Romantic Killer – Season 1 Episode 6 Recap & Review

 A “Reincarnated-in-Another-World” Date

Episode 6 of Romantic Killer begins with Junta moving into the Hoshino household. Anzu shows him the place alongside Tsukasa. Junta will stay in the master bedroom, while Tsukasa will stay in Anzu’s father’s study. Junta heads to practice, and Riri appears in wizard form. Anzu knocks him out because he admits to sending the thief into her home.

The situation isn’t ideal for Anzu, but she has found a job at a convenience store nearby. With this new job, she hopes to have some alone time since Tsukasa works and Junta practices baseball. Junta arrives and spots Tsukasa and Anzu making lunches. As Tsukasa scolds Anzu for her poor cooking craft, Junta can’t stop thinking about her.

At school, Junta’s friends are jealous that he had his childhood friend make him lunch. Some girls eavesdrop on Junta and wonder if he’s dating someone. Meanwhile, Junta tries taking a picture of his lunch as his friends cause more mischief. Tsukasa departs from his job as a co-worker tries to coerce him to go on a date with her. Tsukasa denies her offer because he’s tired.

Tsukasa arrives at Anzu’s place, and Anzu greets him. She drags him into the living room as he promised to watch a show Saki recommended. Tsukasa tells her and Junta to watch the film without him, but they persuade him to watch it. The next day, Junta departs to practice. Tsukasa asks Anzu to attend a shopping trip with him because Makoto’s busy, and he wants her to ward off unwanted attention.

She suggests he try shopping online, but Tsukasa tells her he’s not a fan of online shopping. Anzu accepts but struggles to find decent attire. Tsukasa offers her a helping hand but finds out Anzu only has nice indoor clothes. He plans to force Anzu to buy better clothes alongside him. Riri shows up in her human form and tells Tsukasa she’ll handle the situation.

When they’re alone, Riri confirms that she told HQ to summon the underwear thief to Anzu’s house. Riri takes out her cleaned-up wand and confirms she can cast spells again. Riri says she’ll throw out all of Anzu’s cat clothes if she doesn’t abide by her rules. Riri and Anzu come out of her room, and Anzu looks prettier than before.

Tsukasa likes Anzu’s new look and casually blushes. Anzu and Tsukasa head to a shopping mall while Riri waves goodbye. Anzu’s stressed about the whole thing because it feels more like a date than a quick shopping trip. As they’re walking through a shop, Tsukasa’s irritated by people looking at him. Anzu suggests he wear a mask, but Tsukasa feels it’d make him stand out more because people will think he’s a celebrity.

Anzu wonders if Tsukasa’s popularity has something to do with him moving to her city to attend school. We get a brief montage of them struggling to find clothes. After they’ve finished, Anzu worries she’s falling into Riri’s trap minute by minute. Anzu tells Tsukasa to wait for her while she goes to the restroom. When Anzu’s away, Tsukasa smiles from afar.

However, girls start gossiping about him making him feel uneasy. As he waits for Anzu, Tsukasa becomes more stressed out. Tsukasa flashes back to a moment with a mysterious woman and starts breathing heavily. Anzu arrives in the knick of time and tells Tsukasa to follow her to an antique store full of cat knickknacks. Anzu finds a random cat necklace and wants it.

Unfortunately, she spent all her money on clothes. Tsukasa offers to buy it for her as a thank-you gift. As they head home, they bump into Junta. Junta’s jealous that they went out to buy things without him knowing. As they head home, Anzu’s surprised that Riri didn’t try pulling any stunts. At Anzu’s house, they all watch a zombie flick.

Anzu spots a roach on the ground and asks Tsukasa to kill it. Tsukasa asks Junta to lift the couch, but it looks like he’s just as terrified by the roach as Anzu. Tsukasa kills it, and Anzu praises him for his bravery. Junta’s ashamed of his useless status. While Anzu comforts Junta, Tsukasa mentions how he’s the one receiving the most help.

Riri notices Anzu’s let her guard down and plans to introduce another Ikemen into the group. In the morning, Tsukasa informs Anzu that she’s woken up late for work. Anzu realizes she’s late for an event and rushes out the door. As she’s running, she realizes she’s thematically role-playing a scenario from Romantic Thriller. She’s worried she’ll encounter a new Ikemen upon reaching the corner.

Suddenly, a car rams into Anzu, who falls. A man in sunglasses wishes to help Anzu up, and she feels like it’s safe. However, a strange boy exits the car and says it’s her fault for running into the car. As the episode concludes, Anzu is introduced to a new love interest who’s casually munching on toast.

The Episode Review

Romantic Killer is diving into territories that may make some fans panic. While another love interest adds more challenges to Anzu, matters feel less authentic and more contrived. What’s upsetting is that it feels like the series is shafting Junta’s character with the introduction of this rich-looking Ikemen. To go from a heroic thief stopper to a pathetic toddler around roaches feels like a disservice to Junta’s character.

It’s unfortunate, considering how much potential Junta had as a character. For a childhood friend, Junta doesn’t offer much depth as Tsukasa, which is strange. Regardless, there is still time to give Junta the spotlight and depth he needs. Tsukasa feels like the star of this episode, and fans will adore seeing him spend quality time with Anzu at a shopping mall.

This episode leaves enough mystery about Tsukasa’s past to keep you interested while making him appear like the best romantic partner for Anzu. Many folks who deal with social anxiety can relate to Tsukasa’s worriment regarding people gossiping or staring at him. I hope the anime continues to drop subtle hints about Tsukasa’s potentially horrendous past.

Overall this episode had some heartwarming elements and fun slapstick bits with Anzu and Riri. It was great seeing our characters go out and explore their setting. While Junta’s character has much to be desired, the anime’s wonderfully building upon the relationship between Anzu and Tsukasa. Let’s hope the anime can make the rich Ikemen stand out and serve as a better rival for Tsukasa.