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I came in here with below zero expectations and left very surprised. Don’t get me wrong, this ain’t the second coming of Jesus Christ but it sure is fun as hell. The edge, how seriously it takes itself, the character designs, everything works to just make for a good time. Of course, the biggest thing working against this is the story, specifically the plot progression and character development.

There are many small details and things throughout the series that don’t make sense, seem dumb, or just seem to be a vehicle for the plot to progress. One small example is at the end, where certain ... characters get tricked by a mysterious lady who they shouldn’t trust at all (we’ve literally learned throughout the entire series that no one can be trusted and the characters know this) but still do and end up getting their asses whooped. It’s really minor things but it’s those things stacked up that bring this show, especially the first half down.

Another issue is the blatant appearance of tropes. The pink haired loli, the chick magnet all-moral spiky-haired protagonist, etc. Most of the characters are fun but not generally compelling because they have no real complexity. They generally dumb down to a character trait and some quirk to make it seem like they are original. Bulat is an all-ambitious and powerful night, but he’s also gay. Esdeath is a psychopathic murderer, but she’s trying to fall in love. Akame’s sister is also a psychopathic killer, but she really likes cookies! Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed these characters, especially Esdeath, but the show really needed some more time developing the core cast rather than continuing to introducing random guys who are killed off a couple episodes later (really this happens way too often). And when the show did try to explore some complexity through character backstories, it always came through a long monologue that felt more like an out-of-place exposition dump rather than an actual logical place to be presenting the viewer this information about the character.

However, despite all this I still really enjoyed the show. The ending really came together and showed us a spectacle of fights and the culmination of the themes the show has been building up. The final fight between x and x, reminded me a lot of the epic final fight of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” and I mean that in the best of ways. The tension between these two foil characters caring the weight of all their fallen comrades while the remaining beaten-up survivors watch in awe is absolutely magestic. The music and animation really lives up to it as well, both having more of a backseat throughout the show but really shining in the strongest moments of the story, especially in the final episodes.

Overall, this “Akame Ga Kill!” is very flawed, but it makes up for it with fun characters, gorgeous background art, and a great ending.