Akame ga Kill! – 16
Always chew your food before swallowing, or it will shoot its way out.
It’s part two of the first big confrontation between Night Raid and the Jaegers, and we’ve only just made it past the appetizers.
Kurome’s Collection
A bunch of welps.
It’s easy to think that Kurome has an undead army at her disposal thanks to her relic, but fortunately that isn’t the case. Instead, there seems to be a limit on how many “puppets” can be controlled at a time, which probably varies depending on the compatibility between Yatsufusa and its wielder. In Kurome’s case, that limit is seven or eight. Moreover, the episode suggests that the limit not only applies to the number of active puppets, but also to the total number of puppets in the collection. So it could be that Kurome can only store the last seven or eight things she’s killed in her collection. Otherwise, you’d think she would immediately summon a new puppet to replace one that’s fallen in battle. Unless this is all misleading and she’s deliberately not summoning any more puppets for some reason, of course.
Battle Royale
Kurome starts taking things seriously.
In terms of the action, I have to say that Akame ga Kill! executed this episode fairly well. It’s admittedly nothing more special than your standard shounen battle royale, but at least it’s done right for what it’s worth. Where we stand now is the small fry (Kurome’s puppets) have been taken care of. Now it’s on to the big kahunas, starting with Kurome herself. Obviously she herself is no pushover or that showdown will be regrettably short. But I do have to wonder how well she could hold up against most of the Night Raid team, even if the good guys are a bit beaten from their battles this episode. Yatsufusa grants her no special physical abilities, so all she can rely on is her skills with the sword and a bodyguard puppet. And I highly doubt that’s enough to keep the combined force of most of Night Raid at bay. Which leads directly to the next stage of the standard shounen battle royale: the turnaround.
Bols was awesome all the way to the end(?).
When the good guys are doing too well, the bad guys have to start showing some face and giving them a hard time. Assuming the current conflict is to continue on for a few more episodes, Esdeath and company are inevitably going to show up to save Kurome’s hide. Especially now that Bols is apparently out of the picture. We’ve already seen hints at this since Esdeath is starting to catch on to the fact that they’ve been misled. And no gang of bandits is going to stop her from plowing straight through them to investigate what’s going on with the rest of the Jaegers. Wave is yet another wildcard who might pop up at any moment since there seems to be something between him and Kurome. But I’m thinking the show will stick to its guns about him being down for the count after taking Susanoo’s preemptive strike. That said, all of this could be moot considering the next episode preview appears to have nothing to do at all with the current conflict. Maybe Kurome makes a hasty escape and the Jaegers regroup to face Night Raid another day instead?
Who’s Next?
Death flags everywhere.
Speaking of the next episode preview, it looks like we’ll get an episode focused on Chelsea next time. This concerns me as her little moment in this episode further adds to her death flags. It all has to do with being interested in Tatsumi, I tell you. Anyway, I’m a bit confused as to why we’re suddenly shifting focus from an epic showdown between Night Raid and the Jaegers to a standard assassination job where some asshole we don’t care about, but are told deserves to die, gets his just deserts. Maybe it’s actually some sort of flashback to Chelsea’s earlier career as an assassination? Because if that’s the case, then it’s sure as hell confirmed that she’s going to die come next week. It’s never a good sign when they start rolling out the flashbacks in the midst of a conflict, after all.
Akame ga Kill! threw us in for a bit of a scare with Leone losing an arm, Mine getting eaten by a giant frog, and Lubbock musing about confessing his love to Najenda once the battle is over. The last one on the surface would appear to be a death flag for one or both of Lubbock and Najenda. But that’s a bit too much even for this show, especially when Chelsea’s apparent impending doom is looming so closely overhead. In spite of its bloody reputation, I highly doubt even Akame ga Kill! has the balls to kill off three good guys in close succession. And as for Leone’s arm, I appreciate the rather blasé reaction given to that little detail. Obviously, losing a limb is normally quite a big deal. And in some shows, such an occurrence is treated with an equally dramatic reaction. However, I rather like it when a show instead uses the desensitization of such a usually horrifying experience to stress the gravity of the surrounding circumstances. It’s not that the loss of Leone’s arm is something to shrug off. Rather, the battle at hand is so intense that there’s no time to cry about it.
Will the big boss finally make her appearance?
About Sumairii
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
It’s kind of creepy how Akame ga Kill won’t beat around the bush with characters losing their arms. There was the absolute justice girl, and now Leone. Soon enough, dismemberment in anime will become a troop.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Just ask all Yuki Kaji characters.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I admire how bold the series is when dismemberment is regarded. In other shows that play it safe, the impact upon seeing that is often dulled due to insatiable censors that kill the mood. Compared what was already shown, cutting an arm is nothing. One of Night Raid’s targets in the earlier episodes got decapitated across his torso.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Yeah, shadow-kun usually kills the mood.
The thing is, losing an arm is a great deal. Or at least it should be. But here, they just shrug it off, like “oh, I lost my earring, where could it be? Ah, whatever.”
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Much like the characters in Naruto Shippuden ripping out people’s eyes without remorse or pulling out their own eyes without a care in the world. Like what Shisui Uchiha did for Itachi. That mentality has to be because they’re all battle hardened warriors prepared for any and all inconveniences.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Well, I don’t watch Naruto, so I don’t know what you might be talking about hahaha
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Oh, well. Still, those kinds of people are always prepared for the worst.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
As I was saying, the intent is to show how dire the situation is that there’s no time to cry over a lost arm. Doing so would give the enemy the opportunity to take your head as well.
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Najenda is a testament to that intent. She’s already lost an arm and an eye.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
This has to have been the best Escape a Frog bit I’ve seen all year long. Now, it’s true that it’s the only one I’ve seen this year, that just goes to show that anyone else that copies it in the next few months, has a long hard road to travel.
I don’t think they will show the goalposts for Puppet; easier to “move” them whenever they need to. For now, it’s OP in the driven context…
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Right. I’ll be impressed if any other anime attempts an “Escape a Frog” scene. Dat Mine tho.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If they do, odds are people will say it was copied from this.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
An awesome and brutal fight with Akame pulling out some badass moves. What’s sad and annoying are how people like Seryuu and Kurome can be so ignorant of the empire’s true nature. How can they not see the corrupt officials walking among them and easily condemn Night Raid’s actions as offensive? Because of unfair circumstances such as these, goodhearted people like Bols have to die on the battlefield. I knew his end was near but it doesn’t make seeing it any less bitter. Once his family gets wind of his passing, they’ll eventually get the wrong idea.
Scare is putting it mildly. I know characters here have little to no plot armor when it comes to staying alive but I still don’t want certain numbers getting killed. Among them, Leone is one of my favorites so I really got unnerved seeing her actually sustaining damage. Maybe a consolation of sorts that her relic allows her to stop the bleeding so as to not get distracted by pain during the fight. Hopefully it also implies that in her transformed state, she can fully regenerate her severed arm.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I can’t dispute that there are probably many others turning a blind eye to the darker side of the Empire. But I guess what most of them have in common is a belief that the country would fall into chaos if what little semblance of order is left were lost in a revolution. That’s typically how it goes for those defending a corrupt regime.
I’m also really sad to see Bols go. Knowing the show, he’s most likely gone. But some part of me wants to hold on to the hope that he somehow survived, since obviously Akame and Leone did.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Akame is the titular character so by rights, her chances of survival should be high. Leone, on the hand, may not be so lucky. Sheele and Bulat’s deaths indicate as much.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Mine should join the twintail brigade. Something tells me the twintail is strong with her.
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She could be Tail Purple!
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Haha yeah! Move over, Tail Red!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
She is the lovegirl of Tail Red and Tail Blue.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Oh snap! So that’s where she gets her tsundere streak towards Tatsumi!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The inherited tsundere factor has increased tenfold, though.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s a possibility. One of them is a guy, after all. 😉