The Fall 2022 Manga Guide

The Geek Ex-Hitman

What's It About? 

The Oracle of Florence, Marco, is a legendary, peerless hitman feared throughout the Italian underworld, but now he's trying to build a new reputation for himself—the biggest geek in Japan! After getting introduced to the joys of otaku culture while out on a hit, Marco quickly gets so sucked in that he sets down his bloodstained mantle and moves to Japan to peacefully enjoy his new lifestyle. But he'll soon find that even after turning over a new leaf, there isn't much he can do about how sinister he appears to other people—especially the government agent on his tail, Viviana, whose skills as a spy are surpassed only by her burning passion for yaoi and BL…! (from Yen Press)

The Geek Ex-Hitman has story and art by Ko-dai, with English translation by Giuseppe di Martino and lettering by Erin Hickman, and Yen Press has released its first volume both digitally and physically for $6.99 and $15.00 respectively.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Christopher Farris

Rating:

The Geek Ex-Hitman has one of those simple, silly concepts that ought to sell itself. Just that cover featuring our titular John-Wick-looking weirdo toting his anime body pillow around should highlight the appeal, and the book itself doesn't really waste any time either, jumping headfirst into its depictions of retired mercenary murderer Marco's low-stakes life of weebery in Japan. The baked-in gap gimmick propelling the book mostly lands here; artist Ko-dai is exceedingly adept at illustrating a bedraggled badass like Marco occupying otaku outings like idol shows or figurine collecting. That visual appeal expands as other hard-boiled escapees from a more serious genre drop into the cast, such as a pair of eccentric government agents drawn with that same disheveled energy and darkened eye bags signifying several days of little sleep. The artist, at least where it counts here, is clearly one of culture.

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that simply putting hot crime-thriller characters into low-key nerd situations can't really carry a book like this. Especially at the beginning, Marco's misadventures within otaku subculture come off as little more than short, scattershot, and often attention-losing exercises. Many of them deviate little from the series' foundational one-joke setup of "Marco acts like a hard-boiled assassin while doing a stereotypical otaku activity", and the art can feel a little loose and harder to read than it needs to in places, even with our main character centering all the charisma on the appeal (and gimmick) of his looks in virtually every panel.

Things do start to pick up as agent Viviana and later her partner Andre are introduced, but it's still a slow roll. "Silly misunderstanding about an otaku activity" continues apace as a contributing concept, or one whole chapter that's just a smattering of Viviana's BL-laced fantasies. As what should mostly work best as a character-based subversive sitcom, the characters themselves don't get a lot to do or drive that kind of entertainment value until well into this first volume. There is something to be said for the idea hovering around all these lite, nerdy antics: that assassins and agents like this are just nice, normal dorks who have their own lives when they're in retirement or on downtime is an appreciative concept. Bits like Viviana's insistence on not working unpaid overtime is an example of an aside gag that works into that. And things do feel more cohesive by the end of this volume as we follow our leads preparing for their pilgrimage to, what else, Comiket. But a lot of those more effective indulgences are few and far between in this introductory entry. The idea is strong, but as any good hitman knows, it's the execution that is most important.

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Jean-Karlo Lemus

Rating:

What is it about manga centering on otaku culture that makes it so engaging? Is it the cringing at the verisimilitude of it all? Marco's passion towards magical girl anime (and the extent to which he carries on about it with any random person he encounters—like that poor delivery man) speaks to me in ways that amuse and terrify me. Definitely how I'm trying to not be. Regardless, much of the humor still rings true: it's just amusing to see these elegant, self-serious assassins be such hopeless weebs.

Even though the art is so elegant and airy, the humor is very down-to-Earth and relatable. Marco and Vivian are always dashing and dapper, even if they do tend to have some yaoi-arms going on. And the script is breezy and brisk, never giving the stray bad joke a moment to linger for too long. The action is undeniably cool and fun, but the real highlight of this book is just seeing people geek out about stuff they enjoy. Honestly, this is a fantastic read, and I definitely recommend it to everyone.

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MrAJCosplay

Rating:

A hitman that retires to be an otaku sounds like it can either be an absolutely hilarious premise or a desperately stupid idea. Thankfully, the Greek Ex-Hitman leans far more towards the former than the latter. The best way to describe this series is imagine if John Wick retired from being a legendary hitman because he wanted to make more time to attend Idol concerts and collect anime figures. It sounds ridiculous, but it surprisingly works, and I'm not just saying that because I have met people in real life that would literally kill to protect some of their anime merchandise. The first third of this book establishes the overall tone and makeup of the series with an art style that enunciates jagged edges and thick outlines. These designs serve as a perfect contrast to the more light and rounded otaku elements that our titular hitman and those like him try to surround themselves with, and lend some incredibly dynamic fluidity to the high-octane action scenes throughout the book, even if they can get a bit messy at times.

As more players from the criminal underworld start poking their heads out and blend into society in their own unique ways, the book shifts from a straight comedy to something of a mix of action and absurdity. There's a sense of self-seriousness to how straight everyone plays their roles, which definitely keeps the humor feeling fresh. This is definitely a world that I want to learn more about filled with characters that I was constantly entertained by. I highly recommend picking up the first volume if you're looking for a laugh.