Manga: Akame Ga Kill 15

Akame Ga Kill Vol 15 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The battle for the Empire rages on, with huge losses on all sides. While the Emperor's monstrous Supreme Teigu pummels Tatsumi-and anyone else unfortunate enough to be in its path-Esdeath makes her final stand against Akame and the Revolutionary Army's last regiment of teigu wielders. Terrible sacrifices have been made to give Night Raid this chance, and more will be demanded before the battle is through. With the hopes of the people resting on Night Raid's shoulders, the future of the Empire will be decided in the final volume of Akame ga KILL! 

This is it folks, it's finally here....the FINAL volume of Akame ga Kill, and it's hugely chunky! There's even some special illustrations, and honestly it's been a long road with this one and considering how the anime ended...I knew things would end differently in the manga..but I wasn't sure what was going to happen! 

This volume picks up right when we left off. The Emperor has gone full psycho and honestly, I never liked the kid. I thought he was a total idiot but I didn't think he was fully capable of what he's done. Kurome however, has surprised me pleasantly this volume with her little speech to Wave, she's changed quite a bit, and I really cheered for him because I'm so here for the Tatsumi/Wave team up! 

I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through as one by one, each of the bad guys was taken down and  have never been more satisfied with a characters death as I was with the death of Minister Honest. He came to a brutal, bloody and well deserved end and I loved it. 

Honesty this volume is action packed right up until the last chapter, with brilliantly drawn fight scenes and there's still a few twists left to keep us on our toes. The death scenes are brutally and gruesomely drawn, but you can't say the characters didn't have it coming. Well...the bad ones anyway. There's a few character deaths I was hoping we could avoid but nope. The one thing I will say, is that while there's fewer character deaths than the anime, there's still barely any of our group left, and some of them do hurt a little bit. 

I enjoyed the way the series was wrapped up, we find out what happened to the characters after everything went down, and how the Empire ended up and it was actually a really satisfying end. 

Volume 15 is a wild ride of a final volume, I laughed. I cheered. And I even choked up a little bit at what happened to some of my favourite characters. 

Manga: Akame Ga Kill 14

Akame Ga Kill Vol 14 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Akame and her comrades enjoy a moment of calm before the impending assault against the Capital. Night Raid has lost many dear friends in their fight against the Empire and are resolved to do whatever must be done so that their comrades' sacrifices will not be in vain. But the Empire has brought more than resolve to the battlefield: Esdeath and the Minister have prepared a special "welcoming committee" to greet the approaching rebels. Battle lines are drawn as the final attack begins!! 

Buckle in kiddies, you're in for a bumpy ride with this volume. In case you weren't already aware, this volume is the penultimate volume...that's right, there's only one volume left after this, and this is quite a chunky volume so you know s**** going to go down. 

The final battle is here, and we switch between the big battle outside the palace and Akame and Leone's assassination mission inside the palace. This volume is full of tension and danger, and has you on the edge of your seat because at this stage...we all know no-one's safe in this volume. I was pretty pumped for this volume and the big battle...but also sad and worried at the same time because you know....death could come for any of the characters I actually like! 

I have to say, I have a mighty need for Esdeath and the Minister to bite the dust, although his "rebel army scum" comment at one point made my brain go full Star Wars. While I understand the Emperor has been manipulated...he really is useless and cowardly and after his actions this volume, he's on my kill list too. 

Vol 14 has an excellent pace, we build up to the final battle with a little prelude showing the night before the battle, and all the key players and the preparations being made and the mildly heartwarming moments with the Night Raid members. Which should have clued me in that one of my faves was going to die. Like I go in to this series knowing anyone could die, and to expect my faves to die...but I'm still always surprised. This death in particular had me screaming and heart broken though. 

Things move fast once the actual battle starts, and there's a lot of brilliantly drawn action sequences. Things seem pretty hopeless towards the end of the volume, and I was so on edge by that point, thinking of all the characters left who could die and all the worst case scenarios for them...and now I'm kind of wondering if the manga is going to follow the anime and just kill everyone. Things have largely deviated from the anime but....you never know. 

The ending leaves us on quite the cliffhanger, things aren't going to end well for Tatsumi, I think that's obvious to all of us, it's just a question of what's going to happen to him. The Minister has messed with the Emperor brats Teigu and...yeah. I mean he's probably a goner too? Basically the volume starts out mildly hopeful then throws us in to the pits of despair and leaves us with things looking hopeless.....the anticipation for the final volume has never been higher!

Manga: Akame Ga Kill! 13

Akame Ga Kill! Vol 13
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

As the final battle approaches, Imperial and rebel forces take steps to wipe out their deadliest enemies in advance in hopes of minimizing losses on the battlefield. Among the rebel's targets is Kurome, whose allegiance has still not wavered. Akame is resolved to give her beloved sister one last chance to turn from the wickedness of the Empire--if she refuses, she will Rest in Pieces!

This is quite the chunky volume, in fact I think it's the chunkiest one yet! It's for good reason too as this volume seems to be focusing on wrapping a couple of plot threads up before we head on in to the final battle. It's kind of like a pregame warmup! 

Tatsumi isn't looking so good at the start of the volume, and we're off the beaten path when it comes to what we know from the anime. Akame herself is off with a kill list to work her way through that ends in a confrontation with Wave. Wave himself is dealing with the fact that he's caught feelings and will do anything to prevent the face off between Akame and Kurome that finally comes about in this volume. 

There's plenty of action and the usual epic battle scenes with plenty of blood and gore. It was inevitable with this series, that things would be bloody, especially considering the big confrontation we're heading towards with Akame and Kurome. Who are more than a little bloodthirsty as we know! 

The tension is high, and we speed through the volume towards an equally speedy battle, the pace is brilliant for such a chunky volume! It was nice to have the volume end on an oddly heartwarming note though, considering things are going to get bloody and heartbreaking next volume when the final battle commences. This volume is like a nice little chance to breath before the inevitable blood and destruction of the next volume, relish it while you can! 

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Manga: Akame Ga Kill! 12

Akame Ga Kill! Vol 12
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The Night Raid faces a powerful enemy. The terrifying pair, Esdeath and Budo, block their path. Budo's lightning attacks keep the Night Raid a hair's breadth from danger... Will Tatsumi and the others survive the onslaught!? 

Fiiiinaaalllly the new volume is here! The wait for the new volume has been painful after the way last volume ended! As we start volume 12, there's no time to blubber about the events of the last volume. We're straight in with the action as Night Raid are fighting to get out and away safely without losing anyone else....and they're against two of their toughest opponents which means it's time to go all out. With some adverse effects. 

I've been waiting for one specific event to happen, so I was on edge for the entire volume I'm not going to lie. This volume diverges again from the anime so you still end up being surprised and there's some little bits in there that make the anime similar content even better! Especially for people who ship two specific characters! *wink wink* 

I have to say, I took some savage joy in seeing Dorothea get taken out.....Wicked Witch style. I may or may not have cackled to myself. This series just goes all out with making the villains particularly dislikable. 

This volume is packed full of action and we're really building up for what's promising to be an epic finale! Night Raid are down one more member and things aren't looking good for Tatsumi. Things have really broken away from the anime these past couple of volumes, some things are a bit similar but there's big differences coming in so I'm finding myself being more and more surprised and more on edge because I'm not sure how things are going to go! I'm even holding my breath at points! 

Volume 12 hit me right in the feels, and with how things are ramping up, there's not a great place to pause the action that doesn't have you groaning and shouting "WHY?!", but things are definitely starting to heat up as we enter the final stretch! 

Halloween Anime & Manga Recommendations

Hey guuyyss, Happy Autumn! And you know...Merry (early) Halloween!

So, I usually do a couple of recommendation blog posts for Halloween, I usually do books, but considering I've been posting about anime a lot more over on my Twitter and here on my blog, I thought I'd change things up this year and recommend some awesome anime shows for you watch in October! But that's not all, I'm going to be recommending you some manga too! I was going to do two separate posts but a lot of the manga I was going to rec have anime shows so I figured it'd be easier to combine the two! 

Don't worry, none of them are super scary, I pinky promise! 

Yokai Apartment Life (Anime)

For those of you who like your ghosts and ghouls cute, and not at all nightmare inducing then this is the show for you! It's on Crunchyroll and is only available subbed right now, but it's second cour is starting just this month yaaaay! Our MC Inaba is supposed to move in to his brand new apartment all ready for the new school year but certain events happen and he has to move in to the Yokai Apartments, the only other accommodation he can afford. Ghosts, ghouls, spirits and more all live there and Inaba's about to get to know them reaaaaalllly well....

Servamp (Anime/Manga)

If you like your vampires cute with the ability to turn in to even cuter animals then check out Servamp! It's available dubbed, and you can read it as a manga too! Servamps are servant vampires, and Mahiru's newly rescued, totally adorable cat Kuro, turns out to be the Servamp known as Sleepy Ash. Also known as Sloth. He's one of the seven deadly Servamps and it turns out they have an eighth sibling who's out to start a war... 

D. Gray Man (Anime/Manga)

Exorcists abound in this nicely creepy anime! The comedy helps keep it light so it's creepy without being terrifying. It's also totally Halloween appropriate! You can read it as a manga or watch it as an anime! It's dubbed and totally bingeable. Allen Walker is sent to the Black Order, an organisation or Exorcists who fight the Akuma and the one who creates them, The Millennium Earl. Allen's all set to become an official Exorcist, just in time for the Order to have a showdown with the Earl who's latest plan will just destroy the world. No big deal. 

Seraph of the End (Anime/Manga)

More vampires, because Halloween! These ones aren't as cute as the Servamp ones, but they're not so bad to look at either! Watch it or read it, it's perfect for your Halloween vampire needs. Set in a dystopian wold where a virus has wiped out most people over the age of 13, and vampires emerged from the darkness to take over. Yuu and his friends from the orphanage are treated as livestock for the vampires, and Yuu dreams of killing them all. So it's just as well he manages to escape the vampires, and runs straight in to the waiting arms of the Imperial Demon Army...who's entire purpose is to wipe out the vampires and take back the world for mankind. 

Blue Exorcist (Anime/Manga)

Another entry that you can read or watch! The anime has two seasons the first is dubbed, as is the movie, and the second season is subbed on Crunchyroll or dubbed on Hulu! Demons, Exorcists....I love watching this at Halloween I'm not going to lie! Rin's an ordinary guy...until he's ambushed one day by demons and he discovers that he's the son of Satan and his dad wants him to come back and help run the family business. Rin's not quite feeling that plan, especially after tragedy strikes, and he decides to enter True Cross Academy in order to train to become an Exorcist alongside his twin brother Yukio...

Akame Ga Kill! (Anime/Manga)

This anime/manga series is full of blood, death and despair. Literally everyone dies, so don't get your hopes up! The manga is a couple of volumes away from being completed so the anime has it's own ending and veers slightly from the manga as far as I can tell. You can also read the Akame Ga Kill Zero manga, the prequel which is actually more bloody and graphic than the main series. The series follows Night Raid, the group of covert assassin's belonging to the Revolutionary Army, who's sole purpose is to overthrow the Minister who's controlling the young Emperor and making things pretty crappy for everyone. Tatsumi joins the merry band of killers who happen to have interesting special skills, as they face off against the Empire in this blood soaked series.

Black Clover (Anime/Manga)

Black Clover's a manga series that has literally just started airing it's anime adaption! It's one of the magical entries on this list! Not scary as far as I'm aware, it features two boys who've been friends since they where children who are both determined to become Emperor Magus. However one is a genius with magic and the other...not so much. When the time comes to receive their Grimoires one gets a special one while the other....again, not so much. However, the truth about his power is soon revealed....

Fairy Tail (Anime/Manga)

Okay so you guys probably knew this was coming because this is one of my favourite series ever! The manga is just coming to an end, and word on the street is the final story arc is going to be getting an anime adaption! I'm still waiting for the new movie to be available to watch though! Fairy Tail is the lightest of the light. It makes the Halloween list on the grounds of magic. Aaalll the magic! There's fights, fun and general awesomeness. Fairy Tail follows notorious mage guild...Fairy Tail, obviously as they venture through their magical world saving the day and taking out the bad guys, foiling nefarious plots left, right and centre. Personally my favourite arc is the Grand Magic Games because of all the different magic and badass fight scenes. From around then, it gets a little bit darker too! There's like...6 or 7 season to watch plus one movie...I'm not sure when the newest movie is available! 

Soul Eater (Anime/Manga)

Okaaaay I haven't actually watched or read this series yet, but I've been reliably informed that it's brilliant and totally good for Halloween! It is on my watch list, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet! I'm hoping I'll have time this month! Set in Death City, the home of the famous Death Weapon Meister Academy headed by Lord Death himself, a Shinigami. It's mission is to raise Death Scythes for the Shinigami to wield against the evils of the world. 

Tokyo Ghoul (Anime/Manga)

Another that I haven't personally read/watched, but it's been on my watch list forever. It's dark and gritty and plenty bloody as far as I'm aware, and is a great Halloween watch...or read. Up to you! It's pretty much described as a horror manga so...it fits! Tokyo has become a cruel and merciless city, a place where vicious creatures called Ghouls exist alongside humans. The citizens live in constant fear of these creatures and their thirst for human flesh. Unfortunately they can pose as humans and blend in with society all too well. 

Deadman Wonderland (Anime/Manga)

Fancy an action and horror anime/manga this Halloween? Deadman Wonderland is worth checking out! Ganta and his class are heading out on a field trip to Deadman Wonderland, a prison amusement park where the inmates perform dangerous acts for the onlookers amusement. But things go south pretty quickly for Ganta when his entire class is massacred by a man in red and he's framed for it. He's sentenced to death and gets to spend some quality time in the place he was supposed to just be visiting. And what's more...the prison likes to play games. 

Ghost Diary (Manga)

So, I read this and reviewed it for Seven Seas because it sounded intriguing, and I do love a bit of Supernatural. This was actually way darker than I was expecting though, and way creepier and it was pretty bloody brilliant! 
Sukami is born in to an exorcist family and his older sister is an expert, even putting together a notebook detailing how to handle each of the monsters she's come across. One day Sukami and his friends in the Occult Club go to investigate a supposedly cursed shrine...but he ends up needing to be rescued by his sister. Shortly after, she goes missing, presumed to be dead, leaving her brother with nothing but her notebook. Sukami remains in the club, and remains dedicated to searching for his sister as he grows up. Then finally, his search starts to make some progress....





The Case Study of Vanitas (Manga)

Right folks, this is one of my favourite manga series and you should all check it out because it's brilliant! It's by the same creator as Pandora's Heart and the art is stunning. Seriously. The characters are brilliant, the world is interesting, and the art is absolutely gorgeous, I'm loving it! It's also perfect for Halloween... 

Once upon a time there lived a vampire known as Vanitas, he was hated by his own kind for being born under a blue full moon, as most arise on the night of a crimson one. Alone and afraid he creates the 'Book of Vanitas' a cursed grimoire that would one day take his vengeance on all vampires. Or so the story goes.

Paris. 19th Century. We follow Noé, travelling to find the Book of Vanitas. Luckily for him a vampire attack leads to him meeting Vanitas, a doctor who specialises in vampires and turns out to be a normal human. He's inherited not only the name but the book and uses the latter to heal his patients. But behind the facade is something sinister....

Twin Star Exorcists (Manga/Anime)

Okay, I've read the manga but I've not watched the anime, it's available subbed and last I heard it was being dubbed, but I'm fairly sure it's going to veer away from the manga judging by how many episodes it has! There's a tonne of fighting, demons and some intriguing plot points. It's pretty light, don't worry! 
Rokuro is from a family of exorcists, but he'd rather be a soccer player, or anything but an exorcist. When Benio arrives, he's forced to own up to his own potential as she gets his back right up and ignites the competitive spirit in him. Their rivalry takes a twist however, when it's revealed they're the Twin Star Exorcists...

Yokai Rental Shop (Manga)

This is on my list to buy as soon as it's out, and it's going to be out just in time for Halloween! Seeing as this is the first volume and I'm waiting for its release, I can't say much about it other than it sounds interesting, and the art looks pretty good! So it should be a fun Halloween read! 

Hiiragi is lonely, so it's quite the stroke of luck when he discovers he has a long lost half-brother, and he decides to meet the man. Unfortunately he's in for a bit of a shock. His brother is the proprietor of a pet shop...with a twist. The pet shop is a front for supernatural rentals. Customers in the know can rent out Yokai to perform supernatural deeds. But there is a catch...they have to forge a contract written in blood....






Aaaannndd in case you prefer lighter anime or manga for Halloween, and Fairy Tail isn't enough here's a couple of humorous and not at all scary in any way shows you can watch, or read if you prefer the manga. They're kinda Halloween-ish if you squint, featuring the demons and so on...but being a lot lighter and funnier than anything else on this list, and not really creepy or too dark. 

Beasts of Abigaile (Manga)

So this is one of the newer manga that's just come out, and I haven't had a chance to read it yet but it's a supernatural series, with some action and romance and will be perfect for anyone who wants to read something kind of in the spirit of Halloween without it being overly Halloween-y...if that makes sense! 

Nina has arrived in the beautiful country of Ruberia, populated by charming citizens and featuring some lush scenery. It's like a fairy tale...until she gets bitten by a young man with wolf ears. Nina promptly finds herself growing a set of her own furry ears and is whisked away to the prison of Abigaile where all of her kind are sent...







Devils and Realist (Anime/Manga)

The anime's on Crunchyroll if you're in the mood for watching rather than reading! It's only available subbed though! So, this is super light. There's demons...devils whatever you want to call them, and there's some occult rituals courtesy of William's little friend but it's not scary at all. There's one episode that could be classed as "mildly creepy", there's a lot of humour in this series! 
William Twining is from an aristocratic family, and with his high intelligence he's certainly going places! Unfortunately for him, his Uncle's business has failed, losing the family fortune. Needing to pay for his tuition, William returns home to search for anything of value that's worth some cash. It's not long before he stumbles across a hidden room created by an ancestor, and the room's prime feature is a magic circle. Luck just isn't with William and he accidentally summons a devil..specifically Dantalion. Turns out William is a descendant of Solomon and it's his job to choose the new acting ruler of the demon world. Shame then, that William is a staunch realist and doesn't believe in devils and demons. 

The Devil is a Part-Timer (Anime/Manga)

This one is pretty much solidly a comedy, and both the anime and manga are freaking hilarious. If you want a laugh this Halloween, while still being able to call it a "Halloween" appropriate watch/read..then this is for you. 
The Demon Lord Satan got a bit too cocky and tried to conquer the land of Ente Isla with his vast demon armies. The Hero Emilia leaps to defend her fellow mortals and Satan finds himself retreating through the first portal he can find along with his loyal general Alciel. The pair find themselves stranded in modern day Tokyo, and vow to return and conquer Ente Isla once they've figured out how to get back. Powerless in a world free from magic, Satan finds himself posing as a human and having to get a job....at MgRonalds. He soon finds himself determined to climb the corporate ladder, and then...ruler of Earth. And one day he might even be able to afford a TV. 

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Manga: Akame Ga Kill Vol 11

Akame Ga Kill Vol 11
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

During a covert mission, Tatsumi and Lubbock are captured by Syura, who intends to make amends for his team's failures with it but the Wild Hunt is disbanded after Esdeath exposes his past crimes, and while interrogating Lubbock, he is killed by him. While attempting to escape, Lubbock is killed and after refusing to join her side, Tatsumi is sentenced to death, but when the time for his execution comes, his companions from Night Raid appear to rescue him.

Things are really starting to pick up in Akame Ga Kill, even more so than before as we start to head towards the end of the series. Everything's ramping up, there's more blood, more action and more character deaths and this volume completely broke my heart by killing one of my favourite characters. 

More and more of the volumes feature content not from the anime, so we're starting to get surprised by the twists and turns again, and in this volume there's some familiar content...but it's been changed and switched up and only really bears a passing resemblance. A certain character dies in a completely different way to the anime, and we get some romance in this volume too which wasn't present in the anime that I can remember. 

I ship Mine and Tatsumi so bad and they're genuinely so cute together, they provide some romance and lightness to a story that's getting heavier and heavier. Although that could all be about to come crashing down providing the manga follows the anime in regards to what happens to Mine. I'm also shipping Wave and Kurome even though I don't really like Kurome all that much as a character. 

I will forever be gutted about Run, I'm not going to lie! And my poor little Lubbock, I actually got choked up! I've been so excited for Syura to die, I actually wrote on my review notes "can we just kill Syura already?" when I was at the beginning of the volume and well....job done. He and his merry band of psychopaths have been terrorising everyone and honestly...they so deserve what's coming to them. Dorthea is up to nothing good, although I'm kind of intrigued by what she's doing. 

Esdeath continues to have me completely torn, I kinda like her. She protects her team, she's good to them and there for them and everything, she saved Tatsumi....sort of. And I get her, I get where she's coming from with her feelings for Tatsumi it's hard not to empathise with her on that front, even though she really doesn't get the message, but she's also one of the bad guys. I kinda want her to come over to Night Raid already. But I really don't think she will. 

Akame Ga Kill Vol 11 proves that no character is safe, if we hadn't figured that out already as yet another favourite dies. There's more blood, dismemberment and general ick and everythings ramping up as we start to get ready for the finale. I am so not ready. Everytime I read Akame, I'm on edge and so tense waiting to see who's going to die next, and how it's all going to end. The thing is, I genuinely can't predict what's going to happen in this manga, so I'm always surprised by the twists and turns that pop up, except for the few familiarities from the anime...but even then I can't be sure that things are going to end the same way as the anime, or things will go the same way for the characters because things are getting more and more different! 

My one gripe? This volume completely broke my heart, but then there was the cuteness that was Mine and Tatsumi and then we where settling in for some seriously badass action courtesy of the ladies of Night Raid and then....boom. End of the volume. Like...it starts to get really good and tense and then it's like "bye. See you in OCTOBER." ....you can't just leave me hanging like that! 

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Manga: Akame Ga Kill! Zero Vol 5

Akame Ga Kill! Zero, Vol 5
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Akame and her allies are on a mission to find the Revolutionary Army, but standing in their way is the leader of the Oarburgh Assassin's group! How will Akame overcome such a dangerous adversary? 

I'd expand on the synopsis usually but I really don't want to spoil the volume! All I'm going to say is that we're on the trail of the Revolutionary Army and things get.....grim. Very grim. Each volume gets more and more grim/rough whatever word you want to use. This volume has the grossest of gross deaths, I'm not going to lie! In case you weren't already aware, this series is certainly not for teens and this volume illustrates why, perfectly. 

The thing is.....I know what's going to happen to all of these characters from AGK, and so it makes reading some things really hard. Like scenes with Akame and her sister. And other scenes with other characters. Like as you can tell from the cover, we see Chelsea this volume and learn a smidge about her past and I was like waaaaa Chelsea! Green makes a confession and I'm like...bro...that's so not going to end well. 

My point is, we all know who's going to die, and we all know what happens to these characters, but it still manages to be devastating when a character dies because throughout these volumes we're made to care about them so much and this, and this volume in particular, is why I refer to AKG and AKGZ as the Game of Thrones of the manga world. Seriously. 

This volume moves at a great pace, there's some great links to the main series via Akame. Paper crafts anyone? And there are some brilliantly crazy characters to go with all the action. I kinda miss Esdeath. This volume really earned it's cellophane wrapper too. Seriously. Grossest death. *barf* and other stuff...but grossest death.  

I'm so intrigued and excited for volume 6. Well....mostly excited. I mean...on the one hand there's probably going to be a lot of bloody deaths in the next volume. And by probably I mean there totally will be. But on the other hand....a certain character may or may not still be alive. Like the chances are slim. But. We'll see.....who am I kidding. This is AKGZ. They're totally dead. *sobs* 

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