Akame ga KILL!

Episode 20

It's been a whole three episodes since someone in Night Raid died, so of course it's time to get someone else killed off. Given that the series seems to be alternating between eliminating female and male characters and that Tatsumi is exempt by virtue of being the nominal lead protagonist, that leaves only a couple of options. Despite being around since the beginning, Lubbock has never much seemed like an integral part of the group, and that makes him the most expendable. Given that, him being the one whose number gets punched this time around is not a big surprise. In most typical Akame ga KILL! style, he does not go down without a fight, and like Balut back in episode 8, he takes a powerful foe down with him. It happens as he and Tatsumi are working as the above-ground infiltration force in the capital as part of the Revolutionary Army's multi-pronged attack. While Mine and Leone sneak in through the poorly-mapped sewers and Najenda and Akame coordinate with the rebel forces Tatsumi and Lubbock make contact with a revel ensconced in the palace, only to discover that Shura, the son of the Prime Minister who has popped up before (he was the one siccing Danger Beasts on everyone a few episodes back), was onto them. While Lubbock duels with Shura, Tatsumi must confront Budou, the Commander-in-Chief of the capital's forces, and a powerhouse Imperial Arms wielder in his own right. That ultimately leads to a dead Shura and Lubbock and an imprisoned Tatsumi, much to especially Mine's dismay. Meanwhile, Kurome's condition worsens.

Shura's departure from the series is no loss, as he was coming across as a stereotypical evil bastard who regarded everyone and everything as his plaything and has no ambitions beyond power. Apparently his father, the minister, realized that and that's why he has such a bizarre “oh, well” reaction to learning about Shura's death. Lubbock will be a bit bigger loss though hardly a devastating one, as while he contributed a lot with his neat applications of his Cross Tail, his personality never stimulated much interest. Of more interest on the personality front is what may be going on between Tatsumi and Mine. Last episode suggested some romantic leanings, and the way both respond to being teased about it in this episode implies that audiences were not just engaged in wishful thinking. And how much different will Esdeath's behavior be towards the imprisoned Tatsumi, now that she knows that he is a member of Night Raid? That is the big question that will wait for next episode. Amongst new additions, Budou looks like a surprisingly straightforward and earnest, but basically decent, guy. Might that be a sign that he could eventually be won over?

While the battles are the typical flashy affairs, with Budou's Imperial Arms being yet another exotic combination of convention fantasy and high-tech design, the design for Budou is handled oddly. In the indoors scenes he is depicted as large, imposing man but definitely not a giant, yet the latter is what he looks like during the battle, and the effect is more than mere perspective can account for. Doubtless the artistry was trying to portray how intimidating he seemed, but if that was the intended effect then the design goes overboard. Still, that was the only significant flaw it what was otherwise a very busy (and once again very bloody) episode.

Rating: B

Akame ga KILL! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.