Akame ga Kill

Zach Goodier

Story:

Tatsumi, our protagonist in training

Akame ga Kill is an action series that centers around Tatsumi, who is travelling to the capital of his empire in order to try to gain wealth to send back to his village, which is suffering under high taxes.  However, despite his apparent natural skill at surviving the local monsters in the rural regions, he quickly finds himself unable to adapt to life in the big city, as he soon finds his money stolen, and on the streets.  However, things go from bad to worse, as he soon discovers a darker side of society, a high-class that is run by the corrupt and sadistic monsters in human skin that populate the capital, and have corrupted the ruler.

Our infamous band of assassins, Night Raid.

Tatsumi soon finds himself face-to-face with Night Raid, a group of assassins that is fighting to eliminate corruption within the capital, as the covert arm of the rebel forces that are building in the southern regions to overthrow the corrupt regime using their unique weapons, called “Imperial Arms.”  Tatsumi trains to become a killer, trading in his goal of saving his village to saving the entire kingdom from tyranny.  His allies are assassins ranging from a muscle-bound homosexual who prefers to be called “bro,” to the silent but deadly Akame, who’s relentlessness in battle is only matched by her relentless pursuit of food.  All of Tatsumi’s new allies have their quirks, and what seems to be a new band of friends pursuing justice soon evolves into a true war, where casualties on both sides cause Tatsumi to face the harsh realities of war.

Night Raid is as eccentric as they are dangerous

This show calls itself shōnen, but it does a lot of things that few shōnen shows are willing to do, and that’s a very good thing.  First off, the show doesn’t feel very shōnen, like the amount of bloody violence that transpires throughout the series.  Also, this show touches on more mature themes regularly, not feeling filtered for younger audiences.  Tatsumi does feel like a typical protagonist at first, but he does some developing as the show goes on, becoming a more competent fighter and teammate, but still holding onto some of those core traits he possessed at the beginning of the series.  Many of the characters have a duality to them, with comedic antics ensuing during the downtime and their serious side when the action starts up.




Characters:

As the series progresses, Tatsumi starts to toughen up.

One thing the show does well is eliminate the feeling that characters have plot armor, or at least most of Night Raid.  There are a couple core characters, like Tatsumi and Akame, that come off as central and above death.  However, you’ll find that a couple of the other members aren’t quite as immune to death, and that will have a major impact on the story, particularly with Tatsumi and his quest to get stronger.  That doesn’t mean that they start dropping like flies (at least not yet), but I do appreciate the ability to make me worry about which characters might drop for good, and the show does a good job of keeping you on edge as there are more than a few close calls after the initial deaths shatter the illusion that everyone is going to get out alive (kind of reminded me of Ned Stark in GoT). 

Esdeath is introduced as a sadistic, cold-hearted woman, but her quest to find love, and her kindness to her own subordinates makes her actually become rather likeable.

Another strong side involves the wide cast of characters, and the dispersal of likeable characters on both sides of the conflict.  As the series progresses, General Esdeath, a prominent Imperial commander, is called on to assemble a squad of Imperial Arm users to fight Night Raid.  Like Night Raid, the Jaegers consist of some eccentric characters, but some of them are consumed with sadistic urges, like Esdeath herself.  However, several become likeable (like Wave, Bols, and even Esdeath herself, to a point), which makes the conflict feel that much more suspenseful as you watch characters you like fight to the death. 

Tatsumi gets acquanted with the Jaegers (pictured with him above)

While General Esdeath isn’t the main villain (The Minister to the Emperor is), she's the militant arm, and the main foe that Night Raid has to face throughout most of the series after the first few episodes. One thing that interests me is her sudden interest in love, which even her closest aides find surprising in a woman who wields ice only have as cold as she is.  Without spoiling too much, she does fall in love with someone, and it leads to some comical moments, while also make you hope that Esdeath can find a way to change herself, as she believes only in survival of the fittest, and that her role is to prey on the weak to become stronger herself.  Despite her fearsome reputation, she does start to thaw a little, but only towards her newfound love.  This does a great job of keeping the story interesting, and making you both anticipate and dread the inevitable fight between them.

Imperial Arms come in virtually any form (like a weapon or equipment), and bind to specific users, and while they can swap users, they must be compatible with the arms, or they will die.

Death in the series is a common occurrence, and likeable characters start dropping within the first episode, but the series does try to throw in plenty of humor when the action has died down. This can make the tone of the series very heavy, and then shift back to humor relatively quickly.  It can seem like an inconsistent tone, but it actually feels appropriate when characters try to force themselves to move on.  It makes the characters feel more visceral and relatable, and shows that they’ve experienced loss before, and Tatsumi himself quickly learns that dwelling on loss is one of the quickest way to end up dead in his line of work. 


Action:

A reminder that General Esdeath is as ruthless as she is beautiful.

This series has plenty of stylish action, and all of the members of Night Raid look and move like true assassins.  However, their opponents eventually become just as dangerous, as they go from killing high-class sadists and corrupt guard captains to facing the full force of the military elite.  This transition allows you to get to know the characters, and allows Tatsumi to face opponents who he was relatively even with before moving up to the big leagues.  It all feels very natural and well-thought out, slowly dialing up the intensity as the series progresses with new and more dangerous enemies.

Tatsumi has the typical "close encounters" with women, and like all shōnen, he is completely unwilling to just live out our dreams and just go for it... Oh well, there's always rule 34.

Issues:
Tatsumi himself can be rather typical of a shōnen anime, with his cliché notion of honor and protecting everyone.  It’s not bad, but he can feel a little lame at times.  He does develop a bit more as the series progresses and he learns how to be a killer, but he feels like the only reason this show can be called shōnen at all, and that feel like a hindrance at times.  There is also a few characters and moments that seem to make little to no sense. They're not really plot holes, but poor judgement on the part of the characters.

Some Imperial Arms are actually living creatures that respond to a master's orders, and they, like all Imperial Arms often.

Conclusions:
Overall, I found this series, so far, to be very enjoyable.  I have watched up to episode 20, and the series is ongoing.  It seems to adapt the manga material almost to the letter, which is good for fans of the manga who want to get into this show.  There is a lot going on, and a lot to look ahead towards.  Tatsumi is presently starting to come into his own as a fighter, and several important characters on both sides have perished. 

Think of this show as primarily a dark fantasy/action series, with a dash of comedy to lighten the mood. 

The approach of killing off likeable characters really is what makes this show work for me.  It makes every fight feel significant, since there are frequently fights where you think Night Raid or Jaeger characters you like might die, and sometimes they do.  One of the themes is the tragedy of war, and the fact that good people die on both sides of the conflict.  The danger isn’t always there, since some characters feel protected above others, but the wide cast of lesser, likeable characters makes this show still keeps the tension up, and makes you both anticipate and dread the next awesome fight.  This, as well as good plot and characters, makes Akame ga Kill one of the best new shows I’ve watched so far this year.

Good:

-Awesome action that doesn’t shy away from the realities of deadly combat.

-Assortment of likeable and well-imagined characters on both sides makes for even more excitement and tension during battles.

-For a shōnen, this frequently makes you forget that it is one with its’ brutality and story.

Bad:

-Tatsumi can, at times, be the only real tell that this still hasn’t completely broken from being a shōnen anime.

-A couple of lesser characters fall short of their intended depth, and there are few moments of frustration that result from bad decisions on the part of some of the characters.

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10