''X-Kai-'' is a Japanese shōjo

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

Asami Tohjoh , whose name was also written as Asami Tohjoh, was a Japanese manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an a ...

. It was serialized in the magazine ''Eyes Comics'', published by Homesha, and the chapters were collected into two

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or m ...

Story

Plot summary

During the day, Kaito works as a

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related su ...

in a rundown flower shop, but he is actually an

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

trying to make enough money to care for his

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

tose older brother, who was badly burned in an accident. Kaito receives his assignments from a mysterious and beautiful woman named Suguru. However, although Kaito works as an assassin, he is not without compassion. Later on in the series, Kaito takes in a little boy he names Renge, who has been

abused Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

by his parents and other adults. As the story progresses, more is revealed of Kaito's past. He and his older brother spent much of their childhood at an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abu ...

that trained young boys to be assassins, and Kaito's older brother was one of the people responsible for picking out the boys with the most potential. In the organization he works for, Kaito is considered to be the top assassin, which causes jealousy and resentment among his rivals.

Characters

;Kaito :Kaito works as a florist during the day, but he is actually a skilled assassin. He needs money to pay for his older brother's hospital. His signature flower is the Casablanca

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

. ;Renge :Renge is a little boy that Kaito found. When they first meet, he had no name, so Kaito named him "Renge." Renge has difficulties speaking, but he learns new things easily. He is sad that Kaito has to kill others. ;Sugaru :Suguru is the mysterious and beautiful woman who gives Kaito his assignments. She usually only appears when Kaito is on a mission or he needs her help.

Manga

''X-Kai'' was licensed for release in English by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

References

External links

*{{anime News Network, manga, 6088
Tokyopop's ''X-Kai'' page
Shōjo manga Tokyopop titles