All You Need Is Kill

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All You Need Is Kill is a built with a great premise. Humans are locked in a losing battle with aliens, when one soldier- a weakling called Keiji- 'dies'. But then he wakes up to find himself in a time loop.
When this was adapted into the American Film it was called 'Groundhog Day with Aliens' which was such a baffling comparison that I ended up watching the film in the cinema. If you did watch "Edge of Tomorrow" then I can see that mistake being made- the film way basically that. But the manga builds an empire on this premise. Without the westernisation of the ... story All You Need Is Kill is a gore filled tragedy. The main character finds himself faced with his mortality and facing the understanding that no matter how perfect a soldier he becomes he will never be able to face the insurmountable odds. This isn't an allegory for war- it is war and it's painful, cruel and sad.
The Story: 7/10
Keiji Kiriya is a new soldier in the United Defense Force, an army armed with exo-skeletons who fight an invading alien species called the Mimics. Unprepared for the horrors awaiting him he is pushed out onto the battle field, dying in his first battle after killing a Mimic that is different in appearance to the others. Then he wakes up. Then dies again. Again and again, he is brutally killed and resurected all the while he gains skill. A female soldier named Rita- renowned for being the best a soldier can be, is revealed to have faced an identical fate. Through each loop he trains, gains access to her weapon until she recognises, in one loop, the situation he is in- realising she needs to help him.
The Art: 9/10
Art in manga means very little to me these days, One Punch Man and Mob Psycho both show art doesn't have much effect on the experience. However All You Need Is Kill have some stunning panels. When I saw the Aliens on the battle field, the detail was so incredible I felt sickened but in awe. The image of Keiji in his exoskeleton on the battle field- covered in blood and out of breath shocked me in it power. The expressions can be janky at times, sometimes even a bit generic, but the use of expression to show Keiji losing his will to live is almost makes up for that in my mind.
The Characters: 9/10
How do you design a character who constantly dies, no matter how well he does? How do you make his personality develop, or regress? The character development of Keiji from a terrified boy, to a man miserable with existence and unable to stand living, to a soldier with honour and pride is so well done that you never stop and say "Well that was a jump". Every character in this develops, even when they never have more than a day to do so. However the main emphasis of character is put upon Keiji and Rita. Is this a bad thing? Not at all, rather it allows us to explore the unique horror of a situation where you are trapped alone with a fate worse than death. Keiji's character arc watched him face insurmountable odds, he looks into the void and he hates what he sees.
All You Need Is Kill is honestly one of the saddest things I've read- dealing with issues such a self-worth, sacrifice and mortality. Very much worth the read four years on.

I read the translated (in english) version by Viz media, so this review is based on that version.
First of all I didn't know this was going to be a Hollywood movie when I started but found out when I was about 1/3rd through (otherwise I might have read some other "Haikasoru" novel).
If you have read the synopsis you know this is gonna be sci-fi time loop story, you know there is going to be action, and you definitely know this book is heavily video game influenced.
And you would be write on all accounts, this is a book where a private called "Keiji" is caught in ... a time loop after dying and fights the same losing battle against aliens everyday. There is a female soldier from America (so cliche) who is the best warrior for humankind and she kinds of helps the protagonist to understand whats happening, in between there is a bit of background on the enemy, a bit of world building and a touch of romance thrown in.
As it goes it is a kind of story where you always kind of see where the plot is going, yet you are satisfied with the overall result, the progress is quite predictable yet the end is likeable.
My main gripe with this short and fast paced novel is that there is not enough action as was advertised my the synopsis or as was necessary (or may be just not for my liking, but I got this to read action like video games and I didn't get much of that). On the other hand the character building is quite nicely done especially for the main character who progresses through the same trial over and over again to maturity.
All in all it was a short and average read which would have scored a bit higher by me if I had more world building or action or if some of the side characters were not so generic.
My final score is 3 out of 5 stars.