Akame Ga Kill (Review)
Akame Ga Kill is a Messed Up Fantasy in the Best Possible Way.
One of the great things about anime are the incredible fantasy words that come to life. Akame Ga Kill goes a long way in creating such a world with enthralling characters that inhabit a world that seems to be an amalgam of all the sorts of fantasy tropes that fans of anime have come to love over the years. However, this is far from a magical adventure series. Akame Ga Kill takes a hard look at corruption and how deeply it can entrench itself in society once it’s introduced. More importantly, it is an anime that understands there is a heavy price when it comes to revolution and refuses to pull any punches when it comes to collecting it.
At the core of Akame Ga Kill is a naive kid named Tatsumi (Corey Hartzog) who has come to the capital in order to become a hero and send money back to his impoverished village. Seems like a noble enough cause, but he doesn’t even get a chance to get to the Capital before coming face to face with the disgusting corruption of the world outside his small village. Akame Ga Kill starts with a heinous act carried out by a rich and sadistic family that tortures vagrants they trick into coming to their home through offers of kindness and support before brutalizing them. It’s a swift kick to the gut considering the relatively simplistic designs utilized by director Tomoki Kobayashi and White Fox studio (responsible for such series as The Devil Is a Part-Timer! And Steins;Gate). This sudden twist took me completely by surprise and seemed almost dangerously out of place given my first impression. However, it was just the first of many sucker punches that eventually won me over when it comes to this incredibly unique series.
The rest of Akame Ga Kill follows Tatsumi as he joins a team of assassins strategically spilling blood for a revolution just starting to gain momentum. It’s a far cry from the kind of heroic work he envisioned himself doing when he got to the capital, but that’s all part of this anime’s intrigue. Akame Ga Kill fully embraces the gray areas of the world. The “heroes” are all cold blood killers and most of the villains all have their reasons for being on the side of the Empire, which brings about a lot of tumultuous feelings over the course of the 24 episode series. This point is all the more driven home by the fact that Akame Ga Kill doesn’t leave any of its characters off limits when it comes to death. In this regards, it’s very Game of Thrones, but I would say to a much less frustrating degree. In other words, be careful when it comes to choosing a favorite character because most of them don’t make it out of this adventure alive.
One of the only really offputting aspects of Akame Ga Kill comes from the strange amalgam of concepts. The series features magical weapons, strange creatures, swords and sorcery, and political intrigue. Any of these elements would serve as a strong backbone for the series, but together they feel a bit smooshed. For example, the series feels like it takes place in a time when swords and magic would be the weapons of choice, yet there are characters that use guns and even perform relatively cutting edge experiments. Because of this, the series feels impulsive at times. Almost as though it’s making choices when it comes to the story and the characters because it thinks they’re cool and not because they feel like they would fit into the world overall. This ends up giving Akame Ga Kill an incoherent feeling overall that prevents it from really coming together.
Even with this issue though, I found myself enjoying Akame Ga Kill because it lacks that naivety that so many anime series embrace with open arms. Sure, there are some stirring monologues given by the characters who are trying desperately to cling to their individual values in this corrupt world. However, more often than not they come to realize just how childish they’ve been with their ideals of right versus wrong. This gives every character plenty of opportunities to grow and change over the course of Akame Ga Kill, well, at least until they’re inevitably killed off.
At first glance, Akame Ga Kill might seem like a bumbling mash-up of anime cliches. However, if you give it a chance it quickly differentiates as one of the more unique series I’ve seen over the past few years. It’s dark and brutal without being brooding and clings desperately to hope even in the most shocking moments. They say there’s no such thing as an original idea, and Akame Ga Kill is hardly the most original series I’ve seen. However, it puts the perfect twist on elements we’ve all seen time and time again. That’s why I consider Akame Ga Kill to be such a solid choice for any anime fan. Especially those looking for something mature, but still filled with fantasy and wonder.
