Kimi no Knife

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tl;dr: A pretty good thriller with a mixed bag in terms of characters and a pretty annoying ending.

“Would you kill someone for 5 million yen? What if they were a murderer?” This manga is the story of the protagonist, Shiki, getting pulled into being a hitman in order to pay for his sister’s medical bills. Shiki is just a substitute teacher, but his partner in crime, Kazumi, is an experienced police officer who doesn’t care about the money but rather seems to be taking part solely to vent his feeling regarding evildoers. With the targets being bad people and a skilled cop helping out it ... may seem like things won’t be that difficult, but murder is always complicated, both physically and psychologically.

This manga is pretty well written in terms of being a thriller. The murders themselves generally aren’t that complicated. The plans are incredibly simple and straightforward to carry out. What makes things interesting is the complications that occur during the plans and how they’re dealt with in the aftermath. What’s suspenseful isn’t the crimes, but the coverups. Shiki and Kazumi are doing their best to stay under the radar of the police, mainly the detective pair Hosaka and Itou, and this results in a cat and mouse game. Kazumi being a police detective makes hiding considerably easier, but they still have to thread the needle pretty often. It’s definitely a page turner.

It’s also well written in fleshing out many of the key characters. Shiki goes through very complex development, wherein he’s incredibly unsure about what he’s doing from beginning to end but feels he has to go through with it anyway. His thought process and motivations are conveyed incredibly clearly so it’s really easy to sympathize with him and get invested in him and his goal. Hosaka is also fleshed out well as he goes through his own character arc, as is another major character, Ei, who is the best friend of one of Shiki’s victims. The three ultimately have a very complex relationship, despite the pair essentially being a criminal, a police officer, and a victim. The dynamic is very unique and handled surprisingly well.

Unfortunately, a lot of characters are also pretty badly written. The most prominent example would probably be Kazumi. He doesn’t really get fleshed out at all. His motivations are never really explained either. There are a lot of small hints regarding what could be driving him, such as him seeming to have a very negative opinion regarding his coworker having a family, but nothing is made clear. The mysterious atmosphere works well with him to a point, but I feel there should have been some explanation eventually. There’s also Utaka, who is a minor character who could easily have been taken out of the story with essentially nothing important changing. Though what little presence she has is anger inducing so I strongly question why she was included in the first place.

The most bizarrely badly written character was Itsuki. Despite being the main heroine, she’s really just… not. She seems like a key character early on due to her having a supernatural power that could be really helpful. However, early on it’s only used for things that it isn’t really all that necessary for. And when the plot proceeds in a direction where her power actually could have a major impact on the way things progress, she mysteriously loses it. An explanation for where she got her power and why she lost is given, but it’s done so quickly and casually that the only reason I’m taking it seriously is that no other explanation was provided. She doesn’t really do much in terms of things not involving her power either, nor does she have a character arc. She felt kind of like a mascot character that was there just to keep the atmosphere from getting too dreary. She has some romantic development with Shiki, but it isn’t fleshed out all that well and overall was pretty dissatisfying.

The ending I have complicated feelings on. The final stretch of the manga definitely gets much messier and is rushed. However, I feel that worked well in conveying the feeling of everything quickly falling apart. The ending also certainly isn’t exactly happy, but I kind of feel that it became incredibly obvious pretty early on that for a lot of the cast a perfectly happy ending was impossible, so that didn’t faze me too much. For the most part, I think the manga did a decent job at hitting the notes it wanted to regarding its core themes. These themes are incredibly simplistic, essentially just the morals ‘killing is bad’ and ‘what goes around comes around’. But the way things flow, with both of these feeling incredibly obvious early on, being mostly heavily muddled in the hustle and bustle of things, only to be once again be openly in your face in the ending I think was handled well.

The biggest problem I have with the ending is how much it leaves unexplained. An epilogue that elaborated on what happens afterwards I think could have helped considerably. As it is, I think it intentionally leaves things ambiguous while leaving hints that suggest a final twist that significantly sours me on the ending. I feel it doesn’t really fit at all with the themes I previously mentioned. And while I wasn’t expecting a happy ending, I was hoping for the happiest ending possible, and I feel like this was trending strongly towards that only for it to be pulled away at the last minute. The fact that this is done subtly only makes it worse because while logically I really can’t see it as just a coincidence, emotionally I just want to ignore it.

The art is decent enough in terms of style and quality. Character designs are solid enough considering the setting. There’s a lot of symbolism like the Furies and Shiki’s box cutter, but most aren’t used very well. The exception to that is showing certain character’s seeing or interacting with dead characters in order to help convey character’s mental states to the reader, which was pretty intense.

Vigilante justice. It's a topic that's frequented by many pieces of fiction, often glorified, painted black-and-white, oversimplified, or accompanied by sociopathic characters. The moral and psychological nuances that are tied with this subject are likewise dumbed down, leading to stories that feel both unrealistic and emotionally distant. It's a tragedy among storytelling that I've seen repeated far too many times, and going into Kimi no Knife, I certainly didn't have the highest of hopes. Luckily, the manga demonstrated through its more mature and thoughtful take that it wasn't going to be your average Joe action narrative.

This becomes apparent right from the first murder ... scene. Shiki took up the lucrative but dangerous job as a hitman to pay for his sister's cancer medications, but despite the target clearly being described as an unforgivable criminal, Shiki couldn't bring himself to 'deliver justice' for his mysterious informant. Yes, there's something fundamentally disturbing about killing another human being, a simple concept that so many stories have entirely ignored. Even as he would eventually get used to his job through the course of the story, there's always a specter of guilt and hesitation weighing on both his actions and his conscience. There will be no excuse-making, no 'siding with justice' drivel: Shiki understands the weight of his actions, however overwhelming.

Each bounty becomes a test of Shiki's ethical boundaries, as the information of the targets starts to seem less reliable, and actions start affecting bystanders around the targets, including friends, family, and witnesses to the murders. Are they guilty by association? How should Shiki handle the innocents who could very well have him jailed or even killed after seeing his crimes? Life doesn't always go his way, and when he's forced to make such tough decisions, they strongly reflect on how he develops as a person, and it's freaking excellent. You start to notice these subtle but increasingly relevant changes in his mindset, and by the end of the story, there's nothing but respect for his character. Yes, he's made mistakes. Yes, he's done some terrible things. But he tries time and time again to do the right things amidst all his wrongs, and it's that nuanced portrayal of the human aspect that counts for the most.

Then there's his partner-in-crime Kuzumi, a local police detective and undercover hitman. Employed by the same clandestine agency as Shiki, Kuzumi fights for his own brand of justice, as his previous passion in crime-fighting became overtaken by disappointment for the legal system. That being said, once again, Kuzumi does not try to paint himself as some kind of righteous hero; he knows that his circumvention of the law has its own flawed implications, and he's admitted to acting out for his own peace of mind than anything else.

His character is a perfect complement to Shiki's, the foremost reason being his starkly different judgment and moral compass. This guy is decisive and resourceful, always thinking rationally about how to execute their plans in the most efficient and effective manner, thwarting any police action, and setting up each crime scene with the intent of misdirecting any legal agents. Naturally, this includes brutal suggestions of killing off any witnesses, as witnesses tend to be the single worst loose end to any crime. But the qualities of his character don't just end there. Oftentimes, his suggestions are simply devil's advocate to Shiki's more compassionate nature, and even when he logically doesn't agree with Shiki's judgment, his own emotions and respect for Shiki lend him to acquiesce to the messier, but more humane alternatives. This has landed them in disastrous situations far too often, but he adapts accordingly, laboriously playing risk management and damage control of the group. Kuzumi's dynamic with Shiki is a fascinating relationship to follow, and his personality is much more nuanced than meets the eye.

In general, the characters of Kimi no Knife tend to be competent, multifaceted, and realistic. There are many that I haven't mentioned, some who stay throughout the scene and develop impressively, others who make a strong impact despite their short-lived appearance. Detective Hosaka in particular presents a very well-written character in his frustrations and efforts at bringing both yakuza baddies and the main two protagonists to justice, and the police department offers a passionate cast of characters who enrich the narrative through their actions and personalities. There are bystanders of the murders who end up joining Shiki and Kuzumi by choice or by circumstance, and the inclusion of these characters (including the cover girl, Itsuki) effectively add yet another dimension to the issue, while providing precious and revealing character moments in what slice-of-life the manga has to offer in downtime.

All that said, Kimi no Knife isn't a perfect story. The second half is paced a tad too fast for its own good, blazing through plot developments while offering shaky-at-best foundations for said events. It does build an effective sense of suspense and edge matching the desperation of the situation, but some events become hard to follow, and the ending in particular is a bit tough to accept. Certain elements of the story remain unexplained, and Itsuki's supernatural ability of being able to perceive another's mindset is never really used to great effect. This begs the question of why the author even bothered adding that element into the story, but for you guys who dislike the use of supernatural elements in fiction, it may be a relief.

Don't let the flaws deter you from reading this story though. Kimi no Knife offers a powerful experience, and a surprisingly character-driven one, as its characters are written with excellent foundation and thought in mind. The question of morals is explored very meticulously, and many characters possess intricate moral compasses and ideologies which change over time. Each crime scene is presented with increasingly strong weight and suspense, and even while the work carries significant momentum throughout, it also doesn't shy away from engaging on an emotional level when its characters break down or support each other through poor situations. Most importantly, this work's tone feels human: balanced, nuanced, and natural. In this aspect, it has completely surpassed my expectations.

Seriously, seriously consider giving this work a fair chance.

I grabbed this manga because the summary attracted me and it sounded like a good psychological manga, well it sort of is and not. To be clearer I really enjoyed the first two chapters, because they built up to great suspense. But that was it, for me those chapters were the best and made me expect even more or at least the same level of suspense further. It didn't happen, the manga levelled off from there on. There really isn't one main character, but most of the manga revolves around the two hitmen. The events in the manga happened too fast without much insight ... into the characters' psyche. The manga would've been better if it focused on the feelings of the hitmen, especially Shiki, how he felt after each job or Kuzumi's past. A psychological element, instead of a supernatural one (yes there is one, it really did shock me) would improve this manga. I guess because of the inclusion of 'murder', this manga is designated seinen, but it hardly even passes for shounen.

Story 6- it is interesting, but could've been made more suspenseful. More mysteries are introduced but hardly addressed again, like the 'corrdinator' or the organisation that hires the hitmen. The targets (for the hitmen) r supposed to be evil, so that they won't stain on their consicous after killing them. But hardly two or three lines r said about targets' evilness, I wished more focus should've been shown on their crimes/activities. Some gore should've been added, so at least the 'evil doers' would've seemed evil.

Art 9- I rated it high because it's almost bishoujo, really pretty characters. But there are not enough details in the background.

Characters 6-As a reader I would like to feel somewhat empathetic to the characters. Since there wasn't much focus on their background, except for Shiki's and his reason to kill (very unoriginal btw- sister in hosipital with cancer). I felt there wasn't any depth to the character, the manga barely scraps their surface. There were also too many characters interoduced too fast, that they were hard to remember .

Enjoyment 6- I did enjoy reading it, but it didn't really make me think while reading it. I didn't really need to use my brain much (like a shoujo manga). I'd probably keep reading it to see how it ends or gets any better, but I definitly won't be re reading it.

Overall 6- The premise is promising, but the manga doesn't build on it enough. If it were to become more gory or darker I'd raise its rating.

Well that's all I can say about it, it's my first review and I tried to follow others' review template, so I hope it's helpful to future readers.