What They Say:
Under the rule of a tyrannical empire, Tatsumi, a young swordsman, leaves his home to save his poverty stricken village. He meets a girl named Akame, an assassin who was bought, brainwashed and trained to kill by the Empire. Akame is a member of the secret assassin group called “Night Raid” who use special weapons called Teigu. Together, Tatsumi and the members of Night Raid confront the corrupt empire.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While the Three were taken out pretty quickly (come on, you could at least give them three episodes), Esdeath doesn’t waste any time before assembling a new team, this about the size of Night Raid (both of course being very variable sizes), and neatly tying together pretty much all of the plot threads left by earlier episodes. Along with the ones we’ve met or have hints of, this team features a full slate of eccentrics, as is pretty much the standard practice for this series.
One such member is Wave, whose role is very much that of Tatsumi’s, from introduction to personality to place in the group (other than joining at the same time as everyone else in this case), and as such becomes the most endearing “villain” we’ve seen. One easy criticism for this series is how boringly evil the opponents of Night Raid have all been, and indeed it’s something of a prerequisite to work with the other people on that side of the battle (as our team of heroes is made up in no small part of those who realized that fighting for the capital was not okay), but it will be interesting to see the perspective of someone who, as he continually points out (in somewhat overly repetitive fashion for a while), seems to be the only normal one there. Of course, there’s always a chance for him to have the kind of explosively demonic side that most have proven to, but for now he’s just our lovable country boy.
However, I may have to eat my words already, because the first colleague he meets is a muscle man in a mask that both fits Wave’s first assumption of a torturer and his job as an “incinerator” for the capital, and he’s the sweetest, most effeminate character we’ve seen, making him equally endearing in a very different way. But while he should be fun to watch, it’s pretty solidly established that he won’t remain as such when he gets into battle, and Wave may be hitting himself for ever thinking not to judge a book by its cover.
So that’s our gallery of rogues that should promise to last more than a couple of episodes, especially given the importance that a few of these characters already have, even on a level beyond what we learned about Liver. But while ending the episode with a setup for the battles to commence and for some more lives to be snuffed out would be simple enough, we instead get a twist that plays out comically but is clearly a major plot development that leaves us wondering what will happen next far more than a more typical maneuver, albeit in such a way that deflates the tension and calls back to questionable attempts to make Esdeath amusing and/or human.
In Summary:
In a lot of ways, this episode is more of the same from Akame ga Kill!’s “we’re not killing characters right now” episodes; new enemies are introduced, eccentricities overflow, and the stage is set for battle. But while that’s good and fun (because this show knows how to be darkly, bizarrely fun at times), the end plays out unexpectedly in ways that could be considered either good or bad, and certainly makes one wonder how it will progress more than the norm.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.
Wave is one of the my favorite characters in the series. Hope you enjoy the Jeagers