Akame ga Kill! – 02
RAWR
It’s Tatsumi’s first day on the job. Let’s see how he fares.
The Hero
That was easy.
Well, it turns out Tatsumi can handle himself just fine. I figured he’d have a bit harder of a time bagging his first official kill as an assassin of Night Raid, but perhaps this goes to show just how skilled he is with the sword. Physical capability aside, we get some more exploration of his character. So far, Akame ga Kill is setting Tatsumi up as a sort of generic action hero with a strong but naïve sense of justice. It’s a bit boring, and his obvious eventual decent into becoming a darker, disillusioned anti-hero isn’t blowing me away either. But the rest of the cast and the show make up for this so it’s not so bad. I do reserve some hope that Tatsumi can become more interesting though. There’s something to be said about his convictions and the way they fuel him, despite me just calling his sensibilities boring. It’s interesting to note that he is very strongly influenced by his emotions, which has thus far been a boon to him in combat. But I can see the day coming when he might lose faith in whatever justice he believes in, which might prove deadly to both him and his comrades alike if Akame ga Kill evokes such a development at the right moment.
The Big Picture
The good guys?
While we’re on the topic of Tatsumi’s new friends, it’s definitely pertinent to discuss Night Raid as a cog in a larger machine. This episode introduces the gang’s backers and directors, the Revolutionary Army, which is basically the Rebel Alliance of the Akame ga Kill universe. While the idea of a ragtag group of rogue assassins working alone to bring about a change is certainly appealing, I quite like this development as it opens the floor to so much more story-telling. For one, I am quite skeptical of the Revolutionary Army itself. They claim to take up arms and stand up for the hapless citizens of the Empire. And while I don’t doubt that this is probably how the movement started, I don’t believe for a second that they are as righteous and pristine an organization as Night Raid‘s Boss was making them out to be. Ok, so she didn’t exactly sugarcoat her words, but she was definitely plugging them as the movement of justice that Tatsumi should believe in. And this is just too good to be true.
Strike a pose!
Any organization that grows large and influential enough will inevitably start to pick up more unscrupulous characters, motivations, and methods. Well duh, obviously Night Raid is a prime example of the Revolutionary Army’s uglier side. But this can be spun as a necessary evil to overthrow the current regime. Plus, it was even given as a freebie in this episode as the members of the gang confess the sins of their deeds in response to Tatsumi’s naïveté. So clearly we aren’t meant to take it too seriously. Instead of this paltry nonsense, what I expect is some sort of “betrayal” on the part of the Revolutionary Army. It doesn’t have to be anything as drastic as turning on Night Raid to erase their evils as soon as they seize control of the nation. Rather, it could be something more conceptual, such as the revelation that they treat people just as poorly as the Empire and are merely power hungry dissidents parading under the pretense of justice for the common man.
The Assassin?
Oh White Fox, you tease!
Of course, all of this is speculation and might not be the case at all. But having the Revolutionary Army in the right and the Empire in the wrong, black and white, is pretty boring as well. So if Akame ga Kill knows what’s good for it, it will slowly drag the revolutionaries down off their pedestal. The manner in which it might go about this is completely up to the show, and it could definitely be much more creative than my previous admittedly generic suggestions. Now, there is a small chance that I could be wrong about all this as Akame has so far stuck with the revolutionaries, herself made out to have some weird sixth sense for “the right cause” that made her to defect from the Empire despite being an Imperial assassin no doubt ingrained with Imperial teachings and propaganda. But there is still plenty of time for her to start noticing that things aren’t so kosher with her new allegiances so I rest my case with the usual “only time will tell.”
It’s time for an inspection~
Speaking of Akame, the titular character really stole the show this episode thanks to her unorthodox training sessions with Tatsumi. Which was to be expected because, well, her friggin’ name is in the show’s title. So far, she has served the role of instigating much of the show’s comedy, which is a continuing theme that I appreciate as it prevents Akame ga Kill from taking itself too seriously. But I gotta think that at some point we have to start seeing her in a more serious light than a weird, soft-spoken girl who just so happens to be deadly at sword fighting, has a sad past, and looks great in a bikini. Most likely, the show is strategically biding its time to do that in order to milk the power of such a paradigm shift, so that too should come in due time. I just don’t expect to see her as seriously deadly assassin rather than a sometimes deadly but mostly goofy assassin any time too soon. Which is fine for now, because the rest of Night Raid is just as goofy as she is.
A stronger episode for Akame ga Kill than the previous in my eyes. Certainly, the premiere had the shock factor of the blood, gore, and abrupt killing-off of characters. And to be fair that’s a strong strategy for hooking the audience quickly. But the additional world development in this episode, combined with the many doors of possibilities it opened moving ahead, really drew me into the show much more than a little bit of strawberry jelly on the walls here and there. I also continue to enjoy the juxtaposition of humor and gritty action, so here’s hoping the show maintains this balance well as it continues on its inevitable run into darker places.
Next week: training with Mine.
About Sumairii
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m looking forward to Mine, provided they can break away from the typical tsundere attitude…I have more than enough to deal with that in Blade Dance.
I like how the Revolutionary Army tracks with rather real world agendas. Scratch the surface, follow the will to power.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I don’t remember if Akame changes as far as how she acts, but from what I can remember I think she had more badass moments and some character growth somewhere? That and our main character I think hes just experienced at fighting monsters so he does have some combat exp; however I don’t recall them ever talking about that part of his character…
Akame Ga Kill blends in a lot of WTF blood and killing while throwing in hilarious moments! I love the character interaction between the main assassin team and hell even the bad guys have their moments once we see The Jaegers team get revealed.
I think things are going good so far! From a manga reader it looks to be going in order.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Second episode delivers. Tatsumi certainly has the capacity. It was just a matter of whether he’s cut out for the life of an assassin.
Akame retains some form of humanity. A hellish childhood like she had, I would’ve expected her to be cold and uncaring but it seems connections in Night Raid prevent her from crossing that line.