This episode had a nice air of relevancy and competence to it: all of the scenes had a discernible purpose that aided either our understanding of the characters and the messed-up world they inhabit or both, starting with the cold open, when intruders are on Night Raid’s doorstep.
It provides some group combat experience for Tatsumi, It shows off all of the members’ unique skills, and it illustrates the constant vigilance required to preserve their operation. The Prime Minister, who has the young emperor wrapped around his little finger, is gunning for Night Raid, and there’s plenty of mercs out there willing to try their hand at capturing them.
Of course, the focus of this episode was Tatsumi butting heads with the pink-loving master sniper Mine. From the moment he barges in to her room while she’s changing (of course), she wants nothing to do with the newbie, but just as Tatsumi warmed to Akame in the last episode, Mine gradually comes around to acknowledging him “a little bit.”
But before that comes their mission to “investigate the capital city’s conditions”; in other words, go shopping, as Tatsumi angrily points out. Still, as the intruder raid reminded, any or all members of Night Raid could die tomorrow, so Mine is fully committed to playing as hard as she works, enjoying her time off to the fullest, which makes sense.
The trip to the capital also allows Tatsumi a chance to see through it’s ornate sheen to the suffering and despair the majority of citizens are going through. as a result of the crummy, brutal government, which holds public crucifixions just ’cause. I will say, the Minister Onest himself is a bit over-the-top evil-wise, promising to “take care” a subordinate’s comely wife as he sends him away to be drawn and quartered.
The Minister also has relatives, like Iokal, who lives in a garish monstrosity of a mansion with a harem of women he and his guards beat and rape to death when he’s in the mood. You gotta leave it to AGK, it doesn’t leave any room for you to sympathize with the bad guys! They will rape All Of The Women if not stopped. But when dispatching them is as satisfying to watch as it was here, that hardly matters whether there’s any good in them…which there isn’t.
Mine does the dispatching of Iokal with her trusty Imperial Arm Pumpkin, a sniper rifle on steroids. When the fifth of his five elite guards tries to get the jump on her, Tatsumi is there to be her shield. He holds the guard (another one who threatens rape) down so she can put a big hole in him; Mission Complete, Let’s Go Eat.
So Tatsumi is two-for-two in proving himself. Leone and Balut seem to already like the guy, so that leaves Lubbock and Sheele. There’s also an Imperial Arm bearer freshly arrived in the Capital who wants to tangle with Akame & Co and loves his killin’. We’ll see how long he lasts.
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