Many anime and manga have unorthodox, borderline toxic relationships, but perhaps none are as odd as the one in Love of Kill. Featuring an assassin who simply can't enough of a bounty hunter that he runs across, the series is full of twists and turns that upend what may seem like a somewhat standard romance (the professions of its protagonists notwithstanding). Beginning as something of a web series, it's quickly built up its body count as it's made the transition to anime.
Now that the manga is being brought over to the West and the anime has finished its first season, Love of Kill is getting more attention from English-speaking audiences. Those who want to see how assassins and bounty hunters go about romance are sure to be impressed with the series, whether they choose to read or watch it.
The Plot of Love of Kill
The protagonist of Love of Kill is Chateau Dankworth, a bounty hunter who gains a strange acquaintance on one of her missions: a stalker who wants to date her. Song Ryang-ha is a professional hitman, with his similar profession meaning that he can use her for information and resources. She eventually begins complying with his requests, all while remaining emotionally distant from him.
The would-be couple is soon targeted by the same man, which has the effect of revealing that the two are more tied together than they initially suspected. Thus, what started out as a cringy attempt at romance is actually a mystery that's much more rooted in survival.
Where to Read the Love of Kill Manga
Love of Kill is a manga, although its origins also make it something of a web series. Created by writer/artist Fe, the series began in 2012 when it was published on the online art community as I Wanted to Read a Manga About an Assassin Couple in Love so I Started Drawing One. This meta initial name made it sound like the weirdest isekai ever, but it's of course not related to that genre. The web series was followed up by A Short Story About the Assassin Couple in Love Manga that I Just Wanted to Read About before finally being serialized in Monthly Comic Gene.
Running ever since then, the series so far has 12 collected manga volumes. Yen Press handles the English localization and has currently brought over seven of the 12 volumes. These can be bought in most venues where books are sold, such as Amazon, Walmart, Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble and digitally through Kindle and Comixology.
Where to Watch the Love of Kill Anime
Announced at the end of 2020, the Love of Kill anime is animated by Platinum Vision. Beginning in January earlier this year, the show ran for 12 episodes until March. There's been no word on a second season yet, but given that the manga is still ongoing, an eventual season two is highly likely.
The series is licensed by Crunchyroll in the West, and in February, the English dub became available. This is the only way to legally watch Love of Kill in the West, as there's yet to be a localized physical media release even announced.