When naïve teenage swordsman Tatsumi leaves his village with
childhood friends Sayo and Leyasu he is unaware of the adventure that lies
ahead, after getting attacked and split up from his companions he finds himself
alone in the capital city with no money and having to sleep on the streets. A chance meeting with a wealthy young girl gets Tatsumi a
bed for the night in large manor belonging to her parents but his luck is
short-lived when a group of assassins called Night Raid invade the house and
proceed to kill the girl’s guards and her family, Tatsumi attempts to hide
himself and the young girl but inadvertently stumbles upon the dead and dying
bodies of the friends he was travelling with. It is then revealed that the girl and her family were taking
people off the streets to torture and kill and Night Raid were there to exact
justice on them, seeing Tatsumi skillfully defending himself against their
attacks Night Raid invite him to join them and with that he gains himself new
friends and allies to spark revolution and bring down the corrupt government. This all happens in the first episode by the way and the
rest of the first half of the collection are just as unrelenting in their
action and story, though for the most part it is very monster of the week for
the initial ten episodes but with fifteen volumes of Manga to cover in 24
episodes it’s understandable, to build enough understanding of our
protagonist’s skills and personalities it does a good job but without more of
an overarching story it doesn’t quite grab you straight away. Throughout these episodes we are introduced to numerous new
characters, asides from Tatsumi there are also the other members of Night Raid
including the titular poison-blade wielding Akame, the buxom and cheerful Leone,
and the handsome but powerful Bulat, their foes are numerous as they anger more
people with their actions, the evil Team Stylish discovering our group’s
hideout whilst also being pursued by the military-sanctioned kill-squads of the
Jaegers, and the Wild Hunt. What’s unique to this series is what are known as the Imperial
Arms, these are generally very powerful weapons of some description, nine of
which belong to Night Raid with 39 others out in the world somewhere usually in
the hands of the bad guys, not everyone can use these weapons but whoever does
is usually considerably skilled and not beaten easily, when two imperial arms
wielders clash it is always a battle to the death and you can expect a lot of
that in this show. Death haunts most of the characters in this show like a bad
smell and at any given moment someone you’ve grown attached to could easily get
snuffed out, so it’s best not to grow too fond of anyone in particular if you
can help it, but each loss that occurs only helps to strengthen our heroes
resolve or spur on their enemies, it is a very much tit for tat
confrontation-piece with everyone’s motives always being worn clearly on their
sleeves.
The first half of the show introduces us to our players, the
world they inhabit, and the absurdity of the weapons at everyone’s disposal, the
rifle Pumpkin, whose strength increases depending on the threat the enemy
poses, Extase, an over-sized pair of scissors able to cut through any material,
and Lionelle, a belt that when worn imbues the wearer with enhanced agility,
strength, and regeneration, there’s even Susanoo, a living weapon, able to
recover from any injury, deflect projectiles, and conjure a giant sword made of
energy from his soul, the level of imagination in these each of these weapons
is what really makes Akame Ga Kill as unique as it is. The next collection of episodes are where the show finds its
groove, with Night Raid being hunted by the military and the secret police, the
tension ramps up as our groups clash, revolution envelops the capital and many
lives are lost for the cause, the whole show lends itself well to binge
watching as each episode follows almost directly on from the last, and
generally leaves on a cliff-hanger, that “oh my god, what happens next?”
thought almost subconsciously willing your hand to the remote control to select
the next on the disc. That being said, the characters are perhaps the weakest part
of the show, everyone sports very typical anime character-traits, with Tatsumi
being the naive every man, the buxom ladette Leone who isn’t shy about her
sexuality, the quiet but skilled blade wielder Akame, the perverted genius Lubbock,
and the tall, dark and handsome Bulat, as much as everything else in this
series is refreshingly original and well crafted, the characters feel like I’ve
seen most of them before in other anime and manga, it’s not that they’re bad
though, they’re just nothing new and it’s a shame for something that feels
quite different to anything that’s come before. Akame Ga Kill is very light-hearted in its tone 75% of the
time but there’s the 25% where people are getting hacked up, blown to bits, or
eaten by Danger Beasts, sometimes the switch between moods can be quite jarring
with moments of seriousness and sentiment often getting lost amongst fan-service
and goofing around, having not read the manga I couldn’t say if it happens there,
but on occasions it feels like it’s trying too hard here and completely misses
the right balance. But apart from these very minor things, this is an enjoyable
series, the animation is excellent with crisp and sharp images, battles are
brilliantly realised, moments of sadness are sombre and dark whilst happier
moments are bright and colourful, the soundtrack brings everything together
very well, from the J-rock opening song of the 1st twelve episodes
to the symphonic character themes and battle accompaniment, each has something
unique about it and coupled with a solid English voice dub it helps make for an
easy watch. Relationships are forged and lost, battles fought and scores
settled, whilst Akame Ga Kill may not sport the most original of casts, it’s
their friendships and stories that keep you watching, will Night Raid succeed
in toppling the corrupt government? Will General Esdeath find love amidst war?
Who’s going to die next? Look past the often mistimed attempts at humour and
you’ll find an emotional rollercoaster of a series that isn’t afraid to make
you love a character in one episode only to kill them in the next.
Akame Ga Kill Collection 1 & 2 are out now on DVD & Blu-ray