Akame Ga Kill is a 24 episode action, fantasy anime series directed by Tomoki Kobayashi, music done by Taku Iwasaki, produced by Studio White Fox. Akame has gotten a lot of hype from the anime community, due it's "dark" themes and general edgy nature. Is there something here, or is it the anime equivalent of Shadow the Hedgehog?
Story: I'm going to preface this by saying at the time of writing this review, I have not read the manga, and cannot make any comparisons between the two. I have been informed that there are major differences between the two, but I will be judging the anime on its own. So, how is it as it's own thing? Well, the characters were cool? The story here is one that has been told a thousand times: The government is corrupt and oppressive, the main characters are a group of rebels trying to destroy the government, they fight and people die. The main character, Tatsumi, gets roped into all of this on accident, and the show goes on from there Does Akame do anything different from the cliche? Well, it's gorier than most, characters getting lopped in half, torn to shreds, and decapitated at the drop of a hat, also, characters in the main cast actually die in this one. If there's one thing you've probably heard about this show before my review, it's probably that. Does all that make it better than any other series with this basic premise? Well, kinda? Other than the fact that characters die and that there's blood, it's pretty much just like any other shounen anime. You have your typical cast of characters, bro, pervert, the quiet one, the tsundere, etc. You have your generic anime comedy moments you'll find screencapped on facebook, and you've got your shounen power-ups and move names, Does it do anything unique? Well, it did all these generic things really well. There was some really hype moments in fights, especially towards the series end, and it's one of the few shows where there wasn't someone in the main cast I wanted explicitly to die, and that's a rarity these days. In fact, I really liked the whole cast. They may not be the most unique, but there's not much to dislike about them. I especially loved Leone, Bulat, Mine, Wave and Esdeath.
However, the ending was unfortunately not that great. It was better than a lot of anime's I've seen, and it doesn't tease a second season in place of actually having a conclusion. Ultimately, it just felt rushed, if it had a couple more episodes it would have been better off. There was a lot of build-up for very little pay-off as far as the character development goes, and a lot of plot conveniences. Some characters got better development than others. There is a couple characters in the main cast I never bothered to learn the names of. Ultimately, it just feels like a shounen anime with blood thrown on top of it. Was it bad? No. Was it amazing? No. I did enjoy it all the way through, however, and I'm glad I watched it, if only for the waifus. Overall, it was a slightly above average shounen with lovable characters. I give story a 6.5/10
Animation: Unfortunately, the animation was pretty average. It was clear several portions throughout the show that the budget wasn't very big, and some of the fights lose momentum as a result of this. Fan-service is there, but there's not too much to say about it. I will say it was done pretty well, not being crazy like Sekirei or anything, but just enough to keep the 13 year olds happy. I guess that was done well, unless you hate fan-service to begin with. The art-style is kinda generic, and that contributes to the series feeling more like a shounen than anything else. I will say that some of the stills they used looked really great, and the last couple episodes clearly had more care put into them than others. I appreciate them making the last couple episodes look really good, as anime with budget-dry endings are depressing. But still, not much can be said about the animation in general. Pretty average with some good points here and there. 6.5/10
Sound: The sound in the series was done really well. The voice cast did there characters very well, they are all so great it's hard to say favorites. If I had to pick, however, I would say Esdeath did the best job. Taku Iwasaki has always done good work with music, and he sure did on this one. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the entire OST anywhere, so I couldn't find a tracklist, but I immediately wanted the OST when I heard some of the songs in the series. While there was a bit of filler music, there was some really great recurring themes I was always psyched to hear. Also, the second opening is really good, rare consider the first is usually the best. Great music, great cast, great sound. I give sound 8/10
Overall: Akame Ga Kill is a pretty decent show. Great cast, great music, and some standout fights make the series worth watching in my eyes. Is it the anime equivalent to Game of Thrones? No. The anime, at least, is not as smart as it's fans thinks it is, and some evidence of rushing things can be easily spotted, in both writing and budget. It's worth watching if you want a decent action series, but not if you want anything more than that. Overall, I give Akame Ga Kill 7/10.
Akame Ga Kill is licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and is available for legal streaming on crunchyroll and hulu.