Isekai Tenseisha Koroshi: Cheat Slayer manga has been cancelled, just one month after its initial release in Kadokawa’s Dragon Age magazine. Kakegurui author, Homura Kawamoto, is behind the story, while Aki Yamaguchi did the art.
On June 28th, 2021, Dragon Age magazine issued a press release stating the Cheat Slayer manga is now cancelled. They state that they received several complaints about the depiction of the villains in the manga. The villains resemble characters from other popular series, such as Sword Art Online, Konosuba, and Re:Zero. Dragon Age magazine states it was never their intention to undermine existing works or represent characters in a bad light. They apologize for their lack of foresight and say that they have decided to cancel the Cheat Slayer manga series.
So what actually led Cheat Slayer to a cancellation?
Soon after the initial release in the July 2021 issue of Dragon Age magazine readers online started pointing out stark similarities between Cheat Slayer villains and characters from other popular isekai series. For example, one of the main characters we see is Kiruto. He has black hair; long black trench coat and he uses swords to fight. If that doesn’t ring a bell, keep in mind that his official title is “The dual-wielding black knight”.
In addition to Kiruto, we also have Honda, who has “time-looping powers” and really looks like Subaru from Re:Zero. But it doesn’t stop there. Among the characters are also “The Named Slime” Roro, “The Daughter Villainess” Imerda, and “The Undead King” Don Will Undead, who is basically just a skeleton. Then there’s a fallen goddess, whose name is Flare, as well as “young demon” Anastasia. Louis Crawford, the main villain of the first chapter, resembles Shin from Wise Man’s Grandchild.
Other than physical appearances and powers, the characters also share a lot of traits with their counterparts. One could argue that they simply share traditional isekai tropes, but that doesn’t mean much when they share them with their exact look-alikes.
What is Cheat Slayer all about?
The story is set in a world where isekai’d characters have amazing superpowers, capable of bending the laws of the universe. They unite into a hero guild of sorts and call themselves The Reincarnates. However, the story isn’t exactly about them. The main character is Lute, a normal villager born into the world. He idolizes the Reincarnates and wants to join them. But, one day they arrive in his village and kill everyone, leaving him on the verge of death. A mysterious witch saves him and promises to help him with the revenge. His first target is Louis Crawford, the man who murdered Lute’s best friend.
The story is a dark fantasy revenge story, with some disturbing and graphic scenes depicting violence. The first chapter came out on June 9th, 2021 with July’s issue of Dragon Age.
The author, Homura Kawamoto apologized for his “lack of consideration” on Twitter. He is best-known for Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler manga series, while the artist Aki Yamaguchi did lesser-known work. Cheat Slayer was cancelled after just one chapter.
Source: Dragon Age Press Release
Dragon Age © KADOKAWA CORPORATION 2021
