Akame ga Kill!

Akame ga Kill! (Japanese: アカメが斬る!, Hepburn: Akame ga Kiru!, literally meaning "Akame Slashes!") is a Japanese shōnen manga series focusing on Tatsumi, a young villager who travels to the capital to raise money for his home only to discover a strong corruption in the area. The assassin group Night Raid recruits the young man to help them in their fight against the Empire to end its corruption.

The main series was followed by an anime adaption and a prequel manga. Japanese game developer MinatoSoft has also announced a yet-to-be-named project based on the manga.

Plot
Tatsumi is a fighter who, accompanied by his two childhood friends, sets off to the Capital in search of a way to make money to assist his poverty-stricken village. After being separated from his friends, Tatsumi not only fails to enlist in the army, but is swindled out of all his money. He is then taken in by a noble family who offer him help, but intend to torture and kill him, just like they did with his friends and dozens of other people. Tatsumi is rescued by a group of assassins known as Night Raid, and is invited to join their ranks. Composed of the swordswoman Akame, a young woman armed with a huge pair of scissors named Sheele, the string manipulator Lubbock, the armored warrior Bulat, the sniper Mine, the beast fighter Leone and their leader Najenda, a former general of the imperial army, Night Raid is also part of the revolutionary forces assembled to overthrow Prime Minister Honest, who manipulates the infant Emperor for his and his men's personal gain, leading the rest of the nation to poverty and strife.

Each member of Night Raid carries a "Teigu", weapons created via alchemy and parts of the supernatural Danger Beasts over 900 years ago. Forty-eight of these items were created and about half of them have been lost to history. These items range from weapons like swords and firearms to more utilitarian items including a cosmetic box and armor, and even organic beings such as a shape-shifting dog and a powerful warrior. The Imperial Arms cannot be used by just anyone, as their users must be compatible with them or risk death. The power of most Imperial Arms is so overwhelming that it is said that when two Imperial Arm users fight each other, one is bound to die.

Manga
Akame ga Kill! is written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. It began serialization in the April 2010 issue of Square Enix's Gangan Joker, sold on March 20, 2010. The first tankōbon volume was published on August 21, 2010; ten volumes have been released as of January 22, 2014. The series was licensed by Yen Press in June 2014 and the first volume is scheduled to be released on January 20, 2015.

A prequel titled Akame ga Kill! Zero (アカメが斬る！零, Akame ga Kiru! Zero) started serialization on 11th issue of Monthly Big Gangan magazine on October 25, 2013. The series is written by Takahiro while illustrated by Kei Toru. The story focuses on Akame's past during the days she worked as an assassin for the Empire.

Anime
An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in January 2014. The series is directed by Tomoki Kobayashi and written by Makoto Uezu. Takahiro is also supervising the scenario. Taku Iwasaki composed the series' music. The series premiered on Tokyo MX, MBS and BS11 television stations on July 6, 2014 and ended on December 14, 2014. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks. The opening theme song is "Skyreach" performed by Sora Amamiya, whilst the ending theme is "Konna Sekai, Shiritakunakatta" (こんな世界、知りたくなかった) by Miku Sawai. The second opening theme song is "Liar Mask" performed by Rika Mayama while the second ending theme is "Tsuki Akari" which is also performed by Sora Amamiya.

There is also a series of 1-minute ONA titled Akame ga Kill! Theater released in the anime site after every episode is released.

Game Crossover
From January 22, 2016 to February 5, 2016, Divine Gate, an Android/iOS game, launched a collaboration with Akame ga Kill! TV Anime. Players were able to unlock Akame, Esdeath and Tatsumi as playable characters.

Reception
The seventh volume sold 24,181 copies within the first week of release. The eighth volume likewise sold 37,833 copies in its debut week.

Kestrel Swift from the 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 its production value by White Fox. Robert Mullarkey from UK Anime Network also gave the series a similar response for its action scenes and violence displayed. However, he criticized some of its characters and claimed the anime needs to "ditch the comedy." While reviewing the series' first eight episodes, Matt Packard from Anime News Network said that "it's stupid and childish" as "There'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."