“The Lost Ones are wanderers who come here from a distant world known as “Japan.” No one knows how or why they leave their homes. The only thing that is certain is that they bring disaster and calamity. The duty of exterminating them without remorse falls to Menou, a young Executioner. When she meets Akari, it seems like just another job…until she discovers it's impossible to kill this girl! And when Menou begins to search for a way to defeat this immortality, Akari is more than happy to tag along! So begins a journey that will change Menou forever…” (Yen Press)
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With wonderful descriptive work to capture the kawaii fashion and mannerisms of her subjects, Mato Sato's “The Executioner and Her Way of Life” balances adorableness with action in a playful manner. Building a story around three different female archetypes, the author is able to play with different personalities with varying skill sets to give variety in celebrating strong female figures. Notably, Sato is exemplary in describing both fashion and mannerisms of her subjects which becomes reflected in their fighting styles (hot head Momo is rather frantic in the way she deals with foes). In addition, the relationships built between each woman offer different endearing perspectives. Ultimately, Sato excels at capturing personality in every aspect, and this alone makes the book a true joy to read.
However, the actual story can be choppy at certain points, with the humor and action clashing in an awkward way at points. In addition, there is one particular sequence which is surprisingly graphic. Not overly alarming, this little bit of body horror seems like an odd indulgence in an otherwise light hearted series. Adversely, the awkward flow can also be seen as a charming positive, as the aloofness that makes some of the players endearing is often the catalyst for these transitions. Unfortunately, it does put a lot of the prose into the realm of young adult fiction as establishing humor or adorable moments takes precedent over the darker elements of the story, of which there is plenty. Ultimately, readers should be able to determine within the first couple chapters if the book tickles their fancy.
Providing illustrations for the novel, nilitsu captures the fashionable beauties that Sato describes so well. In fact, the drawing is so perfect that the reader won't find differences in how they are described with the dozen of illustrations throughout. This release also includes a double sided mini poster: one side containing Menou, with the opposite containing the four main subjects, Menou, Momo, Akari and Ashuna (as seen in the article featured image). Overall, nilitsu's aesthetic is the perfect compliment to Sato's work and gives the release a bit of visual flair to go with the author's exemplary descriptions of the heroines.
“The Executioner and Hew Way of Life” can feel oddly paced and fluctuates between comedy and action in a rather peculiar manner. However, Sato's playful approach and knack for describing fashion brings the world of ‘executioner' to life in an endearing fashion. Utterly adorable at points, when not kicking butt, I found myself smiling a lot through the book, an experience which should be echoed in those that love their action as kawaii as possible.
