Akame ga Kill! (Episode 20) – Kill the Pandemonium
With the revolution in full swing, Tatsumi and Lubbock sneak into the palace to assassinate Minister Honest. However, even with Esdeath out of the Capital, it won’t be easy, especially as a new team is in place and ready to stop them.
What did you watch?
So, this is where the source material really dried up for Akame ga Kill. The anime was released before the manga had been completed and this is where the real deviations begin. I’ll go into in far more detail in my reviews of the manga, so make sure you check those out. As for this post, I will be looking at episode 20 which takes us back to the Capital as the revolution starts to pick up speed. As always, there will be spoilers.
What happened?
Outlying regions are switching allegiances and allowing the rebel army to continue on its way to the Capital. Minister Honest isn’t surprised, however, as most of these nobles had been relocated away from the Capital because of their questionable alliances. Great General Budo has sat in on the meeting as his concern for the Empire grows. Honest informs him to worry as he’s put together a new team to take care of the unrest, led by his son, Syura.
Tatsumi and Lubbock meet up with an informant who can get them inside the palace which will allow them to take care of Honest once and for all, but their plan has been compromised and Syura and his team intercept them. To make matters worse, Budo arrives and goes head to head with Tatsumi, leaving Lubbock to face off with Syura. It’s revealed that the informant had betrayed them in hopes of freeing her parents from the palace jail and she stabs Lubbock in the back.
Despite this, Lubbock continues his fight with Syura who uses his Imperial Arms to send Lubbock to a place outside of space and time, but Lubbock ensnared Syura with his Imperial Arms and brought him along. There he binds Cross Tail into a spear and kills Syura the same way his killed Sten of the Rakshasa Demons. They both fall back through the portal and find themselves falling towards the palace. Cross Tail breaks and Lubbock falls to his death. Budo meanwhile has captured Tatsumi and plans to execute him, but Esdeath has returned and she wants to do it.
What did you think?
It was a good episode, but not spectacular like some of the others. Maybe that stems from me reading the manga before I watched the anime, but I can’t help but get annoyed at how badly that used Syura. His new team was pathetic and how they were even supposed to be a rival group to the Jaegers is beyond me. I was sad to see Lubbock go, but they definitely overdid the death flags for him. I love what this episode sets up and the ending leaves you questioning Esdeath and how she’s going to react to the Tatsumi situation.
What was your favourite moment?
I loved how Lubbock is able to continue to set traps as Syura chased him around the palace. It definitely came as a shock to Syura when Lubbock told him it was over and cut off his hand. If it wasn’t for the girl stabbing him in the back, which didn’t make a great deal of sense, he would have easily won. Also, it wasn’t really the Lubbock we’ve become accustomed to. He’s usually far more clinical and once the trap was set, he would have normally just shredded the enemy without hesitation or the need to give a monologue.
What was your least favourite moment?
Not so much a moment, but more a criticism of the direction of the story. Tatsumi and Lubbock were going into the palace to kill Honest. They were chosen for Lubbock’s stealth and Tatsumi’s invisibility. So, why did they need someone to let them into the palace. Can’t Tatsumi just use his invisibility and wander through the front gates? I feel like someone forgot about how it works and then tried to shoehorn it in so that we wouldn’t question it. I’m sure there may be Imperial Arms that can sense others or even Tatsumi’s aura, but it seemed like a bad plan when everything up to now has been fairly well thought out.
Who was your favourite character?
I think I’m struggling to come up with one for the first time in the series. It’s probably going to have to be Lubbock to give him a proper send-off. He’s been an interesting character and I liked the way he stepped up as the team got smaller. His fight with Syura was excellent and showed off his composure under extreme pressure, but it just wasn’t as well done as several of the other deaths in the series. I really don’t want to be the ‘manga did it better’ guy, but in this instance it really did.
Who was your least favourite character?
Syura was a massive disappointment to viewers and Minister Honest. Honest’s reaction to the news of his son’s death was hilarious and fitted his character perfectly. It was probably one of the few moments that really played out well in this episode. Syura didn’t get close to enough time to show us what he was really capable of and his team were a group of faceless nobodies that did absolutely nothing. It was a real disappointment arriving at this moment, having read the manga… I know, I can’t help it!
What have you learnt?
If you give your characters certain abilities and a situation arises where that ability would be perfect, you better use that ability or give a compelling reason as to why it wouldn’t work. I am, of course, referring to Tatsumi’s invisibility. On top of that, you may not think that readers will notice, but if your character does something that doesn’t fit with what you’ve already set out, they will notice and it will pull them from the story. Consistency is key and your goal as a writer is to keep the reader engrossed in your world. Any moment that causes them to step back is a chance to lose them.
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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Manga really did it better. So it’s ok if you are that guy.
It must have been a step down reading the manga first then having to go back to the anime. After watching the anime first it was pretty easy to read the manga and say to myself this was closed out much better.
It really did do it better and it’s a noticeable drop after the anime overtook the manga. I’ve heard rumours that the author actually changed the ending in the manga after the reception the ending in the anime received.
I read the manga first, well, the first 14 volumes and then watched the anime, before finally getting to read the last volume. I enjoy both, but there are definitely parts that the manga did better.