10 Second Anime - Akame ga Kill! - Episode 22

Akame ga Kill! - Episode 22



As the rebels move toward the capital, Akame and Kurome make their final confrontation.

Meh.

I understand that the main story has to move along towards the end of the season, so there's no more time to explore Akame and Kurome's past relationship, how difficult their separation was, and the events that led up to it. However, throwing in a random escaped Danger Beast for them to defeat together, though an okay solution to show how much they still care for each other and how well they used to work together, was still too contrived. The producers had to do something to demonstrate their feelings and backstory, but doing it at this late date made it too obvious.

Heh.

I entertained the idea that maybe Mine just collapsed in Tatsumi's arms, because the previews for this show are very spoiler free. But no, I was right. She died. Tatsumi had a moment to remember Mine before the hard work of deposing the emperor begins.



Poor Lubbock. Najenda had a personal moment to mourn Susanoo, but Lubbock was not in her heart. I guess his feelings never reached her.

All Wave and Tatsumi could do was watch two sisters try to kill each other. Wave had a more personal stake in it, though. Good for him that Kurome acknowledged his special feelings for her.

Hmm.

We may be rushing to get to the end of the season, so all the fun little character stories are getting wrapped up, but the show still isn't skimping on showing the consequences of death. One thing Akame ga Kill has done well is marking regret, from those dying and those who survive. Those lighthearted moments early in the show actually mattered when the characters who shared them could die at any moment.

I also feel the compression of the story line with Akame and Kurome's story. We got the important parts when they were younger and how they survived the assassination school together. We didn't get any of the story of their differences when they were reunited after serving in totally different kinds of assassination squads and how that separation caused slight turns in their worldviews, which became big enough for Akame to leave the Empire, but not take her sister with her. Not enough time in this anime to establish those feelings in the characters so that their final meeting would be heavy with regret, revenge, sacrificial love and hardened hearts. Ah well. The manga is still going on, so you can see what's different between there and the anime.

Next time: we get to see how bad this emperor really is. Bad enough to protect his empire all by himself? The Emperor's Emperor's Tool should be something to behold.