The Empire

The Empire is the main setting of most of the events in Akame ga Kill!.

General

 * See also: Geography

The Empire is a superpower that has lasted for over 1000 years, boasting vast territories and resources. Its capital city is enormous, covering roughly 200,000 sq. kilometers, and is encircled on all sides by a huge wall. The capital’s various districts are separated by large canals in which trade ships run through. Beyond the capital, the country seems to be mostly rural with an unknown number of cities and villages spread throughout. The exact size of the Empire itself has yet to be revealed. Three other countries border the Empire to the north, south and west while the Empire’s eastern boundary is the coastline of a great ocean.

History
At its founding, the Empire had nearly limitless resources and some of the best minds in the world, with the First Emperor having absolute authority. At some point during this period, the Emperor, wishing to ensure that his nation would last forever, ordered the creation of the Teigu. These weapons greatly increased the power of the Empire’s military and it is heavily implied that their introduction resulted in a great surge of imperial expansionism.

Several hundred years later, the Empire experienced a huge civil war. Little has been revealed about it, but it is known that almost half of the Teigu were lost during this conflict as a result.

400 years before the current story, the Emperor of that era decided to create his own Teigu. The weapons that were produced from this effort, however, were in no way a match for the Teigu and came to be called Shingu instead. The Shingu were then sealed away and they are not known to have been used until the formation the Assassination Squad to be utilized.

The Empire’s recent history is mainly one of decline. This is largely due to the ascension of the current Prime Minister, who cares only for his own pleasure. His time has been marked by an increase in government corruption, an economic recession, eroding public order, rampant poverty and great dissatisfaction amongst the people. As a result of the Prime Minister’s excesses, there have been numerous uprisings from both inside and outside the Empire that have had to be put down by force. In addition, there have been many defections from the Imperial military, including several generals, and this has led to the birth of the Revolutionary Army, a group dedicated to the Empire’s total overthrow with Night Raid.

In the anime, the corrupt regime of the Empire was successfully overthrown by the Revolutionary Army through the efforts of Night Raid with the deaths of the Prime Minister and the child Emperor and is now currently under rebuilding and reformation from scratch by Najenda.

Culture
The Empire has a very diverse culture due to its large size. Its citizens range from nomadic clans to small village communities to world-wizened city dwellers. However, due to the corrupt government, there have been multiple uprisings and great civil unrest. The villages and towns suffer from heavy taxation and many have been unable to buy enough food, resulting in widespread shortages in the remote areas of the Empire. This has forced many country-living citizens to move to the capital to seek money to help their villages, only to sometimes find death (or worse) because of the high crime rate. The arrest, torture, and public execution of the Prime Minister's political enemies is also not uncommon, which leads to a general atmosphere of fear.

Slavery is common in the Empire, but slaves are able to become free through currently-unknown means. Slaves have a mark branded on them to show that they are slaves. Due to the high tax rates imposed on the villages of the Empire, there have been many parents that have sold their children into slavery for money or a better life.

The most dominant religion in the Eastern parts of the Empire is The Path of Peace.

The Empire also have their own martial arts like the Imperial Fist.

Government
As the name implies, the Empire is an absolute monarchy where the Emperor's word is law. The nation is not just run by him alone, however, as he has the Prime Minister and various advisers to administrate many territories and regions. The current Emperor is only a child and having assumed the throne at a rather young age, he is more of a figurehead than a true ruler. Because of this, many of his officials are doing as they please, including the newest Prime Minister.

Military
The Empire has a strong military. Currently, one navy unit and three ground armies are known of, each commanded by a General. A sub-faction of the Military is the Imperial Guard/Defense Forces, which is commanded by Grand General Budo, who is also the head of the entire army in the Empire. There are many forts and castles the surround the outer and inner parts of country. The soldiers in the army mostly use swords, spears and such, although there are some special squads well-equipped with fine armor and firearms called "Gun Squadrons". They also have trained a number of beasts to fight for them. There is also a special unit named the Jaegers, created for the purpose of hunting down Night Raid and to maintain security in the capital. In light of the deaths of several members of the Jaegers, a new secret police group headed by the Prime Minister's son Syura called Wild Hunt was established to enforce "peace" in the capital.

General Budo has a personal guard stationed in the Castle. Esdeath herself regards these men with the greatest respect due to their high skill and fearlessness. However, the Empire's greatest military advantage is the 48 weapon-relics know as Teigu. Historically, they have granted the Empire's military a major advantage over all other armies.

Relations
Little is known about diplomatic relations between the Empire and neighboring countries. However, due to the fact that the Empire wages war on various countries that may pose a threat to them later may mean that other nations live in fear of the Empire.

Mine reveals that the Empire's relations with the Western countries are very poor, to the extent that they formed an alliance with the Revolutionary Army. The Empire also has hostile relations with the Northern Tribe, as seen when the Northerners would send raid forces to attack the Empire's border lands to their territory and attack and plunder its citizens, as seen with the Partas Clan.

The Empire's relationship with the Northern Tribe is also equally, if not more so, worse than that with the Western Tribe, so much so that the Northerners have launched a full invasion force in an attempt to conquer the Empire headed by their Prince Numa Seika and his sizable army. However, this invasion was quickly dispatched by the Empire's strongest general, Esdeath, who managed to easily defeat the Northern Invasion Force, break their prince's spirit and turn him into a human dog, before burying four-thousand Northerners alive as a message. Completely massacring and wiping out a gigantic portion of the Northern Tribe.

This led to its surviving members to attempt to avenge their people by attempting to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and assassinate the Emperor by taking advantage of the Civil War.

The Empire was also noted to have terrible relations with the Southern Lands, an example of this was the war with the Ban Tribe. Due the Empire's severe tyrannical government, the Southern Tribe started a revolt against the Empire's abuse which, in turn, caused the Empire to send its army to quiet it down. However, due to the harsh wilderness and dangers of the jungles the Southern Tribe lived in, it made the attempted military assault difficult with the army, as seen where the Imperial Army had difficulty surviving and navigating in the Southern Lands wilderness and fighting off the various Danger Beasts lurking there. Furthermore, Tribal warriors themselves made a point of attacking the Imperial Army at night when the imperial soldiers were resting and most vulnerable, making the situation more desperate for the Empire.

The Empire began to panic and, as such, sent General Najenda and Esdeath to lead the charge and stop the uprising due to their immense talent, despite their young ages. Esdeath, in particular, managed to easily infiltrate the the Ban Tribe city by freezing the vast water body separating their armies, allowing them access. From there, her Three Beasts lead the charge into sacking the city and by using their Imperial Arms, the Three Beasts managed to easily defeat and destroy the Ban Tribe's army in a short amount of time. After defeating the Ban Tribe's military, Esdeath horrifically allowed her soldiers to viciously plunder, destroy, rape and burn the city and its citizens gleefully as she allowed the Ban Tribe's leaders and surviving warriors to watch their home be destroyed and leaving them relatively unharmed before letting them go to intentionally start a new uprising for her personal pleasure, much to the horror of Najenda.

Sub-factions

 * Jaegers (Disbanded due to lack of members)
 * Wild Hunt (Disbanded by Jaegers, members destroyed by Night Raid)
 * Three Beasts (Destroyed by Night Raid)
 * Four Rakshasa Demons (Disbanded due to lack of members)
 * Dark Squad (Disbanded after the revolution)
 * Team Stylish (Destroyed by Night Raid)
 * Elite Seven (Disbanded due to lack of members)
 * Group of Terror (Reassigned to Elite Seven and Dark Squad)

Teigu
Out of the original 48 Teigu, the Empire ended up with only 5 before being destroyed.

Known Teigus in possession:

 * Absolute Limitation: Erastone - Formerly owned by the prime minister Honest †.
 * Infinite Uses: Cross Tail - Unused; Formerly owned by Night Raid`s Lubbock †.
 * 1) L'Arc Qui Ne Faut - Unused; Formerly owned by Nuge †.
 * Unnamed Teigu: Trap Teigu - Formerly owned by one of the Palace Elite Bodyguard †.
 * 1) Danger Beast Controlling Teigu - Used by an unknown Imperial Soldier.
 * Power Surging: Balzac - Unused; wielded by a Lieutenant of the Imperial Army †.

Known Teigu formerly in possession

 * Ace Solution: Die Leaguer - Formerly owned by Wild Hunt`s Champ †.
 * Blood Collection: Absordex - Crushed by boulder from Leone; Formerly owned by Wild Hunt`s Dorothea †.
 * Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot - Kept by Wave after defection; owned by Wave.
 * Cutter of Creation: Extase - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Kaku †.
 * Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract - Destroyed by Akame on final blow; Formerly owned by Esdeath †.
 * Double Bladed Axe: Belvaac - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Three Beasts`s Daidara †.
 * Glorious Hands of God: Perfector - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Jaegers`s Dr. Stylish †.
 * Great Tremor: Heavy Pressure - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Wild Hunt`s Cosmina †.
 * Imperial Guardian: Shikoutazer - Destroyed by Tatsumi on final blow; Formerly owned by The Emperor †.
 * Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires † - Destroyed by Mine's Pumpkin; Formerly owned by Seryu †.
 * March of the Dead: Yatsufusa - Scuttled by Wave with a single punch; Formerly owned by Jaegers`s Kurome.
 * Military Music Dream: Scream - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Three Beast`s Nyau †.
 * Moonlight Sword Dance: Shamshir - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Wild Hunt`s Enshin †.
 * Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator - Captured by the Revolutionary Army; Formerly owned by Zanku †.
 * Purgatory's Invitation: Rubicante - Self-Destructed by Jaegers' Bols; Formerly owned by Jaegers`s Bols †.
 * Thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema - Taken by Wave from Run; owned by Wave.
 * Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech - Destroyed by Mine's Pumpkin last shot; Formerly owned by Budo †.
 * Dimensional Formation: Shambhala - Destroyed by Izou in one slash; Formerly owned by Syura †.
 * The Complete Book Of The World: Rongo Rongo - Destroyed in a storm by a danger beast; Formerly owned by Saikyuu †.

Trivia

 * In the Imperial Seal, there is a dragon (or a serpent) making a circle around it, representing the ouroboros symbol, which could be a metaphor for the Empire's long story and (or) the desire of the First Emperor of preserving the Empire.

El Imperio Империя