Akame ga Kill!

Night Raid is the covert assassination branch of the Revolutionary Army, an uprising assembled to overthrow Prime Minister Honest, whose avarice and greed for power has led him to take advantage of the child emperor's inexperience. Without a strong and benevolent leader, the rest of the nation is left to drown in poverty, strife, and ruin. Though the Night Raid members are all experienced killers, they understand that taking lives is far from commendable and that they will likely face retribution as they mercilessly eliminate anyone who stands in the revolution's way.

This merry band of assassins' newest member is Tatsumi, a naïve boy from a remote village who had embarked on a journey to help his impoverished hometown and was won over by not only Night Raid's ideals, but also their resolve. Akame ga Kill! follows Tatsumi as he fights the Empire and comes face-to-face with powerful weapons, enemy assassins, challenges to his own morals and values, and ultimately, what it truly means to be an assassin with a cause.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Akame Main

Amamiya, Sora Japanese

Mine Main

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Tatsumi Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Leone Main

Asakawa, Yuu Japanese

Esdeath Supporting

Akesaka, Satomi Japanese

Lubbock Supporting

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Chelsea Supporting

Nazuka, Kaori Japanese

Bulat Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Sheele Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Kurome Supporting

Ohashi, Ayaka Japanese

Iwasa, Gaku Producer

Miyake, Masanori Producer

Yoshizawa, Takashi Producer

Yoshikawa, Tsunaki Producer

Reviews

Dec 18, 2024

TryingT0L1ve

Recommended

(Minor spoilers ahead, but nothing that will ruin the experience)

Akame ga Kill! starts off with one of the most compelling openings in anime. The first episode hooks you with an incredible twist that completely flips your expectations. Tatsumi, the protagonist, stands out as someone who isn’t afraid to kill when necessary, which is refreshing in a genre that often hesitates to show moral complexity. At the same time, the show makes sure you feel the weight of every death, whether it’s an enemy or a close ally.

The Night Raid, the main group of characters, is fantastically developed. Each member has a distinct personality, unique abilities, ... and believable motivations for fighting. It’s almost guaranteed you’ll find one or more characters to root for and fall in love with. Their camaraderie and dynamics are a significant strength of the anime.

But then come the issues.

The deaths, while impactful at first, quickly begin to feel repetitive and forced. After the second death within the Night Raid, it becomes clear the anime is prioritizing shock value over meaningful storytelling. Tatsumi, for example, starts off as someone who is visibly affected by loss, but as the deaths pile up, he becomes strangely indifferent. By the time a character who loves him dies in front of him, he moves on almost immediately, as if it were just another day. This lack of emotional depth from the protagonist not only feels unrealistic but also robs the audience of the catharsis and gravitas these moments should carry.

Esdeath, one of the most pivotal characters, deserves a mention. She’s a villain who thrives in her simplicity. She’s unapologetically evil, not because of a tragic backstory or complex motivations, but because she enjoys power and cruelty. And yet, her obsession with Tatsumi adds a layer of intrigue to her character. She’s easy to understand and serves her role well, reminiscent of villains like Dio from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Now, onto my biggest frustrations:

The final episodes completely derail the anime. A power is introduced out of nowhere—there’s no foreshadowing, no buildup, nothing. It feels lazy, like the writers were scrambling to wrap things up. Then there are the deaths, which go from tragic to downright nonsensical. One character dies simply because they’re holding something heavy, while another loses their powers and gets shot in the stomach, despite having plenty of opportunities to fight back. It’s as if the writers wanted to hammer in a sense of tragedy but didn’t care about making it believable.

What’s even more frustrating is how the emotional impact of these deaths feels hollow. Instead of creating a narrative where each loss serves a purpose or deepens the story, it becomes clear that the deaths are there for shock value alone. By the end, the anime feels less like a story about rebellion and survival and more like a checklist of “how many characters can we kill off?”

Despite all this, Akame ga Kill! is still enjoyable in many ways. The themes of life’s fragility and the weight of choices shine through, and the first half of the anime is genuinely great. If the finale had been better executed—if the deaths had been meaningful, if the story hadn’t relied on cheap twists—I’d have easily given this anime a 9/10.

But with such a disappointing conclusion, my final score for Akame ga Kill! is a 8/10. It’s a series that had immense potential but ultimately fumbled its ending, leaving a sour aftertaste despite its strong start.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 1, 2024

AK-bro

Mixed Feelings

I came in here with below zero expectations and left very surprised. Don’t get me wrong, this ain’t the second coming of Jesus Christ but it sure is fun as hell. The edge, how seriously it takes itself, the character designs, everything works to just make for a good time. Of course, the biggest thing working against this is the story, specifically the plot progression and character development.

There are many small details and things throughout the series that don’t make sense, seem dumb, or just seem to be a vehicle for the plot to progress. One small example is at the end, where certain ... characters get tricked by a mysterious lady who they shouldn’t trust at all (we’ve literally learned throughout the entire series that no one can be trusted and the characters know this) but still do and end up getting their asses whooped. It’s really minor things but it’s those things stacked up that bring this show, especially the first half down.

Another issue is the blatant appearance of tropes. The pink haired loli, the chick magnet all-moral spiky-haired protagonist, etc. Most of the characters are fun but not generally compelling because they have no real complexity. They generally dumb down to a character trait and some quirk to make it seem like they are original. Bulat is an all-ambitious and powerful night, but he’s also gay. Esdeath is a psychopathic murderer, but she’s trying to fall in love. Akame’s sister is also a psychopathic killer, but she really likes cookies! Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed these characters, especially Esdeath, but the show really needed some more time developing the core cast rather than continuing to introducing random guys who are killed off a couple episodes later (really this happens way too often). And when the show did try to explore some complexity through character backstories, it always came through a long monologue that felt more like an out-of-place exposition dump rather than an actual logical place to be presenting the viewer this information about the character.

However, despite all this I still really enjoyed the show. The ending really came together and showed us a spectacle of fights and the culmination of the themes the show has been building up. The final fight between x and x, reminded me a lot of the epic final fight of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” and I mean that in the best of ways. The tension between these two foil characters caring the weight of all their fallen comrades while the remaining beaten-up survivors watch in awe is absolutely magestic. The music and animation really lives up to it as well, both having more of a backseat throughout the show but really shining in the strongest moments of the story, especially in the final episodes.

Overall, this “Akame Ga Kill!” is very flawed, but it makes up for it with fun characters, gorgeous background art, and a great ending.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 9, 2024

masnou

Not Recommended

English version:

One of the worst executed anime I've ever seen. I've forced myself to finish it, and even then I'm not the least bit proud of it. The editing of the scenes and episodes is pitiful, as if the studio was also tired of continuing with its production. You can see the reluctance in the animation and in the plot. I know that the manga changes a lot of things, but, to be honest, I've lost the desire to read it.

Its premise is good and, at least, its first half is easy to watch; but its second half is rushed, with characters appearing out ... of nowhere, ex-machinas everywhere and unintentional contradictions or nonsense in the action scenes and dialogues. Not a single character I've come to care about in the slightest, and although the series seems to boast early on about its crudeness and ‘realism’, it doesn't mind throwing in scripted armor when it sees fit.

Its animation is not disastrous, when there is any, as the climactic moments, a priori, are resolved in two minutes and do not surprise either visually or emotionally. However, they don't hesitate to waste many minutes of footage with fansevice and harem-like plots, which neither contribute nor come to the point. Moreover, they abuse still shots and context-free ellipses. The characters are flat throughout the series, and the deaths don't matter in the slightest.

In short, I don't understand the overall rating of this anime. I had more fun looking at my bedroom wall. I don't recommend it.


Versión español:

Uno de los animes peor ejecutados que he visto. Me he forzado a terminarlo, y ni así me siento mínimamente orgulloso. El montaje de las escenas y los episodios da pena, como si el estudio también estuviera harto de seguir con su producción. Se nota la desgana en la animación y en la trama. Sé que el manga cambia bastantes cosas, pero, siendo sincero, se me han quitado las ganas de leerlo.

Su premisa es buena y, por lo menos, su primera mitad se deja ver sin más; pero su segunda mitad es apresurada, con personajes que aparecen de la nada, ex-machinas por doquier y contradicciones o sinsentidos involuntarios en las escenas de acción y en los diálogos. Ningún personaje ha llegado a importarme lo más mínimo, y a pesar de que la serie parece vanagloriarse en sus inicios de su crudeza y "realismo" no le importa otorgar corazas de guion cuando lo cree conveniente.

Su animación no es desastrosa, cuando la hay; ya que en momentos, a priori, de clímax lo resuelven en dos minutos y no sorprende ni visualmente ni emocionalmente. Eso sí, no dudan en perder muchos minutos de metraje con fansevice y trama tipo harem, que ni aporta ni viene a cuento. Además, abusan de las tomas fijas y de las elipsis sin contexto. Los personajes son planos a lo largo de toda la serie y las muertes no importan lo más mínimo.

En resumen, no entiendo la nota general de este anime. Me he divertido más mirando la pared de mi habitación. No lo recomiendo para nada.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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