Akame ga Kill / First Impressions

「皇帝を斬る」 (Koutei wo Kiru)
“Kill the Emperor”

The Kid Emperor vs. Tatsumi in the final showdown! What a crazy week. The Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army storm the capital, unleash the Ultimate Imperial Arms and even defeat it! All before the end of the episode. There’s not much I can say that doesn’t include awe and mind-blown excitement. It’s been a rough ride getting here, but I wouldn’t have expected any less. There were some minor gripes that I had with the episode, but overall very enjoyable for Tatsumi’s final act.

So the question is, is Tatsumi dead?
I should create a poll here. Personally, as much as I’d like to hope he’s not dead, I think his final moments would be much more impactful if he stayed down. He died, not only saving the capital’s civilians, but also taking down the Emperor and the Ultimate Imperial Arm. He did what he set out to do – which was to change the ways of the country and although he passed away in the process, people will remember him (hopefully). His final moments were also not short of awesomeness (even though it might have been a little farfetched). The rise of Incursio’s transformation, the flashbacks and the short appearance from Bulat were all so inspiring and really tied together Tatsumi’s struggles since he became a Night Raid member. As cliché and corny as it was, I couldn’t have wished for a better way for the season to finish off. I wouldn’t have expected Incursio to take down the Emperor singlehandedly, but in no way was I upset that he did. I think his death was a great way to make a statement that Akame ga Kill is a show that anyone can die… but that doesn’t mean their death was in vain. As sad as it is that everyone eventually passes, at least there’s hope for the country now.

There were some small issues that I had with the episode – mainly around the “quick development” from Run and Wave. Their appearances took me by surprise since I anticipated them to be written off for the final battle. I didn’t like how they summarized Run’s background story in less than 2 mins… and although Wave’s turnaround was less surprising, it still felt forced. I would’ve liked it more if they played a less pivotal part in the final battle, but the creators probably wanted to include them for sake of completeness. This just means that they too wanted to change the country, but not in the same manner that the Night Raid did. Either way, they got their wish.

As for the Emperor and the Prime Minister… they got as much development as they have all series long; which is next to none. To this day, the Prime Minister is still just a fat, creepy man to me. He benefits from manipulating little children to sit his ass at the top of the kingdom and he reaps everything that comes out of the country’s blood, sweat and tears. He’s just the antagonist to give a goal to the Night Raid to accomplish… but he has no substance for being a “bad person”. It’s like he’s created just to be hated and that’s that. The Emperor on the other hand, had so much potential to actually do good for his country. I guess that’s the point of the story though – for him to be a child and not realize the error of his ways. I can’t hate him for doing what he does because he doesn’t know any better… but yet, here he is, just blowing up his capital! How twisted and corrupt can he be?! He’s different from the earlier villains though because he doesn’t find “enjoyment” out of others’ pain, yet he refuses to listen to others and understand the full gravity of his actions. It’s a shame that he couldn’t have been made to be a better character. In Akame ga Kill, no character is really that complex – you’re either on one side or the other. The only character that I thought were actually more dimensional were Wave, Bols and Esdeath.

Anyway, before this post gets too long – overall, the episode was great. I enjoyed it and it summarizes my feelings well for the entire Akame ga Kill series. There’s a lot of action but it’s not without a solid reason why and although the story is not deep or complex, it’s still makes for good entertainment. The ending wraps everything up nicely and next week (the finale!), we WILL get to see Akame vs. Esdeath. Completely shocked at the preview, but I’m looking forward to it. The title of the next episode might be a dead giveaway… although I don’t know how I feel about Akame AND Tatsumi both dying. I think one of them deserves to live at least. Unfortunately that means that Esdeath might also get killed off and there’s no way they’ll kill her off… right?

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: #AkamegaKill is too intense this week! *phew… But no better way to go than a final showdown. Finale next week! Excited for Akame ga Kill but sad that we’ll probably see one of the two best girls die =( pic.twitter.com/5Uq1alHc1t

 

Preview

65 Comments

    1. Since she is fighting Esdeath, Akame’s eyes are implying “Esdeath, because you love Tatsumi then I will do the honors in sending you to him!” or something like that.

      I do feel sad for Akame, if she loves Tatsumi.
      Esdeath: 2 kisses
      Mine: 1 kiss
      Akame: Zero kiss

      Though I don’t know if she does love Tatsumi.

      L002
      Reply

  2. I sincerely hope the anime is not spoiling some things in the manga…
    Like wtf is that preview of Akame going all Hallow eyes >:( we haven’t even seen her trump card yet.
    Though I’m guessing they’re not going to…simply because Tatsumi’s teigu Show Spoiler ▼

    Kabble
    Reply

    1. On that regard, I’d like to know if the manga author Takahiro-sensei is someway involved in the original anime story, or everything is just decided by the anime studios.
      I’d be grateful to anyone providing some insight, thanks in advance.

      I’m asking because I got curious so I went and read the manga up to the latest released chapter and I can confirm that it’s practically a whole different story after the religious leader assassination, actually so different that it doesn’t make sense to even think the anime could spoil the manga. I’m wondering if it’s the original author that took the chance to propose an Alternate telling, although it’s not likely and more probably the anime director is responsible for messing it up. Just want to be sure.

      On a different note, everyone, read the manga. Really, do it, you’ll thank me later.
      It took me days, no kidding, each chapter is long but the story is well paced, relationships are much more developed, the art is damn good and, who knows, maybe some characters dead in the anime would survive in the manga, and vice-versa (I have at least one evidence of the latter).

      Voyager
      Reply

      1. Having “Anime Only” endings or arcs is not really that uncommon. Unless a series is complete, the Anime will usually have to have some sort of ending unless there is a place where they can end given the current story line of the manga.

        The only thing here with Akame was that it was rather faithfully following the Manga up until the arc that they skipped. Further, they aired the episode where Mine died right before the release of the latest manga chapter which covers what happens to her.

        I can’t say it with certainty in this case as to whether the author actually wrote the Anime Only parts, but it’s almost sure that they consulted with the Mangaka regarding what they will do. This is in fact his creation so who else would be better to at least light the way

        Juan
        Reply

      2. Yes, it makes sense, I was too quick to reach my conclusions.
        I still have a (minuscule) hope that the author would write a different “route” in the manga.
        Nah, not happening. Nevermind, it’s good anyway.

        (but there is that character still living that is long dead in the manga and it’s bothering me, I feel like Susanoo when Tatsumi left a single rice grain on the plate)

        Voyager
        Reply

      3. The manga author has worked with the anime studio to develop the anime original ending. I cannot remember where I read this statement but I am quite confident it is reliable. Well there were somethings that were somewhat spoiled by the anime such as Esdeath ability to freeze spatial time. It was revealed in the anime much earlier than it did by the manga. Not a big problem but just that I am worried that the anime’s development is an indication of how the manga will proceed, but WHITE FOX has done an amirable job with their anime original ending. (Still wish they kept faithful to the manga and just another season when the time comes…)

        Also with regards to Voyager’s statement to read the manga, I fully endorse this notion! 😛

        Flappy
        Reply

    1. My happy ending:
      Akame dies. Leone kills the minister. Najenda will be the new ruler. Esdeath somehow saves Tatsumi. They leave the city and go to an island. They make lots of babies and live happily ever after.

      potatogurl
      Reply

    1. Idk who’s idea it was to condense the manga…or most of the manga into this entire anime, but it totally ruined majority of the deaths.
      Had the show carried on with the pace it was at by the Kurome and Bolz arc……the only cast members that should have died would have simply been Susanoo and Chelsea. Nope, they had to jump like…30 chapters ahead to catch up to the manga and kill off everyone…
      Is Najenda still alive? If she’s still alive I’ll be so annoyed. (Not watching this anime anymore after I heard they’d done a magna-jump). In the manga they kill off in twos usually…the anime just pressed fastforward…
      Whyyyyy?

      Kabble
      Reply

  7. I expect the original content haters will bash every episode until the last one. Let the hate toward original contents resume.

    I personally enjoyed the original contents, yeah I know it’s not faithfull to the manga but it’s still entertaining. For those who turns blind eye to any posibility of entertaining moments here because prejudice against original contents should just stop watching already.

    cryarc
    Reply

      2. Civil discussion is always welcome.

        I believe the type of people cryarc has a problem with are the “purist” type of fans who believe that adaptations of a manga/game/VN/LN/etc. (that they themselves like anyway) should be 100% faithful to the source material, and that virtually any sort of deviations and/or anime original content is seen as somehow “ruining” the series.

        Do such things ruin it? Yes, there have been cases…*glares at Claymore*…but they’re usually in the minority overall, and it can vary widely based on opinion of what is considered “bad” or “ruined”.

        People need to realize that, sometimes, studios have little choice BUT to make changes/anime original content/endings. In this case, Akame ga Kill! is still an ongoing manga (that the anime itself is now passed, I believe), and if the studio had kept it faithful, they would’ve ended up having to drag out the series somehow to allow more content to get released that can then get animated. This is why longer series like Naruto, Bleach, and others have so much anime original filler content – giving their source material time to pull ahead and release more material before the anime continues on the canon story and not risk catching up too quickly.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      3. @half
        Honestly, my only issue is that they’d been incredibly faithful to the anime and the pace they were going indicated that things could progress into a season 2 and they still wouldn’t catch up if they spaced them out properly. So why catch up to the manga and even indirectly reveal some big points along with…giving this weird impression that some of the things happening could be legit?
        The way it’s gone gives me this weird impression that even though every thing doesn’t line up with the manga, some of the stuff that does could indicate that some of the things that didn’t may line up as well. I’m just glad Tatsumi’s manga power-up was revealed first rather than the other way around :/

        Kabble
        Reply

  8. The anime is now ahead of the events in the manga (or the part TL’d) and has veered off with different survivors, protagonists, and events so definitely anime original even if it winds up at the same ending eventually. Even though I’d prefer the manga and anime were consistent with each other, the anime is doing a decent job on it’s own with only a few quibbles.

    I’d be really pissed if Tatsume is still alive. This show has not provided anyone with plot armor that’s obvious and having him go down fighting like that is fitting for the story.

    I’ve been wondering when Wave would finally realize that he was supporting the wrong side and so he has at the critical point in the story. As for the emperor, in some respects you’ve got a little boy whose been brainwashed by the PM and doesn’t really grasp what he’s doing. Immense power and not enough maturity. One can hope that the PM gets taken down in a very violent and bloody manner (and who and how will it happen?) but I’m worried that might not happen. It does appear that we’re going to get Esdeath vs Akame. Final Boss or is some other twist in the works?

    Bear
    Reply

    1. I think it really was not necessary, you could see the difference in quality between the original epic stuff and the rushed/original episodes :v
      I picked up the manga so i’m glad about that 🙂

      Kiritsugu
      Reply

  11. This has NOT, I repeat, NOT been confirmed but…

    Show Spoiler ▼

    …again, this is NOT confirmed, so take it with a grain of salt.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  12. I kinda can’t believe what I’m going to say regarding an original plot set into the manga I’m loving the most right now… Perfect!!! Simply amazing storywise. 10/10

    I’ll miss Tatsumi, but I hope he’s staying down, his death was one of the best ones I’ve ever seen (though it is…well…death. Not the best thing to happen you know). And the onion-cutting ninjas have appeared right when he was saying goodbye to Akame. Sad, but beatiful.

    Guren
    Reply

    1. I liked it for what it was; it became anime-original from episode 20 onwards. I enjoyed it because I was able to separate it from the manga material despite following it since 2012. While the kid emperor’s final teigu thing was rather cringe-worthy, I found Tatsumi’s death to be a nice twist.

      Still don’t see why you got 9 dislikes just for liking the show, however.

      Kami
      Reply

  14. Taking all bets, is Tatsumi dead, or will he be resurrected? Personally I hope he stays six feet under, it’d be cheap if they broke out the resurrection trope just for him. All that’s left is to see who survives the aftermath.

    Aside from the action, this episode highlighted the critical weakness of Night Raid’s goals: they are only trying to “replace” the minister, not fix the system. Any political system in which the person on top has unlimited dictatorial powers is vulnerable to abuse. In the long run it doesn’t matter if Night Raid manages to kill the minister and convince the Emperor to listen to them, since the system itself is still vulnerable to another crazy bastard a few generations later. The revolution may buy a few generations of peace and prosperity, but without shifting the paradigm of the empire from a system where the monarch rules the people to one where the government derives power from the governed, in the long run nothing will be improved.

    Hochmeister
    Reply

    1. No Enlightenment yet. With out the logic and arguments of the Enlightenment no one will seriously consider democracy an option. In the East there were no democratic examples I know of. In the west the fans running the team disaster of the Athens (democracy) vs Sparta (King) war was used as an why democracy sucks argument for a thousand plus years. What happened in Rome with their not really a republic also a kings are better argument. Before the Enlightenment democracy was considered to unstable to rule more than a city and the few city democracy tended more to upper class rule than true democracy.

      RedRocket
      Reply

  16. Next week on Akame ga Kill!

    After Tatsumi gone Super Saiyan 3 and sacrificed himself to defeat the evil [insert giant robot name here], Akame, Leone and Najenda set off to find the 7 Dragon Balls scattered throughout the empire to call upon Shenron, but Esdeath stands in their way.

    legwkio
    Reply

  17. [SPOILER ………!!!!]Show Spoiler ▼

    eryx01
    Reply

    1. The instructions to post a spoiler are written in bold below the comment box. I’ve edited your comment as a result. People can be sensitive to spoilers on RC so to be respectful for those that don’t want to accidentally read the ending (regardless of whether or not your spoiler is true). Thank you.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  20. The main issue I had besides everyone going Gundam was the dialogue between Tatsumi and the emperor kid. They could hear each other clear as day even though Tatsumi was on the other side of the city.

    So I’m guessing that they were so loud that everyone wend deaf for the whole scene.

    Viewer
    Reply

    1. I have to agree with that. Ultimate Teigu or not, it should not have been a giant mecha.

      With that said, I think Esdeath alone possessed the ability to defeat the Teigu. Less drama and deaths involved, but more entertainment.

      Kami
      Reply

  22. Welp, clearly next episode Tatsumi’s going to show up when Akame’s in a pinch and in a flashy entrance say:

    “I am lightning. The rain transformed.”

    …

    Seriously though, I was getting total MGS4 vibes outta Tatsumi stopping the emperor’s teigu. Just don’t chicken out like Kojima did and keep him dead please. I still have no idea how anything can survive being crushed by a tanker.

    Kuntzy
    Reply

    1. Raiden just works on a different plane of logic to begin with. Nothing he has done in MGS4 was logical, except talking about Rose and that was just awkward.

      Now for some relevance; I think Tatsumi stays dead. It would completely ruin both the emotional build-up and the events it will probably lead up to. There’s really no point in bringing him back now, besides devaluating Akame’s effort in what seems to be a 1 vs 1 battle with Esdeath.

      Crook
      Reply

    1. It’s more on the lines of Saint Seiya than mini gundam. This is officially the point where the adaptation has turned into laughingstock proportions, so much so that if you look at manga sites or ask those who read the manga, everyone would deny watching the anime. Pretty much this season’s “how to screw up the adaptation”. Kinda like the adaptation of Mahouka 2 seasons ago.

      Justpassingby
      Reply

  28. This show has a freaking Megazord now? Haha.

    Loved this episode but I really hope events in the manga unfolds differently. Tatsumi killed was just…blah.

    I really hope neither Esdeath nor Akame dies next week. I can hope right?

    YanDaMan
    Reply

  29. To be somewhat off topic:
    I found it interesting that for pretty much the whole of this episode, Akame was portrayed with her hair/some shadows/both covering one eye. Not sure why.
    I can totally imagine Ran as a teacher. No idea why, but when he said that he used to be a teacher, it didn’t faze me at all. I was just like ‘Oh, Ok. That makes sense.’
    Now, I kinda ship Ran and Leone. At the very least, they appear to be a good team, which is weird but whatever. Still possible?
    Tatsumi, you aren’t allowed to be dead!!! 🙁 🙁

    Aki-Chan
    Reply

  32. While someone mentioned about “Claymore”, I remember another series that gets on other people’s nerve was “Full Metal Alchemist” until the “Brotherhood” was released. However, I don’t see how this series is more popular than FMA that this might receive a reboot…

    After all, this is Square Enix, “We think we can provide an ending if the author can’t think of it yet.”

    Sausages
    Reply

  33. I don’t even know what to feel about this. I guess being a manga reader gives you some form of inner conflict. It was just…so ridiculous, I couldn’t feel anything for Tatsumi dying. Emperor pulls out mechazord and destroys like most of the country in the time span of ten minutes. Why couldn’t of the minister convince the emperor to use that teigu earlier, night raid and the resistance army would of been a goner much earlier into the story.

    Still, I’d like to give credit to the studio for being able to seemingly tie in loose plot ends in such a short amount of time, like getting wave/run to shift sides, the final boss to have been killed, and everything was nice to look at. I feel like the studio had the intention to follow the source material faithfully at the start (up till ep 20), but partway in they realized they may not get another season and decided to give it an ending.

    chromenova
    Reply

  35. More appriopriate title for episode:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Now the Emperor is dead and Minister Onest (parody of Honest?) as himself is not a fighter.
    What has remained of Jaegers has de facto joined Night Raid in rescue operations of the capital city.
    …save Esdeath.
    She will fight for the joy of fighting itself. There can be no peace until she dies.
    So hence the last episode, I guess.

    ewok40k
    Reply

  37. Did not read the manga.

    This series was a disappointment. Why? Because you could see the potential behind it. Seemed like the animation was lackluster (needed a Fate/Zero or AoT level artwork) and the plot seemed rushed (shouldve done two seasons). I am guessing the manga is a lot better, but its unfortunate that the series got butchered during the manga-anime transition. 3.5/5

    fuzz
    Reply

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