What's It About?

Rita is Convict 999, a former legendary assassin who now works at a kindergarten for the children of world leaders. Her job is to protect the schoolchildren from the clutches of would-be assassins sent after them! But even with her overwhelming strength, Rita has a weakness―she's head-over-heels for good-looking men!

Kindergarten WARS has art and story Yū Chiba, with English translation by Christine Dashiell and lettering by Phil Christie. Published by Yen Press (May 27, 2025). Rated 16+.

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Is It Worth Reading?

MrAJCosplay
Rating:

Spies and assassins have been very popular again lately, haven't they? Particularly when it comes to shows that focus on exaggerated comedy or established family dynamics. I welcome this change because there was an era when spy and assassination stories were incredibly popular, especially in the West. Now it feels like we're taking what used to be a pretty edgy setup and just making fun of it. Kindergarten WARS, in a lot of ways, is no different from what we have seen in the past few years.

We have a cast of eclectic characters who in no way, shape, or form look like they are expertly skilled in their killing craft. The humor is in how some of the most dangerous people on the planet can be some of the most unassuming. There's no serious plot here, and the whole series comes off as very episodic, slowly rolling out new cast members to help tackle the newest threat to this seemingly unsuspecting kindergarten. It's not against overusing jokes rather quickly, and the characters are a bit one-dimensional from the outset, but that can be uniquely refreshing.

There's nothing here that's overly sentimental like SPY x FAMILY, or with any social commentary like Sakamoto Days. There is probably a lot of potential for the story to go in those directions as time goes on, like many other series that eventually evolved into larger, story-driven narratives. Based on this first volume, it knows how to make fun of the genre that it occupies with excellent art direction. Maybe it will turn into something bigger down the road, but right now, it does a lot for what it is.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.