Title: Akame ga Kill Vol. 14
Author: Takahiro (Story), Tetsuya Tashiro (Art)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
The Story
Volume fourteen of Akame ga Kill was the beginning of the final battle between the Rebel Army and the Empire. Akame and Leone were sent after the top targets left since the palace walls while Tatsumi battled Esdeath in an effort to distract her long enough to the Rebel Army can break into the palace through the North gate… a tactic that actually worked. When Esdeath’s autonomous icy warriors were beginning to whittle down, Esdeath retreated back to the palace, but by the time she made that decision, Akame and Leone only had two targets left, one of which was Minister Honest which Leone went after.
Leone sustained heavy damage in her fight against Honest, who revealed himself to be a Teigu user. In addition, the Emperor himself took to action by summoning the Grand Teigu, a massive golem with the power to wipe out thousands at a time with a beam cannon. The situation turns dire when Honest gives the command for the Teigu to unleash its secret weapon. It engulfs the Emperor and transforms into a hideous beast with unmatched power. Tatsumi, knowing that Incursio could take him if he takes it off, decides to fight the Grand Teigu head on.
The story was mainly comprised of the final battle and the action didn’t disappoint. One nice tidbit was the way the volume ended. Even though Kurome and Wave successfully escaped, they took notice of what was happening in the capital and from the context of the last couple of pages, it’s suggested that they might return to survey what is going on for themselves. If so, the question remains as to what side they will be on or if they will carry out their own motives independently.
In any event, there’s only one volume of Akame ga Kill left so we’ll get all of those answers and then some next time. This has been one of the bloodiest battles in the series to date and everything presented here made this feel like a true final battle!
Characters
The only real character development we got here was a final couple of pages with Wave and Kurome. They seemed rather content with each other and even agreed to be more open and honest about their feelings. They finally attained their freedom, but that hint of returning to the capital makes you wonder if they just can’t stay away from a battle. Maybe they feel like they left too much unresolved and have a yearning to go back and close that last chapter in their lives. Whatever the case may be, it’s still going to be interesting to see what they do.
Tatsumi came to the realization that if he takes Incursio off, it might be over for him. While he did have a couple of uses left before that happened, he had to tap into Incursio’s power to fight Esdeath as well as the Grand Teigu. Who’s not to say that the power up he received shorted this number of uses? Perhaps this use became his final time and he came to realize that? If so, the death flags for Tatsumi are set unless there’s some plot device that’s going to prevent him from getting consumed by Incursio. Maybe the answer lies within Wave’s Grand Chariot since it’s a similar Teigu? I’m not sure how they’re going to save Tatsumi, if they even do at all, though. It’s probably best to just consider him dead already, as sad as that would be since I really enjoyed him as one of the main characters.
We did a little information on Honest’s Teigu. It has the power to destroy other Teigus which spells some pretty dire news for Leone. With her Teigu destroyed, there are some questions on whether or not she will survive getting shot by Honest at point-blank range on two separate occasions. Without her Teigu to heal her, there are some doubts that she will pull through. Despite that, the volume didn’t give us an update on how many members were left in Night Raid so she’s not dead yet. Still, we finally understand why Honest eats so much and remains so healthy. He’s, essentially, feeding his Teigu. I guess that makes sense.
Final Thoughts
Akame ga Kill is approaching its radiant crescendo and every step leading up to this battle has been magnificent. The final battle, so far, has not been disappointing and you can truly feel the grand scale of it through both the artwork and the dialogue. With Tatsumi, Akame, and Leone’s fates all in question in one form or another, it’s looking more and more like it’s leaning on Najenda to finish this battle… or that she may be the only one left on the side of Night Raid when everything is said and done. Then again, we have to remember that she is still in a weakened state from when Susano’o died so there is that plot point that could still give us a possibility of a total annihilation on both sides for an ending.
Regardless of what happens in the final volume, Akame ga Kill will be one of those series that will leave a void behind once everything is all said and done. That feeling when your favorite television series has a series finale and you know that there is nothing left after it; that is the kind of feeling I will experience once Akame ga Kill bows its head and heads off into the sunset.
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
