A loose standalone plotline that gets me intrigued as it revolved around a new hitman character which I haven’t came across before from the previous instalments. I followed Kabuto; a highly skilled assassin in a journey to escape his dangerous profession and the hold of his handler, a sinister Doctor who keeps bugging him with assignments and threats before he could finally quit.

Both backdrop and its storytelling were not much to my fav as it feels too monotonous, slow-moving and less riveting for a criminal underworld narrative; nothing too thrilling or that gore and it feels like Isaka loves to kill his own punchline that at times most scenes ended too underwhelming for me. The plot mostly explored on Kabuto’s psychological struggles of wanting to quit his position as well on familial issue and personal conflict he encountered in between being a husband, a father and a hitman. Too mild on the suspense part, bit unsettling and emotionally-driven and somehow I love the interactions and dynamics of Kabuto and his son, Katsumi— the household drama can be quite amusing yet so affecting considering how Kabuto was trying to settle down while stuck within his limited choices and those threats he received.

Glimpses of cameos from Lemon and Tangerine also a bit about Hornet and Pusher. That unforeseen friendship of Kabuto and Nanomura during the last assignment brought me to a more gripping narrative in the later chapter; a twisty aftermath with a 10-year after setting narrated through Katsumi’s perspective and Kabuto on the day that tragedy happened. Lots of twists and turns in this part and I love its sentimental and engrossing exploration that I go wanting to increase my rating because of the revelations. Heart-breaking yet it did give me a smile on the last page.

“Life sure is interesting. I think I’ll keep on living.”

3.8/5 stars.

Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a copy to review!