MANGA REVIEW | "Romantic Killer" - Volume Four [FINALE]
I warned you. If you didnât watch Netflixâs adaptation of Romantic Killer, then you wouldnât have ever guessed what would happen in its final volume. And yet, even with me knowing what occurs, it still doesnât take the uncomfortableness away from it all. But man, does Romantic Killer hit it out of the ball park with how they present a truly horrifying situation.
Things start off normally, with Anzu, Kazuki, Junta, and Riri going to a summer festival. Thereâs laughs, some friendship conflicts, and plenty of food stalls for Anzu to pig out on. However, this is all leading towards the final arc of this series, one involving Kazuki and his stalker. And when she appears, the tone of the narrative takes a hard left turn!
After Anzu pulls Kazuki away from the threat, he decides to share with her his back story. Originally a popular kid in middle school, Kazuki had nothing to worry about. Thatâs when a kind gesture downward spirals into something thatâll give any reader the shivers. Mysterious packages start showing up to Kazukiâs home, photos of him are being posted on Instagram, and thenâŚone of the scariest things a stalker can do happens. The worst part: Kazukiâs father puts all the blame on his son for not being strong enough.
Itâs a moment in Romantic Killer that could cause complete silence in a room filled with readers. How itâs all framed, on top of the reaction from Kazukiâs father, is done in a very unnerving light. In one single moment, this brightly-colored manga takes a page out of Shuzo Oshimiâs Blood on the Tracks, forcing its readers to be in the same room as Kazuki as heâs blamed for something he has zero control over. Be it in manga form or in its anime adaptation, this flashback is terrifying to bear witness to.
Thankfully, Kazuki has a friend like Anzu in his corner. Her words arenât just the thing he needs; itâs the words that every victim of stalking deserves to hear. Victim-blaming is one of the worst things a person can do, as it does no good to both solve to problem or make the person feel safe. Author Wataru Momose, who took this arc from a news story he once heard, puts it all out there for Kazuki and the readers to see how bad a problem stalking can be, as well as why no one affected by it should be blamed.
However, the trouble unfortunately doesnât stop there. The stalker starts making moves to take out Anzu, first by using hired goons. (Thankfully, the once-useless Riri comes in with a superb save.) When that doesnât work, the stalker takes matters into her own hands. What happens then is terrifying in many ways, but it leads to a smack heard âround the world that any reader would cheer for. (It's also followed by another slap that'll make anyone smile gleefully.)
Itâs hard to continue talking about the finale of Romantic Killer without going into some big spoiler territory. But I will say it ends on a level of hope. The experiment continues onward, with none of Anzuâs maybe-boyfriends being given the green light to start a relationship. With that being said, itâs not a cop-out ending in the slightest.
Yes, maybe one day, Momose can return to the world of Romantic Killer, and continue on with this wacky experiment. But for now, this narrative was truly satisfying. In fact, most romantic comedies take dozens of manga volumes to reach the level of character development showcased in the four this series did. And even though Anzu doesnât pick a winner, the narrative offered plenty to satisfy any lover (and even hater) of this genre. Despite its open-ended conclusion, Romantic Killerâs final volume helped cement it as one of the best rom-coms anyone could ever read or â in the animeâs case â watch in recent memory.
Now give your cat a big hug, chow down on chocolate, and play all the video games you want. I think you earned it.
FINAL GRADE (Volume Four):
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Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
