All you need is Kill (Hiroshi Sakurazaka)

Released as part of VIZ-Media’s recent fiction line, Haikasoru, All you need is Kill was a very fast but great read. Though technically considered a light novel, you do not find any of the watered down elements a LN would normally bear. The characters are clear and enjoyable. the story is descriptive and vibrant. The novel could very easily be triple the length, but it would not make it any better. Instead, you would risk watering down its power, like small punches to your gut turning to love taps.

Though originally written in Japanese (2004), it was recently translated by Alex Smith and pushed out to the English market.

if you read AYNIK, you will definitely be reminded of Robotech, Groundhogs day, and general anime/manga. This book is much more than any of those things however, so you will see no further references to them.

FNORDinc’s overview-

The planet earth is in the midst of a ground war. We fight alien machines sent to our planet to reform the atmosphere and land to the needs of their creators. Their blood is sand, electrically charged and poisonous to all earth life. Nanites mixed about inside them make them mobile bio-hazards, eating dirt and emitting toxic waste. These machines, called Mimics (not to be confused with giant mutant cockroaches) fire 1600 meter per second spikes into their enemies and destroy all they come in contact with. There is more to them, but i will let those who want more info read the book. These secrets are not mine to disclose.

Protagonist Keiji Kiyira is prepping for his first battle. As a virgin in the bed of war, he is clumsy and nervous. he knows his training but has no idea what he is REALLY doing. This becomes evident two pages into the book as he is bleeding out. Torn nearly in two by enemy fire, he is in shock. Enter Rita, the “Full Metal Bitch”. Clad in red armor, wielding an axe, she is a vision of hope and absolute bad-assery. Sh is like the battlefield messiah, brute force putting the enemy into an the mood to absolve their sins through death. Her just being near Keiji is enough to get him back on his feet fighting. with out these two character, this story would be a waste of paper, detailing our own demise.

Everything it stops an instant after he meets Rita. Keiji wakes up 30 hours earlier, in his bunk at the barracks. He is stuck in a loop, repeating the same battle every day. Talk about the perfect way to lose your mind. perpetually fighting a never ending battle, honing your skills and carrying them forward into the next day.

I highly suggest this book.

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (2009)
• Published: Original Language (2004)
• ISBN-10: 1421527618
• ISBN-13: 978-1421527611