The murderous intent of this anime season continues with Love Of Kill Episode 1, an anime that promises a ton of Spy vs Spy shenanigans with a romantic twist. Let’s get right to the review!
Love Of Kill Episode 1 Overview
Love Of Kill, or Koroshi Ai as it is known in original Japanese, is an action and romance anime that’s airing as part of the Winter Anime 2022 season. It is an adaptation of a Manga of the same name written by author Fe and is being adapted for the medium by the studio Platinum Vision. Platinum Vision has made several action and romance anime in its past, including Servamp and Devil’s Line.
The anime is being directed by Hideaki Ooba, a veteran of the industry who has been involved with the productions of D.Gray Man and Hunter X Hunter Greed Island. This episode of the show is also referred to as Koroshi Ai Episode 1.
– Koroshi Ai Episode 1 Review does not contain spoilers –
Love Of Kill Episode 1 Review- A Disappointing Start
The age demographic is an important aspect of any anime. Most shows are made to be relatable to and connect with a specific age range among viewers. The most popular among the demographics is Shonen, anime made for the male teenage demographic. It is followed by Seinen for the adult male audience and Shoujo for the younger female audience. The dead last position is Josei, anime intended for the mature female audience. Such is the disparity between the demographics that Shounen anime outnumber Josei anime by a factor of 20 to 1.
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However, just because the audience for Josei shows isn’t as large as the others, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good Josei shows around. There is the seminal Chihayafuru series and the lovely Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu holding down the fort for the demographic. The relative rarity of shows does lead to any show that classifies itself as Josei receiving a lot of attention for it, and that’s not even talking about anime with an actually interesting concept like Love of Kill.
It is obvious that the show is intended for a more mature audience from the very first scene, as there is a lot of blood, and the show doesn’t hesitate to show people being shot in the head for funsies. Combine them with an entire cast of adult characters and a mature take on the usually creepy lovesick personality, and you have got yourself one hell of a hook. It is just a shame that the show fails to capitalise on it in any way that matters.
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While it is quite easy to see that there is a ton of potential in a show such as this, the overall execution of the concept did not go very well for the show. Love Of Kill Episode 1 was just plain boring for most of its runtime. The pacing of the episode was too fast for the concept it was using, and the plot didn’t make much sense in any way you look at it. All the individual elements of the episode were fine, but nothing flowed together very well.
The main characters, Song and Chateau, don’t seem to have any chemistry with each other. The studio could easily fix something like that in future episodes, but it shouldn’t have come to this in the show’s first episode anyway. The show moved more forward with its plot in half an episode than it should have in half a season. The pacing was the biggest issue with the episode, and nothing will work if the pacing remains like this.
The animation and sound are nothing special, and I forgot the opening and ending as soon as I heard them. There aren’t any standout qualities of the show in this department, but the art style does look refined, and both the animation and sound are very competent. There isn’t much to complain about except that nothing stands out and is very memorable. The overall presentation and execution are very bland, at least for now.
Verdict
Love Of Kill Episode 1 was a disappointing start to the anime, which turned out to be far more generic and full of issues than anyone would have guessed. There is still time and space to improve, so don’t lose hope just yet.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!