| Akame ga Kill! | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover featuring Akame | |
| アカメが斬る! (Akame ga Kiru!) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action,dark fantasy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Takahiro |
| Illustrated by | Tetsuya Tashiro |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | GC Joker |
| Magazine | Monthly Gangan Joker |
| Original run | March 20, 2010 –December 22, 2016 |
| Volumes | 15(List of volumes) |
| Manga | |
| Akame ga Kill! Zero | |
| Written by | Takahiro |
| Illustrated by | Kei Toru |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |
|
| Magazine | Monthly Big Gangan |
| Original run | October 25, 2013 –January 25, 2019 |
| Volumes | 10(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tomoki Kobayashi |
| Produced by | Square Enix |
| Written by | Makoto Uezu |
| Music by | Taku Iwasaki |
| Studio | |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Tokyo MX,MBS,BS11,AT-X |
| English network | |
| Original run | July 7, 2014 – December 15, 2014 |
| Episodes | 24(List of episodes) |
| Manga | |
| Hinowa ga Crush! | |
| Written by | Takahiro |
| Illustrated by | Strelka |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |
|
| Magazine | Monthly Big Gangan |
| Original run | June 24, 2017 –June 24, 2022 |
| Volumes | 8(List of volumes) |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Akame ga Kill! (Japanese:アカメが斬る!,Hepburn:Akame ga Kiru!)[a] is a Japanesemanga series written byTakahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. It was serialized inSquare Enix'sMonthly Gangan Joker from March 2010 to December 2016, with its chapters collected in 15tankōbon volumes. The story focuses on Tatsumi, a young villager who travels to the Capital to raise money for his home only to discover strong corruption in the area. The assassin group known as Night Raid recruits the young man to help them in their fight against the corrupt Empire.
A 24-episodeanime television series adaptation, animated byWhite Fox, was broadcast from July to December 2014. A prequel manga series, titledAkame ga Kill! Zero, illustrated by Kei Toru, was serialized in Square Enix'sMonthly Big Gangan from October 2013 to January 2019, with its chapters collected in tentankōbon volumes. Aspin-off manga series, titledHinowa ga Crush!, illustrated by Strelka, was serialized inMonthly Big Gangan from June 2017 to June 2022, with its chapters collected in eighttankōbon volumes. In North America, the three manga series were licensed byYen Press. The anime series was licensed bySentai Filmworks.
By September 2020, the overall manga series had over 4.1 million copies in circulation.
Tatsumi is a young warrior who travels to the Capital with his childhood friends, Ieyasu and Sayo, seeking funds to aid his impoverished village. After bandits attack their group, Tatsumi is separated from his companions. Upon reaching the Capital, he fails to enlist in the military and is deceived out of his money. A noble family offers him shelter, but he soon discovers their cruel intentions when the assassination group Night Raid intervenes, revealing that his hosts had already tortured and murdered his friends. Joining Night Raid, Tatsumi fights alongside its members: the skilled swordswomanAkame, the beast-like brawlerLeone, the sharpshooterMine, the scissor-wieldingSheele, the string manipulatorLubbock, the armored warriorBulat, and their leaderNajenda, a former imperial general. The group serves the revolutionary army, which seeks to overthrow Prime MinisterHonest, who exploits the young emperor's authority while the nation crumbles under corruption and suffering.
Night Raid wields Teigu (帝具; anime: Imperial Arms), legendary weapons forged centuries ago from rare materials and the remains of mythical creatures known as Danger Beasts (危険種,kikenshu). The Teigu's power is immense, with a fatal outcome inevitable when two users clash. Despite their successes, Night Raid suffers losses—Sheele falls to the capital enforcerSeryu, and Bulat perishes against the imperial generalEsdeath and her elite squad. Tatsumi inherits Bulat's Teigu, Incursio, while Esdeath replaces her fallen subordinates with theJaegers, a team of Teigu-wielding warriors that includes Akame's sister, Kurome. As the revolution intensifies, Honest forms the brutal Wild Hunt, led by his son Syura, whose atrocities provoke both Night Raid and the Jaegers. After Syura's death at Lubbock's hands, Esdeath forces Honest to disband Wild Hunt. Tatsumi, captured and sentenced to execution, is rescued by Night Raid, though Lubbock dies in the attempt. During the escape, Tatsumi's Teigu undergoes a dangerous transformation, awakening the dormant Danger Beast within Incursio. A doctor warns that further use will eventually consume him.
With the revolution reaching its climax, Night Raid eliminates Honest's remaining allies while Akame confronts the empire's strongest generals. Wave intervenes in Akame and Kurome's duel, destroying Kurome's Teigu and allowing them to escape together. Meanwhile, Esdeath mobilizes the imperial forces against the revolutionaries. Desperate, Honest manipulates the emperor into wielding his family's Teigu, which he rigs to go berserk. Tatsumi, in his final transformation, defeats the emperor's weapon with Wave's aid but succumbs to Incursio's curse. Begging Akame to kill him before he loses control, she instead severs the Danger Beast's soul, sparing his life. Esdeath, defeated, takes her own life, lamenting her unrequited feelings for Tatsumi.
Leone, mortally wounded, fuses with her Teigu's remnants to capture Honest before dying. The tyrant is later executed, and the emperor accepts responsibility for his inaction. With the war over, Najenda leads the nation's reconstruction. Tatsumi, permanently transformed, retreats to an island with Mine, who bears their child. Kurome and Wave start anew, though both carry scars from their battles. Akame departs to seek a cure for the lingering effects of her cursed blade, reflecting on her comrades and the hope that they may one day reunite.
In 2007, Takahiro was asked to do a manga forSquare Enix magazine. He originally came up with the idea of an "all-female band of assassins, and the protagonist is a boy who is captured by them and has to work for them". After his editor approved the idea, he waited on serialization until his visual novel studio,Minato Soft [ja], had stabilized and released two other titles; during which he developed the characters, story and world. In August 2009, following the release ofMajikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girls, Takahiro looked for an artist for the serialization, and recruited Tetsuya Tashiro to do the illustrations. He liked Tashiro's ability to draw fast-paced action scenes and that he can draw cute girls.Vol. 1 postscript In developing a chapter, Takahiro would write the script first and then have Tashiro determine the panel layout. Takahiro would occasionally get feedback on plot ideas from Tashiro and his editor.Vol. 2 postscript
Written byTakahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro,Akame ga Kill! was serialized inSquare Enix'sshōnen manga magazineGangan Joker from March 20, 2010[2][3] to December 22, 2016.[4] Its chapters were collected in fifteentankōbon volumes, released from August 21, 2010[5] to February 22, 2017.[6][7] On August 25, 2017, it was announced that volume 1.5 of the manga, previously included with anime's home video release, would be published as a standalone volume.[8] The manga was licensed byYen Press in June 2014 and the volumes were released from January 20, 2015 to July 24, 2018.[9][10]
A prequel titledAkame ga Kill! Zero (アカメが斬る！零,Akame ga Kiru! Rei), written by Takahiro and illustrated by Kei Toru, was serialized inMonthly Big Gangan from October 25, 2013[11] to January 25, 2019.[12] The story focuses on Akame's past during the days she worked as an assassin for the Empire. Its chapters were collected in tentankōbon volumes, released from June 21, 2014[13] to April 25, 2019.[14] It was licensed by Yen Press in September 2015[15] and the volumes were released from March 22, 2016 to October 29, 2019.
Takahiro released a spin-off manga, titledHinowa ga Crush! (ヒノワが征く！,Hinowa ga Yuku!), with art by Strelka inMonthly Big Gangan from June 24, 2017[16][17] to June 24, 2022.[18] The story and characters are completely unrelated toAkame ga Kill!, with the only shared element being the inclusion of Akame as a side character. Its chapters were collected in eighttankōbon volumes, released from December 25, 2017[19] to August 25, 2022.[20] Yen Press has licensed the manga and released the chapters simultaneously as they were released in Japan.[21][18]
Ananime television series adaptation of the manga was announced in January 2014.[1][22] The teaser site of the series was opened on January 21, 2014.[23] The series was directed by Tomoki Kobayashi and written byMakoto Uezu.[24] Takahiro also supervised the scenario.Taku Iwasaki composed the series' music. The series was broadcast onTokyo MX,MBS andBS11 from July 7 to December 15, 2014.[25][26] The opening theme song for episodes 1–14 is "Skyreach" performed bySora Amamiya, while the ending theme is "Konna Sekai, Shiritakunakatta." (こんな世界、知りたくなかった。) byMiku Sawai; for the proceeding episodes, the opening theme is "Liar Mask" byRika Mayama and the ending theme is "Tsuki Akari" by Amamiya.[27] A series of one minute short episodes, titledAkaKill! Theater (アカ斬る! 劇場,AkaKill! Gekijō), animated byC-Station, were also released online in 2014.[25][28]
The anime was licensed bySentai Filmworks in 2014.[29]Akame ga Kill! was broadcast in the United States onAdult Swim'sToonami programming block from August 9, 2015, to February 21, 2016.[30] The series' premiere was one of the most watched programs in the block's history, with over 1.8 million viewers.[31] The series was also streamed onCrunchyroll;[32] after the acquisition of Crunchyroll bySony Pictures Television,Akame ga Kill!, among several Sentai Filmworks titles, was dropped from the Crunchyroll streaming service on March 31, 2022.[33]Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific, streaming it on their Ani-One AsiaYouTube channel.[34]
The seventh volume sold 24,181 copies within the first week of release.[35] The eighth volume likewise sold 37,833 copies in its debut week.[36] Up until volume 11, the series has sold over 2.1 million copies.[37][38] The English release debuted at nineteenth in MonthlyBookScan during February 2015.[39]
All five volumes of the English translation have appeared onThe New York Times Manga Best Sellers list:
The first volume ofAkame ga Kill! Zero also appeared on the list for three weeks, ranking at sixth place for one week.[47]
Both the main and prequel manga combined had 3.3 million copies in circulation by August 2016.[6] By September 2020, the overall manga series had over 4.1 million copies in circulation.[48]
Kestrel Swift fromThe Fandom Post praised the anime's first episode for "harsh, brutal commentary on corruption and how likely it is that the more perfect someone seems, the darker the secret lurking within" as well as the production values from White Fox.[49] While reviewing the series' first eight episodes, Matt Packard fromAnime News Network said that "it's stupid and childish" as "[t]here's nothing mature about the idea that evil always takes the form of a psychopath or a power-hungry glutton, or that people become soul-dead assassins because something traumatic happened to them once, or that the physically weak are destined to become slaves and die weeping".[50] In theGoo ranking website,Akame ga Kill! ranked 36th with 9 votes in the list of Anime's Most Miserable Endings.[51][52]
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