Cinematography:
Keisuke NakamuraComposer:
岩崎琢Cast:
Sōma Saitō, Sora Amamiya, Yū Asakawa, Mamiko Noto, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Hitomi Nabatame, Kana Hanazawa, Hozumi Gôda, Eiji Takemoto, Masami Iwasaki (more)VOD (2)
Episodes(24)
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Kill the Darkness (E01)
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Kill Authority (E02)
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Kill the Grudge (E03)
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Kill the Imperial Arms User (E04)
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Kill the Empty Dream (E05)
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Kill Absolute Justice (E06)
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Kill the Three Beasts - First Half - (E07)
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Kill the Three Beasts - Second Half - (E08)
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Kill the Lust for Combat (E09)
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Kill the Seduction (E10)
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Kill the Mad Scientist (E11)
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Kill the New Recruits (E12)
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Kill the Hindrance (E13)
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Kill the Giant Dangerous Beast (E14)
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Kill the Religion (E15)
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Kill the Dolls (E16)
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Kill the Curse (E17)
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Kill the Demons (E18)
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Kill Fate (E19)
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Kill Pandemonium (E20)
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Kill Despair (E21)
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Kill the Little Sister (E22)
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Kill the Emperor (E23)
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Akame ga Kill! (E24)
Plots(1)
Tatsumi, an eager young fighter who dreams of glory, arrives in the Imperial Capital in hopes of earning money for his impoverished village. His dreams are soon squashed when his attempts at recruitment are turned down, and his money is stolen by a curvaceous con woman. While stranded in the streets, Tatsumi attracts the attention of a wealthy family that offers to take him in. Just when it seems like things are back on track, Tatsumi’s would-be benefactors are attacked by a group of ruthless killers known as Night Raid. But the brutal assault reveals a darker truth that stretches all the way to the top, for beneath the thin veneer of the Capital lies a teeming hive of corruption that engulfs the whole city. With nowhere else to turn, Tatsumi joins the Night Raid to help put a stop to the wicked ways of the Capital once and for all. (Sentai Filmworks)
(more)Videos (2)
Reviews (2)
It started so nice... When I saw the beginning of the first episode with that cheerful male protagonist on his important mission in all those bright colors, I thought it would be another good fantasy anime series. When he ran into Leone, and she robbed him, I thought it would probably be funny too, and when the rich girl took him in and invited him home, I had a warm feeling and I was excited that there would be social issues involved. Over the next few minutes, I was cruelly let down and found that nothing was as happy and playful as I thought. However, I was in for a pretty rough affair where even the cutest characters have secrets; the good guys are the bad guys, and who knows if they are good at all when they murder people, even if they only murder the really bad characters. In other words, nothing is as it seems. This surprising sobering up, the sudden change of pace, and overall mood had me enthralled, and I suspected this would be very good. The following episodes did not disappoint me either; the pace and mood changed so often that I remained fixed and grew to like the characters, although that was another mistake. As I have discovered, it is very popular nowadays to kill off some main characters now. Then, however, the creators of Akame ga Kill take this almost to an absurd level, which could be rivaled only by George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire (i.e., Game of Thrones). However, unlike Game of Thrones, Akame ga Kill does not have a very deep plot. So as the episodes go on, it more or less degenerates into something akin to Mortal Kombat. Instead of dealing with the problems of fighting against a corrupt society and dealing with social issues, it is only about survival. I was still excited and determined to solve this puzzle, so I resorted to something I do not normally do and read the manga. I was blissfully surprised to find that the manga was just as moody as the anime series and that there were perhaps even more brutality and gritty scenes than in the anime series (as is usually the case with manga). It left me in silent awe and a combination of utter satisfaction, and there was a slight aftertaste because the material I was indulging in was quite gritty in places. I was convinced that this anime series would be one of my favorites. However, as it happened, I was unpleasantly surprised again because, towards the end of the anime series, the plot sped up considerably. Some rough passages (Wild Hunt and his rampage) and the love story subplot (I am not going to reveal who it involves) were left out. The narrative was slightly edited (for which I had to knock the rating down in exasperation). Obviously, the anime’s creators were heading towards a conclusion, and I suspected that there would not be a second season, so the only thing left to sort out in the last few episodes of the anime series was the answer to the question “Who would survive?” Here, I was repeatedly unpleasantly surprised and my favorite characters got killed off except one (I will not say which one, let me surprise you). To sum up, Akame ga Kill is not an anime series for sensitive and romantic souls. It is not an anime series for fans of complex narratives and complicated storylines. However, I believe that it will appeal to lovers of simplicity, sudden twists, and action-packed scenes with an excess of animated violence. 7.3/10.
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While I was watching this series and waiting for new episodes, I found it interesting to observe the reactions of users on various anime databases and compare them with my own. While the first few episodes left many viewers ecstatic and highly impressed, I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief at the flat characters, the "gory" scenes with barely any blood, the almost absent music, the somewhat outdated artwork, and the inevitable ecchi elements. The series had a slow pace, and the plot seemed to be moving forward while nothing much really happened. I was pretty close to calling it quits and giving it barely a one-star review; that's how fed up I was with this show.
However, starting from around the tenth episode, the show suddenly started pleasantly surprising me. New, rather interesting characters were introduced, the uninteresting and useless ones were gradually eliminated, the quality of the artwork and animation improved, more gore was added, the ecchi content was toned down, and even some pieces of the soundtrack began to make an impact. It felt like the team behind Akame ga Kill! had finally realized their vision for the series: a straightforward fantasy action second-rate series with decent battles, a higher MPAA rating (though not on the level of goriness of Berserk, of course), and unpredictability when it came to the fates of the main characters (in this regard, the creators are not that different from George R.R. Martin). This turning point didn't eliminate all my reservations about the series, but suddenly I found myself eagerly watching each new episode on Sunday nights, relaxed while enjoying the well-animated, fast-paced, dynamic, and thrilling action sequences.
However, the point at which many fans began condemning this anime to hell was during the final part of the series. Similar to the first Fullmetal Alchemist adaptation, the creators deviated from the manga source and presented their own ending to the story, which had an alarmingly fast pace and bore some resemblance to Battle Royale. Here, I must agree with the criticism as the finale was indeed too fast-paced, with an incredibly high number of characters dying in each episode. On the other hand, I appreciate that despite the breakneck speed, the producers managed to bring the show to a satisfying conclusion, filled with catharsis and unexpected surprises that exceeded the audience's expectations. In an era where there is a trend of open-ended endings devoid of catharsis, as if saying "let's leave it at that and see if we can get another season," this kind of satisfying conclusion was refreshing.
So, although I could in good conscience give the series two stars, I will turn a blind eye in this case and give it three stars.
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Gallery (694)
Photo © Square Enix Company
![Akame ga Kill! - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/165/365/165365655_e9d8c1.jpg)