Greetings! One by one, I’m diligently working on the posts I promised. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed anything for my Friday BL and honestly, I feel excited and nervous at the same time. I wonder why I’m acting like some artist who took time off from work and now feels the anxiety and rush of performing in front of people again. Maybe because there’s an actor in the manhwa that I’ll be talking about… Ahem. Before I dig my own grave any further, let’s get it.
Title: Killer Crush
Artist & Author: eresemo
Status: Ongoing.
Where to read: Lezhin English (36 chapters) & Spanish (25 chapters)
Adorn a face of indifference. Kill your emotions. Never let anything or anyone phase you. Be prepared to overcome any obstacle you face. This is the guidance Taeman has been living by and depending on whether he can pull off doing it or not, he gets to live another day or finally meets the sweet embrace of the heavens. Currently, he’s on the harshest training you can imagine to get better at controlling his expressions: working at a convenience store. Gives you the shivers, I know. The biggest hurdle for Taeman will be, however, the one thing he least expects. Falling for a good-looking customer.
Taeman may have fallen for Dahyeok’s face at first sight, but ask Dahyeok and you’ll hear a different story. Bestowed with an angelic face, a kind gaze, and the talent to melt hearts, Dahyeok has always been cast for romantic male lead roles. Being a fan of noir films, he wants to branch out but both the industry & public think he can’t pull off such a character. You won’t catch him giving up, though. Especially now that he’s found the embodiment of noir to look up to and study, by sheer luck, working in a convenience store.
Killer Crush was a title I passed without even checking out when it was first released. I don’t do well with stalking/confinement/too much blood in my BL and that was the impression I got from the promotional image. I mean, can you blame me?
Some time passed and a friend asked me whether I was reading Killer Crush and I explained myself. Looks like I couldn’t be more wrong! All I needed to start reading it was to hear “Think of Gintama, but with an all-adult cast and make it gay,”. To be honest, “Gintama but gay” is the most accurate description this series can have. It’s still true that there are murder, blood, and gangsters occasionally, but the series manages to successfully bury it under its whacky humor and heart-pounding moments. And then some more humor.
Ever since I gave this series a chance, Killer Crush has been the highlight of my Sundays. You know by now that I use the word ‘ridiculous’ most lovingly, and this series is bonkers in the best possible way. From cute sticker-loving, pink-haired yakuza to a fried chicken restaurant as a cover for a wiping-out-villains type of killing business, up until now the tone was quite light-hearted and never failed to draw full-on laughter from me in every chapter. The focus is more on Taeman having to handle the first butterflies he ever felt in his 34-year-long life and Dahyeok sneakily trying to arrange situations where they can spend more time together so he can study Taeman. What that does, to no one’s surprise, is the two getting closer emotionally over time.
I feel like it’s still a little early to comment on the overall direction of the plot because we very recently learned about Taeman’s past and why’s he a member of this “necessary evil” group that keeps gangsters in check but there are still a lot of plot points that are in the dark. In that sense, there’s not much else I can highlight apart from how frequently Killer Crush manages to make me wheeze. In a good way.
Both Taeman and Dahyeok are at level 9000 on the lovability meter. The way they are so sweet and awkward around each other is a joy that I need in my life at all times. Despite its overall goofy air, there are times when the heart-throbbing moments sneak up on me like Taeman approaching his target to assassinate and I’m knocked out before I understand what hits me. Seolho, another member of the group, uses the pretext of the ban on falling in love to sabotage Taeman and Dahyeok, but deep down he’s just a salty dude because he himself has the hots for their boss and there’s no way they will be something more. So he takes it out on Taeman and in turn, Taeman takes his stress out on him but eventually, they remind me of these two guys:
Even though there’s still a lot we’ll discover in the story over time, I still wanted to recommend Killer Crush because, as my friend said, if you like Gintama, then this series will definitely work for you as well. Can you tell I’m hanging on this series as if it’s my lifeline because almost everything else I’m reading is in its angst period? That’s the harsh reality of a manhwa reader for you. The first 3 chapters are free to read in the English version, so I at least urge you to take a look and see whether you’ll vibe with Taeman’s cleaning skills or not. I personally need him to take me under his wing and teach me the ropes.
As always, thank you so much for reading and I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of Killer Crush either in the comments or over at Twitter. What’s next on my agenda is to get back on my Tuesday manga covers and format the anime movie review and release it into the world. Until then, take care!
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