Episode 02 – “Kill the Authority”

This episode, we get a taste of the more comedic side to Akame ga Kill! This sort of goes back to what I said about the first episode, where the switching between comedy and more serious elements makes light of the darker side of the series. Not only does this lighten the mood, but it also reduces the significance of things like character deaths. Rather than being something worth grieving over, or even being shocked, it kind of just becomes something that happens and we all move on.

Tatsumi quickly learns this lesson when he’s given only a brief amount of time to mourn his fallen childhood friends. Though they were swiftly snuffed out in the first episode (even before that, really), their influence on Tatsumi is still remembered, when Tatsumi recalls the times they cooked together. Now at the secret base of Night Raid, Tatsumi has been relegated various odd tasks like fishing and cooking. He also gets to know the members a bit more (I’ll probably talk a bit more about them as the series progresses), and he meets the boss Najenda for the first time. I gotta say that the best part of the episode is when Leone tries to run away from her, but Najenda uses her machine arm to drag her back.

For training, Tatsumi is paired with Akame, the girl who tried to kill him twice. Despite her cold demeanor, we learn that she’s actually a pretty simple-minded yet kind-hearted person, who really likes to eat meat. It’s mentioned that she and her sister were enlisted in the Empire’s assassin training program, which was intensive and grueling. This may be the reason why she likes to eat so much, and it makes sense because, as we’ll see later, her sister also likes to eat a lot. I’m actually not too sure how true this is, but it would be very much like the series to create something comedic out of something tragic (and vice-versa).

Everyone in Night Raid is hardened by killing, but they’re all aware that their lives are constantly on the line. They can be killed just as easily as they kill others; that’s the law of this world. When they get the request to slay a troublesome soldier from the Empire, Tatsumi steps up to take the job and prove his worth. With a couple of flips and dramatic camera shots, he deftly slays the big man and earns his first official kill under the Night Raid name. Next week, we’ll see some special bonding time with Mine the tsundere sharpshooter!

“Everyone here could die at any moment, as retribution for our actions.” ~ Bulat

B.W.