「マッドサイエンティストを斬る」 (Maddo Saientiisuto wo kiru)
“Kill the Mad Scientist”

It’s always fun to watch these action-packed episodes, but I’ll admit that it’s hard to blog because all I want to say is “Oh my god!” and “That was crazy!”. This episode was indeed full of all that fun stuff and it was unpredictable to a certain extent which always holds my attention. Even though I know that it’s inevitable that people will die, I’m always still hoping that they have something else up their sleeves. After Seryu’s fight with Sheele, everything seems to be a possibility and you honestly can’t rule out “weapons for arms” anymore. Apparently Dr. Stylish was both evil and imaginative! Why rot in jail when you can become a test subject right?

Dr. Stylish ends up being quite a formidable enemy and up until the moment that Najenda reappeared, I was expecting that a member of the Night Raid might possibly die tonight. That doesn’t end up being the case, but that doesn’t mean that Dr. Stylish didn’t go out with a bang. He was the mastermind behind all the mutant-like humans and gave Seryu all that weaponry attached to her body. I was surprised that he didn’t last a bit longer, but he was smart enough to track down the Night Raid’s hideout singlehandedly. A genius if you will, but still not smart enough if he assumed that he could take down the entire gang by himself. As such, he wasn’t much of a developed character in my mind but he lives up to the stereotypical crazy scientist role that you would assume he played. All his henchmen were also just puppets that were there… and then they weren’t. I think the only one that actually left an impression was Kaku (Fujinuma Kento) because he was in possession of Sheele’s Imperial Arms. Although the moment was short, I appreciated seeing Mine’s vulnerability and power as she – literally – blew away Kaku. I never cared much for her (even in episode 3), but after seeing what she’s been though, I can really sympathize with her character. She’s quickly rising to the top of my “Please Don’t Kill Her Off” list.

Now the best part of the episode was seeing some new Night Raid members kick some a**. I mentioned before that with all the deaths lately, there needs to be some cool-down period to actually introduce some new people (to eventually kill off). That appears to be the focus of next week, but that doesn’t mean that Susanoo (Asanuma Shintarou) didn’t get an awesome introduction this week. Wow, I was probably just as awestruck as everyone else as he showed up in fashionable timing and eliminated everything in his path. I was especially surprised to hear that he’s an Imperial Arms on his own (similar to Coro) and hence his regenerative abilities. So who is his owner? Possibly Najenda herself because (now that I mention it) I haven’t seen her in combat ever. The other newcomer is named Chelsea (Nazuka Kaori) and we’ll get to see more of her later on. She resembles Seryu to me, but that might just be her hair color. Is this what Najenda does on her “away” trips? It looks like she goes to scout new members for the Night Raid which couldn’t have come at a better time. That, and tame giant wild beasts because that’d be a useful skill to have.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Another great action-packed episode for #AkamegaKill. Excited to see what these two new members will bring to the table. #akame_anime


Author’s Note: There comes a time every once in a while that… I break down and cry because I am stressed beyond belief and hysterical from the lack of sleep. Thus, I am going on vacation next week (for the first time in years!) and just as a forewarning, my post for Akame ga Kill (and Sailor Moon Crystal) may be delayed or even postponed an entire week. I will be substituting for Stilts’ Tokyo ESP post this week, as well as tying together the final touches to other important seasonal posts. Please understand that while I love my job and RC, sometimes… I just need some time away from the Interwebs and all its glory. You guys are the best! Keep the spoilers to a minimum yourselves and I will respond when I can ^^’’.

Full-length images: 11, 20, 36.

 

Preview

48 Comments

  1. Enjoy your rest. We don’t want you to burn out like Omni.

    The fights were great but what I enjoyed most are the character dynamics. Tatsuya isn’t the cub in a den of bears anymore. He’s grown claws and can jump in the fight just as well. I like that Akame seems to look at him as a partner rather than just someone that’s there now. Mine as well. Of all the Night Raid members I hope at least those 3 survive.

  2. See ya, Cherrie. Enjoy your vacation. We all need to get away sometimes.

    This episode sure was action-packed. I got a little worried for a moment because it seemed like Leone was going to die. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

    Loved the part where she bit down on the sword. Reminded me of Guts in Berserk.

    Mormegil
  3. That view of the new girl, look like a farewell smile, and looks like she will die right off the bat given the title of the next episode. Maybe another Sheena routine, make us fall in love and reap out our heart afterward.

    tsukiyo
    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      Yogo
  4. Replace a cute girl and big strong guy with another cute girl and big strong guy…or rather Imperial Arms.

    I’m guessing from that one preview pic that a bunch of people believe(d) that Najenda is a male? lol

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  5. dr Stylish overestimated his own creations, had he summoned Esdeath and rest of the Jaegers, this could have ended much worse for teh Night Raid…
    can’t but notice Akame relying more and more on Tatsumi…

    ewok40k
    1. @ewok40k: “dr Stylish overestimated his own creations, had he summoned Esdeath and rest of the Jaegers, this could have ended much worse for teh Night Raid…”

      Overconfidence was a mistake on Dr. Stylish’s part, but to be fair he might have won if not for the timely arrival of Najenda and Susanoo. That paralysis poison was quite effective (only Tatsumi was able to fight). Regardless, there’s more to it than just overconfidence as to why Dr. Stylish didn’t notify Esdese. Again… source material cuts. This page is spoiler-free and explains in detail why Dr. Stylish did not notify Esdese.

  6. Enjoy your vacation Cherrie

    This episode was so good. I didn’t expect so much trouble from just one member of Esdeath’s army. Granted, he had an army of his own to command. I felt bad for Dr. Stylish’s female scout (the one with the huge ears). She really made a sincere attempt to escape her death.

    Rick Anime
  7. I completely understand what that feels like Cherrie! You deserve a break and I hope it helps you unwind! Hang in there :3

    In regards to the episode, I really loved it. I feel like it highlighted each Night Raid character very well. It was nice to see more of Lubbock in battle this time around cause we haven’t seen a lot from him yet. I’d like to see Najenda get involved now that she’s back but she’s a badass without even trying. This show definitely does action well and I’m always pleasantly surprised when they manage to sprinkle some comedy in! Plus, you know you’re used to the gore when a young girl slices someone up with a sword and your only response is “Akame’s pajamas are so cute!” I’ve got my priorities totally in check, haha. I’m excited to get to know these new characters. I’m afraid I share your habit of making a “Please do not kill” list, Cherrie! But I call myself a Game of Thrones fan, so I’m no stranger to the loss of favored characters.

    Kira526
    1. Lubbock definitely doesn’t have enough screentime so I’d like to see his story played out more. We’ll see if he gets his own background episode =) and then maybe die shortly after >_> I don’t know…
      I’m also a huge GoT fan! YAY! But I still have characters that I like… and ones that I wish would die a horrible horrible death. That doesn’t stop me from hoping that some of the “good guys” come out alive because if I just expect the worst all the time, I probably wouldn’t be watching =X Same goes for AgK. I think I have to like them to care two rats ass about what happens… otherwise, I wouldn’t be liking this show very much haha

  8. Another entertaining episode. IMO Akame has been one of the more consistent shows this season – at least of what I’m watching (which admittedly isn’t all that much). That’s not to say the adaptation is perfect. I still think the action scenes are a little too “mangaish”/not fluid enough and would like less material cuts/alterations, but IMO it’s more fair to view the “Akame glass” as 1/2 full rather than 1/2 empty. Unlike last episode, they didn’t try to cram in a massive amount of material into a single episode. +1 for that and a trend I hope will continue.

    Dr. Stylish was certainly evil (I hope we can all agree on that), and perhaps overly character cliche’ as well, but I did find him an entertaining villain in his own way. Might have been interesting to see what would have happened if he stuck around longer since he wasn’t one to just blindly follow Esdese’s orders to the letter. Oh well, this is Akame so someone other than misc. cannon fodder had to die I suppose.

    Other than that, I hope Leone has a good dental plan not much else to say to avoid any potential spoiler issues. Bring on Ep. 12.

    @Cherrie: No worries about the next episode review. Enjoy your vacation.

  9. hang in there cheerie; enjoy you vacation and we will all await your return. I hope that whatever has caused you great distress has finally been quelled, or at least that you’re handling them better. I think we all understand that life gets the best of us sometimes and we need to take some time to chill and reprocess.

    sonicsenryaku
    1. It’s a busy time on RC these days (for all the writers, not just myself) and on top of that, I have a full-time job that’s been more time-consuming than I thought. The vacation was actually recommended by my manager… too much vacation piling up =S Thanks for understanding! =)

  10. Well, Najenda had taken the Teigu they had captured back to the Revolutionary Army and to recruit new members (Ep 9). I would have thought she would gotten more recruits than she returned with though.

    Relative to Najenda:
    Show Spoiler ▼

  11. Why do I have this bad feeling that Chelsea or Susanoo will die….most likely Chelsea cus she’s human. But great episode with great action!

    Have fun on your vacation, Cherrie! We will wait for you to come back ^^

    Meldoy
    1. The next ep is called Kill the Newcomers… You’re not the only one having a bad feeling about this…
      You might have even hit the nail on the HEAD about there being an upcoming DEATH FLAG for her, although I hope this is not the case.

      Giorno Giovanna
  12. As much as I like Akame ga Kill, this episode certainly feels like they did a terrible job in consistency department. Below are two reasons why this episode getting my nerves:
    1) The hallway are just freaking clean after Akame cut all those mutant hordes to pieces, no trace of body parts and bloods can be found.
    2) Where the hell is Akame’s Tengu ability 1 cut sure kill poison when dealing with Toby. I understands that he might be cyborg that build by Dr. Stylish, but there are still blood and flesh in him. Also, Dr. Stylish die from Akame poison, so having antidote to counteract Akame’s Tengu poison is out of picture.

    Kuma Kuma
    1. Here are my thoughts:
      1) You can’t be too picky with animation here. It’s clearly not their strong point and also not the point of the scene. I wouldn’t let that deter you from the rest of the episode.
      2) Like Envyus said, I just think he’s too “not-human” to be affected the poison. Also, the scene went by really quickly, it might take longer for the poison to seep in and kill him if it was effective at all =S

  13. Stylish and his assistants probably should have bailed on the fight and told Esdeath about the Night Raid base once the unforeseen arrival of Night Raids back up happened.

    He likely would have lived had he done that.

    Envyus
  14. This episode brings the next fold in the series, but I was kinda let down on the intro, I wanted to see everyone get shet face at least once. Seeing Stylish fight on his own, sort of anyways, makes him a decent threat rather than his support role as a Medic for the Jaegers, a personal army to fight for you? That’s something to be worried about if he lived long enough. Jaeger 0 Night Raid 1.

    That aside Lubbock is being a boss (on screen anyways), Akame sharp as always. And Sheele’s Scissor coming back to the Night Raid where it belongs, oh sweet catharsis. Seeing Susanoo going total beast mode is pretty sweet too, he sorta reminds me of Death the Kidd with that attitude of fixing things.

    Cuz_Par
  15. Not really watching the show since I’m caught up with the manga, but I do check out your take regularly to get some perspective. Enjoying your coverage and hope you enjoy the vacay :).

    I quite like Chelsea in this story. She’s pretty fun and has some differing views from the rest of the Night Raid squad. It’s nice to have some contrast, but it’s still pretty trope-y.

    Manga spoilers:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    StrenX
  16. So, they’ve killed 2 main characters in introduced 2 main character to take the place of the 2 who died. All that in 11 episodes.

    I like Akame Ga Kill, but I can’t say that’s good story telling.

    André
    1. But that’s the point. After 11 episodes of people dying left and right and most likely no one possessing plot armor, one might think story telling is not this show’s forte.
      Anyway..and it goes without saying; it’s best NOT to grow attached to ANY character. A lesson we should have learned when we saw the last two walk out the door.

      Helvetica Standard
  17. Many who seen the manga or anime, should come to notice that this story will have a lot of killing, and maybe some replacement, which is why the title.

    I’d been following the manga way before the anime was even confirmed, the way Akame kill those ‘pawns’ off remember me of the Dynasty warrior, when one people go around killing off those soldiers.

    Though I not sure how other view this.

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