List of Akame ga Kill! characters

The Akame ga Kill! manga and anime series features an extensive cast of fictional characters. The visuals of the characters were designed by Tetsuya Tashiro, while their stories were created by Takahiro. The story focuses on Tatsumi, a young warrior who joins an assassin group called Night Raid to fight corruption from the Empire. Its members, along with other characters in the series, wield super weapons called Teigu (帝具^?, Anime: Imperial Arms) .^[1][ch. 5]

Conception

In 2007, Takahiro was asked to do a manga for Square Enix magazine. He originally came up with the idea of an "all-female band of assassins, and the protagonist is a boy who is captured by them and has to work for them." After his editor approved the idea, he waited on serialization until his company had stabilized and had released two other titles, during which he developed the characters, story and world. In August 2009, following the release of Majikoi - Oh! Samurai Girls, Takahiro looked for an artist for the serialization, and recruited Tashiro Tetsuya to do the illustrations. He liked Tashiro's ability to draw fast-paced action scenes and that he can draw cute girls.^{[vol. 1:postscript]}

Takahiro has written additional background information and profiles about some of the characters in the postscripts of the volume compilations, such as for the Three Beasts^{[vol. 3:postscript]} and the Jaegers.^{[vol. 4:postscript]} The Danger Beasts (危険種, kikenshu) were conceived to be any creature that attacks the humans in the world and are similar to monsters seen in role-playing games with different classifications from Class 4 to Class 1, and Special and Super Class designations at the top for the legendary beasts.^{[vol. 5:postscript]}

Main characters

The main protagonists are members of Night Raid, a team of assassins who help the Revolutionary Army's efforts to overthrow the corrupt prime minister and restore peace and order to the Empire.^[vol. 1]

Tatsumi

Voiced by: Sōma Saitō^[2] (Japanese); Corey Hartzog^[3][4] (English)

Tatsumi (タツミ) is a swordsman who sets out to the capital city to raise money for his impoverished village. He has brown hair and green eyes.^[5] Separated from his two companions, Tatsumi is swindled of his money, but is taken in by a girl with a wealthy upbringing.^[ch. 1] When he tries to defend that girl from Night Raid, he soon discovers that the girl had actually tortured and killed his comrades, so he kills her and is recruited to join Night Raid,^[ch. 1] He accepts, as their actions of fighting corruption would eventually help his village.^[ch. 2] His primary weapon is a short sword, but he later inherits Bulat's Teigu "Demon Armor: Incursio" (悪鬼纏身 インクルシオ, Akki Tenshin: Inkurushio) which acts as both a short sword and armor, and grants other powers such as invisibility and superhuman strength.^[ch. 5,14] His continual use of Incursio takes his toll on his body, and he gradually becomes possessed by the Tyrant, the Danger Beast from which Incursio was created. Having transformed into the Tyrant's dragon form, Tatsumi asks Akame to mercy kill him before he is overcome by it,^[ch. 76] but Akame's strike kills Tyrant's life force instead, leaving Tatsumi's mind intact, but trapped inside Tyrant's body, unable to return to his human form. ^[ch. 77]

Akame

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya^[2] (Japanese); Molly Searcy^[3][4] (English)

Akame (アカメ) has long black hair, red eyes, and a cold, serious demeanor.^[5] Sold along with her sister to the Empire at a young age, she becomes one of the Elite Seven assassins under Gozuki.^[ch. 3] Despite her serious attitude in battle, she displays genuine concern for her comrades.^{[ch. 3,6][vol. 3]} During a mission to assassinate former general Najenda, she is convinced by the latter to join Night Raid and the cause against the Empire.^[ch. 3] Her treason sparks an intense rivalry between fellow assassin and sibling Kurome, along with a mutual desire to be the one to end the other.^[ch. 6] In Night Raid, she assumes the cooking duties prior to Tatsumi joining the group.^[ch. 2,3] While she originally used the Shingu "Kiriichimonji", a sword capable of inflicting wounds that never heal, Akame acquired Gozuki's Imperial Arm "One Slice Kill: Murasame" (一斬必殺 村雨, Ichizan Hissatsu: Murasame) whose poison blade instantly kills whoever it cuts.^[ch. 5] During the final battle with Esdeath, as a final resort due to method of activations, Akame activates Murasame's Little War Horn Trump Card to boost her physical abilities so she can kill Esdeath with her weapon destroyed in the process.^[ch. 76,77]

Mine

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura^[2] (Japanese); Christina Kelly^[4][6] (English)

Mine (マイン, Main) serves as the sniper of Night Raid. She has pink hair styled in twin tails and pink eyes.^[5] She initially shows a cold exterior and is suspect of Tatsumi joining her group, but warms up to Tatsumi later on.^[vol. 1] Having been marginalized as a child for her half-foreign blood, Mine hopes that when the Revolutionary Army wins, there will be more acceptance of different races.^[ch. 4] Mine's Teigu is a rifle called the "Roman Battery: Pumpkin" (浪漫砲台 パンプキン, Roman Hōdai: Panpukin) that fires highly concentrated piercing shots of spirit energy.^[ch. 2,5] Her powers are amplified when she is under a tight situation.^[ch. 20]

Leone

Voiced by: Yū Asakawa^[2] (Japanese); Allison Keith^[4] (English)

Leone (レオーネ, Reōne) has short blonde hair and a voluptuous chest.^[5] She has a very relaxed and cheerful personality, but tends to display a lack of ladylike manners. She acts like a big sister towards Tatsumi, whom she swindled at the start of the series,^[ch. 1,8] As part of Night Raid, she gathers intelligence and corroborates the mission requests. Her Teigu is "King of Beasts Transformation: Lionel" (百獣王化 ライオネル, Hyakujū Ōka: Raioneru), a belt she acquired from the black market that transforms her into a beast with increased strength and abilities as well as enhanced senses such as smell^{[ch. 1,5,10]} and regeneration.^[ch. 21] She originally became an assassin when she killed an aristocrat that made a game out of trampling poor kids with his horse.^[ch. 10]

Sheele

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto^[2] (Japanese); Jessica Boone^[4][7] (English)

Sheele (シェーレ, Shēre) has dark purple hair with part of it styled in a single bun, and wears glasses.^[5] Growing up in the low districts of the Capital, Sheele first discovers her abilities as an assassin when she rescues her only friend by killing her abusive boyfriend. When a gang related to the boyfriend seeks to avenge her, killing her parents in the process, she easily murders them. Eventually, she joins the Revolutionary Army and later, Night Raid. Despite being an experienced assassin, she does not have regular duties at Night Raid as she tends to be air-headed and clumsy at cooking and cleaning.^[ch. 5,7] Her Teigu is the "Slice All: Extase" (万物両断 エクスタス, Banbutsu Ryōdan: Ekusutasu), a huge pair of scissors that can easily sever bodies.^[ch. 1,5] She is killed in a battle against Seryu when the latter immobilizes her and she is torn apart by Seryu's Teigu monster Coro. Her final action was releasing a blinding light called Ecstasy which allows Mine to flee as she is eaten by Coro.^[ch. 9]

Lubbock

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka^[2] (Japanese); Tyler Galindo^[4] (English)

Lubbock (ラバック, Rabakku) is a green-haired member of Night Raid who early on has a reputation of being a pervert and peeking at girls.^[ch. 2][5] In the city, his cover identity is running a book-lending shop.^[ch. 11] He is the son of a wealthy merchant and falls in love with Najenda at first sight and decides to join the Imperial army to be near her. Several years later, when Najenda defects from the Army to start Night Raid, Lubbock fakes his death.^[ch. 25] His Teigu, "Kaleidoscope: Crawstail" (千変万化 クローステール, Senpen Banka: Kurōsutēru), is a reel of strings that can be manipulated into forming weaponry or armor.^[ch. 5] Its trump card, the "Realm-severer thread", is a thread made from the fur that protected the vital spots of the Danger Beast and that is supposedly unbreakable. He is also skilled in misdirection, as he managed to fake a cowardly and treacherous side to get Syura off guard and kill him when he is arrested with Tatsumi and then tortured. Against overwhelming odds including General Budo, he faces Izou who kills him with Kotetsu, his non-Teigu sword. Lubbock's last thoughts are of Najenda, asking if he had done enough to win her approval.

Bulat

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi^[2] (Japanese); David Wald^[4] (English)

Bulat (ブラート, Burāto) has dark hair styled in a Pompadour, and wields the Teigu "Demon Armor: Incursio" (悪鬼纏身 インクルシオ, Akki Tenshin: Inkurushio).^[ch. 2,5] As a high-ranking imperial officer who gains infamy as "One-Hundred Killer Bulat"^[ch. 13], he becomes disgusted by the government caring more about bribes than merit, and defects from the Empire when his superior, Liver, is framed for a crime after refusing to aid Honest.^[ch. 12] He joins the Revolutionary Army, and eventually Night Raid. Although Bulat is revealed to be gay early in the series. Although Tatsumi resists Bulat's flirtatious attitude,^[ch. 2] Tatsumi views him as a big brother, and in turn he views Tatsumi as someone who could take Incursio to another level.^[vol. 3] In a battle against the Three Beasts, he is fatally poisoned by Liver, but gives Incursio to Tatsumi.^[ch. 14]

Najenda

Voiced by: Risa Mizuno^[2] (Japanese); Shelley Calene-Black (English)

Najenda (ナジェンダ) is the leader of Night Raid. She has white hair and wears an eyepatch.^[5] She is a former general of the Imperial army who, disgusted with Esdeath's excessive cruelty, confronts her over it.^[ch. 16] After the confrontation Najenda defects and joins the Revolutionary Army.^[ch. 16] She initially wields the Teigu "Roman Artillery: Pumpkin", until she loses an arm and eye in a confrontation with Esdeath. When she learns that the empire has assembled the Jaegers, she acquires the humanoid Teigu Susanoo with which she is compatible.^[vol. 5]

Susanoo

Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma (Japanese); Ty Mahany (English)

"Flash of Lightning" Susanoo (電光石火 スサノオ, Denkō Sekka: Susanoo) is Najenda's humanoid Teigu who joins Night Raid after the latter suffers several losses; his head has two large horns.^[ch. 21,22] He is in a dormant state until he meets Najenda who reminds him of his previous user, a general man.^[ch. 22,23] Despite his quiet demeanor, Susanoo quickly befriends Tatsumi and Lubbock.^[ch. 24] Originally designed to be a bodyguard for VIPs, he is capable of cooking and housekeeping as well as fighting.^[ch. 22]. Like other biological Teigu, as long as his core remains intact, he can continue to regenerate. ^[ch. 22] His weapon is a Wolf Fang Mace that has blades that can protrude from its end.^{[vol. 5:rough sketches 3]} He has a trump card move, called "Magatama Manifestation" that sucks his user's life energy into the magatama on his chest in order to gain a tremendous amount of strength, and enabling him to use powerful moves such as "The Mirror of Yata" that can reflect any kind of projectiles and beams, as well as "Ame no Murakumo" which is a kind of giant sword that has immense power. However, his user will die after commanding him to use this move three times. This does not happen, as Najenda uses it three times and continued alive; she states that this is possible because Susanoo himself takes its own life to spare Najenda's. He is killed by Esdeath while protecting his friends from her, as she promises to remember him as a warrior, rather than as a mere Teigu.^[ch. 43]

Chelsea

Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese); Emily Neves (English)

Chelsea (チェルシー, Cherushī) is an orange-haired assassin who is dressed like a Japanese schoolgirl, wearing a shirt with white sleeves and plaid collar, a black vest, plaid skirt, and tall boots. She also wears a headphone-styled hair band with a black butterfly hairpiece. She is almost always seen sucking on a lollipop.^{[vol. 5:rough sketches 4]} The sole surviving operative of a Night Raid regional team, she joins Najenda to fight the Jaegers. While she is somewhat aloof and carefree when not on the job, she is also extremely objective and is often quite blunt when voicing her opinions, which upsets Mine.^[ch. 22,23] Despite her nature, she becomes attracted to Tatsumi, admiring his resolve.^[ch. 28] Her Teigu, "Phantasmagoria: Gaia Foundation" (変幻自在 ガイアファンデーション, Hengen Jizai: Gaia Fandēshon), is a cosmetics box that allows her to instantly change her physical appearance, including animals.^[ch. 22,23] This allows her to get within arms reach of her targets where she uses acupuncture needles to stab her targets in vital locations. After ambushing and killing Bols, she tries to kill Kurome in the same way, but it fails as Kurome survives the puncture inflicted by her needle and then she is killed by Kurome's last two corpse puppets. Her severed head is placed in the town square to hurt Night Raid's morale and the rest of her body devoured by Coro.^[ch. 33]

The Empire

Emperor

Voiced by: Yō Taichi (Japanese); Shannon Emerick (English)

The Emperor (皇帝, Kōtei) is a young boy who wishes to lead his people to a bright future.^[ch. 4] But his naive nature and inexperience resulted in him serving as nothing more but as a figurehead under Honest's manipulation, unaware that prime minister both murdered his parents and of the Empire's eventual collapse. As the sole survivor of the Imperial bloodline, the Emperor is the only person capable of operating the Teigu known as "Shikoutazer" (シコウテイザ, Shikouteizā, "Primus Imperator" in the anime), which is a suit of armor tall as a mountain boasted to be the most powerful of the Teigu and can fire energy beams that can obliterate entire armies with a single volley. But what the Emperor did not know was that Honest had Dorothea use her alchemy to modify Shikoutazer with a trump card only he can activate on command or as a deadman's switch: Purge Mode. In Purge Mode, Shikoutazer's armor breaks off to reveal its monstrous appearance while the emperor's mind is warped with bloodlust. He is defeated by Tatsumi, who brings forth the full power of Incursio to destroy Shikoutazer at the cost of his human form.

Honest

Voiced by: Kōji Ishii (Japanese); Marty Fleck (English)

The main antagonist in the series, the current Prime Minister of the Empire and the father of Syura, Honest^[ch. 10,45] (オネスト, Onesuto Daijin) is a corrupt and tyrannical politician whose only agenda to maintain his position of power and comfort as seen with his constant eating habit.^[ch. 10] Presenting himself as a father-figure to the Emperor, Honest secretly poisoned the previous emperor and his wife to manipulate their child to his end while having political rivals and other threats killed off. Honest's selfish outlook is depraved to the point that he mourned Syura's death for a few seconds before callously shrugging his son's demise and considering to sire a more competent son. When the Revolutionary Army begin their attack on the city, having killed off a majority of the court when they planned to hand him over to the revolutionists, Honest convinces the Emperor to activate the Shikoutazer. During the final battle, Honest reveals the crown on his head to be his Teigu known as the Erase Stone (イレイストーン, Ireistōn). The Erase Stone can break another user's Teigu, but it will take a week for its own power to be restored.

Zanku

Voiced by: Satoshi Tsuruoka (Japanese); Rob Mungle (English)

Executioner Zanku (首斬りザンク, Kubikiri Zanku, anime: Headhunter Zanku)^[ch. 5][8] initially works as an executioner for the Empire. However, as the number of his victims increase, he starts hearing the voices of his victims and is driven mad by them. This results in his defection from his post. He steals a Teigu and gains infamy as a serial killer who decapitates his victims after they plead for their lives.^[ch. 5] His Teigu is "Spected" (五視万能 スペクテッド, Goshi Bannō: Supekuteddo, lit. "Five sights: Spected"), a headpiece that grants the user various mental abilities, including insight (mind reading), farsight (long-distance sight), x-ray vision, foresight and the ability to cast illusions. After being mortally wounded by Akame, he thanks her for freeing him from the voices.^[ch. 5-6]

Seryu Ubiquitous

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Seryu Ubiquitous (セリュー・ユビキタス, Seryū Yubikitasu^[9][10]) is a young woman (Takahiro wrote she was in her mid-twenties^{[vol. 4:postscript]}) with a long ponytail and a member of the capital's garrison. She is self-proclaimed ally of justice, obsessed with eliminating the Empire's criminals.^[ch. 8] She wields a pair of tonfa guns. Her Teigu, Hecatoncheir (魔獣変化 ヘカトンケイル, Majū Henge: Hekatonkeiru, lit. "Magical Beast Transformation Hecatonicheir"), nicknamed Coro (コロ, Koro), is a small dog that transforms into a ferocious monster; as a biological Teigu it can regenerate its body as long as his core is intact.^[ch. 9] She had trained with Ogre and wants to avenge his death by going after Night Raid; she befriends Tatsumi as she is unaware of his connection to the latter group.^[ch. 8] During the fight against Mine and Sheele, Seryu loses her arms but is able to use weapons as she has bionic implants.^[ch. 9] She later gets full bionic arms that can outfit an assortment of weapons called Judgment of the Ten Kings, thanks to Dr. Stylish.^{[ch. 9,15][vol. 4:postscript]} Originally the only Teigu user in her garrison,^[ch. 8] she is recruited to Esdeath's group of the Jaegers.^[ch. 15] She eventually dies in a later chapter when a bomb implanted in her head explodes after she and Koro are critically wounded by Mine, her last words being a tearful plea to not die "in a place like this" (a slum far away from her beloved empire).^[ch. 38]

Esdeath

Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka^[2] (Japanese); Christine Auten (English)

Raised under her father's philosophy of "the strong survive and the weak die",^[vol. 4] Esdeath (エスデス, Esudesu) has gained notoriety as of the Empire's most powerful generals.^[ch. 7] Originally a resident of a northern tribe of Danger Beast hunters,^{[vol. 4:postscript]} Esdeath is the last of her people and twisted her father's ideals before enlisting the military and quickly rose to her current position. Esdeath then selected her Imperial Arm "Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract" (魔神顕現 デモンズエキス, Majin Kengen: Demonzu Ekisu), the blood of a Danger Beast that she assimilated into her circulatory system to gain the power to create and manipulate ice^[ch. 42]. Esdeath later invented various ways to manipulate her powers that include a Trump Card which allows her momentarily freeze time around her.^[ch. 27] Esdeath used her abilities to conquer the Northern lands, encasing her enemies in ice, before being summoned back to the capital to deal with Night Raid as leader of theJaegers after her Three Beasts fell against them.

Although she is strong at fighting and enjoys torture, Esdeath found herself occupied with love and obsessed over Tatsumi after seeing him battle in a fighting tournament.^[ch. 10] With Esdeath unaware of his ties to Night Raid, Tatsumi tried talking her into joining the Revolutionary Army.^[ch. 16,18] But Tatsumi eventually gave up upon learning Esdeath's life story and realizing she is beyond redemption.^[ch. 27] Esdeath learns of Tatsumi's ties to the Night Raid and attempts to offer him a pardon in exchange for his total submission to her. But after Tatsumi's escape, Esdeath accepts her love for Tatsumi to be one-sided while resolving to fight him in battle to the death during the Revolutionary Army's siege on the imperial capital. When Tatsumi deals with the Shikoutazer, Esdeath battles Akame and ends up amputating her own arm when it was exposed to Murasame's poison.^[ch. 72] After the Shikotazer's defeat, Esdeath attempts to use her Imperial Arm's full potential to freeze everything around her before being killed when Akame activates Murasame's Trump Card.^[ch. 76,77]

Three Beasts

The Three Beasts (三獣士, Sanjūshi) are elite Teigu users serving Esdeath; they helped her conquer the northern lands and bury alive a whole rebel village in ice.^[ch. 10,16]

Daidara

Voiced by: Anri Katsu (Japanese); Christopher Ayres (English)

Daidara (ダイダラ) is a man who relies on brute strength and enjoys every opportunity to prove himself in battle. His Teigu was "Double-Bladed Broad Ax: Belvark" (二挺大斧 ベルヴァーク, Nichō Taifu: Beruvuāku), a heavy axe that can be split into two blades, and when thrown, can home in on its target.^[ch. 11,12] He was the first to be killed, being split in half by Bulat.^[ch. 12,13]

Nyau

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese); Clint Bickham (English)

Living with an aristocratic background, Nyau (ニャウ) has an unstable family life. Although he thinks he was the most sadistic person until he met Esdeath and then becomes her servant in order to learn more.^{[vol. 3:postscript]} A sadistic young man with a passion of collecting the faces of his victims,^[ch. 11] especially those of pretty girls,^{[vol. 3:postscript]} Nyau hides his nature under an effeminate and innocent appearance.^[ch. 11] His Teigu, "Scream" (軍楽夢想 スクリーム, Gungaku Musō: Sukurīmu, lit. "Military Music Dream: Scream"), is a flute that manipulates the emotions of its listeners, strengthening allies or weakening enemies.^[ch. 12] It could also be used as a pair of melee weapons. His Demon Summon allows him to significantly boost his physical abilities.^[ch. 14] He is killed by Tatsumi when the latter begins to master Incursio;^[ch. 14]

Liver

Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese); John Gremillion (English)

Framed by the Prime Minister for refusing to accept bribes while working as Bulat's superior officer, Liver (リヴァ, Riva) transfers his loyalty to Esdeath for letting him out of prison in exchange for his services.^[ch. 12,14] At some point during his service, Liver becomes the leader of the Three Beasts,^{[vol. 3:postscript]} Liver wields the Teigu "Black Marine" (水龍憑依 ブラックマリン, Suiryū Hyōi: Burakku Marin, lit. "Water Dragon Possession: Black Marine"), a ring that can control any liquid he has touched.^[ch. 13] When his battle with Bulat comes to a draw, he resorts to injecting himself with poison, and uses his secret technique, Blade of Blood, to have his blood pierce and kill Bulat.^[ch. 14]

Jaegers

The Jaegers (イェーガーズ, Yēgāzu, German for "Hunters") are a group of Teigu users assembled by the emperor to support General Esdeath as a security squad.^[vol. 4] In addition to Seryu Ubiquitous, there are the following members:

Wave

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya^[9] (Japanese); David Matranga^[7] (English)

Wave (ウェイブ, Weibu) is a young man from a small town who joins the Jaegers after having served in the empire's navy.^[ch. 15] He dislikes the current state of the Empire but embraces his role as an enforcer due to a debt owed to an unseen savior from when he was in the navy.^[ch. 28] Nevertheless, Wave tries befriending some of his fellow Jaegers, taking a liking to Bols and Kurome. His bond with Kurome as well his anger at atrocities caused by Wild Hunt cause him to act against them when Syura tries to violate Kurome.^[ch. 46] Wave later intervenes in Kurome's duel with Akame and professes his love for her, convincing her to defects so he can treat her drug addiction after receiving Akame's blessing as she and the others agree to make it appear the two died in battle. Wave initially possesses the Teigu "Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot" (修羅化身 ランシャリオ, Shura Kesshin: Guranshario),^{[vol. 4: postscript]} a suit of armor modeled after Incursio that enhances his physical strength and grants flight.^[ch. 18] Takahiro describes him as something of a rival character to Tatsumi because their Teigus are similar.^{[vol. 4:postscript]} During Kurome's battle with Akame, Wave receives Run's Teigu "Thousands Miles Flight: Mastema" (万里飛翔 マスティマ, Banri Hishō: Masutima), and is able to use it and Grand Chariot in perfect synch, becoming the first person capable of using two Teigu at once.^[ch. 66]

Kurome

Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi^[9] (Japanese); Juliet Simmons (English)

Recruited along with her older sister Akame by the Empire, Kurome (クロメ) gains notoriety as an assassin.^[ch. 3] After Akame's defection from the Empire, Kurome decides to kill her. She enjoys eating candy and is usually seen munching on a bag of them.^{[ch. 15,18][vol. 4:postscript]} it is later revealed that her addiction to them was they are laced with drugs, and that she is administered drugs to enhance her abilities.^[ch. 33] Her Teigu, "March of the Dead: Yatsufusa" (死者行軍 八房, Shisha Yakōgun: Yatsufusa), is a katana that turns her victims into zombies; she can control up to eight people, who can also use skills acquired when they were alive.^[ch. 19] She later develops feelings for fellow Jaeger Wave, with whom she flees from the Empire after he confesses to her, making it look like they were killed in battle, with only Akame and Tatsumi knowing their real fate.

Dr. Stylish

Voiced by: Ken Narita^[9] (Japanese); Jay Hickman (English)

Dr. Stylish (Dr.スタイリッシュ, Dokutā Sutairisshu) is a man dressed in a lab coat and thick-rimmed glasses,^{[ch. 15][vol. 5:rough sketches 1]} who enjoys experimenting with humans, and is known for recruiting death row convicts as his guinea pigs.^[ch. 20] Wave describes his first impression of him as a nancy.^[ch. 15] As the healer of the group, he uses the Teigu "Glorious Hands of God: Perfector" (神ノ御手 パーフェクター, Kami no Ote: Pāfekutā)^{[vol. 4:postscript]}, a pair of gloves that increase manual dexterity and speed, allowing him to perform complex surgery.^{[ch. 15][vol. 4:postscript]} He can also create cyborg weapons that he outfits Seryu,^[ch. 15] as well as enhanced items that he outfits his subordinates such as Eyes, Ears, and Nose.^[ch. 19] He has some special attack methods: the first is delivering an odorless poison gas that weakens Night Raid, and the second is transforming himself into a Danger Beast, consuming his subordinates for power. He is ultimately defeated by Night Raid's combined efforts.^[ch. 21]

Run

Voiced by: Junji Majima^[9] (Japanese); Christopher Patton (English)

Run (ラン, Ran) is Esdeath's personal adviser and the Jaegers' butler.^{[vol. 4:postscript]} He is seen by Wave as the most "normal" member from the group due to his gentle personality.^{[ch. 15,vol4:postscript]} He is a former teacher of a peaceful village, whose students were murdered by Champ, who would later become a member of Wild Hunt. When the Empire decided to turn their backs on this incident to maintain the facade of a "peaceful village", Run was given a choice of joining either the Revolutionary Army or the Empire; he chose the latter in order to try to change the country from within.^[ch. 47] His Teigu, "Thousand Mile Flight: Mastema" (万里飛翔 マスティマ, Banri Hishō: Masutima), is a pair of plates on his back that allow him to grow wings and attack using feather-like weapons,^[ch. 17] with the additional ability of deflecting any attack once its hidden ability is activated. Run suffered fatal wounds in his confrontation with Champ and Kurome dealt him a killing blow with Yatsufusa, transforming Run into one of her corpse puppets so that he would never leave her, while still wielding his Teigu. Before his death, Run managed to get close to the members of Wild Hunt under the facade of wanting to join them, while he was really searching for the one responsible for murdering his students. Run also managed to find concrete evidence that Syura was the mastermind behind the humanoid danger beasts crisis, enabling Esdeath to force Honest to disband Wild Hunt. During Kurome's fight with Akame, Run transfers Mastema to Wave for his own use.

Bols

Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto^[9] (Japanese); John Swasey (English)

Bols (ボルス, Borusu) is one of the older members (at 32 years old)^{[vol. 4:postscript]} of the Jaegers; he typically wears a mask and leather straps styled as if he were involved in torture play. He came from the empire's incineration squad.^[ch. 15] Despite his job, Bols has a gentle personality and is a family man.^{[ch. 17][vol. 4:postscript]} Because of this, Esdeath comes to him for romantic advice regarding Tatsumi.^[ch. 24] He also does housework such as cooking.^{[ch. 15][vol. 4:postscript]} His Teigu, "Invitation to Purgatory: Rubicante" (煉獄招致 ルビカンテ, Rengoku Shōchi: Rubikante), is a flamethrower whose flames cannot be extinguished with water.^[ch. 17] After his Teigu is bitten off by Leone during a battle with her and Akame, he is forced to use his Teigu's self-destruct mechanism in order to escape, but is later killed by Chelsea in disguise.^[ch. 32] His wife and daughter are later violated and brutally killed by Wild Hunt, under the guise of an "investigation".^[ch. 46]

Bolic

Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki (Japanese); Mark Mendelsohn (English)

Bolic (ボリック, Borikku) is a high-ranking member of the Path of Peace (安寧道, An'neidō), a religion that opposes the Empire. However, he is actually an agent working on behalf of the Prime Minister. Bolic is dispatched to kill the current high priest so that he will become the next leader and control it for the Empire's sake. Bolic uses his position and drugs to discreetly control the Path's members, turning them into his playthings. Esdeath, the Jaegers and the Four Rakshasa Demons were ordered to protect him, which resulted in intense battles when Night Raid came to kill him. These battle results in the deaths of Seryu and Susanoo. He is easily killed by Akame while Esdeath is occupied by Leone, Susanoo, Najenda and Tatsumi.

Holimaca

Voiced by: Kouhei Sugesawa (Japanese); Kyle Colby Jones (English)

Holimaca (ホリマカ, Horimaka) is Bolic's bodyguard who wields a lost Teigu that had been recovered. The Teigu is "The Mysterious: Adayusu" (奇奇怪怪 アダユス, Kikikaikai: Adayusu), a scythe with unknown capabilities: the abilities are unknown because Akame is able to kill him so quickly that she is unable to realize that his weapon is a Teigu and she leaves it behind.

Four Rakshasa Demons of the Imperial Fist Temple

Four Rakshasa Demons of the Imperial Fist Temple (皇拳寺羅刹四鬼, Kōkenji Rasetsu Yonki) were four skilled soldiers in Honest's employ. All four were highly trained and able to manipulate their own bodies, with abilities such as extending their limbs, hardening their bodies, and contorting them out of harm's way, as well as possessing great combat abilities. They were strong enough to defeat Teigu users without using Teigu themselves, and have retrieved five of the artifacts for the Empire. The group consisted of Ibara (イバラ, Ibara) (Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese); Andrew Love (English)), Sten (ステン, Suten) (Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (Japanese); Wendel Calvert (English)), Mez (メース, Mēsu) (Voiced by: Aina Suzuki (Japanese); Maggie Flecknoe (English)), and Suzuka (スズカ, Suzuka).^[11] The Four Rakshasa were sent to guard Borick but after a battle with Night Raid, Suzuka was the only survivor.

Suzuka

Voiced by: Eriko Matsui (Japanese); Carli Mosier (English)

Suzuka (スズカ) is the only survivor of the Four Rakshasa Demons of the Imperial Fist Temple after their battle with Night Raid in the Bolic assassination incident. Suzuka is a masochistic woman who possesses tremendous durability and endurance as a result of her training, and she can control her bodily functions such as extending her nails at high speed to pierce her foes. Although she is one of two Wild Hunt members not to use a Teigu, her abilities alone allowed her to retrieve five Teigu from enemies in the past. Though she appeared to have been crashed, Suzuka provides the Empire with detail of Tatsumi's association with Night Raid, and Prime Minister Honest assigns her to Wild Hunt to make up for the loss of Champ and Enshin until the organization is disbanded.

Budo

Voiced by: Hozumi Gôda (Japanese); Josh Morrison (English)

Great General Budo (ブドー大将軍, Budō Daishogun) was a Commander-in-chief of the Empire. He is regarded as stubborn and is known for speaking boldly to the Prime Minister. His faction is strong enough that Esdeath is hesitant to oppose it. He is loyal to the Empire as an ideal and desires to clean up the corruption within the Empire, but only after putting down the rebellion. This implies that he is antagonistic to both Night Raid and the Minister's corrupt ways. His Teigu is "Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech" (雷神忿怒 アドナイメレク, Raijin Funnu: Adoramereku), a pair of piston-installed gauntlets, which allow him to generate electricity and deliver very devastating punches capable of breaching even Incursio's defense.

When Budo battled with Tatsumi after his Teigu evolved, he notes Incursio's progress and realizes that his opponent may have done the impossible by somewhat fusing with his Teigu.^[ch. 55] Even going so far as to strike him hard enough to knock him off balance allowing his quarry momentary escape. Budo is killed by Mine during their rescue operation on Tatsumi.^[ch. 56]

Wild Hunt

Wild Hunt (ワイルドハント, Wairudohanto) is the Secret Police of the Empire that is formed after the Jaegers suffered the loss of most its members. The group is led by Syura who gathered world-class criminals gathered from various regions under the Prime Minister's orders, and most of them carry a Teigu, although some of them are strong enough to fight without a Teigu. All six members enjoy abusing their new found authority to satisfy their own urges of bloodlust while justifying their actions under the pretense of investigating the whereabouts of Night Raid - the reason for their existence. Unlike the Jaegers, Syura shows no camaraderie towards the members of Wild Hunt. He is indifferent to their deaths, instead valuing only their usefulness in combat. When Run managed to discover irrefutable evidence that Syura released Dr. Stylish's modified Danger Beasts, Esdeath blackmailed Honest to dissolve Wild Hunt, much to Syura's fury.

Syura

Voiced by: Ryohei Kimura (Japanese); Adam Noble (English)

Syura (シュラ, Shura) is the son of Prime Minister Honest and the leader of Wild Hunt. He regards the Empire as a toy and uses Wild Hunt to promote unrest in the Empire. While he respects his father and they have an amiable relationship, sharing the same corrupted personalities, Syura desires to surpass his father and become emperor. Prior to making himself known, Syura released many of Dr. Stylish experimental Danger Beasts to kill before the Jeagers managed to wipe out most of them. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Wave and enduring a scolding from his unimpressed father, Syura swears vengeance against Wave. Syura brags about his relationship with the Minister to his victims and enemies so as to intimidate them into submission, but is nevertheless a skilled fighter, having learned various martial art styles throughout his travels. He wields the Teigu, "Dimensional Formation: Shambhala" (次元方陣 シャンバラ, Jigen Hōjin: Shanbara), a pendant that allows him to teleport anyone within its trigram circle symbol over large distances.^[ch. 26] Syura is killed when he let his guard down around a captured Lubbock, who used wires from his Teigu to break Syura's neck. His Teigu was destroyed when Izou slashed through it to kill Lubbock.

Champ

Champ (チャンプ, Champu) is a member of Wild Hunt who appears as an overweight sadistic and pedophilic clown and a serial killer, who kills children so they will not become "filthy adults". He wields the Teigu "Ace Solution: Die Leaguer" (快投乱麻 タイリーガー, Kaitō Ranma: Tairīgā), which takes the form of six floating orbs, each with a different attribute when tossed (flame, lightning, ice, storm, rot, and explosive). As he is the one who killed Run's students, Run swore vengeance against him and succeeded in killing him with his own flame orb. His Teigu was retrieved by Night Raid.^[ch. 48]

Cosmina

Cosmina (コスミーナ, Kosumina) is a female member of Wild Hunt. A singer, and rather lewd young woman, she was convicted of being a witch by a witch hunt. Her family was burned to death, but she survived with a shattered psyche. Her Teigu is "Earth Shaker: Heavy Pressure" (大地鳴動 ヘヴィプレッシャー, Daichi Meidō: Heui Buresshā), a microphone that amplifies the user's voice into deadly sound waves capable of pulverizing her victims. She was shot by Mine and her Teigu was retrieved by Night Raid. Unlike Champ and Enshin, however, Cosmina possesses tremendous vitality, and survived long enough for Dorothea to utilize her alchemy to save her, but suffered brain damage while her heart was stopped. She was modified into a spider-like centaur creature by Dorothea. She was later killed when Tatsumi bisects her.

Dorothea

Dorothea (ドロテア, Dorotea) is a young-looking female alchemist working for Wild Hunt. She joined Syura in the hopes of meeting Dr. Stylish to combine her alchemy with his altered body. Her Teigu is "Blood Collection: Absorbdex" (血液徴収 アブゾデック, Ketsueki Chōshū: Abuzodekku), a set of fangs that allows her to drink her victims' blood in a vampire-like fashion in order to strengthen and heal herself, something she greatly enjoys doing. Her alchemy proves instrumental in saving Cosmina's life, though it cannot save anyone who has already died. It was also due to alchemy that Dorothea appears so young: in truth, she was an elderly woman who extended her lifespan by absorbing the energy from others. She was killed by Leone who crushed her with a boulder.

Enshin

Enshin (エンシン, Enshin) is a former pirate and a lecherous misogynist working for Wild Hunt. He wields the Teigu "Moonlight Sword Dance: Shamshir" (月光麗舞 シャムシール, Gekkō Reibu: Shamushīru), a saber that creates vacuum blades; its performance is dependent on the phases of the moon. He is killed by Akame and his Teigu is retrieved by Night Raid.^[ch. 48]

Izou

Izou (イゾウ, Izou) is a master swordsman who keeps his peculiar-looking eyes closed most of the time. He has a deep passion for his katana, "Kōsetsu" (江雪, Kōsetsu), and refers to killing his victims as "feeding" it. Kōsetsu is noted not to be a Teigu and Izou himself claims that he is not interested in Teigu. Syura has noted that as long as Izou is present he can make it up for Wild Hunt's lost military strength, even with Enshin and Champ dead and Cosmina recovering. He kills Lubbock when he tries to escape from the palace after being captured. He is later killed by Akame.^[ch. 58]

Elite Seven

The Elite Seven was a special squad of assassins that serves the Empire during the events of the prequel manga Akame ga Kill! Zero. Except for its leader, each member of the squad carried a less powerful version of the Teigu called a Shingu (臣具) which were created by an Emperor 400 years ago in an attempt to produce stronger artifacts than the original Teigu, but with no success. All members of the unit are children raised since childhood in the arts of assassination and Akame is one of them, ranked no. 7 before defecting to the Revolutionary Army.

Gozuki

Voiced by: Rintarō Nishi (Japanese); Aaron Echegaray (English)

Originally a member of the Rakshasa Demons, Gozuki (ゴズキ, Gozuki) takes the seven most talented children amongst the many tested, Akame included, and trains them to be human weapons for the purpose of stamping out rebels acting against the Empire. He did not include Kurome amongst the seven as she finished in eighth place, and he did not want sisterly affections to interfere with their combat efficiencies. He refers them as his "children" and they in turn referred him as "father". He is intolerant of failure and threatens to disown any of them who failed in their missions. As the leader of the Elite Seven, Gozuki is the only member with a real Teigu, the "One Cut Killer: Murasame" (一斬必殺 村雨, Ichizan Hissatsu: Murasame), a katana laced with cursed poison that instant kills anyone cut by it, the same weapon now in Akame's possession.

Najasho

Ranked no.1 of the Elite Seven, Najasho is the sub-leader of the team, thus he usually treats his companions as less capable than him and had a tendency to boss them around. His Shingu is the "Water-Dragon Sword", a broadsword with the power to enhance the capabilities of its wielders for three minutes, at the cost of leaving them exhausted for a while once its effect wears off.

Guy

Ranked no.2, Guy has a rather perverted attitude, usually visiting brothels and flirting with the female members of the team. Despite that, he has real feelings for Cornelia and swears revenge upon those who killed her. His Shingu is the "Rare Suit", a suit of armor that takes advantage of the ground to perform surprise attacks.

Cornelia

Ranked no.3, Cornelia is the big-sister figure of the group. She is killed by one of Chelsea's former teammates called Taeko, after revealing her secret to her, unaware of her true identity. Her Shingu was the "Pulverization Ring", that bestows superhuman strength to its user, but can harm them if not used properly.

Pony

Ranked no.4, Pony is cheerful, straightforward, and rather dimwitted, who has a deep admiration for Gozuki and loved to please him. She also seems to enjoy fighting and killing her targets. Her Shingu is the "Yocto-bottoms", that gives the user extra acceleration and leg strength, but the user must compensate possible side-effects from extensive use with special physical training.

Green

Ranked no.5, Green is a bespectacled, rather reserved boy who actually had some feelings for Akame, which are never reciprocated. His Shingu is the "Sidewinder", a whip that moves according to its user's will, but demanding lots of concentration.

Tsukushi

Ranked no.6, Tsukushi is around Akame's age and the member of the team she seems to be the closest to. Her Shingu is the "Prometheus", a pair of pistols whose bullets have their trajetory controlled by the user according to their will. However, this control gets harder with each round fired after successive shots.

Reception

The characters of Akame ga Kill! have been well received by anime and manga publications. UK Anime Network praised the development of Tatsumi from a "happy go lucky" protagonist and changes as he interacts with the members from Night Raid.^[12] Matt Package of Anime News Network criticized most of its first villains for being "one-note savages resigned to "grinning insanely while being killed."^[13] However, the introduction of the Jeagers led to a more positive response due to the characterization of the new antagonists with Wave's dynamic with Tatsumi being called out twice due to their several similarities in terms of personalities.^[14][15]

Works cited

Akame ga Kill manga volumes written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tashiro, Tetsuya. Original Japanese version published by Square Enix. English version by Yen Press.

References