It's the modern mantra elicited upon seeing a pretty lady: "God, I want her to kill me." So it was only a matter of time before some enterprising storyteller took that attitude to its ultimately literal conclusion. Said storyteller in this case is Yasuhiro Kano, and his resultant creation is Kiruru Kill Me. There's of course no shortage of manga that get by on One Joke such as this one, and Kiruru Kill Me makes early efforts to set up for a variety of outlandish outcomes for Aoi and Kiruru's death-based 'dates'. Aoi's obscene wealth funding both his repeated hiring of the hitwoman and his access to improbable medical technology that renders him nigh-invincible against her efforts quickly turns the whole thing into a sort of Wile E. Coyote vs Roadrunner scenario, if the Roadrunner was also secretly getting off on the Coyote's pursuits. So it goes: Kiruru makes an effectively-planned attempt on Aoi's life, only to find that Aoi has himself planned for every eventuality of the effort in what he sees as spending time together, hilarity ensues, rinse, repeat. Admittedly this only persists for most of this first volume, with the last couple chapters introducing some new concepts for complications and demonstrating different kinds of stories that can be told with this base framework, but said framework is still there, and doesn't look like it will be progressing or evolving any time soon.

That static setup to the main characters' relationship is probably the biggest sticking point here. Not only does the comedic concept necessitate that Aoi and Kiruru thus far can't get to know each other better or forge a closer personal connection, that barrier is enforced, in-story, by Aoi himself. His sheltered take on the particulars of romantic relationships is played for laughs, but it's also used as a mechanic for him to specifically instruct Kiruru not to personally reveal her true nature to him, and for him to revel in his knowledge as her secret contractor without actually getting to know her more closely or even engage with her at all outside of the momentary thrill of her murder attempts. It can create an odd, almost off-putting element of possessiveness to how their 'relationship' is structured, given that Aoi's initial methods for pursuing Kiruru are built around using his wealth and resources to manipulate her focus on him in his chosen medium so he can secretly revel in that knowledge.

If that comes off as looking too deeply into what is essentially a simple gag-manga setup, it's only because Kiruru Kill Me doesn't give us much else to delve into beyond those surface mechanics. With Kiruru and Aoi unable to connect beyond farcical, surface-level acknowledgements, it means there's no actual spark or tension to their potential romantic relationship to get invested in yet. One later chapter does attempt to illustrate the lengths Aoi can go to in using his wealth and influence in service of Kiruru, but the underlying punchline is still one of odd possessiveness over her being 'dishonored' by another man. It all means the core setup tires quickly, because we can already see the potential for more interesting stories borne out of the characters actually conversing and connecting, and how that could intersect with the escalating hired-killing bits.

The problem then is that such efforts would require Kano to expand on the characters themselves, and at this point, he doesn't seem super interested in doing so. Aoi is given the barest business and education background, but at least his sheltered nature speaks for the ways he missed out on the most formative elements of a 'normal' youth. The bigger casualty is Kiruru, who has the potential to be the most interesting character in the story, but frustratingly remains thoroughly underdeveloped. The gimmick of her effectively being the straight man in the story despite also being a hired killer is solid, and learning how her 'roller coaster of a life' led this seemingly sensible person into this odd career might provide some entertaining context into her disposition, to say nothing of setting up possible points where she and Aoi could genuinely connect. But instead we simply get a few expository conversations with her co-workers on her considerations of killing techniques, some light allusions to her personal principles, and little else. The last couple chapters of this first volume show Kano willing to expand the scope and angles of the kinds of stories he can tell with this setup, but pointedly refusing to expand on the characters or evolve their connection, which means the actual humor and entertainment value therein hasn't updated much by the end.

If the base slapstick comedy is all this book has to fall back on, at least Kano's art does a fun job of carrying it that way. He's got a great handle on funny faces across the entire cast, and uses Aoi's semi-invincible nature to show him sustaining some outrageously violent (and amusing) injuries. The comedy component of each encounter contrasts well with Kiruru's effectively set-up assassin scenarios. This is also a fanservice manga of sorts, with Kano drawing in plenty of salacious shots of Kiruru, but the outrageous bust-waist-hips ratio of the character means her anatomy is rendered rather oddly for my tastes on a lot of pages. To each their own though, I guess, and the contrast of more 'traditional' fanservice with the expressions of modern-appeal murder-wife violence does ensure that all bases should be covered for folks checking this book out for those simple pleasures.

But that kind of base appeal is really all that Kiruru Kill Me has at this point. I know this is only a first volume, with future escalations possible, and even hinted at, before the ending. But to me, those mere hints aren't really enough to carry it through a full read apart from its outrageous gimmickry. As-is, this one falls into the realm of the frustratingly mediocre: plenty of obvious potential, but not enough yet done with said potential to feel particularly worthwhile.