Mondo is, for all intents and purposes, a perpetually bored government assassin who takes all the joy in his job as a government clerk, for whom the job, getting laid, and soft boiled eggs are all that matter.
The fascinating part of Killer Is Dead seems to come from examining our hero: a stoic, work-a-day, sword expert for hire with a cyborg arm named Mondo Zappa. But oh, you bet your ass we’ll get to that. At their best, they’re endlessly fascinating, with piles to chew on and interpret and piece together days after the game has been beaten. Like David Lynch, in style more than quality, he tells rather traditional tales, but tales that operate in a sort of fuzzy, dream logic state where symbolism and mood take precedence over cohesion and structure.
Which meaning of the term varies moment to moment. Killer Is Dead, like everything with Suda 51’s mark on it, is special.