Romantic Killer – Season 1 Episode 10 Recap & Review

Other Way Around, Dummy

Episode 10 of Romantic Killer begins with Anzu leaving work and stumbling upon Junta, Tsukasa, and Tsuchiya. Hijiri introduces himself to Tsukasa. Hijiri departs while Anzu walks home with Junta and Tsukasa. Anzu ponders all the fun she’s had with these two and eventually runs into Saki, who’s shocked to see Junta and Tsukasa with Anzu.

At Anzu’s home, Anzu explains to Saki why Junta is staying at her house. Saki confirms that she decided to stop at Anzu’s house because her brother kicked her out of their house, so he can invite his drunk friends. Saki explains that she texted her father about her brother’s rude behavior and his friends, so he’ll take care of it. After some chatting, Anzu and Saki head into Anzu’s room and discuss some things.

Anzu thinks up a plan to tell Saki about Riri. When she tries to tell her she receives a weird stomach issue and rushes to the bathroom.Tsukasa bumps into Saki. Saki tells him that they’re alike and says he doesn’t need to worry about Anzu as she’s a trustworthy person. Meanwhile, Anzu sulks in the bathroom, and Riri pops up. They tell Anzu she can’t reveal anything about the romance plan.

It was stated in Riri’s contract’s fine print, which she didn’t read. He says if she tries breaching confidentiality, Riri’s magic will wreck her stomach. In Anzu’s room, Saki tells Anzu they should attend a summer festival to celebrate their summer break. Anzu rests before giving a response. We receive a flashback highlighting Saki’s earlier days in school, where boys gossiped about her looks and other things.

Her school friends compliment her looks, but Saki wishes she looked more like an ordinary person. Another girl bumps into her on purpose, causing Saki to drop her stuff. Apparently, this girl’s jealous that a popular boy in their school likes her. Anzu catches wind of the situation and tells the female bully to apologize. After scaring the girl off, Anzu offers Saki a helping hand and tells her she needs to defend herself.

Since then, Anzu’s been helping Saki deal with all her insecurities. Anzu’s help led to Saki establishing a healthy companionship with Mori, a senior at their school. As they discuss more, Saki’s unsure if she wants her relationship with Mori to feel romantic. One day, as Saki and Mori walk, Mori asks Saki if he can help him study at his house.

When they arrive at his house, Mori covers up a photograph before Saki spots it. While they’re studying, Mori attempts to sexually assault Saki, but Saki bashes a book into his head and flees his home. At school, Saki bumps into the female bully who tells her that there are rumors being spread about her attacking Mori. At the same time, people gossip about Saki being flirtatious with other men.

Saki feels ashamed and doesn’t like what people are saying about her. Anzu tells the bully that Saki isn’t a violent person and orders everyone to stop gossiping about her. Anzu confronts Mori about his lies. Mori says he’s telling the truth, but Anzu doesn’t buy it. She knows Mori was trying to force himself upon Saki and threatens to let everyone know if he doesn’t stop.

Anzu and Saki discuss the matter in some steps as Saki says she’s happy to have someone like her in her life. In the morning, Riri suggests they all head to the summer festival. Anzu and Tsukasa aren’t on board, but Junta doesn’t mind. He asks the two to reconsider, and Anzu and Tsukasa decide to go. The group put on their yukatas and headed for the festival. The group loses sight of Junta in the crowd.

Anzu grabs his hand, making the situation feel romantic. Ryuya and the others spot them holding hands. Ryuya takes Junta aside and asks who the yellow-haired boy is. Junta tells him his name is Tsukasa, and he’s a friend from school. Ryuya tells Junta that he needs to ask Anzu on a date even if Tsukasa doesn’t have an interest in her. Anzu interrupts their discussion as Ryuya and the others part ways.

While they’re walking Tsukasa starts feeling anxious with all the people staring at him. Saki bumps into Makoto and greets him. While they are discussing, Mori and his friends stumble upon Saki and the others. Mori’s friends taunt Saki, and she starts calling for Anzu’s help silently. Makoto picks up on the situation and makes up an excuse to leave with Saki.

Once alone, Makoto tells Saki that he knows she was feeling uncomfortable around Mori. Saki thanks Makoto, and the two decide to visit some booths. Meanwhile, Anzu’s eating her caramel apple while Tsukasa looks around. He notices she’s wearing the bracelet he got her during their shopping trip. Anzu asks Tsukasa if he wants to take a selfie with her. When she snaps the photo, everyone jumps into the picture.

Anzu’s surprised to see Hijiri at the event, but he says he’s here to see the fireworks. Hijiri hands Tsuchiya some shaved ice and tears up. After the event, a strange woman is looking up photos of Tsukasa. The episode concludes with the woman smirking saying she’s finally located Tsukasa.

The Episode Review

While this episode felt as laid-back as the previous one, it establishes more groundwork for some side characters while giving fans something to ponder. Saki’s backstory with Anzu was something that didn’t cross my mind. While she serves as a fun supporting character, I didn’t expect the anime to delve into their friendship. The circumstances that led to their bond were shocking and tense.

Although Romantic Killer has touched upon health issues before, it hasn’t delved into anything too dark. Saki’s instance with her ex-boyfriend caught me off guard. I’m sure many weren’t expecting the series to dive into any heavy themes involving sexual misconduct. This is an unfortunate issue many people face in relationships. I appreciate the anime addressing the situation from a serious standpoint.

I didn’t anticipate Ryuya getting involved in Junta and Anzu’s lives anymore, but I’m glad he did. While Junta should’ve adopted Ryuya’s character arc, I’m happy Ryuya’s trying to motivate Junta to confess his feelings for Anzu. On that note, the mysterious woman searching for Tsukasa’s photos was concerning. It’s likely she’s the other reason why Tsukasa moved to Anzu’s city.

The mystery surrounding Tsukasa’s past is enjoyable and most fans will be excited to see how this woman plays into it. Besides that, many fans may not enjoy this episode because it spends a lot of time informing the fans about how Saki and Anzu’s friendship came to be. Saki’s backstory could’ve been trimmed, even though it was great to see her fleshed out.

The festival shenanigans were fine but didn’t offer much outside of Ryuya, telling Junta must hurry up and confess. Overall, this was an interesting episode of Romantic Killer that offered some unexpected developments. Let’s hope the final episodes can add more intensity and drama between our protagonists.