AKAME GA KILL! #10 -- Kill the Show!

If I had to sum up AKAME GA KILL! in one word, it would have
to be one I just made up: “Liefeldian”.

In case you are unfamiliar, comic book artist Rob Liefeld was
immensely popular in the 90s and would go on to co-found Image Comics with
other luminaries, including Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane. His notable creations
include an X-MEN character called Shatterstar and an assassin team book called BLOODSTRIKE. He’s also the source of one of my favorite things on the internet: a
countdown of his very worst art.

Liefeld isn’t known for his subtlety. He’s started companies
with names like “Extreme Studios” and “Awesome Comics”, and his character names
usually involve the word death, blood, strike, or kill. He more or less
specializes in gritty fantasies fro 13-year-old boys who want something more
“adult” -- which invariably involves overmuscled dudes and scantily clad chicks
kill all the bad guys bloodily. Much mature; very edge. Wow.

And so it is with AKAME GA KILL!, a show that begins every single episode title with the word “kill”. Here in episode 10, protagonist Tatsumi has successfully infiltrated the Evil Empire’s version of Night Raid, the Jaegers (and yes, every one of the surviving Night Raiders has a dark mirror version in the Jaegers). The leader of the Jaegers is named Esdeath, and she is unequivocally a Nazi.

Note he's wearing a collar.

Esdeath is also a master of torture. The fact that she has
fallen in love with Tatsumi (for some reason) and aggressively pursues sex with him adds undeniable S&M
overtones, and yet Tatsumi still nobly resists gettin’ some in order to remain
uncompromising in his principles -- which only makes Esdeath want him more.

He’s so manly he manages
to out-dominate the dominatrix. Sugoi.

This show is not mature. This show is not adult. It is
merely a collection of pre-teen boys’ fantasies trying to pretend it’s a
grownup. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying
boners.

Kill the show!

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About the Author

Matt Murphy is a freelance nerd who has contributed to many nerd websites. You can reach him by going to where the light meets the shadow, by sending out zeta-brainwaves or by following him on Twitter @Murphix.