History Manga / RomanticKiller

* MoodWhiplash: The episode "The Other Way Around Dummy" is full of this. First, when Saki bumps into Anzu, Tsikasa, and Junta, she asks if she can spend the night at their place because her older brother kicked her out to have party with his friends, and Saki tells them that she ratted him out to their dad, who looks to be ''very'' pissed at what Saki told him. After Anzu goes to sleep, Saki recounts how other girls were jealous of her good looks, and when she went out with an upperclassman that was willing to respect her boundaries, he invited her to his house to study [[spoiler: where he tries to force himself on her, but she managed to use a textbook to push him off]]. The next day at school, [[spoiler: he spun the events to make her look like she was stalking him, though Anzu doesn't believe it for a second and confronts him]]. The next day, Riri, in their female human form, happily announces that they're all going to the summer festival, and at the summer festival she runs into Makoto, who laments he can't hang out with her and everyone else because he's his sister's "goffer," which is when [[spoiler: the upperclassman bumps into her]], which is when Makoto pulls her away. As they spend the rest of the evening enjoying the festival, Anzu posts a picture of her and Tsukasa at the festival, a picture [[spoiler: which is seen by [[StalkerWithACrush Yukana Kishi]]]].

* CupidsArrow: Initially what Anzu thought Riri was doing. In actuality, [[spoiler:all he did was speed things up. Anzu would have ''eventually'' met all three boys, but her gaming obsession meant that such a thing wouldn't have occurred for another several months, if not years. He specifically complains about how her and Junta kept having a series of near-misses that would have continued until they graduated if he didn't intervene.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A challenge to get her three most greatest desires back...''If she makes it past the Ikemen.'']]

* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: In Episode 9, "Ginger Ale Is a Force Majeure," Anzu sings the opening song when it's her turn at the karaoke bar.

Anzu Hoshino, a GamerChick whose three desires are chocolate, games, and her cat Momohiki, has no desire for romance unless it's with a video game character. One day, she get what she thinks is her copy of a highly-anticipated action game in the mail, only for it to turn out to be a {{Shoujo}} VisualNovel she's never seen before. Though slightly bewildered by being scammed, Anzu doesn't exactly have anything else planned, so she tosses it into her console and attempts to play the game anyway. And as she marvels over how terrible it is, a small, {{Mon}} SquishyWizard that goes by the name of Riri comes out of the screen and informs Anzu that she has been chosen as part of a program to get romance-inept women to discover the love of their lives.

* DumpThemAll: {{Deconstructed}}. This was initially shown to be what Tsukasa was doing, but the real reason why he does this is that [[spoiler:he has deep-seated due to a stalking incident that occurred a few years prior. These days, any woman approaching him with blatant romantic interest puts him at risk for a panic attack.]]

* RelaxOVision: When Anzu sees a roach in her kitchen, it's only shown for a few seconds (albeit censored) before a voice over declares that the "unsightly" thing is being replaced with a piece of cake, which the insect is rendered as from then on.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Unlike the manga, the anime introduces a new plot thread of Kate being assigned as the wizard for Yukana.]]

* BlamingTheVictim: When Tsukasa reveals his past [[spoiler:to Anzu, he tells her how he was stalked by an older woman in middle school. When his family learned about this, his father slapped him, saying, "It's his fault for being a people-pleaser!" Even Tsukasa's classmates didn't believe him and called him "the worst."]]

* DigeticSoundtrackUsage: In Episode 9, "Ginger Ale Is a Force Majeure," Anzu sings the opening song when it's her turn at the karaoke bar.

* BlamingTheVictim: When Tsukasa reveals [[spoiler:his past to Anzu, he tells her how he was stalked by an older woman in middle school. When his family learned about this, his father slapped him, saying, "It's his fault for being a people-pleaser!" Even Tsukasa's classmates didn't believe him and called him "the worst."]]

!!Examples:

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: A random girl takes a rather innocent picture of herself and a friend at a typical summer festival. Her friend says she should blur out the people in the background, but is dismissed and the picture is shared online. Unfortunately for Tsukasa and Anzu, [[spoiler:the former's old stalker ends up finding the picture and is able to quickly find the both of them to resume her pursuit of him.]]

* CityWithNoName: The series takes place in a modern-day Japanese city, the name of which is never mentioned or alluded to.

* InnocentCohabitation: Anzu lives with Tsukasa and (later) Junta too, but they don't commit to any romance.

''Romantic Killer'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Momose. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shōnen Jump+]]'' website from July 2019 to June 2020, with its chapters collected into four tankōbon volumes. The license for English release is held by Creator/VizMedia, who released the series under their "Shojo Beat" imprint ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls despite it being a shonen series]]). An original net animation adaptation by DOMERICA was released on Creator/{{Netflix}} in October 2022.

Naturally, she declines, more than content with her single lifestyle. So Riri opts to confiscate her three greatest loves to force her to comply: she's no longer able to buy or play video games, she's barred from even ''touching'' chocolate, and her parents and the family cat are suddenly moving to the United States and leaving her behind. Now Anzu has no choice but to fall in love with one of the three beautiful men that Riri will make enter her life. At least, that's what Riri thinks. If Anzu had no interest in falling in love before, the thought of doing so under the manipulation of this annoying blob is even worse. No matter how many LoveTropes Riri thinks of, Anzu is determined to strike them all down as a [[TitleDrop romantic killer]].

* AccidentalHandHold: Anzu often accidentally holds hands with the Ikemen she's walking beside (usually Tsukasa). She then tries to [[{{Subverted}} subvert]] this by (usually) putting on a FaceOfAThug and weirding them out of it.
* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The Anime ends with [[spoiler:Kate becoming (now mind-erased) Yukana Kishi's wizard,]] and a much more open {{Cliffhanger}}.
* AdrenalineMakeover: After [[spoiler:overhearing Anzu saying she likes boys that play baseball and are good at video games when he was in kindergarten,]] Junta gave it his all to change himself by going to baseball practice every day. He then changes from being kind of chubby to being quite muscular, athletic, and handsome. This is even noticeable InUniverse by the other characters during the reunion.
* BalancedHarem: Tsukasa, Junta, Hijiri, and [[spoiler:later Rio himself]] all become potential love interests to Anzu (mostly because of Rio pushing Anzu to meet them) as the show progresses. While Tsukasa takes the majority of the focus by a slight margin--his relationship with Anzu playing the key role in the anime's finale--the others are also given time to be potential partners. Ironically, despite Rio's attempts at using shallow cliches to get Anzu to fall in love, her relationships with the boys strengthen when she has time to organically get to know them.
* TheBeard: Riri (as Rio) pretends to be Anzu's date during a mock date between the two. Later in the series, Riri often teases Anzu by often appearing as Rio.
* BeastAndBeauty: At first it seems to be this way between Anzu and Tsukasa, as the latter is a loner who, though not exactly cold, is taken aback by Anzu's genuine kindness to him and others without expecting compensation. Although later revelations about Tsukasa's past make it clear that his aloofness has a ''very'' valid reason behind it, rather than a sense of cynicism.
* BeautifulDreamer: PlayedForHorror with [[spoiler:Yukana drugging Tsukasa and then taking photos for social media of the two together while he's still asleep, all while acting like doing this against his will is just another act of love on her part.]]
* TheBet: Riri states to Anzu that in order for her to get her video games, chocolate, and cat back, she needs to fall in love with one of the Ikemen provided to her. When Anzu states that she'll resist the urge, this becomes a challenge to get her desires back without falling in love.
* BetterPartnerAssertion: Hijiri often tries to say he's better than the other boys Anzu met, but Anzu doesn't think that at all--mostly because his assertions lie solely on his wealth and status rather than his character.
* BettyAndVeronica: The kind and faithful ChildhoodFriend Junta and the aloof and broody ChickMagnet Tsukasa serve as the Betty and Veronica respectively to Anzu, who is the Archie in the triangle. However, while she deeply cares for both boys, she has yet to express any sort of romantic affection for either of them [[spoiler:even at the end of the story]] and refuses to enter any romantic relationship whatsoever despite their feelings for her until Riri and the company they work for get off her case.

* CaughtInTheRain: When Anzu meets Tsukasa again, it's during a storm. He then goes with Anzu to her house so he can kill the bug she's afraid of and sleep over due to how wet his apartment got.
* CelibateHero

** Anzu seems to have extensive knowledge of love and common LoveTropes, but tries to avoid them or [[{{Averted}} avert]] them in a challenge to get her desires back without failing.
* CerebusSyndrome: Subverted. The latter half of the first season of the Anime, and the later chapters of the Manga get much darker than your average Shoujo. With the reveal of why Tsukasa is so distant from girls, more backstories on the other Ikemen, and the introduction of [[spoiler:Yukana Kishi, a creepy {{Yandere}} stalker that is crazily in love with Tsukasa.]] However, the series still manages to keep its comedic overtone and parody status.
* ChangingYourselfForLove
** Junta [[spoiler: AKA Tonta]] changes himself for Anzu by going to baseball practice and becoming athletic.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Anzu initially thinks that Riri invoked placed Junta into her childhood just to force her into another cliche. [[spoiler:It turns out Anzu was wrong, and Junta ''was'' her childhood friend. Under the name of Tonta, who used to play video games with her until she mentions that she likes athletic guys and guys who can "beat the final boss." Which made him regularly go to baseball practice to shape up.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: The series runs on them as part of Riri's attempts to get Anzu to fall for one of the ''ikemen''. Anzu's parents spontaneously and irrationally leave the country and leave Anzu behind to live alone. Tsukasa's apartment is the only one in the whole building to be absolutely ravaged by the storm, leading to him living with Anzu. And so on.
* CrazyJealousGuy: PlayedForLaughs. Whenever Anzu and Tsukasa get close to doing something romantic, Junta often runs off and cries about it - showing that he's clearly jealous that Tsukasa has more romantic moments with Anzu than he does.

* CupidsArrow: Initially what Anzu thought Riri was doing. In actuality, [[spoiler: all he did was speed up the days where Anzu meets the Ikemen.]]

* DumpThemAll: {{Deconstructed}}. This was initially shown to be what Tsukasa was doing, but the real reason why he does this is that [[spoiler:he has deep-seated [[TraumaButton trauma from his stalker; Yukana Kishi.]] Who traumatized him so badly that a girl approaching him makes him have terrifying hallucinations.]]
* FakeRelationship: During their mock date, Rio pretends to be Anzu's date.
* ExactWords: After already witnessing some of Riri's manipulations, Anzu immediately assumes that Junta is a poor soul brainwashed by Riri into believing that he had a childhood crush on Anzu. It isn't until later that Riri tells Anzu that he never said such a thing. Junta's crush is very much real, but Anzu didn't recognize him as the little boy who went by Tohta--all Riri did was pull some strings to get them to meet again.

* GenderBender: Riri has the ability to transform into a human form of a girl (still named Riri) and a guy (named Rio).

* GreenEyedEpiphany: Towards the middle of the finale, during a talk with Tsukasa, [[spoiler:Junta realizes that he really loves Anzu. Even if she doesn't see him, nor Tsukasa, as more than just friends. Tsukasa also comes up with that sentiment in the same scene.]]

** Anzu constantly avoiding Tsukasa somehow made him more attracted to her -- something that she was trying ''not'' to do. [[spoiler:This eventually MakesSenseInContext.]]
** Anzu denying Hijiri's offers somehow makes him want to try harder to get her to love him. Anzu tries to tell him it's not the intention several times.

* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Hijiri is attracted to Anzu because she denies his many offerings.
* InnocentCohabitation: Anzu lives with Tsukasa and Junta, but they don't commit to any romance.
* InconvenientAttraction: Subverted. Anzu (nearly) falls in love with the Ikemen when she's trying to avoid doing so but swiftly tries to avert being in love with them.

* NoEnding: The Manga ends with [[spoiler:Riri/Rio being included as one of the additional Ikemen that Anzu has to fall in love with. And the new rule is that if Anzu doesn't fall in love with them within her high school years, she'll lose her 3 desires forever.]] The Anime ends similarly, [[{{Subverted}} albeit with a few differences:]] [[spoiler:Kate is now Yukana's wizard, and the Anime ends with the more open [[{{Cliffhanger}} "To Be Continued...?"]] Meaning that there's more of a possibility for a second season.]]
* RelaxOVision: When Anzu sees a roach in her kitchen, it's only shown for a few seconds before a voice-over declares that the "unsightly" thing is being replaced with a piece of cake, which the insect is rendered as from then on.
* ReverseHarem: Anzu is given the choice of three hot guys and a GenderBender.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Unlike the Manga, the Anime has Kate assigned as the wizard for Yukana. And ends it off with [[{{Cliffhanger}} "To Be Continued...?"]] rather than the Manga's AmbiguousEnding.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: A random girl takes a rather innocent picture of herself and a friend at a typical summer festival. Her friend says she should blur out the people in the background, but is dismissed and the picture is shared online. Unfortunately for Tsukasa and Anzu, a person from his past he was trying to hide from ends up looking at the picture and finds out where he's been hiding the last few years. [[spoiler:Yukana tries to pass herself off as Tsukasa's girlfriend. But when Anzu sees how terrified he is upon seeing her, she immediately realizes something is wrong and prevents her from taking him away.]]

Anzu Hoshino, a GamerChick whose three desires are chocolate, games, and her cat Momohiki, has no desire for romance unless it's with a video game character. One day, she buys what she thinks is an action game and starts it up, only for it to turn out to be a {{Shoujo}} VisualNovel. Anzu -- slightly bewildered by being scammed -- still presses "Start" and attempts to play the game. But as she marvels over how terrible it is, a small, {{Mon}} SquishyWizard that goes by the name of Riri comes out of the screen.

Turns out that Anzu has been chosen as part of program to get romance-inept women to discover the love of their lives; naturally, Anzu declines, more than content with her single lifestlye. So Riri opts to confiscate her three greatest loves to force her to comply: she's no longer able to buy or play video games, she's barred from even ''touching'' chocolate, and her parents and the family cat are suddenly moving to the United States. As such, Anzu has no choice but to fall in love with one of the three beautiful men that Riri will manipulate to enter her life... but she isn't going to go down without a fight. Cue all the LoveTropes you can think of, and a teenage girl despite to avoid them.

Anzu Hoshino, a GamerChick whose three desires are chocolate, games, and her cat Momohiki, has no desire for romance unless it's with a video game character. One day, she buys what she thinks is an action game and starts it up. The game turns out to be a {{Shoujo}} VisualNovel that focuses on a girl meeting several hot "Ikemen". Anzu--slightly bewildered by being scammed--still presses "start" and attempts to play the game. Suddenly, a small, {{Mon}} SquishyWizard that goes by the name of Riri comes out of the screen and introduces himself. He then forces her to try and fall in love with three Ikemen that he will provide to her. When she declines this and says she has no interest in real-life romance, he confiscates her three desires until she does. However, Anzu states she won't go down easily, and that she'll force Riri to surrender her desires back without falling for one of the Ikemen.

This later becomes a challenge: Anzu must avoid the several instances of LoveTropes and many romantic schemes that Riri throws at her in an attempt to get him to give up. However, this grows increasingly harder in each episode/chapter, as Riri throws even more subtle and difficult-to-avoid LoveTropes at her and even arrives as a human to foil her from resisting.

''Romantic Killer'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Momose. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shōnen Jump+]]'' website from July 2019 to June 2020, with its chapters collected into four tankōbon volumes. The license for English release is held by Creator/VizMedia, released under their Shojo Beat imprint... [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls despite being a shonen series]].

An original net animation adaptation by DOMERICA was released on Creator/{{Netflix}} in October 2022. Unlike the Manga, it ended on a [[{{Cliffhanger}} very open ending]] and is yet to be renewed.

This series '''loves''' to flip a bunch of LoveTropes over its head and ultimately twist them. Either to make a {{Parody}} of these common tropes, or to [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstruct them entirely.]]

* BeautifulDreamer: {{PlayedForHorror}} with [[spoiler:Yukana drugging Tsukasa and then taking photos for social media of the two together while he's still asleep, all while acting like doing this against his will is just another act of love on her part.]]

* CerebusSyndrome: {{Subverted}}. The latter half of the first season of the Anime, and the later chapters of the Manga get much darker than your average Shoujo. With the reveal of why Tsukasa is so distant from girls, more backstories on the other Ikemen, and the introduction of [[spoiler:Yukana Kishi, a creepy {{Yandere}} stalker that is crazily in love with Tsukasa.]] However, the series still manages to keep its comedic overtone and parody status.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Anzu initially thinks that Riri [[{{invoked}} placed Junta]] into her childhood just to force her into another cliche. [[spoiler:It turns out Anzu was wrong, and Junta ''was'' her childhood friend. Under the name of Tonta, who used to play video games with her until she mentions that she likes athletic guys and guys who can "beat the final boss." Which made him regularly go to baseball practice to shape up.]]
* CluelessChickMagnet: {{Averted}} for all three of the Ikemen. Tsukasa ''knows,'' but is avoiding it for a [[TraumaButton much different]] reason. Junta notices but usually cares more for Anzu. And Hijiri is a {{Narcissist}} who notices that people treat him like a prince.

* DismissingACompliment: Purposely {{Invoked}} by Anzu, as she's trying to avoid falling in love with the Ikemen.

* GenderBenderFriendship: What Riri/Rio (mostly Rio) is to Anzu.
* GreenEyedEpiphany: [[spoiler:Towards the middle of the finale, during a talk with Tsukasa, Junta realizes that he really loves Anzu. Even if she doesn't see him, nor Tsukasa, as more than just friends. Tsukasa also comes up with that sentiment in the same scene.]]
* HaremGenre: Anzu is given the choice of three hot guys and a GenderBender.

* HoldingHands: Anzu often tries to [[{{averted}} avert]] holding hands with one of the Ikemen, but occasionally fails.
* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Anzu constantly avoiding Tsukasa somehow made him more attracted to her - something that she was trying ''not'' to do. [[spoiler:This eventually MakesSenseInContext.]]
** Anzu denying Hijiri's offers somehow makes him want to try harder to get her to love him. Anzu constantly tries to tell him it's not the intention.

* InconvenientAttraction: {{Subverted}}. Anzu (nearly) falls in love with the Ikemen when she's trying to avoid doing so but swiftly tries to [[{{averted}} avert]] being in love with them.
* ItDoesntMeanAnything: Anzu and the other Ikemen try to [[{{invoked}} invoke]] this whenever Riri tries to force them into an awkward romantic situation.
* JustFriends: It is what Anzu insists that the other Ikemen are. Apparently, they think the same way about her. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} for Junta and Tsukasa near the end, who both eventually gain a true infatuation to Anzu.]]
* KissingCousins: Riri tries to [[{{Invoked}} invoke]] this as Rio by stating that he's the sister of Riri (their Girl form) and how he's Anzu's second cousin during the mock date.

''Romantic Killer'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Momose. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shōnen Jump+]]'' website from July 2019 to June 2020, with its chapters collected into four tankōbon volumes. The license for English release is held by Creator/VizMedia, released under their Shojo Beat imprint... despite being a shonen series.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Unlike the Manga, the Anime has Kate assigned as the wizard for Yukana. And ends it off with [[{{Cliffhanger}} "To Be Continued...?"]] rather than the Manga's AmbiguousEnding.]]

''Romantic Killer'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Momose. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Shōnen Jump+]]'' website from July 2019 to June 2020, with its chapters collected into four tankōbon volumes.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Riri tries to [[{{Invoked}} invoke]] this as Rio by stating that he's the sister of Riri (their Girl form) and how he's Anzu's second cousin during the mock date.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Anzu's relationship with Junta and Tsukasa. She makes it clear that she sees them as no more than friends. [[spoiler:{{Inverted}} for the latter two near the end of the series when they both confess to liking Anzu a bit more than just friendship.]]
* BalancedHarem: This series is really good at balancing the boys that Anzu hangs out with. Sorting out the screen time with Tsukasa, Junta, Hijiri, and Rio as the show progresses.

* BeastAndBeauty: At first it seems to be this way between Anzu and Tsukasa. [[TraumaButton But it turns out the latter's reason for being so distant is much darker than that...]]
* BeautifulDreamer: {{Deconstructed}} to hell and back with [[spoiler:Yukana drugging Tsukasa and then using him to take photos of herself and Tsukasa and send them on his social media against his will.]]

* BetterPartnerAssertion: Hijiri often tries to say he's better than the other boys Anzu met, but Anzu doesn't think that at all.

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Tsukasa is very distant with girls for his own...[[{{Deconstruction}} reasons.]] But is attracted to Anzu and how she tries to distance herself from him.

* CelibateHero: While Riri is anything ''but'' a hero, [[spoiler:well, until later in the last few episodes]] they definitely try to be this before they ultimately [[spoiler:become Anzu's (very minimal) love interest.]]

* ChangingYourselfForLove: Junta [[spoiler: AKA Tonta]] changes himself for Anzu by going to baseball practice and becoming athletic.

* ContrivedCoincidence: The series runs on them as part of Riri's attempts to get Anzu to fall for one of the ''ikemen''.
* CrazyJealousGuy: PlayedForLaughs. Whenever Anzu and Tsukasa get close to doing something romantic, he often runs off and cries about it - showing that he's clearly jealous that Tsukasa has more romantic moments with Anzu than he does.