WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Love of Kill Episode 5, "Limit," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Love of Kill is a seinen-style shojo action anime series featuring the standoffish tsundere bounty hunter Chateau and her admirer, the equally mysterious Song Ryang-Ha, who has made it his mission to protect Chateau and aid her however he can. The problem is, Chateau's boss Euripedes does not like Ryang-Ha.
Euripedes has known Chateau since her girlhood, and he feels protective of her as both her boss and old friend. After Chateau's and Ryang-Ha's battle against Hou, however, Euripedes may be convinced to give Ryang-Ha a chance and accept him as a secret ally -- although that doesn't mean he has to like it.
In an earlier episode, Hou took Chateau hostage after overpowering her, and it fell to Ryang-Ha to save the day. Now, in Episode 5, Ryang-Ha finishes the job and kills Hou in mortal combat, taking a gunshot wound in the process. He and Chateau reunite after the battle, and Chateau, despite her own injury, puts Ryang-Ha's safety first. Clearly, she is already accepting him as an ally and trusted partner despite their Mr. & Mrs. Smith dynamic, and she graciously brings her mysterious protector to a secret clinic. Ryang-Ha recovers without any issues, and he gets cocky enough to invite Chateau to run off with him to simplify things. Chateau sternly rejects the offer, but all the same, she and Ryang-Ha reach a turning point in this episode, and neither of them will back out of this partnership now.
Chateau's co-worker Jim arrives and he quickly accepts Ryang-Ha's role in all this, but their boss, the protective Euripedes, has more reservations. He has every reason to be wary of Song Ryang-Ha, but Jim insists that Ryang-Ha can serve as a vital ally to Euripedes' bounty hunting company, and Chateau has no objections to the idea. Euripedes hesitates, but he cannot deny how useful Ryang-Ha has been, given that he has saved Chateau's life at least twice now. Euripedes reluctantly agrees to accept Ryang-Ha as an unofficial ally, despite his mission to eliminate Ryang-Ha. This is a gracious move on Euripedes' part that proves he prioritizes Chateau's well-being over following the letter of the law. He has a flexible mind.
Euripedes' generosity about Ryang-Ha flatters him, and it should help simplify Chateau's increasingly complicated personal and work life, especially in light of how Ryang-Ha's enemies keep targeting her to get to Ryang-Ha himself. Chateau already has enough enemies and mysteries to deal with at the moment, and a truce between her protective boss and her equally protective ally Ryang-Ha should help set her mind at ease. Better yet, if Chateau's boss can accept Ryang-Ha, that gives Chateau even more reason to trust Ryang-Ha as well. Euripedes "endorses" Ryang-Ha with this truce, and that should be enough for both Chateau and Jim. Each of them trusts Euripedes to make the right call.
This unofficial tentative alliance between Euripedes and Ryang-Ha may serve as a test of character for both men. It's likely that Chateau and Ryang-Ha will find themselves in even bigger trouble in future episodes, and Ryang-Ha might say or do something Euripedes won't like, as he is much more loyal to Chateau than he is to Euripedes. If so, it will soon become clear just how much leeway Euripedes is willing to give Chateau's new partner -- and what the final straw might end up being.
Ryang-Ha, meanwhile, might actually play nice and "share" Chateau fairly with Euripedes out of respect for the other man's friendship with her, and that would reflect well on Ryang-Ha's character. Rang-Ha is unpredictable and acts like a borderline yandere, but he's also slick and smart, and he likely knows better than to antagonize Euripedes too much. He'll have to strike a balance between Euripedes' desires and his own, and most likely, the suave Ryang-Ha will figure out that balance before long. After all, a lot is on the line here, both personally and professionally.
