Akame ga Kill - the anime version of the Game of Thrones but more bloody

Akame ga Kill is an anime series based on a manga written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. It was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Gangan Joker that spans 15 volumes. The anime series was directed by Tomoki Kobayashi and written by Makoto Uezu under studio White Fox. Also Takahiro supervised the anime with Taku Iwasaki composing the shows music.

The anime was licensed by Sentai Filmworks back in 2014 and is one of the most watched anime in its time block. It follows the story of Tatsumi, a young villager who travels to the Capital to raise money for his home only to discover strong corruption in the area and soon was recruited by Night Raid an assassin group that fights these corrupt Empire.

The great part of Akame ga Kill is its world building. You got this world of assassin and a corrupt Empire where devices called Imperial Arms are supernatural or mystical powers. Theres also the fact that theres really no actual bad guy among the character in the show outside of them fighting for what they think is right. So you got the supposed Night raid protagonist doing not so very protagonist things. This can also be said for the supposed villains of the series as they can be viewed as folks that are just doing their job.

As I mentioned the main characters in Akame ga Kill aren’t evil they just so happen to be working on opposite sides with very different philosophies and ideology so one finds themselves cheering for both sides at some point in the story. Of course not everyone is like that with the exception of that crazy psychopath chick and that of course the fan favorite Ice Queen who will likely kill someone at a drop of a hat for her goal of a Survival of the Fittest mentality.

The fights are impressive and the show runs like a sort of “monster of the week” story with a new Imperial Arms user that Night Raid with one or two episodes give or take. Each dying with a lot blood and at times missing body parts. The fights are really gory and unlike most series with plot armor characters that die in this series remain dead. And it goes for both the good guys and the bad guys. There is no magical wishing dragon or magic to bring them back. And this sense of realism makes the show grounded and each fight intense.

The anime series is named Akame ga Kill but the main story isn’t focus on Akame but rather on Tatsumi. That being said theres a lot of comedy in this series despite a sort of people dying every few episodes as the story goes. So one minute your sad cause your favorite character dies then the next the show tries to make a funny joke or two. It feels unrealistic and at times distracting. Also Tatsumi feels like a generic looking character as far as anime of this genre is concern. 

The sad part is that Akame ga Kill diverts greatly from its manga source material with the anime killing of characters that are still supposed to be alive thus blocking all the progress it could have made and making it a one series one shot thing. So unless they really make their own story with the characters they have left or start over from the start like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood did I doubt this series will have another season.

Like I mention earlier the show diverts from the manga and thus it probably has one of the worst ending in an anime series I have seen.  Usually an anime leaves room for a sequel this on the other hand feels like it couldn’t care less about it. It is rushed and even the supposed relationship between Mine and Tatsumi is badly handled. They just had it at some point where as the manga they actually expand on this a lot more.

Overall though outside of the ending and some story liberties it did steering away from its source material the anime is still pretty good. The action elements alone will certainly get you hook and on the tip of your toes as folks drop dead like flies nearly each episode. It definitely has issues but it has enough good merit that id happily recommend it to anyone especially if you’re a fan of action, comedy. Its both funny and serious without really diving on being too funny or serious.