Akame ga Kill / Final Impressions / First Impressions

「アカメが斬る!」 (Akame ga kiru!)
“Kill Akame!”

The end is finally upon us! And despite the title, I felt very hopeful going into this week’s finale. Honestly speaking, I don’t think the series could’ve ended any better. The ending tied everything out well and there weren’t any loose threads that begged for a second season. Since the series has diverted from its manga source material, I knew that the writers were probably going for a conclusion to the story and not just a “to be continued” ending. Whether or not people would buy into the ending was the difficult challenge and as a non-manga reader, I think it was a good attempt. The ending is not the best and if it were me, I would’ve gone for an ending that could lead to a second season… However, I am neither a writer or working in the anime industry so perhaps for Akame ga Kill, this is the best that we’re going to end.

So a few things that I thought were well-executed this episode was definitely seeing the final showdown between Akame and Esdeath. Never mind the technicalities of how or why it works, it just does – and you will find yourself enjoying the action sequence much more. I thought their attempt to explain Akame’s trump card, or why Akame can move in Esdeath’s “frozen time” was weak, but I’m not going to complain too much since there’s so much going on already. The final showdown between the two was definitely an interesting match and had me glued to the screen to find out who would come out alive. I was secretly hoping that Esdeath would be the one to come out victorious because it would’ve made for a more shocking ending… but if there’s anything I learned from Akame ga Kill, it’s that the world is fair. And good will always triumph in the end. Obviously, Akame was going to come out on top. Same goes with Leone’s fight against the Prime Minister – which was gruesome and yet so well-deserved! I wanted to jump up and cheer after Leone pushed his face in repeatedly. I have no pity on the guy and seeing him pass in the most painful way possible was, admittedly, quite satisfying. Unfortunately Leone was going to die in the process (as I should’ve known) and her death hit me harder than I thought. No one in the Night Raid should die unnoticed and I think she should’ve gotten a proper send-off.

Some of the gripes that I had with the finale included Akame’s unnecessary departure. That was one area that I felt was very forced and led to a bittersweet ending. It wasn’t an event that had to take place and Akame could’ve made a home for herself rebuilding the capital with Najenda. I understand that Akame is a bit of a solo-fighter and she’s never one to settle down, but it’s not like she rather be alone than with friends and in some ways, her departure felt very out-of-character. Maybe the capital gives her bad memories, but if she carries the memories of all the ones she’s killed with her – the answer to helping these people, is not to kill more. While everyone else’s stories were so well tied together – including Run and Wave who made a brief appearance – Akame’s ending made the series’ ending less fulfilling than it could’ve been. I would have been content just knowing that the Emperor and Prime Minister were dead… and the capital was being rebuilt.

With all that said though, I think the ending couldn’t have ended any other way with the directions that it took a few episodes ago. I knew the Emperor and Prime Minister had to die, and perhaps everyone within the Night Raid itself (I couldn’t guess that Najenda lived though and Tatusmi died). It was also interesting seeing Esdeath and Tatsumi together in the end… that felt almost too awkward for me because in my mind – Tatsumi x Mine forever! Like I said earlier, I’m not completely unhappy with the way that things turned out because a conclusive ending to me, is better than none. And much better than cliffhangers that may or may not resume. I’d say that the writers tried and it wasn’t great, but it was okay. If anything, this should drive people to wonder what actually happens in the manga and read it!

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: #AkamegaKill ended up like I thought it would. Didn’t like the way Akame is portrayed at the end though. Overall I’d say #AkameGaKill was a good series. Ending is shaky but it proves that the manga source is solid entertainment. #akame_anime

Full-length images: 07, 12, 21, 28.

Epilogue:

Final Impressions

It’s been a long while since I’ve had the pleasure of blogging a 2-cour series and Akame ga Kill was probably the best one I could’ve hoped for in recent seasons. I didn’t know what to expect going in to the series, but I also think that there’s no better way to enjoy the full impact of it either. If you’re new to the series and wondering if you should pick it up, I would say do it! And also avoid all spoilers, Wikipedia pages, forums and comments until you finish it. The best part about Akame ga Kill is not knowing what’s going to happen next and the events that unveil will shock you. The mangaka has a lot of guts to kill off main characters, secondary characters and in the more gruesome, horrific ways sometimes that just leaves you in awe. It makes you wonder who will live, who will die and who is going to come out victorious because in a war against Imperial Arms, only one person can come out alive. I won’t say anymore to avoid spoilers in the final impressions, but in a nutshell – I would recommend it.

Now the show is not without its faults and I don’t want anyone to assume that this anime is the best anime ever going into it. The series is not deep, it’s not terribly thought-provoking, nor should you expect amazing character development. However, what you can expect is a lot of action, fast-paced plot and to some degree – sympathy for a lot of the characters. This is one anime that knows exactly what it is and that is entertaining… so be prepared because it does not take itself seriously (there are several comedic scenes) and cliffhangers are everywhere! The plot is very liner though so it doesn’t try and throw curve balls at you to keep you guessing. I love Akame ga Kill because it was consistently fun and amusing every week. In fact, it’s a very close adaptation of its manga source material and only deviates at the end because yes – it’s an anime-original ending. However, don’t let this deter you away from giving this series a shot. I still think it’s worth the fun ride and regardless of how it’s intended to end in the manga, I think the anime tries its best to give a conclusion to its anime-only viewers and does so fairly.

101 Comments

  1. The title should be “Akame Kills!” Note the difference in particle usage (“ga” instead of the usual “wo”) compared to the titles of every other episode in the series.

    Pedantry aside, I agree that this was a very fitting sendoff. I can understand the frustration of the manga readers who have been raging left, right and center ever since this adaptation veered off course from the source material, but the fact of the matter is that AgK was not a series that was likely to get a continuation (at least, not anytime soon). And I’m glad that we got a proper ending as opposed to a big middle finger and/or “GO READ THE MANGA NOW” sequel beg.

    That said, this wasn’t a perfect dismount. The gripes given about the final battle (and especially the lack of good explanation for Akame’s powerup and how she beat the time freeze) are certainly far from being illegitimate. However, on the whole, I think you can count me satisfied enough.

    Toto
    Reply

    2. Thanks for your honest opinion. I too (as a non-manga reader) thought the series was not horrendous and even though it has its issues at the end, the beginning was very well done and stuck very true to the manga. However, since the ending is anime-original, a lot of people would certainly not be happy and that’s probably where a lot of the hate stems from. If you watch the show without constantly comparing the two, I personally think that the anime is alright. Not perfect as a whole because the last few eps were still lacking, but the first half of it was fun and definitely kept me on edge.

      Cherrie
      Reply

    3. Akame beating the time freeze:

      I thought they gave a good explanation how Akame tricked Ice Queen. She left a ‘ghost image’ that lured Esdeath into thinking it was her while the real Akame was high in the air prepping to make a final death strike. It was a classic ‘death from above’ move

      Rick Anime
      Reply

  2. that was long journey,the daviation has over be grace
    eh,possible for remake in future in fma again perhaps
    certainly the last 7 episode are truly deviation and i dont watch this last episode btw

    MediaInternetGold
    Reply

    1. Seeing the Prime Minister’s smug face beaten to a bloody pulp was extremely satisfying.
      https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2029.jpg

      Leone’s death was unnecessary. She survived hours after getting shot & had plenty of time to go to a hospital.
      https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

      Pretty sure a flintlock pistol only shoots 1 bullet at a time so he couldn’t have shot her 10 times w/out reloading UNLESS the gun was an Imperial Arms.
      https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2027.jpg

      silke13
      Reply

      6. It didn’t help that not only did she just stand there to have her Imperial Arm destroyed and then was shot, but even after knocking him down, she didn’t kick his gun away just so he was able to fire multiple shots (and as silke13 mentioned) from his flintlock pistol?! That was just poorly written on multiple levels. If you’re going to kill her off, it could at least make sense.

        Impel Down Hippo
        Reply

  3. In the end, Esdeath and Tatsumi ended up together. Divided by war, united by death – and love, the one thing Esdeath didnt comprehend, even as it took hold of her heart.

    It was bittersweet to see others find closure in this episode – Wave and Lan presumably recruited by Najenda into new government busy with rebuilding, Leone stalking the streets for the last time after dealing final blow to the Prime Minister (well deserved no-holds-barred beatdown into bloody pulp, no less…) and even Emperor accepting his fate and asking Najenda to take care of the Empire.

    Akame going off alone is one thing that seems off – after a series dedicated to respective groups of nakama on both sides of the front, she choses solo path. But contrary to other characters left alive at end of series, she is first and foremost assassin – a living weapon that needs to be buried to ensure newly found peace (phrase “bury the hatchet” jumps to my mind…).

    ewok40k
    Reply

    2. I won’t lie…. I kinda didn’t like how Esdeath died holding Tatsumi since it seemed like he didn’t like her at all. I mean considering what he had said when she asked for him to be with her. Just. Did. Not. Enjoy. Seeing. That. At. All… It bothered me.

      Redfox
      Reply

  4. Akame ga Kill is one of those shows where I can see the flaws, but I can’t really bring myself to care.

    Like you said, there’s not a whole lot of character developement, the plot is relatively linear and slightly predictable once you get the gist of it(I didn’t see Tatsumi’s death coming though), and sometimes it felt a bit like… Let’s-kill-off-characters-because-that’s-just-what-this-show-is. The very clear-cut distinction between good and evil wasn’t very nuanced either, which felt a bit cheap to me.

    With that being said, I did feel emotionally attached to a lot of the characters, and seeing Night Raid do their thing was definitely entertaining. Reading the manga-purists rage on the MAL forums was also very fun.

    Objectively, I think I’d give it a 5 or 6/10 because the flaws really are there, but I enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than that. I’ll miss watching this every Sunday. Thanks for blogging it Cherrie, it’s always cool to see other people’s reaction to the many deaths in a series like this.

    AlexanderRJ
    Reply

    1. Thanks for reading! =) Agree with your comment – especially the attachment to the characters part. I thought the first half of the series did a good job of planting that seed for a lot of the Night Raid members (and even the Jaegers) even when you just know – people are going to die. Unfortunately, the ending does kill off a lot of MCs and their deaths… don’t really feel like anything compared to the first 7 people that died. I’ll keep this in tags in case…
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Cherrie
      Reply

  5. Cherrie, I don’t think Akame managed to beat Esdeath’s frozen time. All she did was to trick her into believing she was in front of her while that was actually her after image. The real her jumped right before Esdeath froze time, that’s why Esdeath got slashed after time started to move again.

    Boo
    Reply

      1. That’s exactly it, what Esdeath saw was the lag in visual input of the location Akame’s body (the “image” Akame left behind before moving super fast), that’s why she felt nothing when she stabbed the image and knew that was not Akame, but was too late to find her since the time stop only lasts a few seconds.

        Akame’s power up is kinda in the air though. Maybe as the user of the weapon she can poison herself and get power of it (though at a cost)?

        Ragefat
        Reply

  6. Lol i didn’t watch and I don’t really plan to, but for those manga readers out there, I think this ending is a huge plus because THOSE THREE girls (you know who) made a brief cameo alive and well. Props to White Fox for that

    pronon
    Reply

    1. For Manga readers
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Petro
      Reply

      1. It’s interesting that they were so obvious about it. Normally when an anime goes off the rails like this they don’t draw a lot of attention to the differences (other than the stuff that’s impossible to ignore). But showing those three really does seem like the studio going “LOOK! THEY’RE OKAY!”

        Personally the situation with those three girls and some of the others was what turned me off of the Manga. Not into that sort of thing, even for entertainment/fiction.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  11. I personally think that the ending would have been better if Akame had died as well to show that Night Raid was no longer needed. Plus I think that this would be a happier ending for Akame since like Leone she would have been able to see the others. Still watch the theater for the after party, it will bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face.

    James
    Reply

  12. And so the trainwreck finally ends. I’m sorry but for some reason Akame ga Kill manages to bring my blood to a boil with all it’s wasted opportunities and nonsensical storytelling. Every moment that COULD have been something special or interesting suffers from either not having proper build up or sloppy execution.

    As an anime only viewer I can certainly see where the manga fans are coming from. If the anime was going to end on an original note it should have been doing original material from the beginning. But to tease fans that it was going to be a faithful adaptation only to throw an unsatisfying ending at them is worthy of spite.

    First all let’s break down what doesn’t make sense here. The Prime Mister apparently has the power to destroy imperial arms. Heaven forbid he give that to a capable solider who could then single handily defeat Night Raid members they would come across. Let’s just use it in case we get in a jam. THAT WILL SHOW THEM! Hell why didn’t he just use it when Tatsumi broke in? Because it’s his “trump card”? Why the hell would it matter if someone knew your trump card if you could immediately kill them moments later? Up until now the Mister has been cold and calculating (hell the anime goes to great lengths making him spout lines that make it obvious he killed the kids parents. WE GET IT HE’S EVIL!) but all of a sudden he turns into a moron. Classy. And even if he saved it because he could only use it once why is that all it’s capable of?

    We have yet to see an imperial arms yet that can only be used once or it destroys itself. And it’s not like there aren’t OTHER imperial arms that can destroy each other. Leone’s transformation can literally BITE them apart. And I doubt she has the most powerful type in the world. Yet this guys can only destroy one puny imperial arms and it’s then useless? To be honest I’d probably be more accepting of it if the show even went to a remotely decent length to explain the origin, tradition or heck any kind of background of the weapons other than just using them as a means to give people weird spontaneous powers and nothing else. Can you imagine how different Bleach would be if they never talked about the conception and different ways of achieving greater power with their weapons? I’d just be a bunch of muscular men swinging swords at each other (not that the show wasn’t already reduced to that at points). Heck the only weapon I think we got decent background on were Luubuck and Esdeath’s weapons. It would be super ironic if he used it not knowing that hundreds of years of it’s usage drained it’s ability to the point it was only good for one last go. Seeing him flip his shit over how he such a powerful weapon lost it’s usefulness in seconds would be a classic yet highly enjoyable moment. Ah well I guess they just didn’t want the situation to make sense.

    He even fails to simply shoot Leone in the head and instead continues to shoot her in the chest even though it was clearly not working.

    But of course Leone’s body is just THAT tough that multiple bullet wounds are ineffective………..until like a day later. Hell even her death didn’t make sense to me. She had time to get patched up and treated. But that “tough body” of hers ends up failing for some reason. Maybe if she hadn’t been jumping around and unnecessarily moving her wounds wouldn’t have opened back up. Hell if she had just rested it would have been within reason for her to survive. But i guess that would make TOO MUCH sense. Because Sheele being able to move and hold open a giant muscular dogs mouth WHILE being cut in half clearly shows that a character suffering from bullet wounds can’t recover. Oy vey……

    Apparently the writer needed everyone to die so he had to make sure they all did. Even the captain has a shortened lifespan. Leaving only Akame to be left. Question is……..why?

    I don’t even know why Akame is in the title of the show. This series has been about Tatsumi this entire time. Yet they shoved Akame’s relevance into the mix at the last second. Honestly it’s just another case of bad build up. Akame has been one of the least interesting characters in the show. Not to mention one of the least developed. So FINALLY dedicating something to her ridiculously stupid. They even had to ruin her fight with Kurumoe with that plot device Danger Beast.

    Not to mention that powerup. Holy shit did I cringe at that. They already established that even Akame couldn’t cut herself with the blade or she’d die. Well fuck that continuity bullshit lets use it to give her a random unexplained powerup. It doesn’t even end up killing her. She just ends up perfectly fine. It would be one thing if she used her own life as a sacrifice to achieve that power. But nothing was lost? There were NO repercussions for using it. Stupid. Esdeath throwing her sword made even less sense. Why the hell would she throw it at an enemy who was clearly capable of dodging it? Did the villains just swallow a jug of stupid in this final episode?

    Esdeath x Tatsumi is ONCE AGAIN shoved down our throats one final time despite how underdeveloped their relationship is even at this point. I suppose it’s supposed to be a poetic and heart warming way to end things for both of them but it ends up just being annoying and eye rolling inducing. A real shame since there was a lot of potential in that pairing. Heck I actully do know what people’s interpretation of Tatsumi x Esdeath is. She can’t comprehend why she loves him. That’s fine. But what exactly about that is interesting if you aren’t going to go any further than that? Why would that alone make her a compelling character? I’ve already explained why their relationship has been FAR from subtle because of how over the top it is. The relationship would have been far more interesting if we spent more time with Esdeath watching her battle with this new conflict she was not used too. I’m sure someone is probably going to chime in and say “Love is an unexplainable thing” but when you actually explain the reasons a character loves someone it becomes much easier to root for them to be together despite their situation since it’s you can relate to it. As is their relationship is about as compelling the couple in “Swan Princess” where the only reason the male lead loved the female lead was because of her looks.

    Despite what you may think I was semi routing for Esdeath x Tatsumi at the end of the deserted island. There were just so many possibilities that opened up from there. I never expected Esdeath to turn good but what I did want was for her mindset to be constantly challenged by the things Tatsumi says to her. Turns out she’s only conflicted because she loves Tatsumi not because she might be wrong in how she sees the world. The fact they made her a stone cold “I will never change” villain sort of ruins the entire setup.

    Back to the episode at hand I have to say even the portrayal of the empire getting taken over by the revolution army made NO SENSE. I don’t know what history books the writers have been looking in but any capital/government that is taken over from a powerful dictator/leader takes lots and LOTS of time to reform. That shit doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not a magical “Bam! Everyone is happy now!” spell you can cast. There is bound to be bad blood between people who opposed it as well the many people the Night Raid ended up killing to reach their goal. Hell I’m sure many people know the captain was the leader. So she’s just going to sweep this under the rug and blame their crimes on Akame? Really? Everyone is just going to believe that one single person was responsible for every crime the Night Raid/Revolutionary Army committed?

    Even if she asked her too I don’t comprehend that. As I said there bound to be people that are pissed but is EVERYONE going to turn on her despite the fact she saved their lives and killed Esdeath? Gah………..

    Welp I suppose I’m done ranting at this show. This is easily the biggest disappointment that I’ve had in a show in a long time. The characters had potential. The story had potential. But it all went to waste. The series just ends up turning into a “under developed character gets killed” every episode near the end which completely ruined the arc that proceeded it. Shame since it was the best part of the series for me. The show never truly knew what it wanted to be. Shoving supposedly emotional moments, mixed with unfunny tone breaking comedy and some of the biggest logical leaps I’ve seen into a dysfunctional mess. I suppose it did accomplish the it’s goal as I now wish to read the manga just to see how much the anime screwed it over. As our apparently now main protagonist would say

    Mission accomplished! 😉

    P.S

    I acknowledge that perhaps this is just a case of me taking something far more seriously than I should. And yes that has dulled my experience with it. It’s just that a story with murder/rape/rising against the government isn’t a setting that I see as ideal for comedic characters and simplistic morality conflicts. When covering such topics I simply expect a more maturity in handling the subjects instead of just having violence for the sake of violence. It’s one of my more touchy peeves so yes I know I’m going off the handle here. Even if I was discontent with how things for the series ended that’s just because I had much higher hopes for it.

    I still think the show has enough charm in other areas that made it worth becoming attached to so don’t let this nitpicker get in the way of your enjoyment :P.

    leatherhead333
    Reply

    1. In terms of the reformation, there’s also the fact that it’s obvious that the corruption ran DEEP on pretty much EVERY level of society. The Prime Minister was simply in the highest position and, as history has shown us, simply taking out the highest corrupted position doesn’t automatically cleanse all the remaining corruption. All it would do is create a power vacuum where the next highest positions tend to tear each other apart in order to fill that hole, and such ideals that the corrupt have aren’t so easily extinguished just because the leaders are gone.

      After all, we still have Neo Nazis today that believe in Fascist ideology, despite its failing and collapse 69 years ago, and also still have a handful of countries that cling to (their version of) Communist ideologies despite the collapse of the Soviet Union 23 years ago.

      And then there’s the issue that, with the Emperor’s execution and the apparent fact that the Prime Minister had killed off the rest of the Royal Family, there’s no one left to succeed the throne. So…what? Do they just magically become a democracy? Does Najenda take control? And why have Akame take the blame for the entire Revolutionary Army’s actions when not only is the Revolutionary Army itself in charge right now, but Najenda even said that the new empire wouldn’t record any of their actions in new historical records?

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

      1. I believe that they Akame has to shoulder the blame to ensure that the citizens would have no doubts in trusting the rest of the revolutionary army. The revolutionary army did commit autocracies during their fight against the capital and some people will definitely hold a grudge against them. Thus it will be a lot easier for Akame to take the blame so that the citizens would only focus their mistrust on her instead.

        Though if u ask me, I would say that this ending has some pretty poor writing. I agree with what @leatherhead333 said. Anime original endings should have anime original development, starting this late into the series did hurt people’s expectations and the overall flow of the anime. The manga author has a plan in mind when writing the manga but that pacing does not fit how abruptly this anime progressed. They could do away with the minister’s son as that was just wasted potential.

        Flappy
        Reply

    2. I only read part of your post, but I think the PM’s Teigu is a one-time use because it broke after destroying Leone’s Teigu. With that said, he could’ve used it when Akame attacked on episode 23 and rendered her useless; although we would’ve gotten a bad ending if Esdeath killed her and the rest of the Revolutionary Army. Plot-wise it doesn’t make sense why the PM only used his Teigu when Leone arrived, but satisfactory-wise we wanted Akame to win in the end.

      Lambda
      Reply

    3. I have no idea why you guys are getting down votes, because what you said was true.

      Call me weird, but the chapter featuring these 3 was what made me like Akame ga Kill. Show Spoiler ▼

      Inclemens
      Reply

      3. Well to be fair,

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Dark Paladin X
        Reply

  17. This whole series really caught me by surprise, it is very refreshing to watch a show where ‘main’ characters may actually die, Take note Shonen series (I’m looking at you bleach). That they actually made me feel for most of these new characters in a short space of time shows that as a whole it was pretty well written.

    The problem I have is with the last two episodes, 23 was good but I agree with everyone saying where the hell was Esdeath as the biggest fight she could have been in was going on – just felt untrue to the character.

    There are more issues in the final epsiode, while we got a lot of what we expected to see – Akame vs Esdeath, akame’s trump card, Akame beats Esdeath, Prime minister to die – Check! But the manner of the conclusion just felt out of step with the rest of the show. Esdeath making off with Tatsumi at the death was completely off for me, it just didn’t work with how close he was to Akame, not to mention Mine! Akame should have stopped her before taking his body.

    I also see it as a bit of a wasted opportunity to give proper closure, with all the super relics destroyed and the ‘elite’ fighters dying giving the country a new birth – I felt it would have been more powerful in that way. From the final scene with Akame, I almost get the feeling that if the DVD sales are good they’ll bring Akame back in some form…

    General Cox
    Reply

  18. Well it’s over. While fun and entertaining in spots, it’s hard to deny AgK was quite flawed and poorly structured. The issues with the show IMO stem from two areas: over hype and misrepresentation. Without a doubt the hype from manga readers played into the initial expectations which slowly disintegrated over time as the show deviated away from its source material.

    This leads into the second issue of misrepresenting the source material. A lot of comments I’ve seen have tried to make AgK seem like this deep and thoughtful look at human nature, strung together with choice words including dark, twisted, provocative, etc. Whether the manga is better in this regard I cannot comment on, but the show we received contained precious little of this philosophical meandering, with most of the dark aspects being limited to pure shock value.

    Instead of the grey line, AgK’s adaptation took an absolutist (i.e black and white) approach to its morality, sticking to the tried and true formula of evil villains and caring heroes seeking an end to tyranny. Now there is nothing wrong with this and it works well within the shounen story boundaries of the show, the problem comes from people trying to conflate these basic principles into some form of complex treatise, causing some of us to become disillusioned as the story moved forward because we expected something different.

    Overall this adaptation isn’t terrible, but it definitely suffered from over hype, deviation away from the source material, and dissimilarity between expectations and presentation. IMO one should think of AgK’s adaptation as a simple, but entertaining shounen-esque piece filled with plentiful melodrama and copious amounts of violent action. It might not have been everything it could have been, but it was never boring. 6.5/10 for me.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. I agree with your overhype statement. The first episode was really solid in grabbing my attention and throw in a lot of comments like “Oh, you have no idea what’s coming…” and a lot of comparisons to Game of Thrones and that made me really anxious to see what else would come. When more eps aired, a lot of viewers applauded the show for sticking so true to the manga source and I think that’s what gave it so much credit to begin with. It’s an anime that’s going to do a faithful adaptation and that was that.

      Unfortunately, it didn’t stick to that assumption and when the anime finally deviated, everyone started hating on it. Personally, I didn’t even know until people started ranting in the comments that this anime was terrible compared to the manga. So I think you’re right that everyone’s perception of this anime was that it wouldn’t be anime-original and there’s a lot of disappointment from the manga-fans. Unfortunately I also think the anime didn’t do a good job completely satisfying anime-only fans either. They could’ve made for a much better ending that would make the anime-only viewers happier but they opted for a mediocre predictable ending that was meh.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  22. https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
    RIP Leone. You deserved a better end, that was just so stupid. Thanks writers!

    https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    At least Esdeath went out the way she wanted.

    https://randomc.net/image/Akame%20ga%20Kill/Akame%20ga%20Kill%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2040.jpg
    Do I smell an Akame spinoff series?

    Impel Down Hippo
    Reply

  23. Funny as it may sound, but the true epilogue of this anime is actually in the Akame Theatre episode #23 & #24.

    Regarding the original anime plot … I bet someone in the production team suggested, “Let’s go Seven Samurai.”

    LGrey
    Reply

  24. I actually like that they deviated from the source material that has yet to end and instead come up with an Anime Only ending. Sadly we’ve had one too many series that have come with an open ending and no follow up season anywhere in sight. So I appreciate that they gave this show a conclusion all be it non cannon.

    I do find it hillarious though that for Akame to become a more relevant character, aside from being the title character, they ended up having to kill off every other member of Night Raid. Not that something similar is not happening in the manga.

    Juan
    Reply

  25. Leone’s death
    I think Leone’s death was heroic. She’s too used to her imperial arms (e.g. being tortured) up to the level that she could withstand the bullets, but this time without her regeneration power. Knowing her time was up, she could do nothing but say good bye to her friend (Akame), and giving impression to others that may know her that she survived the new era. In the end, she died without letting others worried or sad about her.

    Akame’s trump card
    Murasame hidden power was a bit unexpected, especially after Akame declared that she couldn’t be careless to get cut by it. But it may be just similar to Esdeath’s demon extract. For demon extract case, it may consume the drinker life if they’re not strong enough. Esdeath got tattoo after obtaining demon extract, which is a bit similar to Akame’s ghoul tattoo. Don’t forget that night raid had the encyclopedia of imperial arms, which may or may not explain Murasame power. It may be a form of wild card that Akame wouldn’t dare to try unless it’s really necessary.

    gashu
    Reply

  26. I knew it would happen…but I still didnt want to believe it. Esdeath losing to Akame doesnt make much sense, trump card or not, since the entire night-raid combined couldnt even beat Esdeath in the manga. But I guess for the sake of closure in the anime-original ending it had to happen, at least she died with Tatsumi together, that was kind of sweet.

    Leone on the other hand, WTF. She died like a dog, offscreen and unnoticed. The writers really could’ve handled her death better, hell why did she even need to die in the first place? Thats my major complain in this episode.

    YanDaMan
    Reply

  28. I enjoyed the last batch of episodes. I stopped liking Tatsumi (the main character) early on due to feeling very generic and bland so wasn’t choked up when he passed. I did however, like Leone, Mine, and the some of the other characters so it was a shame to see them pass on

    This wasn’t the most indepth anime series as the blog says but it had good action and was a fun watch

    Thanks for blogging this series!

    Rick Anime
    Reply

  29. First thing, overall considering action, Akame ga Kill is one of the good animes 🙂

    But I really lost some interest on this anime when it deviated from the manga! We had some really bad moments, including a “Big Daddy” appearance, a mega Robot, and some here now… oops already gone villains!
    That being said, i was really enjoying this last episode (well i guess you can’t really ruin a battle between Akame and Esdeath) 🙂 But i knew that the decisive point that would win or loose the battle, would end up being the time freezing ability. I was curious to see how they would explain Akame’s counter… and it was poorly done, it was some kind of Deus Ex Machina move, poorly explained, wich could be easily solved if you started getting some hints that Akame’s speed was increasing, and then in a final burst she would manage to generate a residual image. But none of this happens, she was running on fumes, her hability was wearing of fast, she says it herself –‘

    Anyway i would recomend everyone to watch these anime, it’s one of the good ones in terms of action, it was amazing at moments, almost epic 😀 It had amazing battles and it kept you guessing who would win. But that was only in the episodes that were manga adaptated, because when it deviated from the original source it became generic…

    I’ve already dived in the manga, and i advise all who really liked this one to do the same 🙂

    PS – That last theater has one of the sweetest moments of the entire season :’)

    Kiritsugu
    Reply

  30. If only revolutions worked that way in real life.

    The fight between Esdeath and Akame was great, but everything after was rather meh. I also wished that they had put Leone’s fight against the minister before the climax with Esdeath. In the end Akame ga Kill was a fun schlocky action show, but insufficient attention to character development, setting, and themes prevented it from being much more. 6.5/10 mainly for entertainment value.

    Hochmeister
    Reply

  34. I really thought that Akame would die after she cut herself! haha! i think they did a good end for the anime! I’m happy that Wave and Run still alive, i liked those! (i’m hoping that Mine lives in the manga!)

    Gabriel
    Reply

  35. There is always a people who lurks here and gives downvotes to the others who comment in anime thread he doesn’t like. *waiting my downvote happily

    I think this anime will wrap up things nicely if it given more 2 episodes
    anyways the last eps was not so bad

    gecd
    Reply

  36. Akame ga kiru ended with a fairly decent ending. I like how it tied up most loose ends and yes I know there were plenty of faults throughout the series, but overall, as a series, I think it has served to be entertaining and fun to watch. It delivered on the action and the dark elements fairly well and that’s what I came here for so I had a fairly good time watching it. The ending did feel rushed but nevertheless it was decent, and although I felt the series might’ve benefitted from following the manga, it was still a decent ending. (although I would’ve loved to see it follow the manga too, Show Spoiler ▼

    ) All in all, it was a good ride with quite a few bumps but still managed to pull me through with a satisfied ending 😀

    PS: I’m glad to see they lived 🙂 http://i.imgur.com/z0gCQZ3.jpg

    Trap Masters
    Reply

  38. Finally got a chance to catch up and finish the anime. While it wasn’t the worst adaptation I’ve watched, IMO wasn’t the best by any means either. For the most part, when the anime stuck to the source material it was fine, but as it diverged into anime only territory, I thought things started to go downhill appreciably. Not the first time something like that has happened. :/

    As for the last episode, I thought the battle between Esdese and Akame was pretty good until the “time-stopped afterimage” deal. Personally, that was not what I consider credible turn of events. Then Esdese gets broadly slashed across the front (part of which seemed to be right over her heart = shouldn’t take the “curse” long at all to reach her heart). Except rather than perish after a SHORT dying speech, she enters some monologue, walks around a bit, throws up an ice wall, etc. etc. Regardless of shipping preferences, for me it just dragged out too long compared to others who were killed by the curse = a very scripted feeling while watching.

    Then there was Leone’s death. That was just terrible IMO, and definitely could have been handled better. For example, she dies right after she kills the PM. She hangs on just long enough to reach Akame for a farewell speech. Maybe (God forbid >_>), she even finds medical treatment and ultimately survives given that she wandered around for what – a few hours? A day? As it was she died like some flea bitten rat in a dank, dirty alley for… who the hell knows? ‘Cause there just wasn’t enough characters who died already? Seriously at a loss here as to WTF her death added to the story other than “more death” which did NOT make things any more serious or “grim/dark” or whatever the hell they were going for there. Bleh.

    The anime had other shortcomings (again the original material more so), some of which Cherrie mentioned, but I’ll leave it at that. The question that remains foremost in my mind is whether a finite conclusion was worth the price paid in terms of the story and storytelling. Initially, I had thought the anime planned to stop around chapter 43 of the manga (end of the “Path of Peace” arc/ Borick’s death) which would then set up for a second season. No finite ending, but a good place to stop since the next arc begins with “Three months later…” Instead we got a more curtailed adaptation of the source material (first 18-20 episodes) followed by an anime original ending which may have worked for some, but clearly not for all.

    daikama
    Reply

    2. About the part with Leone, i will cut them some slack when i say that even if she went to a hospital (if they still had any still not destroyed in the chaos) it would probably be loaded with countless injured/dying people and suffer from lack of supplies considering the amount of death and destruction caused by the emperor’s crazy rampage, and what did you expect them to do to her in a hospital, magically replace her mangled intestines and stomach which are all internally bleeding, it seems that outside of the imperial arms the technology isn’t that advanced, and even in real life some people survive accidents with seemingly minor injuries for few hours only to die the next day from internal bleeding.

      Hunter-Wolf
      Reply

      1. @Hunter-Wolf: Re. Leone:

        I find it hard to believe that there was no medical help was available whatsoever. If the actual hospital (if there was even one) was destroyed, they could have a field hospital (more like several) set up. Surely some medical aid was given somewhere. And yes, there would be a lot of wounded, but Leone’s a major player in all of this. Night Raid played a crucial role in the whole thing and I find it hard to believe she’d just be brushed aside – especially given the severity of her wounds. That’s what triage is for.

        — “and what did you expect them to do to her in a hospital, magically replace her mangled intestines and stomach which are all internally bleeding… and even in real life some people survive accidents with seemingly minor injuries for few hours only to die the next day from internal bleeding.”

        First, her injuries are not “seemingly minor” wounds as your “RL” example suggests. She has two conspicuous, bleeding bullet holes. Show up in an “RL” hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and it’s a big deal. As for what they could do, first, IIRC, the revolutionaries had Dr. Stylish’s hax gloves. With those tengu, successfully operating on Leone would be easy. Second, even if they didn’t have that tengu readily accessible, there is some advanced medical technology in the Akame world. One need look no further than Najenda’s artificial arm. There’s not a whole lot of world building here beyond the dystopia setting = the anime script writers could have easily written the story in credible manner so that Leone lives if they wanted to do so. They simply decided not to go that route for whatever reason.

        Leone’s death came across to me as a sloppy, manipulative “feels” death. If she just “had” to die, then I gave two perfectly reasonable alternative examples of where it could have been done which, IMO, are much more credible than what we got. It makes ZERO sense to me that Leone wouldn’t even try to live given her personality, let alone decide to die in some filthy alley. While JMO, given the some of the comments above (and response to said comments), I’m certainly not alone in finding fault with the way the anime handled her character at the end.

        daikama
        Reply

  40. For an original ending, this was very good. Good to see a very good 24 episode series in a long time. It’s stuff like this I don’t mind if the anime does it’s own thing compared to the manga (Although Budo doing nothing was kinda stupid)

    drzero7
    Reply

  41. 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

  42. The fight between Akame and Esdeath was really well done and enjoyable, and it seems there is no pleasing anime fans .. when characters explain how their powers work people scream “lame exposition!!!” and “pretty stupid!!!”, and when they don’t people scream “deus ex machina” or whatever other complains they have, in a battle like this IMO it really didn’t matter if they explained in full detail how her power works, even Esdeath herself that Akame was no longer human after activating that power (meaning she has supernatural inhuman speed and strength), add those to her foreknowledge of Esdeath trump card (and the fact Esdeath didn’t know what Akame’s was exactly .. just like us) and you can see why she earned that win even if we didn’t fully understand how she did it.

    As for why she left, IMO it makes perfect sense and fits perfectly with her established character, she is an assassin through and through (trained by non other than empire itself since childhood to nothing but kill) .. what do you expect her to do in the new kingdom .. sit behind a desk and stamp papers .. and in fact she is clearly helping in her own way by eliminating future threats to the new kingdom (as seen in the epilogue where she fights a bunch of goons using imperial arms .. as we all know there are probably still lots of those around .. how is that NOT helping the new kingdom ?)

    Finally i have to see i didn’t like how they killed Leone off, i think i can cut them some slack when i suppose a sliver of her healing factor kept her alive long enough for her to see off everyone she cared about but she knew she was dying anyway without her imperial arm full healing factor.. and i suppose also medical care couldn’t have saved her .. specially considering the devastated state of the kingdom and i don’t expect they really had advanced hospitals with ER and medical equipment or anything like that (despite the traces of technology the world has), but let’s not think too much about this .. maybe she had a death wish and was tired of fighting and killing, maybe she missed her dead comrades .. or maybe it was just bad writing XD

    Seeing Bol’s family safe and sound also brought a smile to my face .. take that manga readers .. they survived the anime thanks to the original ending XD

    Ahm … It was an enjoyable show overall with some minor hiccups here and there .. i give it 7.5/10 with a “Quite Good” stamp(mostly becasue of the wonky planning .. i guess they didn’t plan the original ending from the start.. maybe when they realized they can’t complete the manga story it was a knee-jerk decision to make a anime-original ending or some corporate order from above becasue of budget limitations, who knows!?), the other most annoying thing doesn’t have to do with the series itself, it is the constant feverish nagging and prudish self-entitlement that the manga fans show here, good god .. chill out already … i bet 90% of you don’t buy the manga and will not buy the DVDs/Blurays ..it’s like a freeloader complaining about the quality of food .. so please stop being such pathetic freeloaders and stop watching the animes you hate that much .. if you spent that time you waste watching a show you don’t like and bitching about online instead doing something you like it will be better for us all. /quote

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

  46. in Japanese kiru (斬る）meaning cut something down
    but wikipedia only says that アカメが斬る! Hepburn: Akame ga Kiru!?, literally meaning “Akame Kills!
    it makes this title funny 

    aaaa
    Reply

  48. Ending was complete trash. The final battle is cool and all, but we never got to see Akame’s “trump” card develop and unveil itself previously. After it stopped following the manga at episode 19, everything felt rushed. More than half of Night Raid was killed in less than 4 episodes, and while I don’t mind seeing characters die, killing off a whole group of the main characters in a very short time just destroys the development of the show. The anime itself was good until episode 19. After that, I felt like it really plummeted.

    Bryan Wilson
    Reply

  49. This anime overall was superb as in animation, but for the plot it was a bit confusing and stretched. I would of enjoyed it if more member of the Night Raid survived. Would of been fun, watching them all fight the super imperial arm beast. I think if they had more surviving members, the ending would of been much better. Sure, Akame and Esdeath could have their EPIC fight, but I still feel like there should of been more that happen after. I can say for most of the anime viewers that we were partially satisfied and that we were hoping for a better finish to the anime. But Overall Great Anime. Thank you Square Enix!! ^.^

    WhyAkamegakillwhy? ;_;
    Reply

  50. I actually disagree with everybody that said Leon had a stupid death if you remember she always trusted her healing skills so dying like that showed her recklessness and she didn’t have a reason to live even in the end she wont even drink with the guys that offered her a drink and we all know how much she loves drinking.

    Ali
    Reply

  51. ‘ I like this anime but I don’t like how characters died so easy, Just like Tatsumi. I expect him to be one of the characters that will stand in the end, but I was wrong, and for that I was disappointed so much. The Anime was superb, if just that the characters didn’t die the way they was. It could have been the best anime if only the characters survived till the very end. 5/10

    AnimePunk
    Reply

  52. Just finished watching the story as well. I was okay with all the character deaths. In fact, I felt they added to the story. However, I don’t think a single death was handled properly in the last episode. Every character who died after Mine did so in the most meaningless of ways, IMO (except for Honest, who I enjoyed seeing get thrashed to death, but even then, DAT Leone…BOOO).

    Not that I have a problem with sad endings per se, but I feel that this much melodrama was out of place. Conversely, I expected something like this out of Aldnoah Zero’s ending, but that one has everyone live, it’s a strange role reversal. I would have been fine with two of these three living (Tatsumi, Akame, Esdeath), and seeing them deal with the aftermath. Instead, we get all but Akame dying, and she goes off to never be heard from again.

    Not so much bittersweet…more like bitter-bitter. At that point, just kill off everyone but Najenda and Run, and leave those two to pick up the pieces. But no, instead we get pointless melodrama. I still can’t help feeling that they just added an extra does of “screw you” to the ending. I mean really, “I am going to live through this” followed a few seconds later by [plot twist] “looks like I won’t be able to keep my promise…” Sounds like a bad scene from an 80’s action flick…

    I suppose it’s a mark of how good the show is that I am so emotionally invested. Looking forward to reading the manga though. I fully intend for that show to screw its characters too, but I expect that it’ll do so with better execution (pun intended).

    Seracen
    Reply

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