Jan 27, 2015
I've been looking at some of the other reviews who rated it 3 or 4; however I found it absolutely outstanding.
The plot isn't anything out of the box, but it had a very steady pace and wasn't bad in any way. They explain things in the beginning without bogging the show down, and later on they speed things up with new characters and more complicated twists.
It's also a very realistic anime. People die. It's not a surprise in real life, especially if the main group are assassins, but for some reason most anime's just make people not die by creating these impossible situations.
...
But with Akame ga Kill, it's different. Once you're dead, you're dead. I know some shounen animes where, when someone dies, I don't feel sad - not because I'm not attached to the character, but because I'm just so confused. I just kind of assume that they come back somehow because everyone always manages to come back to life one way or another. By the time I realize that no, they're actually dead, it's kind of more of a shock than sadness.
I also really liked the art. The fight scenes were amazing and I love how they show the intensity of their emotions. It felt very raw and very real. Each character had some unique physical quality. Lots of times in animes, I get confused with the names or even faces because they can look so similar. But Akame ga Kill had some really epic designs.
The sound was pretty good - I feel the Japanese voice actors fit the characters (not to mention Lubbock was voiced by Kirito's actor ^^) and not to mention the opening and ending songs were some of the best I have ever heard.
The first opening was just straight out awesomeness. It's catchy and rock. The second was even better. It had a more bitter sounding quality to it, and showed the sorrow of the anime while still maintaining the really cool action part. The ending songs were the polar opposite compared to the intros because they were more slow-paced and sad, but that was what made them amazing.
Characters. I have quite a bit to say about this. Lots of people were mentioning that Akame should have been the main character because her name was in the title, but I disagree. Tatsumi has obviously been the main character. Akame may have been a secondary, but she had no more screen time than any of the other Night Raid members. The entire plot was focused around Tatsumi, and it was mostly in his perspective. Just because a character has their name in the title does not mean they are the main character. The protagonist is the person the story follows after. That's Tatsumi. Akame is the climax. She's the most important person, but that doesn't mean she's the main character. She defines the anime. But Tatsumi is the main character. They are two different things. This is why I understand why Akame is in the title but the point of view is from Tatsumi.
As a generalization, I really liked all of the characters. They all had their own individual quality about them and what I really love about the anime is that they also show the antagonistic side. Later on, when you are introduced to the Jaegers (who are the enemies of Night Raid), you aren't like, oh, they're a villain, I hate them all. The story writers show their side, so you know why they are in the Jaegers and not the Night Raid. You understand them and you sympathize with them and you cry as much as you would cry when a Night Raid character when they die. There was this one time where one person person from Jaegers was fighting one person from Night Raid, and I didn't know who to root for because I loved both of them. The one thing I dislike is how they don't develop the characters enough. When the first person died, I didn't really feel anything except some sorrow because I didn't know him/her (no spoilers :D) that well. Especially Lubbock; that frustrated me. I didn't care especially for him because the anime didn't show his personality too much. But later on, they give him maybe ten minutes to show his badassery, and that was when I realized how amazing he actually was. But they should have done that from the beginning. What they do is they give them their background story and kill them off, but they don't actually show them with their own personality much. That was the only thing I disliked about the development of the characters.
Some people say that the corrupted greedy villains in which Night Raid assassinated were too unrealistic, and that they were all sadistic and inhumane. But those people weren't the point. All of those evil people - they didn't matter. They were just there to show to the audience why Night Raid is right and the capitol is wrong. What matters is the emperor, a little boy being manipulated by the prime minister (who is also important), the Jaegers, and Seryu. Those are the real antagonists. And I feel they portrayed those key people very well. I already explained how the Jaegers were relate-able. And Seryu is part of the Jaegers, but she's honestly a whole other category, because she's worse than the prime minister and the side-villains combined because of her wrong sense of justice and the lust to kill. The emperor is naive. We can understand why the capitol is why it is. And the prime minister is really the only true villain, who is clever but at the same time absolutely powerless. They elaborated on those points very well, and I think that's all that matters.
Now for the characters themselves. Tatsumi irked me sometimes because he was just so happy-go-lucky in the grimiest situations, but he was a pretty okay protagonist. Akame is the blunt, awkwardly social person that is able to erase her emotions when the time comes to kill. Bulat is the awesome gay dude who is basically the older brother who you idolize because they're so strong but happy at the same time. Chelsea is the older sister that annoys everyone on purpose and loves to prank people. Leone is the bold and fierce and the carefree. Lubbock is the perverted but also somehow knows compassion and can get serious when it comes to fighting. Mine is the sensitive girl that insults people to hide her embarrassment, the kind of person that names her destructive Imperial Arms 'Pumpkin'. Najenda is the chill and the cool. Sheele is the quiet, shy, mostly talent-less, and clumsy. Susanoo is a dedicated and loyal friend who corrects your moral mistakes, not to mention he is a weird housewife with OCD. Bols is the creepy-looking but really sweet nice guy. Esdeath is a psychopath who loves owning people, things, and lust. Kurome is Akame, but more ruthless. Run is logical and calm. Seryu is the devil. Dr. Stylish is the creepy mad scientist with weird fetishes. And Wave is basically a really annoyingly naive Tatsumi.
I spent a lot of time on the characters. But they deserve it because I needed to clear up some misconceptions.
One last thing - some people disliked the humor. But I loved it. Akame ga Kill is not a dead serious anime. Yes, people die, and yes, it's sad, and yes, it's gory. But the humor is also dark and there are some dry humor as well. These people are literally assassins who have seen the deaths of their loved ones, living in a corrupted world, yet they can still laugh and joke around. If you're going to watch this show, you need to start watching with the fact that the humor isn't forced and unnecessary after a sad part - it's to lighten up a death because that's just what they do. They make you cry then make you laugh then make you feel bad about laughing. You may find it inhuman to be able to joke after witnessing so many deaths, but if they can't find happiness in the little things, how can they live with themselves? Because that's how they live.
Despite the negative reviews I really loved this anime. It's one of my favorites because of the characters, the action, and the humor. I would definitely recommend. I know, that if I haven't seen this before and I saw all the negative reviews, I would probably not watch it. But this is me countering all of those and saying you should watch it, because you should experience it for yourself, and decide yourself whether or not it's good.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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