Akame ga Kill! – 11-12
The way to Akame’s heart.
You were expecting Kara, but it’s me, Sumairii!
Bad Guys Dying
Some closure for Mine.
Kara was unable to cover Akame ga Kill! last week, so I’m here now with a double episode post. That said, I’m very tired and also pressed for time now that the school year is in full swing, so I will try to keep this short. As expected, Dr. Stylish bit the dust in episode 11. No surprises there. The thing to note though, is that the show has a bad habit of introducing new characters only to kill them off not long after. So far this has only been applied in the bad guy of the week fashion, so it hasn’t particularly stood out. Bad guys come and go, that’s understandable. And at worst, the practice has only made it hard to appreciate the battles as there is little apparent significance to the villains beyond the story telling us “these are atrocious people who commit heinous crimes and should be put down.” So we tend to take it at face value because that’s how the show plays out. But lately, this kind of development has been getting tiresome to me.
Akame in jammies is fine too.
Besides the thing with Sheele’s scissors, almost everything about Dr. Stylish’s assault on Night Raid headquarters was hollow and devoid of any real impact. That one guy who requested a duel with Akame and predictably lost? Zero fucks given. I’m not even sure why the show gave him so much dialogue and screen time only to kill him off quickly without giving him any background whatsoever. Ok, so he’s just a minion. But Dr. Stylish himself didn’t fare much better. He’s just about as generic as stereotypical mad scientists get. To its credit, the show did attempt to tie things up by revealing in episode 12 that Dr. Stylish was another person Seryuu looked up to. If you can believe that a man who turned you into a living weapon is someone to look up to, that is. But that was ultimately a pointless move. Seryuu doesn’t need any more motivation to bring JUSTICE upon Night Raid. The show has already hammered that point home with resounding effectiveness the moment Sheele turned into dog food.
We already knew Esdeath cares for her subordinates, so this is nothing new.
At this point, I’m really wishing the show would just introduce villains who stick around for longer. It really helps give the good guys more character when they face off against adversaries who have had sufficient time to develop. Case in point, Seryuu, Esdeath, and Wave are so fascinating to us because they have some real characterization. A luxury afforded by their actually hanging around instead of kicking the bucket almost immediately after making an appearance. I hope Akame ga Kill! realizes this is a winning formula and continues to head in this direction by introducing more such baddies instead of the stock henchman of the week. Otherwise, I might as well go watch a video of someone grinding welps in a Korean MMORPG and get just about as much out of it.
Good Guys Dying?
Just a flesh wound.
Now, I’ve only gone over the application of the show’s bad habit with respect to the bad guys. This very obviously leads the discussion towards its possible application to the good guys. A few weeks ago when I came across a news post on the good ol’ roll of crunch regarding new characters joining Night Raid, I could feel nothing but skepticism. If I remember correctly, the timing of it was such that Esdeath’s elite three had just been finished off. So you can excuse me if my immediate reaction upon learning of the eventual new characters was “I sure hope they last more than 2 episodes this time.” Now, the big difference here as I have previously alluded to, is that the new characters are good guys instead of bad guys. But the same thing applies. It would be in poor taste to introduce new allies only to kill them off quickly as if to remind us that none of the characters are safe. We already know this. Again, I point to Sheele’s dangling arm.
A master of disguise.
Now, so far the show has resisted the temptation to kill Chelsea and Susanoo. In fact, Susanoo is all but invincible as he is a living relic. But I still remain skeptical as to the survivability of these new characters. Especially when death flags abound already for Chelsea. Previous team completely annihilated? Cool but secretly caring attitude towards her new team? Spent some time bonding with Tatsumi? I can just feel it. Akame ga Kill! is itching to send her off to a violent end. Especially so for that last point, if I might beat the dead assassin and for the third time remind us of Sheele. I’m more amazed that Leone and Akame are still alive after how much time they spend with the guy. Then again, at least Akame has her name in the title. At any rate, maybe the show has finally learned that characters are much more interesting when they live to see another day. The relatively tame episode 12 might be such an indication. Or, it could just be the calm before the storm.
This was supposed to be short, but I managed to write too much again. I also managed not to write anything about the random man-eating monsters or Esdeath and fairy angel pixie man’s little exchange near the end of episode 12. But oh well. It was nothing special anyway (oh look, bad guys scheming), so what you gonna do?
Unlike Kaneki, this guy doesn’t need a mask.
About Sumairii
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Susanoo was actually the horniest member of Night Raid. ^_^
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I see what you did there.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Is that right? 😉
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The Dr. Stylish raid was about as appealing as a vicious lawn being mowed. I’ll give points for tackling the jungle of weeds and tall grasses, but yeah, same old same old. And of course, we got HanaKana’s character bonding with the Dr…..after he died! What?
Overall, this is a silly, but fun sort of series to follow.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yeah, Seryuu’s thing with Dr. Stylish felt really half-assed.
I enjoy the show for the over-the-top violence, but I do wish it would try to improve its story-telling. There’s a lot of potential to be had with the promised revolution supposedly drawing near.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That was close. Since Stylish had an advantage with an ambush ready, I thought we’d lose another Night Raid member. The surprise attack on Leone had me worried. If it kept on like that, how would the second half of the series even play out? Then I remembered these guys aren’t so weak they’d just roll over and die so it’s good to see the team still intact.
His name wasn’t even announced yet he had enough focus to begin assuming he’d be a recurring character but was cut down in no time. The end result: A wasted effort and he became more insignificant than he originally was before.
Among other things, Seryuu had a doctor-patient relationship with Stylish? Are you kidding me? That’s too out there for me to accept. It does explain how she cornered Sheele with that hidden gun in her throat. Knowing that she idolized a good-for-nothing thug like Ogre as well hasn’t settled with me either. Impossible that girl can’t see those guys are irredeemable scumbags. And she’s all about “justice”.
I think I’m going to like the new Night Raid members. Chelsea is a perfect remedy for Mine’s sometimes obnoxious attitude and Akame’s found her ideal cooking partner in Susanoo. As a weapon, he’s badass. As a relic, he’s so convenient that it should be a crime that every household doesn’t have one like him.