Original Air Date: July 20th, 2014
Adult Swim Air Date: August 22nd, 2015
Episode #3
In this episode of Akame Ga Kill, we begin with Night Raid going around killing intruders that are invading their base. Tatsumi then develops a totally heterosexual bond with Bulat, which leads to him having dreams about him, just like all good straight friends. While he’s out on a mission with Mine, he experiences the true thrill and intensity of working for Night Raid.
One of my biggest issues with this episode (and the series in general) is the jarring shift in tone. We get Mine’s tragic backstory about her being shunned because she was half-foreign and the place she grew up in was very xenophobic. This just kinda felt like a cheap attempt to try to evoke sympathy for an unlikable character, but I wouldn’t have had as much of a problem if they didn’t follow up with jarring comedy. I really don’t know why people think that interjecting comedy into dramatic scenes is a good idea. It didn’t work with FMA Brotherhood, it didn’t work with Hellsing Ultimate, and it certainly doesn’t work here. There are ways to transition smoothly from drama to comedy, but this show doesn’t know how to do that properly. Speaking of Mine, my god, she’s such an unlikable character. I’m not that big of a fan of the tsundere archetype, and Mine really isn’t much better. For God sake, they had a joke with her involving Tatsumi accidentally walking in on her while getting dressed. Going full Love Hina is never a good thing, and this show did it anyway. She’s just an overdone tsundere archetype, and a very annoying one at that. Also, why does the evil minister guy look like Santa Claus? We had Tatsumi fighting Shrek in the last episode, and having Santa as the main villain just adds to the ridiculousness. With all that said, you’d expect me to hate this episode, but honestly, it was actually kinda fun. The action in this episode was incredibly fun to watch, even if it is kinda stupid that those guns that SHOOT LAZERS are ancient artifacts. Also, I kinda like Tatsumi and Bulat’s friendship, even if I do find it a bit underdeveloped and the fact that Gurren Lagann did that character relationship much better.
So overall, while it’s not a terribly well-written episode, it was actually kinda fun from in an “eh, it’s a mindless shonen action anime, whatever” kind of way. I don’t really think the show is that good, but at the very least, I at least find it entertaining. I give it 3 wanted posters out of 5.
Akame Ga Kill! can be seen every Saturday at 12:30 AM EST on the Toonami block.
[swim squad] 