You Sure Have Your Quirks…
Episode 7 of Romantic Killer begins with the rich Ikemen’s agent, Tsuchiya, promising to give Anzu a ride to school. Anzu apologizes to the rich Ikemen in the car. She wonders why a rich boy like him is attending a public school like hers. ..
The rich Ikemen tells Anzu that she must be flattered to go to school with someone like him. Anzu receives a text message from Saki and Tsukasa as they drive. At school, everyone’s gossiping about Anzu and the rich Ikemen. Before she enters class, the rich Ikemen asks her if she secured Tsuchiya’s number. He tells her not to get too anxious about awaiting a call from him.
After he leaves, more schoolgirls flock to Anzu, asking her how she ended up with Prince Hijiri Koganei, our rich Ikemen. The girls mention that there’s an entire fan club dedicated to him.
When the group of friends stumble upon Anzu and wonder if she’s okay, Makoto can’t believe that Anzu’s friends with Junta. When they leave, the schoolgirls comment that they can’t believe that Anzu’s getting swarmed by Ikemen. A few days later, Anzu waits at a building because Tsuchiya arranged a meeting between her and Hijiri. Hijiri can’t believe that Anzu’s wearing horrendous clothes.
Hijiri takes Anzu to a restaurant and tells her that he wants her to look more attractive. He gets her smaller heels so she won’t feel as though she’s too tall. They go to lunch and Hijiri tells Anzu that he doesn’t want her to look sloppy on their first date.
Anzu is angry. Hijiri interpreted Anzu’s decision to jump in front of his car as her way of threatening him to go on a date with her. Hijiri confirms that many women tried to fake an accident to go on dates with him. Anzu suggests paying for the dress herself, but Tsuchiya informs her it costs 120,000 yen, so she backs out. Anzu orders Tsuchiya to stop the vehicle.
Anzu hands Hijiri a bag of expensive items she bought him. Hijiri contemplates while women try flirting with him. Anzu arrives and hands him a bag of the stuff he bought her. Anzu leaves while Hijiri decides to take a stroll. He can’t believe Anzu acted mean-spirited toward him.
Tsuchiya is contacted by the boss and asked to look into something for him. Anzu and Junta are walking home together. Since Tsukasa will be working tonight, Anzu and Junta plan to cook dinner together. Junta is excited about it all. In his head, Anzu compares Junta to Hijiri. He hopes she can help him find someone that would make him happy. ..
Riri stumble upon them and taunts Anzu. Hijiri and Tsuchiya arrive. Hijiri congratulates Anzu for being the first woman not to fall for him. He promises to make her fall under his spell no matter what. At Anzu’s place, Hijiri’s disgusted by Riri and Junta’s presence as they introduce themselves. Hijiri tells Tsuchiya to give Anzu a gift. Anzu’s shocked, as it includes artisan chocolate and a virtual reality headset.
Tsuchiya reveals the next gift to be a group of kittens. Hijiri says he can make her wildest dreams come true, so she’ll have to fall for him. Anzu asks how he knows what she likes, but he responds strangely. Riri grabs Anzu as they exit the room. Despite confiscating Anzu’s three favorite items, Riri wants Anzu to accept Hijiri’s gifts since it would be rude to get rid of them. ..
She can keep her gifts if she falls in love with Hijiri. Meanwhile, Junta and Hijiri discuss Hijiri’s affection for Anzu. Hijiri says he doesn’t “like” anyone, as he only wishes to be admired by others. Junta tells Hijiri Anzu won’t become her friend just because he’s rich or good-looking. Meanwhile, Anzu tells Riri not to underestimate her. ..
She scolds Riri for staging encounters, manipulating emotions, and using material objects to force a relationship. She heads back into the living room with Hijiri and Junta. Anzu tells Hijiri to take his gifts and get doted on by someone else. She tells him it’s best to boast about his money when he’s earned it and not to use his parents’ money to buy people gifts.
Anzu approaches Junta as she feels if she had agreed to Riri’s conditions, Riri would have undone Junta’s manipulated memory. Anzu apologizes for getting Junta involved in this, but Junta tells her not to worry. Junta recalls a childhood memory where Anzu stood up for himself against bullies. At her workplace, Anzu’s boss tells her they hired someone new. ..
He reveals that the new employee is Hijiri. Hijiri tells her he wants to learn. Anzu scolds Hijiri for his poor customer service. Anzu tries convincing her boss to let Hijiri go, but her boss shoots down that offer. He likes how Hijiri’s bringing in more customers, and the customers haven’t complained about his behavior. We receive a montage of Hijiri succeeding at his job, with no complaints from either the customers or the boss. ..
Anzu thanks Hijiri for his effort and sharp intellect before she leaves. Tsuchiya thanks her for changing Hijiri into a hard worker. Tsuchiya explains that Hijri’s father scheduled him to attend a public school because he wanted his son to learn mundane tasks at a mundane school. Upon meeting Anzu, he gained more interest in ordinary hobbies.
Anzu, who just got her paycheck at the bank, is eager to spend it. She bumps into Hijiri, who is also picking up his paycheck. Hijiri asks Anzu what she wants him to purchase for her, but notes that he doesn’t have much money. He makes it clear that he didn’t do anything hard for her and doesn’t deserve anything in return. Although Anzu doesn’t want him to get her anything, she reflects on his small improvement. She asks him to get her some ice pops. ..
They visit a nearby park and partake in the ice pops. He can’t believe she wanted him to get her something low-class. Anzu tells him to try his ice pop. Hijiri says it tastes cheap but not too bad. Anzu starts falling for Hijiri but slaps herself out of it. She promises not to let her guard down. While Tsukasa’s cleaning her bathroom, Anzu stumbles upon his phone. The episode concludes with her realizing a girl is calling him.
The Episode Review
Despite Romantic Killer’s predictability, it’s also giving fans a bit more wholesomeness and charm. Hijiri’s character comes off as a mixed bag. From the start, he doesn’t offer much outside of following his rich male archetype. With women flaunting at the sight of him to his lack of social skills, he feels like a carbon copy of Tsukasa.
While Hijiri learns to be more humble and diligent, I can’t help but wonder if his inclusion was a smart move for the writer to make. On the other hand, Junta’s character got some spotlight here, but nothing too impressive to change my opinion of him. While it’s cool to see him reflect on his pastimes with Anzu, we need him to provide more effort.
With Hijiri in the mix, it is possible that Junta’s development or push may be thwarted. Furthermore, it was strange for Riri to allow Anzu the opportunity to gain gifts related to her hobbies. While it was a cool manipulative tactic on Riri’s part, it feels peculiar for the narrative to backpedal on the rules established at the show’s start.
This episode was great. I really enjoyed the dialogue and the humor. I especially liked seeing Anzu give Hijiri a reality check. I’m glad that the person calling Tsukasa is the same person he was thinking about at the mall. Although Hijiri provides some competition for Tsukasa, Tsukasa remains the best choice for her.
The next episode of “Toradora!” will address Tsukasa’s past life and reasons for living alone, as it is one of the series’ best mysteries.
