Akame ga Kill! (Episode 6) - Kill the Absolute Justice

Leone is next to take over Tatsumi’s training and together, they go on a mission to destroy a criminal group that is drugging and kidnapping women. Meanwhile, Mine and Sheele complete another mission… almost!

What did you watch?

Looks like it’s time to continue watching Akame ga Kill with episode 6. Tatsumi is growing into the role of the assassin, focusing on the fact that what they’re doing will benefit the people. In these reviews, I am trying to dive into the story elements, picking out one that stands out to me and talking about it. I think I’ve brought up some pretty interesting points so far and I know they will help me in my own writing. As always, if you have any questions about my observations or assumptions, let me know in the comments. All right, it’s time to look at the episode in question and you can expect spoilers. I mean it, do not continue unless you’ve seen it or don’t mind it being spoilt.

Akame ga Kill Episode 6 Leone activating Imperial Arms

What happened?

Leone too Tatsumi on her next mission. She had accepted a contract to take out a gang that has been kidnapping and drugging women. Once addicted, they turn them into prostitutes and discard them they become too addicted. One of the girls involved was an old friend of Leone’s so this just got personal. She activated her Imperial Arms which gives her the strength and speed of a Danger Beast, much to Tatsumi’s delight. She then picked him up, cradling him like a baby, not to his delight, and raced across the rooftops to their target. They burst through the roof and assassinate all involved.

Meanwhile, Mine and Sheele raced back to base having completed their mission, but they are attacked by a guard that was able to hide her aura. Mine attacks, but a creature jumps in front of the guard, protecting her. It turns out that the guard is Seryu Ubiquitous and the creature is her Imperial Arms. Locked in a battle to the death Sheele focused her attacks on Seryu while Mine kept the Imperial Arms, Coro busy.

Sheele appears to have defeated Seryu when she activates Coro’s trump card, transforming him into a monstrous beast. Coro grabs hold of Mine and squeezed. Sheele managed to save Mine, but Seryu shot her with a gun hidden inside her mouth. Coro then ripped Sheele in half. Mine only just managed to escape when Sheele activated her Imperial Arms trump card before Coro ate her.

Akame ga Kill Episode 6 Seryu Ubiquitous Calling for Backup

What did you think?

Damn!!! If you came into this series thinking that the heroes always win then this was your wake up call, although it was less like an alarm going off and more like someone blowing up your bed as you lay in it. Of all the people to die, Sheele was not one I saw coming the first time I watched it and even though I knew it was coming this time, it was still hard to watch. This series is brutal and that’s one of the reasons I love it. As much as I enjoy shows like One Piece, you lose a lot of consequence if nobody dies, especially in an arc where it would appear that everyone died, but no one actually did.

What was your favourite moment?

I enjoyed the moment Leone activated her Imperial Arms and Tatsumi was cheering like a fanboy. That made me laugh, but the moment that really sticks with you long after the episode has ended is the battle with Seryu Ubiquitous. We saw her in the last episode in her day to day helping the public guise. There were hints at her being more than a little unhinged and this week we saw it up close and personal. The fight was brutal and thanks to Coro’s regenerative abilities is was bloody and gross. I loved how Mine and Sheele worked together, using their own strengths to their best, but even then it wasn’t enough and the end of the fight was hard to watch, especially as Sheele recalled her happy memories with Night Raid.

What was your least favourite moment?

Surprisingly, it was in the same fight. I was a little disappointed that Sheele didn’t finish off Seryu when she had the chance. She was standing over her with her blade and then she ran to save Mine from Coro, but she’d already established that a weapon without a wielder isn’t a weapon. Surely, if she’d killed Seryu, Coro would have stopped anyhow. If she hadn’t made a point of saying that, then it probably wouldn’t have been as apparent and I probably wouldn’t have even thought of it as Coro appears to be alive and semi-autonomous. As far as professional assassins go, it was definitely a reckless decision to leave Seryu alive to save Mine.

Akame ga Kill Episode 6 Seryu Ubiquitous

Who was your favourite character?

I have to give it to Sheele. She always seemed like the odd member of the group in the sense that she was as odd as the rest of them. However, thanks to her flashback in the last episode, we knew she had a darker side to her and she showed it in her fight with Seryu, cutting off her arms twice! Sadly, it was the other side of Sheele that ultimately got her killed. She showed her concern for Mine and failed to deal with the immediate problem. That said, I will miss her and it was unreal that she was able to give Mine the chance to escape even after she’d been torn in two.

Who was your least favourite character?

Is Coro a character or just a weapon? For this instance, I’m going to treat Coro and Seryu as one, because it’s really easy to hate them after this episode. Really easy! That said, that was the goal of this character and you can’t fault the execution. Seryu is crazy. Now, whether she’s been turned that way by Ogre and her misguided sense of justice it’s hard to say. Either way, she believes she’s on the side of good, but I can’t help but notice the faces on the guards that came to support her as she sat with her back against Coro as he finished eating Sheele, waving her arm stumps in the air and cackling about justice.

What have you learnt?

One thing that I find to be incredibly important in stories (and life) is consequences. It’s pretty rare for something to have no reaction. In this episode, it was obviously Sheele’s death and her failure to kill Seryu was the action that led to it. You can argue that she had to save Mine, but everyone was pretty quick to tell Tatsumi that anyone of them could die at any time and Sheele failed to accept that with Mine. She made her decision and it cost her life. I hate it when you’re invested in a story and the character does something that has no consequence.

I’m going to look at One Piece again for this as there is the scene in the Skypeia arc where almost all of the characters ‘die’. Only they didn’t die and they all just pick themselves up again later. Now, I didn’t want them to die, but it changed the tone of the story and reduced the stakes. I really enjoyed that arc, but I can’t help but feel a little cheated as none of the loses materialised and ultimately meant nothing. Now, you don’t have to kill characters to show consequences, but I feel like you need to do something and not just take it all back later.