There is plenty of great anime that can be binged in a day, and at 24 episodes, Akame Ga Kill! is definitely one of them. The anime debuted in 2014, and it focuses on a teenage boy named Tatsumi who travels to the Empire's Capitol in order to raise money for his village. He ends up being recruited by a group of assassins, and thanks to them, he learns just how evil and corrupt the Empire really is.
The series has a lot of action, and the battles usually involve special weapons called Imperial Arms, which grant their users incredible abilities. Like most anime, the series is based on a manga, and for the most part, the anime followed its source material. The anime finished before the manga could wrap up the story though, and as a result, there are a few differences between them.
Updated January 2, 2022 by George Voutiritsas: Whenever a movie or television show adapts from literature or manga, there are inevitably questions about which version is better. The anime adaptation of Akame Ga Kill! is no different.
The anime, however, split from its source material, as longtime fans likely know. Nevertheless, for new fans thinking about taking a deep dive into Akame Ga Kill!, the question remains regarding which version should be experienced first. This article has been updated to give fans some guidance regarding which medium should be consumed first: the anime or the manga.
Should You Read The Manga Or Watch The Anime?
The first chapter of Akame Ga Kill! debuted in March of 2010, and over the course of the next three years, it gained enough popularity to earn an anime adaptation. The anime debuted in the summer of 2014, and it ended in December of that same year. The manga wrapped up two years later, which means that the anime and manga ended up telling different stories.
The first 17 episodes of the anime covered the first 33 chapters of the manga, and it wasn't until episode 18 that minor changes began to appear. By episode 19, the anime and manga become very different.
Those who have watched the anime and read the manga know which story is better, but there are plenty of people who do not know which one is superior, and people who are new to the series deserve to know which of the two is better.
The Argument For The Anime
Both the anime and manga feature gruesome and bloody combat, but the anime does a better job of bringing those fights to life, even if the final two fights are fundamentally different. The anime also deserves credit for having stellar voice acting and pacing.
Unfortunately, the anime kills off characters who are still very much alive. This causes other characters to go down different paths. Other characters end up dying in different ways, and in some cases, their deaths are less meaningful.
The Argument For The Manga
The manga consists of 78 chapters, and it includes an entire arc that was completely removed from the anime. This arc introduces a new group of villains, and each member possesses a unique Teigu. These villains are all vile human beings, and some of them perform extremely heinous acts.
The manga may not be as flashy as the anime, but the visuals are still impressive, and despite the dark and mature subject matter, the story ends on a very happy and satisfying note. The only real issue with the manga is the fact that it does not shy away from barbarous acts like assault. Overall, the manga is the better of the two, and those who are new to the series should probably read it before watching the anime.
They should do this to get the real story in its entirety. That being said, a great way to enjoy the series as a whole would be to watch the anime up until the 17th episode before switching over to the 34th chapter of the manga.
10 Akame Doesn't Kill Her Sister
Akame Ga Kill! features quite a bit of swordplay, so Ghost of Tsushima fans will probably enjoy it. Akame is the most skilled swordswoman in the series, and her younger sister, Kurome is skilled too. Kurome was heavily drugged and abused by the Empire when she was being groomed to become an assassin, and she hated her sister for abandoning her in such an environment.
The two end up having an emotional fight, and the anime shows Akame killing her sister in battle. Akame wins the fight in the manga too, but Kurome does not die. She actually serves a role in the later story, and she goes on to have a happy ending.
9 Mine Is Still Very Much Alive
D&D fans would enjoy an anime like Akame Ga Kill! because of the Danger Beasts and Imperial Arms, and Mine used a gun-type Imperial Arm called Pumpkin, which allowed her to fire spirit energy as concentrated shockwaves. Mine is also Tatsumi's love interest, and when he gets captured, she sacrifices herself to save him.
Mine does not die in the manga though, in fact, she spends the majority of the second half of the series in a coma. She wakes by the end, and it is revealed that she is pregnant with Tatsumi's child.
8 Akame's Fight With Esdeath Is Different
The anime showed just how skilled Akame and Esdeath were, but the fight was actually better in the manga. For starters, Esdeath was much more powerful in the manga, and their fight included an army of ice soldiers that did not appear in the anime.
Akame uses her cursed sword's trump card in both iterations, but the manga has Esdeath breaking the sword. In the anime, Akame wins by slashing Esdeath after a successful afterimage, but the manga fight ends with Akame plunging the broken blade into Esdeath's chest.
7 The Entire Wild Hunt Arc Is Skipped
Survival horror fans would enjoy an anime like Akame Ga Kill! because of its brutality and bloody action, but the manga is even more hardcore. Wild Hunt is a group that acted as the Empire's Secret Police, and they commit a multitude of heinous crimes.
The group was tasked with finding and eliminating Akame's group, and they were led by the Prime Minister's son, Syura. The anime included Syura, but it completely ignored the Wild Hunt arc, which is a shame because the group played a major role in the story.
6 Run Dies & Becomes Kurome's Puppet
Run was a member of the Jaegers, and his Imperial Arm granted him wings that allowed him to fly at high speeds and shoot feathers that could pierce flesh. The anime had Run try to stop Tatsumi's group during the Revolutionary Army's coup, and after witnessing Esdeath's defeat, he visits Kurome's grave with Wave.
In the manga, Run is killed during the Wild Hunt arc while trying to bring the group to justice, and Kurome uses her sword, Yatsufusa to turn him into one of her undead puppets. Run is supposed to be just another mindless puppet, but he appears to maintain some of his consciousness. Run stays like this until Yatsufusa is destroyed.
5 Wave & Kurome Are In A Relationship
Akame Ga Kill! may not be based on a JRPG, but certain relationships feel as if they were taken straight out of the genre. In the anime, Wave and Kurome become very close, and although he appears to have feelings for her, they become nothing more than friends.
Their relationship in the manga starts similarly, but they end up falling in love with each other. When the war is over, they can both be seen living together in Wave's village, and although Kurome still has nightmares about her past, her life is filled with happiness.
4 The Prime Minister's Fate Was Far More Gruesome
The Empire's Prime Minister is named Honest, which is ironic since he is arguably the most sadistic and corrupt villain in the series. Honest is like a sci-fi game villain, as he manipulated the young Emperor and transformed the Empire into a cesspool.
In the anime, Honest fights and fatally wounds Leone, but the assassin manages to kill him by crushing his skull. They face each other in the manga as well, but Leone tosses him off a balcony and allows him to be captured by the Revolutionary Army. Honest is then mutilated and tortured to death.
3 Lubbock's Death Is Different
Lubbock was a fan-favorite character who possessed an Imperial arm that allowed him to manipulate wire for offensive and defensive purposes. He dies in both the anime and manga, but the deaths are very different.
In the anime, Lubbock kills Syura, but this causes Syura's Imperial Arm to deactivate. The deactivation causes Lubbock to fall through the air, and he dies after being impaled by multiple spears. In the manga, Lubbock kills Syura and attempts to use his Imperial Arm, but another Wild Hunt member named Kousetsu appears and cuts him in half.
2 Tatsumi Doesn't Die, He Becomes A Dragon
Torchlight III fans would probably enjoy an anime like Akame Ga Kill! because the series has demonic armor, like the Incursio Imperial Arm that Tatsumi inherits. In the anime, Tatsumi uses this armor to stop the Emperor from using an Imperial Arm capable of mass destruction, and he ends up sacrificing his life in the process.
In the manga, Tatsumi gradually fuses with Incursio, and during the final battle between the Empire and Revolutionary Army, he fully transforms into a large dragon-type danger beast. At first, Tatsumi is a mindless beast, but he eventually regains consciousness thanks to Akame. He then goes on to live with Mine while they await the birth of their child.
1 Akame's Next Quest Is Slightly Different
Akame heads to the lands of the east in both the anime and manga, but the reasoning behind this journey is somewhat different. In the anime, she leaves because she assumes all of the blame for her group's actions, and she does this to soothe public opinion.
In the manga, she leaves because she does not want the new Empire to know that the Revolutionary Army employed assassins. While there, she searches for a cure for her sword's curse, but she is also there searching for a way to make Tatsumi human again.