“Ryang-Ha Song is an infamous master assassin who never fails to eliminate his targets. More than twenty organizations have taken out bounties on his head, yet no one can even approach him. But when he sets his sights on fellow assassin Chateau Dankworth, its not to kill her – it's to seduce her! She may want nothing to do with him, but as he starts killing her targets for her, she's left with no choice but to play along with his games.” (Yen Press)
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With a hefty helping of stylized violence, “Love of Kill” is an unorthodox love story like none other. Eccentric in delivery, the series jumps between action and romance with a tongue-in-cheek comedic approach. While drastic shifts in tone have the potential to make a series fall apart, Fe manages to weave it all together in a deliriously fun manner.
Notably, the balance between absurdism and spy fiction never seems to cross over and intrude on the other. Essentially, when both of the protagonists are on the job, they remain cold and calculated, switching to playful in moments of reprise. As a result, the series both succeeds as a comedy and an action series at alternating intervals. Readers will lean towards calling the series a comedy but there is a nice delicate balance that gives the work a unique edge.
Outside of narrative, “Love of Kill” art style is well defined and excels in action sequences, catching the frenetic movement in hand to hand combat and gun duels. Having started the series and concept on the popular site pivix, it is apparent that Fe has spent a lot of time developing Ryang-Ha Song and Chateau Dankworth prior to “Love and Kill”, as both are full of personality. The only downside is that some of the other characters seem to suffer feeling less developed, particularly in visuals. Overall, the story really resonates the love that Fe has for his creations and his joy of exploring various facets of their personas.
Additional content, in the way of Fe breaking down some thoughts and background on his work between each chapter are delightfully playful and funny, including the tendency to point out faults and apologize for perceived shortcomings. However, Fe is not lacking in skill and excels in certain elements that these sentiments seem unwarranted. Fe injects himself as a character into the work in these excerpts as an apologetic and charming narrator that compliments the offbeat love story.
“Love of Kill” is both hilarious and action packed in equal measure. Furthermore, Fe's candid takes on his own work and his history with the characters makes for an endearing experience for fellow otaku. Simply put, the release is pure, unbridled fun that should resonate with the inner nerd who loves having their genres mashed together in a cute and comedic fashion.
