Why is Akame the center of attention? Akame is just an ordinary member of Night Raid. She doesn't have an integral role in the plot, and she is not an essential character: her absence wouldn't had changed the framework of the story significantly.

Though she did fight an amazing battle, this doesn't seem like it should differentiate her from the others, because all the other members did the same thing. The only difference is that 


  she fought Esdeath, the primary antagonist, and ultimately survived.


However, on the other hand, the show is named after her. In addition, the opening and ending is full of portrayals of her. She takes most of the attention, but she doesn't seem to display a leading role.

Why is she emphasized so much, especially over the other characters?
Very late to the party here, but as a writer, I can say that the "POV" and the "protagonist" are not the same thing, even though ~99% of the time in stories, shows, or films the POV character is in fact the protagonist.

It's hard to say for certain if it was intentional, but this makes it even more emotionally impactful when Tatsumi dies.

Gave this show additional rewatch value for me knowing that Akame is, in fact, the main character. Besides Tatsumi, she has the most character growth.