Holy hell there's a lot of depravity in this thread.
I don't care if you hate the author. I don't care if your waifu died.
I can't see complaints about character deaths in the Akame Ga Kill manga as anything but irrelevant because that's what made it REAL. So many people are, and should be, tired of stories always working out and having happy endings. The writers only obligation is to tell the story, and you're just along for the ride. If a character dies, then that's just a part of the ride.
This manga covered such a high stakes, violent conflict that to me it would actually be a betrayal to the realism of the story if no beloved characters died. Revolutions like this don't happen without good people dying. In fact, the manga arguably had an "unrealistically" happy ending, despite so many characters dying. Leone's death at the end was heart-wrenching, but it kept me more immersed in the story because you can't have a revolution without an accurate dose of main character-deaths pathos.
I am even internally conflicted about whether I prefer the anime ending. The whole buildup and climax to Tatsumi's death alone was incredible. I want there to be a happy ending, but I feel like his death was very well done in the anime. I guess I'll just have my cake and eat it too, and call the anime ending my favorite but call the manga one canon.
P.S. To those salty about Chelsea's death, maybe she shouldn't have been wearing earmuffs (or headphones? Who cares) so she could actually hear someone coming up from behind.