* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Akame ga Kill!
アカメが斬る！
A dark fantasy manga by Takahiro, serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Gangan Joker from 2010 to 2016 (15 volumes), and adapted into a 24-episode anime by White Fox in 2014. The story follows Tatsumi, a young warrior who joins the assassin group Night Raid to fight the corrupt Empire. The iconic weapon is Murasame, a cursed katana-type Teigu (Imperial Arm) wielded by Akame that kills with a single cut.
Description
Overview
Akame ga Kill! is a dark fantasy manga with story by Takahiro and art by Tetsuya Tashiro. It was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Gangan Joker from the April 2010 issue to the January 2017 issue, and 15 volumes were published in total. The anime was produced by White Fox, which made all 24 episodes from July to December 2014, and aired on Tokyo MX, MBS, BS11, and others.
Plot and Night Raid
The setting is the corrupt 'Imperial Capital' of a fantasy world. Tatsumi, a boy from the countryside, comes to the capital with his companions hoping to join the Imperial Army, but the reality of the capital is the tyranny of a minister who has made the emperor a puppet, and harsh rule over the people. Tatsumi joins Night Raid, an assassination group that resembles a band of righteous outlaws, and fights to bring down the empire. Each Night Raid member wields a legendary supernatural weapon called a 'Teigu (Imperial Arms),' which come in a variety of forms, including swords, sickles, spears, bows, and armor.
The Iconic Weapon: Murasame (Teigu)
The sword at the core of the work is Akame's Teigu, 'One-Cut Killer: Murasame'. In appearance, Murasame is a long blade close to a Japanese uchigatana, and it has the property that anyone who receives even a scratch from its edge is struck by a fatal cursed poison. It has a name reminiscent of the swordsmith Muramasa, known for legends of demonic blades, and of the fictional famous sword 'Murasame' that appears in the novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, and it is depicted as a concentrated embodiment of the motif of a cursed blade. Akame herself was sold to the empire as a child and raised as an assassin, and she is a swordfighter of the strongest class. The combination of her 'cut down with a single blade' fighting style and Murasame has become a visual that symbolizes the work.
Relationship to History and Sword Culture
While using the fictional setting of Teigu, the work incorporates Japanese weapon systems such as swords, spears, naginata, and bows into its world. 'Murasame' is also the name of a fictional famous sword that appears in the novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, and its motifs of demonic blades and cursed swords have a common thread with the legend of the 'Demonic Blade Muramasa' that arose in the Edo period. Throughout the work, the resolve that comes with carrying a sword and the weight of life form a consistent theme.
Cultural Impact
After the anime aired in 2014, it gained fans worldwide and was streamed on Crunchyroll and several other video platforms. Demand for character and weapon merchandise is high, and replica swords modeled on Akame's Murasame have become standard products in the cosplay and collector market. The spin-off manga Akame ga Kill! Zero (prequel) was also serialized from 2013 to 2019.
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This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.