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!