Akame ga Kill!

Akame ga Kill!
Cover of the first manga volume featuring Akame.
アカメが斬る! (Akame ga Kiru!)
Genre	Action Dark fantasy[1]
Manga
Written by	Takahiro
Illustrated by	Tetsuya Tashiro
Published by	Square Enix
English publisher	‹See Tfd› ^NA Yen Press
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Gangan Joker
Original run	March 20, 2010 – December 22, 2016
Volumes	15[2]
Manga
Akame ga Kill! Zero
Written by	Takahiro
Illustrated by	Kei Toru
Published by	Square Enix
English publisher	‹See Tfd› ^NA Yen Press
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Monthly Big Gangan
Original run	October 25, 2013 – present
Volumes	5
Anime television series
Directed by	Tomoki Kobayashi
Produced by	Square Enix
Written by	Makoto Uezu
Music by	Taku Iwasaki
Studio	White Fox C-Station (ONA)
Licensed by	‹See Tfd› ^AUS Hanabee ^NA Sentai Filmworks ^UK Animatsu Entertainment
Network	Tokyo MX, MBS, BS11, AT-X
English network	‹See Tfd› ^NA Anime Network ^US Adult Swim (Toonami)
Original run	July 7, 2014 – December 15, 2014
Episodes	24

Akame ga Kill! (Japanese: アカメが斬る! Hepburn: Akame ga Kiru!, literally meaning "Akame Slashes!") is a Japanese shōnen manga series written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. It started serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Joker in March 2010. The story focuses on Tatsumi who is a young villager that travels to the Capital to raise money for his home only to discover a strong corruption in the area. The assassin group known as Night Raid recruits the young man to help them in their fight against the Empire to end its corruption. The series is known for its graphic content.

The series was licensed by Yen Press in June 2014. A prequel manga focused on Akame's backstory, Akame ga Kill! Zero, began serialization in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan in October 2013. An anime television series adaptation of the main series premiered in Japan in July 2014. This is the second work in the Japanese game developer MinatoSoft's Takahiro IV Project.

Plot

Tatsumi is a fighter who, accompanied by his two childhood friends, sets off to the Capital in search of a way to make money to assist his poverty-stricken village. After being separated from his friends in a bandit attack, Tatsumi unsuccessfully attempts to enlist in the army and is swindled out of his money in the Capital. He is taken in by a noble family, but when an assassin group called Night Raid attacks, he learns that his noble hosts actually intended to torture and kill him as they had done with his friends. As a result, he joins Night Raid, which consists of the swordswoman Akame, the beastly fighter Leone, the sniper girl Mine, the scissor-wielding Sheele, the string manipulator Lubbock, the armored warrior Bulat, and their leader Najenda, a former general of the imperial army. Night Raid is also part of the revolutionary forces assembled to overthrow the prime minister Honest who manipulates the young emperor for his personal gain despite the rest of the nation falling to poverty and strife.

The members of Night Raid carry Teigu (帝具, anime: Imperial Arms), unique weaponry created 900 years ago out of extremely rare materials as well as legendary animals called Danger Beasts (危険種 kikenshu). The power of the Teigu is so overwhelming that it is said that when two Teigu users fight each other, one of them is bound to die. Although Night Raid successfully assassinate some of Honest's cohorts, they lose Sheele and Bulat in fights against capital garrison member Seryu and a group called the Three Beasts. Honest and the emperor recruit Esdeath, a sadistic and powerful fighter from the North, to lead a group of Teigu-using warriors called the Jaegers. Night Raid, along with new recruits Susanoo and Chelsea, fight the Jaegers.

When the revolution gains momentum, Honest forms a new secret police force, the Wild Hunt, led by his own son, Syura. However, the Wild Hunt heavily abuses its authority by killing innocent civilians for their own plans, antagonizing both the Jaegars and Night Raid. After a battle between Wild Hunt and the Jaegers, with casualties from both sides, Esdeath blackmails Honest into dissolving the rest of Wild Hunt while Syura is killed by Lubbock after he captures both him and Tatsumi. Lubbock is killed while attempting to escape, and Tatsumi is sentenced to death despite Esdeath's attempts to convince him to join her. The remaining members of Night Raid attack the execution site to rescue Tatsumi, the group being pursued by the imperial general Budo before Mine kills him at the cost of her Teigu while falling into a comatose state.

After all Wild Hunt members and her remaining Jaeger subordinates have died or fled the conflict, Esdeath resumes her duties as general to hold off the Revolutionary Army when they begin a siege on the capital to remove Honest from power. In a last resort, Honest convinces the emperor himself to join the fight as well with his own Teigu and Tatsumi sacrifices himself to defeat him.

Conception

In 2007, Takahiro was asked to do a manga for Square Enix magazine. He originally came up with the idea of an "all-female band of assassins, and the protagonist is a boy who is captured by them and has to work for them." After his editor approved the idea, he waited on serialization until his company had stablized and had released two other titles, during which he developed the characters, story and world. In August 2009, following the release of Majikoi - Oh! Samurai Girls, Takahiro looked for an artist for the serialization, and recruited Tashiro Tetsuya to do the illustrations. He liked Tashiro's ability to draw fast-paced action scenes and that he can draw cute girls.^{Vol. 1 postscript} In developing a chapter, Takahiro would write the script first and then have Tashiro determine the panel layout. Takahiro would occasionally get feedback on plot ideas from Tashiro and the editor.^{Vol. 2 postscript}

Media

Manga

Akame ga Kill! is a manga series written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. It began serialization in the April 2010 issue of Square Enix's Gangan Joker, sold on March 20, 2010.^[3][4] The first tankōbon volume was published on August 21, 2010;^[5] fourteen volumes have been released as of August 22, 2016.^[6] The series will end in the January 2017 issue of the magazine on December 22, 2016.^[7] The series was licensed by Yen Press in June 2014 and the first volume was released on January 20, 2015.^[8][9]

A prequel titled Akame ga Kill! Zero (アカメが斬る！零 Akame ga Kiru! Rei) started serialization on 11th issue of Monthly Big Gangan magazine on October 25, 2013. The series is written by Takahiro and illustrated by Kei Toru.^[10] The story focuses on Akame's past during the days she worked as an assassin for the Empire. It was licensed by Yen Press in September 2015.^[11]

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in January 2014.^[1] The series was directed by Tomoki Kobayashi and written by Makoto Uezu. Takahiro is also supervising the scenario. Taku Iwasaki composed the series' music. The series premiered on the Tokyo Metropolitan Television, Mainichi Broadcasting System and Nippon BS Broadcasting television stations on July 7, 2014.^[12][13] The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks.^[14] The anime was broadcast in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami block, from August 8, 2015 to February 20, 2016.^[15] The opening theme song for episodes 1-14 is "Skyreach" performed by Sora Amamiya, while the ending theme is "Konna Sekai, Shiritakunakatta." (こんな世界、知りたくなかった。) by Miku Sawai; for the proceeding episodes, the opening theme is "Liar Mask" by Rika Mayama and the ending theme is "Tsuki Akari" by Amamiya.^[16]

Reception

The seventh volume sold 24,181 copies within the first week of release.^[17] The eighth volume likewise sold 37,833 copies in its debut week.^[18] Up until volume 11, the series has sold over 2.1 million copies.^[19][20] The English release debuted at 19th in Monthly BookScan during February 2015.^[21]

All five volumes of the English translation have appeared on the New York Times Manga Best Sellers list:

• Volume 1 was on the list for twelve nonconsecutive weeks; it ranked at number 1 for three of those.^[22]
• Volume two stayed on the list for four weeks; for one of those weeks it ranked at number 1.^[23]
• Volume three stayed on the list for four weeks; for one of those weeks it ranked at number 2.^[24]
• Volume four stayed on the list for two weeks; for one of those weeks it ranked at number 2.^[25]
• Volume five stayed on the list for two weeks; for the first week it ranked at number 1.^[26]
• Volume six stayed on the list for one week, ranking at number 1.^[27]
• Volume seven stayed on the list for one week, ranking at number 4.^[28]

The first volume of Akame ga Kill! Zero also appeared on the list for three weeks, ranking at number 6 for one week.^[29]

Kestrel Swift from the Fandom Post praised the anime's first episode for "harsh, brutal commentary on corruption and how likely it is that the more perfect someone seems, the darker the secret lurking within" as well as its production value by White Fox.^[30] Robert Mullarkey from UK Anime Network also gave the series a similar response for its action scenes and violence displayed. However, he criticized some of its characters and claimed the anime needs to "ditch the comedy."^[31] While reviewing the series' first eight episodes, Matt Packard from Anime News Network said that "it's stupid and childish" as "There's nothing mature about the idea that evil always takes the form of a psychopath or a power-hungry glutton, or that people become soul-dead assassins because something traumatic happened to them once, or that the physically weak are destined to become slaves and die weeping."^[32] In the Goo ranking website, Akame Ga Kill ranked 36th with 9 votes in the list of Anime's Most Miserable Endings.^[33][34]

References

1. "Akame ga Kill! Dark Action Fantasy Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. January 20, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
2. "Akame ga Kill! Manga Ends in 15th Volume".
3. JOKER執筆陣コメント - スペシャル - ガンガンJOKER -SQUARE ENIX. Square Enix (in Japanese). Retrieved February 28, 2016.
4. アカメが斬る！. Gangan Joker (in Japanese). Retrieved February 28, 2016.
5. アカメが斬る! 1巻 (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
6. アカメが斬る!(14) (ガンガンコミックスJOKER) (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
7. "Akame ga Kill Manga Ends on December 22". Anime News Network. October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
8. "New License Announcements". Yen Press. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
9. "Akame ga Kill!, Vol. 1". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
10. "Akame ga Kill! Manga to Get Prequel in October". Anime News Network. July 21, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
11. "Yen Press Licenses Akame Ga Kill! Zero Manga". Anime News Network. September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
12. "アカメが斬る!" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
13. "Akame ga Kill! TV Anime's Supporting Cast, Staff Unveiled". Anime News Network. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
14. "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Chaika - The Coffin Princess, 7 Summer Titles". Anime News Network. July 4, 2014.
15. "Adult Swim's Toonami to Run Akame ga Kill, Michiko and Hatchin". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
16. "VIDEO: "Akame ga Kill!" Second Season Commercial". Crunchyroll. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
17. "Japanese Comic Ranking, February 18-24". Anime News Network. February 28, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
18. 2013年07月22日～2013年07月28日のコミック [Comics from July 22, 2013 ～ July 28, 2013] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
19. "『アカメが斬る!』第18話登場のブドー大将軍と羅刹四鬼ビジュアル&声優公開".
20. 『月刊ビッグガンガン』2014年Vol.11、スクウェア・エニックス、197、958頁。
21. "Akame ga Kill! #1 Debuts at 19th on U.S. Monthly BookScan February List". Anime News Network. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
22. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. February 8, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. February 15, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. February 22, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. March 1, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. March 8, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. March 15, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. March 22, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. April 5, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 17, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. June 7, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
23. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 17, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 24, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 31, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
24. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. August 9, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. August 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. August 23, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. August 30, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
25. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. November 15, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. November 22, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
26. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. February 14, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. February 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
27. "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. May 15, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
28. "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. August 14, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
29. • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
    • "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
30. "Akame ga Kill! Episode #01 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
31. "Anime Review: Akame ga Kill! - Eps. 1-6". UK Anime Network. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
32. "Akame ga Kill! Episodes 1-8". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
33. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2016-12-02/grave-of-the-fireflies-tops-poll-of-anime-most-miserable-endings/.109432
34. http://ranking.goo.ne.jp/ranking/category/026/MemyBK1WczQX/p4/

External links

• Akame ga Kill! at Square Enix (Japanese)
• Akame ga Kill! Zero at Square Enix (Japanese)
• Official anime website (Japanese)
• Akame ga Kill! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia