Kill Me Baby

Kill Me Baby

Cover of the first manga volume
キルミーベイベー Baby, please kill me.
(Kiru Mī Beibē)
Genre Comedy, Slice of life
Manga
Written by Kaduho
Published by Houbunsha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
Original run July 2008 – present
Volumes 8
Anime television series
Directed by Yoshiki Yamakawa
Music by EXPO
Studio J.C.Staff
Licensed by
Original network TBS
English network
Original run January 5, 2012 – March 29, 2012
Episodes 13
Original video animation
Kill Me Baby Super
Directed by Yoshiki Yamakawa
Music by EXPO
Studio J.C.Staff
Released October 16, 2013
Runtime 27 minutes

Kill Me Baby (キルミーベイベー, Kiru Mī Beibē) is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Kaduho which began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Carat from July 2008. It follows the school lives of a high school girl Yasuna Oribe, along with her friends Sonya, a female assassin, and Agiri Goshiki, a female ninja. An anime adaptation by J.C.Staff aired in Japan between January 5, 2012 and March 29, 2012, with an original video animation episode released on October 16, 2013.

Characters

Yasuna Oribe (折部 やすな, Oribe Yasuna)
Voiced by: Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese); Hilary Haag (English)
A normal high school girl and self proclaimed friend of Sonya, who is often friendly to Sonya despite how dangerous she is. She tends to take on the brunt of Sonya's attacks whenever she takes her by surprise or goes overboard with her pranks. She is quite simple minded and is not afraid of Sonya at all, despite the fact that she is an assassin.
Sonya (ソーニャ, Sōnya)
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)
A foreign trained assassin attending a regular high school. As she constantly takes on assassin work she is constantly alert and often attacks Yasuna when she takes her by surprise or tries to play jokes on her. Despite her tough composure, she is scared of various things such as cockroaches, ghosts, wild animals and dogs (even domestic dogs). She also has been shown to care a little for Yasuna, as seen in episode 13, where she saved Yasuna from a pit.
Agiri Goshiki (呉織 あぎり, Goshiki Agiri)
Voiced by: Ai Takabe (Japanese); Rozie Curtis (English)
A laid back ninja from the same organization as Sonya. She transferred to Sonya's school for some assignments and stays at a former ninja club room without permission. She often perplexes Sonya and Yasuna with dubious 'ninjutsus'. She is shown to be calm and have long purplish hair.
Unused Character (没キャラ, Botsu-kyara)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)
A redheaded and green-eyed character with no name who was supposed to be part of the main cast, but was dropped as Yasuna had supposedly taken on all her personality traits. She has since vowed revenge against Yasuna and Sonya.

Media

Manga

Kill Me Baby began its serialization in the July 2008 issue[1] of Manga Time Kirara Carat manga magazine after a prototype of the strip was published in an earlier issue of the magazine. Houbunsha published the first compilation volume on January 27, 2009, with seven volumes published.[2]

Anime

An anime adaptation by J.C.Staff aired on TBS between January 5, 2012 and March 29, 2012.[3][4][5] The opening theme is "Kill Me, Baby!" (キルミーのベイベー！, Kiru Mī no Beibē) by Mutsumi Tamura and Chinatsu Akasaki while the ending theme is "The True Secrets of the Pair's Feelings" (ふたりのきもちのほんとのひみつ, Futari no Kimochi no Honto no Himitsu) by Tamura and Akasaki. These theme songs and all of background music are composed by EXPO, a synthpop group consisting Kimitaka Matsumae and Suguru Yamaguchi. The series has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.[6] A CD Album, Kill Me Baby Super, was released on October 16, 2013 and includes an original video animation.[7]

Episode list

No. Title Original airdate
01 "Dogs, Ninjas and Cherry Blossoms"
"Inu o Shinobi te Sakura Saku" (いぬをしのびてさくらさく) 		January 5, 2012
Yasuna Oribe gets a lot of injuries from classmate and hired assassin, Sonya. When a dog wanders into the classroom, the two think of a way to get rid of it. Later, Yasuna meets a self-proclaimed ninja named Agiri Goshiki who tries to sell her some 'ninjitsus'. 
02 "Nunchuks, Bears and Balloons"
"Waza Nunchaku de Kuma Fuusen" (わざぬんちゃくでくまふうせん) 		January 12, 2012
Yasuna tries and fails to learn to use nunchuks before she and Sonya encounter an escaped bear. The next day, a little girl gets Sonya and Yasuna to play with her. 
03 "Espers, Curses, Rainy Days and Sumo"
"Esupa Noroeba Ame Sumō" (えすぱのろえばあめすもう) 		January 19, 2012
Yasuna tries her hand at psychic powers and voodoo curses, before finding some activities to do on a rainy day. Later, a red haired girl who was rejected from the main cast tries to take revenge on Yasuna and Sonya, but keeps missing them. 
04 "Ice, Watermelons, Yoga and Assassins"
"Aisuru Suika Yoga Shikaku" (あいするすいかよがしかく) 		January 26, 2012
On a hot summer's day, Yasuna and Sonya buy some ice cream, where Yasuna becomes obsessed with finding a winning stick. The next day, they head to the beach to try and break open a watermelon. Later, Sonya is targeted by another assassin, who is eventually stopped by Agiri. On another day, more assassins disguised as Yasuna target Sonya, which becomes more confusing when the real Yasuna shows up and plays along. 
05 "Bugs, Festivals, The Sea and Puppets"
"Mushi o Matsuri te Umi Ningyō" (むしをまつりてうみにんぎょう) 		February 2, 2012
Yasuna's attempt to get Sonya interested in bug catching goes awry when she attracts a lot of bees. Later, Yasuna and Sonya go to a festival and try out all the stalls. While at the beach, Yasuna and Sonya deal with a loose dog and get stranded at sea. Later, Yasuna practises a puppet routine, which just annoys Sonya. 
06 "Navel, Devices, Teru teru bozu and Ice"
"Heso Karakuri de Teru Gōri" (へそからくりでてるごおり) 		February 9, 2012
As summer ends, Yasuna gets a craving for shaved ice and asks Agiri for help. Later, Yasuna and Sonya go to Agiri's house, filled with hidden mechanisms, before later having to deal with a stormy day. 
07 "Culture, Juggling and Cavalry Battle"
"Bunka Otedama de Kibasen" (ぶんかおてだまできばせん) 		February 16, 2012
As Yasuna tries to come up with a project for the upcoming culture festival, Sonya demonstrates how long she is able to hold her breath. At a sports festival, the girls debate who should be on top in a tower battle. Later, Yasuna becomes irritated when Sonya trumps her at juggling. Afterwards, both Yasuna and Sonya become engaged in a battle against a mosquito. 
08 "Traps, Instruments and Stabbing"
"Hamari Kanaderi Tsukisasari" (はまりかなでりつきささり) 		February 23, 2012
While trying to play a prank on Sonya, Yasuna gets a bin stuck on her head. Later, Yasuna has Sonya try out various musical instruments before roping her into a game of darts. 
09 "Fishing, Tsuchinokos, Forgotten Things and Twigs"
"Tsuri Tsuchinoko shi Wasure Eda" (つりつちのこしわすれえだ) 		March 1, 2012
When both Yasuna and Sonya end up misplacing some things, they help each other search them. While searching for the legendary tsuchinoko, Yasuna and Sonya end up encountering an enemy assassin, Yasuna competes with Sonya to see who can catch the most fish, Yasuna luckily gets saved by a flower vase and decides to test her luck. 
10 "Santa, Icicles and Snowmen"
"Santa Tsurara te Yukidarumu" (さんたつららてゆきだるむ) 		March 8, 2012
As snow falls on the schoolyard, Yasuna has lots of fun with the snow, unlike Sonya. The next day, Yasuna catches a cold but goes to school anyway, much to Sonya's annoyance. Later, Yasuna pretends to be a remote controlled toy before having a paper airplane contest with Sonya. A week before Christmas, the girls have a Christmas party where Agiri tries to incorporate Halloween. 
11 "Baths, Kites, Mochi and The First Dream of The Year"
"Furo Tako Mochi te Hatsuyume shi" (ふろたこもちてはつゆめし) 		March 15, 2012
As Yasuna has various New Year's dreams, she attempts to get Sonya interested in making mochi. After attempting to fly some kites, Yasuna and Sonya go to a public bath together. Yasuna was punch in the face in a Boxing Match. 
12 "Chocolate, Dreams and Wounds"
"Choko ga Nemuke te Kega Shippu" (ちょこがねむけて けがしっぷ) 		March 22, 2012
Yasuna becomes interested in bandages and decides to stick some on herself, believing she'll be protected from future wounds. Later, Sonya tries to catch up on some rest after so much work, but Yasuna misreads the situation and keeps getting in her way. Later on, Yasuna tries to convince Sonya to give up being an assassin. 
13 "Kill, Me and Baby"
"Kiru ga Mī shite Beibe suru" (きるがみーしてべいべする) 		March 29, 2012
Yasuna and Sonya get in a fix when Yasuna brings in some handcuffs. Not knowing when Sonya's birthday is, Yasuna and Agiri hold a party for her anyway. Later, Yasuna tries to stop Sonya, believing she is meeting up with a target, and winds up in a pit. Sonya stops after Yasuna admits that she gets worried about Sonya when she is on assignments. 
OVA "Buddha Statues, Injuries and Fake Halloween"
"Butsuzō Kegatte Nise Harowīn" (ぶつぞうけがってにせはろうぃーん) 		October 16, 2013
Yasuna allegedly breaks an alarm clock and tries to hide it from Sonya when she believes it to be hers. Later, Yasuna attempts to break some concrete tiles she brought instead of her lunch. Afterwards, Yasuna and Sonya are asked by Agiri to clean up her storage shed, before later encountering a fake Agiri themselves. 

Reception

Theron Martin of Anime News Network found some of the humor repetitious and the mediocre animation as the series' faults but said that it was balanced out with material that did garner laughs and a workmanlike dub, calling it "a series probably best-enjoyed one or two episodes at a time; trying to marathon it can be a brain-melting experience and is so not recommended. Keep it to smaller doses, though, and it delivers often enough to make a reliable comedy diversion."[8] Aiden Foote, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, also found the animation middling but praised the slapstick humor and its delivery by both Yasuna and Sonya, concluding that "Overall, almost from nothing, Kill Me Baby! seems to have itself a sweet little niche in the congested four-panel market. What it lacks in a large cast, it makes up for by diligently bringing the characters it does use to life."[9]

References

  1. ↑ "まんがタイムきららキャラット 2008年7月号" (in Japanese). Houbunsha. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  2. ↑ キルミーベイベー　第5巻 (in Japanese). Houbunsha. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Baby, Please Kill Me! 4-Panel Comedy Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Baby, Please Kill Me! Anime's Staff, Premiere Time Revealed". Anime News Network. September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Please Kill Me Baby/Kill Me Baby's 1st TV Ad Streamed". Anime News Network. December 22, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Adds Kill Me Baby TV Anime". Anime News Network. February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Kill Me Baby CD To Bundle New Half Hour Bonus Anime". Anime News Network. August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Martin, Theron (July 5, 2013). "Kill Me Baby DVD - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  9. ↑ Foote, Aiden. "Kill Me Baby". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
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