saki Takamini, Tsukasa's sister Arisa Kazuki, Hijiri's go-to man Tsuchiya, and Tsukasa's friend Makoto Oda. Anzu is a very likable, pretty, and fun character to follow throughout the series. The new ikemen who have entered her life, as she calls them, also have a bit of depth to them that is surprising for an anime of this genre. The side characters often provide comic relief and a bit of freshness to the main characters' interactions. The characters overall have a good balance of surface-level enjoyment to them as well as some character development.
STORY = 32/45
The underlying story of this anime is that the Anzu is being thrust into a situation in which she must fall in love. The first 3/4 of this anime seems very much like that, with different ikemen being introduced into her life and the audience wondering which one she'll eventually go for. Riri comes up with all kinds of scenarios to put Anzu in, making the experience quite fun overall. We get to delve into each of the guys' views on dating, examine their approaches, learn about their insecurities, and find that everyone has their share of strengths and challenges, just like us. Throughout everything that happens, Anzu proves to be a very impressive catch for any one of the guys. Without giving too much away, there are also arcs in which we follow some of the ikemen or the side characters as they provide a different perspective of love/lust/intimacy which in some ways seems aligned with anime of this genre but in other ways are actually very unique. It provides a huge amount of depth to the anime that this reviewer certainly appreciated.
ART = 7/10
The art in Romantic Killer is nothing special, but it is quite crisp, as expected of a Netflix anime. The comedic elements of scenes are done in a great way as they highlight it as a fun anime, one that you can take lightheartedly. The OP and ED are both fun visually.
SOUND = 7/10
The voice-acting is done very well, but no one really stands out. Even with the more monotonous characters, there is a level of depth to their emotions that you can detect from their voice-acting. There is good background music and there are good sound effects when the story calls for it. The OP and ED music help set the tone for the series.
ENJOYMENT = 8/10
At first, Romantic Killer seems like just a fun otome game-like experience, and for many of the episodes, it sticks to this formula. There's nothing wrong with that, as it was what I was expecting and enjoyed. The bonus was the turn the story takes as it dives into the stories of other characters. This really changed the mood in a welcome way and is probably what will make Romantic Killer so memorable.
OVERALL = 71/100
Would I recommend Romantic Killer to a friend? Yes. It's fun and lighthearted most of the way, and the turn the story takes really pulls the viewer in. However, while this turn of events is welcome, it is being added to a mostly formulaic story, making Romantic Killer something I would probably call good but not great.
