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Akame ga Kill! (Volume 12)

Akame ga Kill Title

Tatsumi is about to be executed when Akame, Leone, and Mine crash the party. However, if they are to escape their going to have to get past Esdeath and Budo, the two strongest warriors at the Emperor’s command!

What did you read?

If you remember, back at the beginning of 2020, I started reviewing all of Akame ga Kill – the manga and the anime. Unfortunately, it all got a little derailed thanks to some sort of global pandemic… As a result, things got a little busy and I had to put this series on hold. Well, it’s time to finish this off. The next entry into this series of posts is volume 12 of the manga. The last couple of volumes really deviated from the anime, which wasn’t surprising since they were released after the anime finished.

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Cover

What happened?

Akame, Leone, and Mine attempted to rescue Tatsumi from his execution, which was about to be performed by General Esdeath. If anyone was going to kill him, it was going to be her, although she also wanted to see if he would submit to her at the last second, which would probably make her kill him for disappointing her. She’s a complicated lady. Anyhow, Budo wasn’t too impressed that Night Raid had dared to crash his party and unleashed his Teigu’s full power.

Once free, Tatsumi grabbed his sword and joined the fight, transforming into Incursio. Unfortunately, the Minister has set yet another trap for Tatsumi in the form of poisoned wire around the handle of his sword. The members of Night Raid switched opponents repeatedly as they tried to get the better of them. Eventually, Tatsumi landed a heavy blow on Esdeath and sent her flying.

He turned his attention to Budo who was doing his best to keep out of Mine’s sights. Tatsumi managed to catch Budo and sent him packing too. That was when Najenda swooped in on the back of a flying Danger Beast. Akame and Leone were exhausted and thankful for the ride. However, Budo caught up with them and prepared to unleash his full power. Mine realised that she was their last hope and put all of her energy into firing Pumpkin.

The blast completely overpowered Budo, blowing him into oblivion. However, it took a heavy toll on Mine who appeared to have become catatonic. Once back at the rebel base, a doctor told them that Mine may one day recover, but it wasn’t guaranteed. Tatsumi, however, had pushed himself too hard and was merging with Incursio. If he kept it up, he would lose himself and become the dragon. It had saved his life from the poison though.

The rebels pushed on towards the Capitol, but there was still something else to worry about. Wild Hunt was still in the game!

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Tatsumi hits Esdeath

How was it different from the anime?

The big change was that Mine didn’t straight up die! She did end up in a vegetative state and there was no guarantee that she would ever recover, but she didn’t die. Then, we had the end of the Wild Hunt arc. Previously, Dorothea, the alchemist, had been experimenting with Cosmina’s body and she had succeeded in turning her into a terrifying Danger Beast hybrid. All she needed to do now was to feed her. She decided to attack the rebels to do so, taking Izou with her for back up.

After a couple of brutal and violent attacks, they ran into Night Raid. It was to be the final showdown between them and Wild Hunt were severely underprepared. Akame killed Izou, fought off some of the humanoid Danger Beasts that Dorothea had been also experimenting on, Tatsumi killed Cosmina in her new form, and Leone took care of Dorothea, making sure to finish things off.

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Leone finishes Dorothea

What was your favourite element?

I loved the fight between Dorothea and Leone. Sure, Mine and Budo was also a good fight, but that was better in the anime. This was manga exclusive and it rocked. We got to see the lengths of Leone’s Teigu and watch her bounce back again and again as Dorothea deployed all of the weapons at her disposal, and she had a lot. The best thing about it was that once Leone had won, she prepared to squash Dorothea’s body under a giant rock just to make sure. She was right to do so as Dorothea was playing dead in the hope that she would be able to get away. Leone doesn’t mess around.

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Leone versus Dorothea

What was your least favourite element?

This was covered a little in the anime, but I feel like we got more details in the manga. I am, of course, talking about the members of Night Raid coming to terms with their loses. The team has been slowly whittled down and down and now it’s just a handful of them. The rebellion is closing in on its goal and their efforts will be quickly forgotten. It was hard seeing these characters that are often so strong, struggling and breaking down. Especially knowing that they will have to get back up and keep on fighting.

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Mine pushes herself too far

What have you learnt?

I think the inclusion of Wild Hunt in the story massively improved things and while their arc is well and truly over, it did a lot to push the story forwards and had a huge impact on both Night Raid and the Jaegers. One thing that Akame ga Kill does well is the constant stream and variety of villains. I’ve mentioned before how the Jaegers are basically the same as Night Raid, just on the opposite side. Well, Wild Hunt were an entity unto themselves and as the name suggests, they were wild and uncontrolled. Yes, some appear to be evil just for the sake of it, but as a group it offered yet another view on the dynamics surrounding a group of killers.

Akame ga Kill Volume 12 Akame versus Izou

Other posts in the series

Anime

Manga

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3 Comments

    • Yeah, do it. I’m on my second read through. Once I’m done, I think I’m going to need to look into the Akame ga Kill Zero series too.

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