Execution Division

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## Debuts

### Manga Debut

*Akudama Drive Comicalize* Volume 1, Chapter 9

The **Execution Division** or **Kansai Execution Department** (処刑課 *Shokei-ka*) is a department above the police in Kansai. Its members, also known as "Executioners", have a "license to kill" and they work with the law to execute all Akudama.

## Appearance

Members of the Execution Division, or Executioners, wear a similar white Imperial Japanese Army and police-inspired military uniform with black details and accessories, with either a skirt or trousers as its lower garment. More experienced members of the Division are shown to have a slightly different version of the uniform with red shoulder pads and cuffs, and younger members appear to wear a grey version of the regular uniform. Aside from their Boss, the Executioners also wear a red belt, which they use to carry their weapon, an energy sword.

## Description

### In Episode 3

During their broadcast, in Episode 3, Bunny and Shark introduce the Execution Division Department.

### In the beginning of Episode 12

During their broadcast, in the beginning of Episode 12, Bunny and Shark encourage the Kansai population to support the Executioners.

### In the end of Episode 12

Near the end of the episode, the Bunny and Shark broadcast was hacked, making the two of them give a completely different interpretation of the Executioners' work.

## History

### The duo against the Akudama

    In Episode 2, the Executioners are first mentioned to the police Inspector in charge of the scene at Seven-Star Hotel *Geisha and Dancing Girls*, in which the Akudama's flying bus crashed, as HQ communicates to his team that two Executioners are on their way. He appears surprised, as he did not request any help. In the manga, he claims that their arrival "speaks volumes about how strong those Akudama are".

The two Executioners, Master and Apprentice, find the Akudama inside and show them their "license to kill" before engaging in a fight. They lose the fight however, and are forced to stay behind.

At the start of Episode 3, the Master and his Apprentice face their Boss in the War Room Cabaret of the Execution Department HQ. She requests an explanation for their failure, and the Apprentice immediately apologizes, but the Master interrupts her to say they "don't have any excuse" and that "next time, they won't fail". The Boss replies that it is the Execution Division's duty "to remove the dregs of society" and offers to send backup, but he refuses, repeating that they will not fail again. He then reveals that they found out information about the Akudama's mission while they were at the hotel.

At the start of Episode 4, the two Executioners, following the Akudama, arrive too late to the station and find that the Shinkansen has left with their targets inside. The Master orders his Apprentice to continue to pursue them with him, which she enthusiastically agrees to. Soon afterwards, they ambush the Akudama in the Shinkansen and proceed to fight them once more. The Apprentice easily gets knocked out, but eventually responds to her Master when he calls out to her claiming that those who can't execute the dregs of society "don't deserve the clothes", and stands up to continue fighting. They lose the fight once again however when the Courier uses his bike's laser to separate their cars, separating the both of them for the head of the train.

In Episode 5, the Master and his Apprentice wake up in a hospital and discuss the fate of the Akudama. In a separate place, the Kansai Special Communication Room, however, the Boss faces her superiors, who inform her that the Akudama are still alive and that they stole "something that was meant to be delivered to Kanto", and shame her for her Division's failure. Later, she visits her two subordinates to announce that they have utterly failed, and are hereby suspended. As soon as she leaves, the Apprentice suggests to her Master to take responsibility and do something about the Akudama on their own, but he insists that orders are orders, "end of story". Afterwards, the Boss addresses all Executioners and declares a search and destroy of the seven Akudama. She claims that "Executioners must be the ultimate threat", "Executioners must be the enforcers of justice" and insists that their targets must be killed, continuing that "as Executioners, that is the purpose of their existence".

    Having listened to the order, the Apprentice tries to talk to her Master, only to discover that he disappeared from his bed.

He is then seen at the Execution Department HQ's Monument Hall placing his hand on the monument to the dead, before turning up to the Akudama's location to fight them on his own.

At the beginning of Episode 6, the Master is seen facing the Akudama, assuring he will kill them to avoid tarnishing his name. While his Apprentice leaves the hospital to look for him, he engages in a fight with all of them. Most of them end up running away together, however, leaving behind the Brawler, who decides to fight him one on one. In the meantime, the Apprentice confronts their Boss, who reveals that she knows for a fact that the Master is prepared to die, and explains that she was the one to change the Executioners into a two-man system in order to lessen their casualty rate by giving them a reason to live. She claims that they barely differ from Akudama. Growing to enjoy the fight, the Master eventually gives his life to kill the Brawler, and the Apprentice finds him dying on the Old Kansai Bridge in Kizu Valley before getting attacked by the Hoodlum. She later wakes up in the hospital once again to discover that she lost her right eye.

### The insurrection

In Episode 7, the Boss, along with a large group of Executioners, show up at the site of the rocketship. She requests that her subordinates get in position, and reveals that she collaborated with the Doctor. When the offering to Kanto, the Brother, tries to run away, claiming that he and his sister will go to the moon, the Boss reveals that the moon he sees is a hologram. As he falls to his knees in shock, and the Doctor catches him again, the Boss turns to the Akudama and, showing her "license to kill", announces that they shall be executed, cueing her subordinates to attack them. The Akudama manage to fight them off, however, and the Brother pushes his sister and the Swindler inside the rocket, giving himself in to the Executioners. In exchange for the Doctor's collaboration, the Boss removes her from the Akudama list.

In Episode 8, the Boss faces her superiors in the Kansai Special Communication Room once again. They congratulate her for recovering the offering to Kanto, but shame her for letting the Akudama run once more, ordering her to have them all executed, and announcing that her punishment will depend on how she handles this request. She is later seen at the Monument Hall, where she called in the Apprentice to introduce her to her new partner, the Junior. The Apprentice does not want to work in a duo, but the Boss refuses to make an exception.

At the beginning of Episode 9, Bunny and Shark reveal that their last show could not air because it was hijacked by one of the Executioners' announcement. They start by saying that this is the price to pay for peace, but their show appears to be hacked in the middle of a sentence, and they suddenly say, instead, that they should be careful, because "the Executioners are all riled up" and that "when people with power get riled up, nothing good comes from it". Bunny starts to say "*Don't believe everything that-*", but he is interrupted and replaced by a reminder of the bounty on the Akudama's heads.

The Apprentice and her Junior are then seen in the Execution Department HQ's Child Confinement Room, guarding the Brother. He considers himself harmless, and the Apprentice agrees that she is annoyed to be stuck watching him, still, they continue to wait until he can be sent to Kanto again.

Later, the Boss is seen receiving reports from Executioners that an uprising of civilians has started. They inform her that the Swindler threatened to invade the city online, that there have been sightings of her, and that the Cutthroat has been going on a killing spree, leading a group of vigilante to hunt down and murder Akudama. She asks her subordinates to manage the situation before leaving to speak to the Police Chief. In the meantime, the Cutthroat shows up at the Execution Department HQ's Checkpoint #1 and kills its guards.

At the Kansai Police Station, in the Chief's office, the Boss refuses to investigate the situation and convinces the Chief to take care of the situation immediately, claiming this unrest was a bomb waiting to happen. She is interrupted by an emergency alert informing her that Akudama (the Swindler and Courier, who knocked out two Executioners) have invaded the Execution Department HQ. Inside the HQ, they find out that the Cutthroat wiped the place and murdered all the Executioners on his way. Later, they run into the Apprentice and the Junior right as they leave, with the Brother, aboard a helicopter.

    In Episode 10, inside the Execution Department Helicopter, the Apprentice and Junior are given the news that a civilian uprising is going on inside Kansai. The Junior mentions that everyone at HQ was killed, believing it to have served as an example, but the Brother tells him the Swindler would not kill for show. The Junior argues with him and asks his *senpai*, the Apprentice, for support, claiming the Akudama have to die because they "don't have hearts", to which the Apprentice replies that it is the Executioners' pride to kill Akudama, no matter the situation. They are told that their Boss is currently planning their response, and that they cannot afford more failure.

In the meantime, civilians attack the Police Station, complaining that the Police is supposed to protect them. Inside, the Boss requests that the Chief declare the insurgents Akudama. He refuses at first, but she insists that it will bring peace back to Kansai. She mentions that the Executioners cannot declare people Akudama themselves, and orders him to "give the word", which he eventually does. While the police robots start to turn against the civilians, now Akudama, the Boss and two Executioners head to the Entrance, where she orders them to Execute the attacking Akudama.

The Apprentice and Junior are then seen entering the Kansai Station with the Brother, but they are ambused by the Swindler and Courier, along with his sister. The Junior panicks, but the Apprentice closes the elevator doors in time to escape them, and tells him that all he has to do is to watch the kid, and she will execute the Akudama. While other Executioners are killing Akudama in the streets, they head towards the arriving Shinkansen. The Junior prays to it, and the Brother remarks that even Executioners are fanatics, but the Apprentice interrupts him to point him to his ride, the vault. Right as the Junior locks him in, the Courier, Swindler and Sister arrive, and the Swindler claims to be here to steal the Brother. The Apprentice sends the vault to the Shinkansen, and the two get ready to fight them, but they are interrupted by the Doctor who barges with the Hoodlum, having tracked the other Akudama. Recognizing the Hoodlum, who took her eye, the Apprentice points her sword towards him, but the Doctor approaches them, knowing that as she is not an Akudama anymore, they are not allowed to kill her. She goes to the Junior and puts a needle through his heart, which is attached to a string she holds, threatening to yank it to stop his heart. Unable to kill her, else she become the Akudama, in order to protect the Junior, the Apprentice stops the vault on its way in order to bring it, at her request, to the Doctor.

While the Apprentice walks to the vault to retrieve it, the Doctor requests that before she does, she executes the Swindler and Hoodlum. She refuses at first, but the Doctor tugs on the string, hurting the Junior as an example. In face of this threat, the Apprentice turns to execute the two Akudama, but she is interrupted by the Sister, who holds her in place. She asks why she is protecting her, but she hesitates long enough that when she raises her sword, the Courier has time to shoot it off from a distance. Upset, the Doctor tugs on the string once again, when the Apprentice receives a radio announcement that a crowd of civilians is rushing to the Kansai Station. The latter barge in and push everyone to get inside the Shinkansen, making the Doctor lose her grip on the string. Among the crowd, the Apprentice runs to the Junior, who asks her to pull out the needle, but remembering her Master, she refuses to let him die.

### The final act

In Episode 11, the Junior is in the hospital, with the Apprentice by his side. He asks what happened to those who boarded inside the Shinkansen, but she does not know. He then asks about the uprising, at which point she tells him to check the Akudama list, where he sees that out of a new number of 5626 Akudama, 1852 had been executed during the last 13 hours and 16 minutes. She explains that the rioters were declared Akudama by the Boss and executed. As she does, a little girl is seen holding a corpse's hand in front of Kansai Station before being grabbed and thrown away by a person cleaning up the bodies. Shocked by the news, the Junior asks what makes someone an Akudama, but the Apprentice is not shown answering.

The Boss is then seen facing her superiors in the Kansai Special Communication Room once more, being congratulated for handling the uprising so well.

At the end of the episode, the Junior and Apprentice are seen looking towards the Shinkansen as it gets destroyed by drones on its way back from Tokyo. From this point on, the Apprentice wears a version of her uniform with red shoulder pads, seen on more experienced members of the Execution Division.

In the beginning of Episode 12, Bunny and Shark explain to their viewers that the Executioners are working hard to eliminate the Akudama. Later, a group of four Executioners appear at the site of the explosion, searching for the Courier and Swindler. The Swindler shows up, and claims to be an ordinary person, but while one believes her and complains that they should have evacuated first, another one checks the Akudama list and confirms that it is indeed her. She stills insists that she is an ordinary person, but one of them jumps to execute her. Without the Executioners' knowledge, the scene was being filmed and broadcasted to the citizens of Kansai. From the Chief's Office at the Police Station, the Boss congratulates the Executioners and sends robots after the Courier, who is accompanied by the offerings, the Brother and Sister.

Upon seeing the Shinkansen be destroyed, the Junior looks horrified, and turns to the Apprentice, confused, but he is interrupted by a call from their Boss, who insists that her orders were the right thing to do. The Junior tries to question her order to destroy the Shinkansen, but to her, the Shinkansen itself was not important. She asks them to continue with their mission. The Apprentice stays silent throughout the call, only to reply "yes" at the end.

    When the Courier reaches the Police Station, the Boss greets him, accompanied by six Executioners, two of them the Apprentice and Junior and announces that they will take back the offerings right after they kill him. She pulls out her "license to kill", and the Executioners, along with police officers, drones and robots, go after the Courier.

The Courier stops four of them, but is eventually injured, which the Boss believes to be checkmate. Right when the police officers and Junior get in position to execute him, the little girl from Episode 11 walks up on the scene. The Junior notices her, and the Boss asks him to move her. He runs to grab her by the shoulders, asking her what she is doing, but the little girl turns out to have been carrying a gun and shoots him in the chest. The Apprentice runs to apprehend her before she can shoot the Boss, trying to get her to let go of the gun, but the girl asks her why they killed her parents. Hearing the Junior breathe painfully, the Apprentice turns her head to him and asks that someone call a medic, when civilians walk in on the scene and start throwing molotov cocktails towards the Executioners.

A large group of civilians walk towards the Police Station holding up holograms stating that the Execution Division is murdering ordinary people. The little girl mentions her parents once more, as well as "that girl" (the Swindler) who said she was an ordinary person, and asks why they killed them. At this point, Bunny and Shark's broadcast is seen claiming that the Executioners are dangerous all over Kansai. The four Executioners to have been at the scene of the explosion hide in alley-way, upset that the video makes them look like Akudama. Someone throws a rock at the Boss, who turns around to see the Police Chief. She asks him to declare the civilians Akudama so she can give them the death penalty, but the Chief shoots himself. In the meantime, the Courier uses his bike's laser to destroy everything and everyone on his way and escapes with the children.

Inside Kansai, holograms are seen all over the place calling the Executioners "criminals", "Akudama" or "destroyers of peace" and calling for their elimination. Helicopters continue to follow the Courier but he, along with a program created by the Hacker to shut down the electricity in Kansai, manage to stop them before they reach the offerings.

After being tossed to the ground during her fight with the Courier, the Apprentice turns to see her Junior staying behind, not daring to participate in the battle. She hesitantly reaches for her Master's energy sword, which she keeps at her belt, but does nothing with it.

Later on, in the Director's Cut, with the Junior having been shot by the little girl and the civilians having started their uprising at the station, the Apprentice, still holding onto the girl, is seen hyperventilating, watching the Junior, then the Courier, Brother and Sister, in slow-motion. She sees the Sister pick up her own energy sword, still lying on the ground where she was initially pushed by the Courier, and aim it in her direction. She realizes that this isn't right, and it turns out to be a hallucination, as the Sister was actually climbing on the Courier's bike.

The Courier, carrying the Brother and Sister on his bike, destroys the station's tower and starts to run away, when the Boss jumps out of the chaos and dust to kill him with an energy sword by herself. He continues to go forward, however, and the Boss is stopped by the Apprentice who lunges towards her to bring her to the ground.

With the Courier already gone, the Boss stands up and punches the Apprentice before ordering drones to go after him and the offerings. When that is done, she asks the Apprentice why she took the risk to stop her, and the latter turns to her and questions her order to execute the Akudama. She claims not to know why her Master wanted to kill the Akudama on his own, but that she was ready to put her life on the line to defend what she believed in. The Boss is shocked by what she says, and interrupts her to claim that they believe in the same justice, but the Apprentice yells that it is not the case and grabs her by the hair to show her the state of the city around them ; everything is burning and silhouettes are seen walking around like zombies. The little girl reappears, gun in hand, and aims at the Boss once more. As the Apprentice tells her that this is what the Execution Division does and asks her if the girl is supposed to be an Akudama, the latter prepares to shoot, and the Boss hides her face in fear, but the Junior jumps to hug the little girl.

He apologizes to her, and she stands still in shock for a second before starting to cry and dropping the gun. The Apprentice drops bullets to the ground, revealing she had already emptied the gun's barrel. The Boss stares at the ground, in shock, while she gets up to talk to the Junior, who is still holding the girl, the both of them crying. She congratulates him though she calls him an idiot, and asks that he does not die, because there is a lot of work left to do. He accepts it, calling her "Master". Remembering her Master's last words, she grabs his sword at her belt and looks to the sky.

The little girl cries as she drops the gunThe Apprentice looks to the sky, remembering her Master
## Gallery

The Apprentice preparing for combat in Episode 2The Master in Episode 3Bunny and Shark introduce the Execution Division Department in Episode 3The Master preparing for combat in Episode 6An Executioner attacking the Courier in Episode 7The Boss and two Executioners in Episode 10Three Executioners, one of them the Junior, preparing for combat in Episode 12

## References

1. ↑ Character designer Cindy Yamauchi on Twitter: *"The costumes of the Execution Division were based on the Imperial Japanese Army and police officers. [...]"*