Tatsumi has just set out on a journey: a journey to make
a name for himself and raise money for his home village. Reaching the legendary capital, he hopes he
can do both easily enough. But there’s a
great darkness behind all the glamour and smiles, a darkness that nearly
swallows Tatsumi whole. That is until he
encounters a shadowy group of warriors known as Night Raid. Their mission: disrupt the balance of power
and fight the government anyway they can, no matter how bloody. After Tatsumi is saved by a beautiful Night
Raid warrior named Akane, he is offered a spot on their team. Tatsumi has seen the darkness that is
plaguing this utopia…and now he’s ready to stand against it with his new
allies.
I had been hearing the title, Akame ga Kill, tossed around
a lot in the last year or so. Once it
hoped up on Adult Swim, I was wondering if I would ever get around to checking
it out. Luckily, it’s all on
Crunchyroll, so the access was at my finger tips and I finally pulled the
trigger. It was…bizzare?
Maybe it’s just been a while since ive seen a series like
this, but it definitely caught me off guard.
For a series that I assumed would be heavy on the action (and it is), I did
not expect the vast amount of black humor that came along with it. This is a sinister society disguised as
Pleasantville. So it’s easy to laugh at
Tatsumi’s pratfalls in the first half of the first episode. But once you discover that the family
sheltering him has a sick and twisted hobby…you start to wonder if you’re still
watching the same series. I will give
Akame ga Kill cudos for giving us a whole slew of characters I couldn’t wait to
see die or worse by episodes end.
Tatsumi’s swift justice to the family that welcomed him to the capital
was very fitting, especially after the daughter blurted out her perversion in a
manic state. But just as Tatsumi is
coming to terms with what he’s seen, the humor quickly returns as he is brought
into the Night Raid fold. The balance of
tone is weird and it reminded me a little bit of early episodes of Angel Beats…though
Angel Beats righted its course a couple episodes in, whereas Akame ga Kill was
still flirting with both light and dark heavily in Episode 3.
The characters are a mixed bag. Only a couple are given ample screen time in
the first three episodes, and im guessing more get their own as time goes
on. But no one really stood out as
special or exciting. Tatsumi seems
pretty by the books in terms of would be hero of the story. Akame, while cute, is the pretty generic
silent warrior who seems invincible.
Mine, the high and mighty bratty one, seems different just because she’s
using a sniper rifle in a fantasy themed world.
The interactions between cast members are pretty funny. But like most shows, the cast seems one or
two members too large. Two characters who
did stand out were the Emperor and the Minister. The Minister is probably one of the most
eeeeevil SOB’s I have ever seen. He looks
so delightful when he’s smiling about how much pain a traitor will endure. Also implying he’ll do horrible things to the
guys wife made him creepier. As for the
Emperor, he’s memorable cause he’s such a tool controlled by the Minister. I cant wait for Night Raid to smack the heck
out of him.
So will I stick with this one? Maybe.
I think it’s a series I can switch on if im bored or get curious. But I’m also not in a super hurry to see if
things get better or worse. Maybe it’s a
lot to take in, maybe I’m just watching a ton of other shows right now that
place this one low on the totem pole.
Either way, Akame ga Kill will no doubt be back on my screen every once
in a while. But if it really wants to
get me involved, it needs to shake things up big time in the next couple of
episodes. Might report back on this one
later, only time will tell.
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