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This anime aged well after I watched it to the point of raising the rating, as it was so memorable. The mixture of supernatural and realistic elements made it stand out, especially with the bittersweet ending. The premise was hilarious (and so was the English dub...), and the humor was lighthearted. The best part of it was that the romance was exactly as promised, though the writer made the choice to not have a confession scene. While that may seem unfinished, it showed the depth of love Pete felt for Sakurano and embodied their silent understanding. Their love did not need to be explained to ... the reader at that point in the story, and it would have been rudimentary. Neither of them got everything they desired but both of them grew together and reached conclusions to their different qualms.

I enjoyed the focus on Sakurano as an individual and also her dynamic with Pete. As the living and mobile participant in the romance, the overarching storyline is about her personal growth, expressing herself through ice skating even if it is not with traditional womanly virtues. The development of emotions in her art made her final act a profession of love and a memorial in one. The romance was formed slowly and with care, and that is everything I can ask for in a romance anime.

The premise of three yakuza members going to Thailand to get sex reassignment surgery and becoming J-Pop idols is a mixture of funny and disturbing. Some moments of the show were hilarious, like the three yakuza talking about machismo and acting like gangsters as cute girls, while others got quite dark. There was a shocking realism about the treatment of women in society, where the idols find that the people they trusted and respected no longer respect them because of their sex. There was some concerns over transphobia, but this anime did not seem about transgenderism at all, they were more akin to cross-dressers or ... body horror characters than transwomen.

The humor was often gross and dark, but it never became overly disgusting or unwatchable, though it is not for everyone. The interactions between the Gokudolls and Mandarin Kinoshita were redeeming moments as he struggled to understand why his expert knowledge was failing him. On the downside, the animation was not impressive, and art shifts and dramatic expressions were overused. The show became repetitive by the end, and the characters did not stand out. The dark comedy fell flat, and the show became depressing.

Romantic Killer was a fun and enjoyable watch, but it did not stand out. While it appeared as trying to subvert typical romance tropes, especially with the FMC ending up as friends with all the male love interests instead of dating them, the platonic relationship between them appeared weak and merely a precursor to romance (except for Hijiri, where they seemed like friends). An actual solid romance would have been a more satisfying ending. Their interactions read more like a reverse harem than friendship, and the backstories for the male characters appeared undeveloped.

Romantic Killer was undoubtedly funny, the art style was youthful and bright, ... and the FMC is likely relatable to the average anime viewer. This made me give it a 6 instead of a 5, but this is an anime that is forgettable and failed to fulfill what it promised (a parody or subversion of romance tropes), even though it was a simple joy while watching.