Ruthless vigilantes run amok in the capital of Akame ga Kill!’s fantasy world and a good mix of light humour and dark violence make the first episode stand out.

The show follows Tatsumi, a country boy who’s travelled to the big city in hopes of earning enough money to save his recession-stricken village by working for the national military. But after being turned away at the enlistment office, swindled out of his savings moments after entering the capital, and then lulled into a false sense of security by a wealthy family of seemingly good samaritans, he learns the truth about the corrupted aristocrats who rule his country. 

The samaritans actually tortured Tatsumi’s friends to death and once this fact is revealed to him by a band of assassins looking to strike back against the corruption, he doesn’t hesitate to kill the rich folks who took him in.

The contrast presented in the episode between Tatsumi’s friendly personality and his cold instinct to kill anything he considers a monster makes for an interesting protagonist, and some of the show’s early action scenes were very entertaining.

It should be interesting to see Tatsumi progress through whatever shounen power levels he’s inevitably headed towards as he uncovers more of the dark truths that Akame ga Kill!’s capital city harbours.

Rating: 4/5

Akame ga Kill! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Check out this header post for more Summer 2014 anime previews and for more on why I’m taking a stab at them in the first place.