Akame ga Kill! (Episode 18) – Kill the Demons
Tatsumi is struggling to come to terms with Chelsea’s death, so he throws himself into the next mission, but killing Bolic isn’t going to be easy with the Four Rakshasa Demons and the Jaegers around!
What did you watch?
One of the criticisms of Akame ga Kill I’ve noticed is all the “pointless” deaths, but this is episode 18 and so far, there’s only really been three notable deaths in Night Raid and one in the Jaegers. I’m not including Stylish because he was never developed beyond being a mad scientist. I’d argue that each of them so far has served a purpose and helped to progress the story. Well, talking of the story, let’s get back to it. By now, you should know to expect spoilers.
What happened?
Night Raid arrived at the home city of the Path of Peace, a religious organisation that is starting to lose faith in the capital and the Emperor. Luckily for the Empire, Minister Honest has placed Bolic within the religion and allowed him to twist it and keep the followers subservient. As a result, Night Raid has targeted Bolic, hoping that it would be the spark that starts the revolution. Honest is all too aware of the dangers involved and has sent the Jaegers to make sure that Bolic survives.
Tatsumi and Mine search the outer areas of the city, getting a feel for the place, while Lubbock searches the city centre and Akame meets with revolutionaries to discuss a secret passageway beneath the city. With the Jaegers in town, Bolic sends his personal guards, the Four Rakshasa Demons out to hunt down Night Raid. Two of them find Lubbock and give chase, forcing him to use his Imperial Arms to defend himself. The Demons seem to think Lubbock will be easy prey, but he’s far trickier than they’d imagined.
Another of the demons finds Akame and attacks. Like the others, he is able to do weird things with his body, but Akame outsmarts him by allowing Murasame to be taken. It’s enough to give her the opening she needs to take his head. Tatsumi and Mine retired to the outskirts where they met the founder of the Path of Peace who informs them that their fates are joined and they will be a happy couple!
What did you think?
Like Tatsumi, I’m still haunted by the last outing, but this was yet another great episode. We’re introduced to the Four Rakshasa Demons and get to see what they’re made of fairly soon after. Unfortunately for them, they are no match for Night Raid. I thought Lubbock’s fight was excellent and it showed just how versatile his Imperial Arms is. The Rakshasa Demons were cool and obviously fairly strong, but ultimately they were a tool to show off more of Night Raid’s abilities and to give Esdeath more reasons not to underestimate them.
What was your favourite moment?
It was Lubbock’s fight with two of the Four Rakshasa Demons, Sten and Mez. I loved how they easily spotted him as a potential target despite his face not being known and his ability to blend in. Then having spotted him they gave chase. Sten managed to get a big hit on Lubbock and it appeared that he was dead. In reality, Lubbock had been protected by his Imperial Arms and was even using it to hide his pulse, making him truly appear dead. Unfortunately, the spy he was set to meet arrived and she was a cute girl. Lubbock’s only weakness.
He revealed himself and bought time for her to escape. Once she was gone, he turned and ran too. Sten pursued, but Lubbock had set a trap which Sten raced into. Then Lubbock bound his threads together to make a spear and threw it at Sten. Of course, being a Rakshasa Demon he laughed off the impalement and refused to be killed by something so pathetic. Only the strands had separated and wound around his heart, killing him instantly.
Unable to enjoy his victory, Mez then attacked, covering his trap in an oil secreted from her body. Then she rushed in and hit him hard. Lubbock tossed a couple of daggers at her, but she easily dodged them. She grabbed Lubbock and prepared to end him, but then the daggers flew back and stabbed her in the back, connected to Lubbock’s Imperial Arms. I loved how this showed us what Lubbock can do and how his Imperial Arms can be used. Thanks to the small bits of development as the show has gone on, none of this was a stretch and remained believable.
What was your least favourite moment?
So, I’m putting this as my least favourite moment, but only because of the implications of what it means to the characters. Kurome had miraculously recovered from her fight with Chelsea and went on the next mission to protect Bolic. Wave realised that she wasn’t as well as she seemed and confronted her. She revealed her fear that if she couldn’t fight, she would be cut from the Jaegers and an assassin that can’t fight won’t live very long. I think this creates a very interesting dynamic for Kurome. It reminds me of athletes that will push themselves to play through injuries for fear of the next guy coming up and taking their spot. Obviously, this is the extreme, but it adds some realism to Kurome and her situation.
Who was your favourite character?
It’s got to go to Lubbock. This was his episode to shine as he’s very much been a supporting character up to this point. That’s partly down to his role which is more around setting traps and providing intel, but when push comes to shove, he’s as dangerous as anyone in Night Raid. It’s funny how he laments killing the beautiful girls and it’s a nice weakness to have as he’s always going to put himself in danger because of it.
Who was your least favourite character?
Other than Bolic which seems like too obvious a choice, I think it would have to be Mine. I get it, she’s the tsundere and even the leader of the Path of Peace could see their future, but come on already with the insults and yelling. Mine is a good character, but they overplay her sometimes, especially for comedic effect which isn’t always necessary. If I’m honest, I prefer the dry sarcasm from Akame and Leone every time.
What have you learnt?
This part is going to be about Lubbock again or at least developing supporting characters. It’s always important to remember that not every character in your story can be the main character. There are lots of roles available and all of them need to be filled. It’s also really cool to be able to change things up a little bit every now and then and if you’re going to do that well, make sure you’ve used every chance available to prepare the readers for the supporting character stepping forward. As with Lubbock, we’re seeing him outside of his comfort zone, but everything we’ve seen up to this point has prepared us for this moment, even if we didn’t know it was coming. As with everything, you want things to feel natural. Readers can spot forced moments a mile off and they generally don’t go down well.
Other posts in the series
Anime
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Kill the Darkness
- Episode 2 – Kill the Authority
- Episode 3 – Kill Your Cares
- Episode 4 – Kill the Imperial Arms User
- Episode 5 – Kill the Empty Dream
- Episode 6 – Kill the Absolute Justice
- Episode 7 – Kill the Three Beasts – Part One
- Episode 8 – Kill the Three Beasts – Part Two
- Episode 9 – Kill the Lust for Combat
- Episode 10 – Kill the Seduction
- Episode 11 – Kill the Mad Scientist
- Episode 12 – Kill the New Recruits
- Episode 13 – Kill the Hindrance
- Episode 14 – Kill the Giant Dangerous Beast
- Episode 15 – Kill the Religion
- Episode 16 – Kill the Dolls
- Episode 17 – Kill the Curse
- Episode 18 – Kill the Demons
- Episode 19 – Kill the Fate
- Episode 20 – Kill the Pandemonium
- Episode 21 – Kill the Despair
- Episode 22 – Kill the Little Sister
- Episode 23 – Kill the Emperor
- Episode 24 – Akame ga Kill!
Manga
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- Volume 3
- Volume 4
- Volume 5
- Volume 6
- Volume 7
- Volume 8
- Volume 9
- Volume 10
- Volume 11
- Volume 12
- Volume 13
- Volume 14
- Volume 15
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