Akame ga KILL!

Episode 21

Prior to episode 21 Akame ga KILL! had somewhat of an established pattern for how it killed off major characters on both sides of the conflict. That pattern gets upended with episode 21, as combatants on both sides seem to fall.

After his capture last episode, Tatsumi is scheduled for public execution. He resists Esdeath's offer to save him, so Esdeath decides that she must be the one to kill him, a view that Wave cannot fathom but Kurome (who claims to have little time left) sympathizes with. Despite Esdeath's presence and Budou also standing watch, the rest of Night Raid mounts a bold rescue mission, using the explosives that Lubbock had planted previously to aid in the effort. While Akame fights through guards to recover Incursio, the rest go on the offensive, with Najenda and Susanoo confronting Esdeath and Mine and Leone battling Budou. While Budou, Esdeath, and Najenda all play their most powerful trump cards, Mine must rely on her Pumpkin's ability to be at its most powerful in a pinch. Though she succeeds, the effort costs her dearly. Susanoo, meanwhile, stays behind to make sure that Esdeath cannot thwart the escape of the others.

If implied deaths are counted then the body count for mainline combatants this episode is three, which would be the highest total of any single episode to date and the first time that Night Raid has suffered two casualties in the same episode (or even back-to-back episodes, for that matter). Despite having some likable quirks, Susanoo was easily the most expendable of the remaining Night Raid members; while we don't actually see him fall, his destruction can be assumed. Mine, if she really has fallen, would be a bigger loss, as the romance she was developing with Tatsumi was adorable to watch. While she is not explicitly proclaimed as dead at the end of the episode (she theoretically could have just fallen unconscious), the fact that her Imperial Arms was badly damaged is a bad sign, as the rule for AkG has always been that an Imperial Arms wielder doesn't survive the destruction of his/her Imperial Arms. That she finally confessed that she loved Tatsumi and kissed him is also a really bad sign, as female anime characters who don't admit their true feelings have long had a bad habit of doing that while dying, and her dying would open the door for the Tatsumi/Akame romance that seems like it was always intended even though little sign of it has materialized so far. So yeah, here's hoping that Mine is still alive, although I don't expect it.

That aside, most of the episode is taken up by the fights, with time split almost evenly between the Esdeath/Najenda battle and the Budou/Leone/Mine battle. The action doesn't disappoint, with several spectacular displays on both sides, although these are far less graphic affairs than those seen in most previous episodes. The one disappointment is that Budou became yet another short-term expendable character; he had seemed a little more righteous and sensible than other villains, enough so that I had thought the series might go somewhere with that, but apparently that was never intended.

With only three episodes left and next episode apparently being devoted to the final Akame/Kurome showdown, I have to wonder what conclusion the series is aiming for at this point, as it is giving no clear indication of building towards a specific climax. For the moment, though, it's still good, reliable fun.

Rating: B

Akame ga KILL! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.