Having watched (and loved) the three big Gainax shows, it was about time that I finally started watching some Studio Trigger anime. And what's a better place to start than the next show from the creators of Gurren Lagann: Kill La Kill?
Kill La Kill starts with protagonist Ryuko Matoi appearing at Honnuji Academy, a school ruled by its student council, with the goal of finding the one who killed her father. The first half of the show is a fairly episodic battle anime as Ryuko faces off against the academy's clubs and work her way up to the student council president Satsuki. However, halfway through the series, the real villain Ragyo (aka Satsuki's mom) reveals herself and the story changes to a much larger-scale war. I think the core story is pretty good, with a lot of really effective twists that frequently changes things up. And unlike TTGL, I actually think the second half of Kill La Kill is far better than the first. However, the sheer amount of twists means the series can be pretty manic and ridiculous at times, to the point where it's a bit tough to follow what's going on. The ever increasing Life Fibers lore is particularly convoluted and messy. While I was definitely compelled by the story and twists, Kill La Kill isn't the best-crafted anime out there. Thankfully, that's not much of a problem, as Kill La Kill always makes sure to never take things too seriously. This series can be downright hilarious, especially when it comes to Mako's antics. The comedic timing is top-notch, and the cartoonish animation and bonkers plot means the series is always entertaining.
Despite the pretty insane plot, the characters mostly manage to be pretty memorable. Ryuko is the biggest highlight for me, having become one of my favorite anime characters ever. Aside from her motivation falling in line with my love of revenge storylines, she's also incredibly badass and confident, gets some great character development as she slowly makes friends throughout the series, and is surprisingly fleshed out. I also really liked her friend, Mako. Most of her scenes were absolutely hilarious due to her frequently locking herself out of the loop, but she's also a genuinely kind person and the heart of the team. Ryuko and Mako's relationship was one of the show's highlights, they naturally become closer as the series goes on culminating in the two going on a date in the finale. The student council is a really eclectic group of characters who start off as entertaining villains and end the series as badass and fantastic friends to Ryuko, especially the fleshed-out Satsuki. And then there's the villains. While Ragyo is definitely detestable as a good villain should be, I think the show went a bit too far with her. She's a special kind of awful, especially in how she treats Satsuki. Nui, on the other hand, was absolutely fantastic. Her innocent design and voice contrast her trollish and cruel personality perfectly, and the moment she storms onto the scene and reveals she killed Ryuko's father was such a massive boost of quality for the series. If it wasn't for Ryuko, she'd absolutely be my favorite character.
However, when taking about Kill La Kill, I have to bring up the elephant in the room: Fanservice. I don't bring this up in reviews too much, but I don't like fanservice in anime. Aside from the sexist male gaze aspect, it rarely ever suits the story. That's why it's called fanservice, it's just for the people who want to see big boobs. Kill La Kill, on the other hand, is in a whole different ballpark. There is a lot of (albeit censored) nudity in this series, from both genders. Characters take off and lose their clothes constantly, to the point where it kinda borders around to being funny again, there's just something so cartoonish about all of it. Despite this, I can't quite say there isn't a purpose to all of it. The show is pretty heavily build on its themes on individuality and how clothing can be used as a source of power (like in the case of school uniforms), not to mention themes of coming of age, sexuality, and fashion. Don't get me wrong, though, there are definitely some instances of fanservice just for the sake of it, plenty of jokes that really rubbed me the wrong way, and the fact that a whole bunch of these characters are teens. This series can be pretty problematic at times, for sure. However, with the fact that a lot of the nudity is there to progress the story and its themes, I was pretty surprised by how little of it actually phased me, especially near the end. Frankly, I think I had a bigger problem with the sheer amount of needles and stitches, those just grossed me out. While I don't think I'll ever change my mind of anime fanservice, I admire the attempt to use such an awful trope as a tool to tell a story.
Back to the positives, I love the animation in Kill La Kill. I get that on an objective level, it's probably not very good. The FPS is low, plenty of scenes use tweening and stiff motion, and the CGI can look pretty bad at times. However, the animation is so ridiculously cartoonish, stylistic, and expressive. The anime makes great use of smear frames and inventive visuals to make it look better animated than it is, and for the most part, I think it remains an absolute joy to look at. The action is particularly fantastic, it's dynamic, bombastic, and incredibly fun. Much of the fight scenes blend 2D animation with CGI pretty well, resulting in a bunch of really cool-looking long take sequences. Similarity to TTGL, I think a lot of the designs are inconsistent. The characters look great and I love the design of the scissor blades, but the decision to base everything off of clothing (or the lack thereof) make things like the Kamui, Nudist Beach suits, and COVERs look kinda silly. On the other hand, I love the music in Kill La Kill. This is my first Sawano soundtrack, but he made a hell of an impression. The intense background music, the random appearances of classical music, the mix of genres, the vocal tracks, all of it was top-notch. Highlights include Nui and Ragyo's themes, Before My Body Is Dry, the first ending theme, and the final boss theme, but the whole soundtrack ranks as one of my favorites in anime.
The entire second half of Kill La Kill is nearly perfect, but these episodes are a particular highlight:
I'm Not Your Cute Woman: Nui's first appearance was a hell of an impactful one, as she bursts into the scene, takes out Uzu with a single stroke, and casually reveals she killed Ryuko's father, hijacking the entire tournament. The last six minutes or so were all incredibly well-executed, but even the rest of the episode had some pretty strong action.
Spit Your Sadness Away: While Kill La Kill definitely had blood in it, this entire episode was a literal bloodbath, as in the entire school was flat-out bathed in it. This episode was just intense, from the backstory of how Ryuko's father died, to Senketsu getting provoked into turning Ryuko into a monster, to the reveal that Satsuki is partially responsible. But at least Mako was there to add some levity and heartfelt moments as she was the one to turn Ryuko back.
Tell Me Why: Similarly to I'm Not Your Cute Woman, this is a great episode made even better by its ending, as Satsuki literally stabbing Ragyo in the back was such a shocking twist that completely recontextualizes her actions from the first two thirds of the series. Not to mention that this episode kicks off the near flawless streak up until the finale.
Into The Night: The first big battle with Ragyo definitely lived up to the buildup. We learn the truth about Satsuki's plans, the Elite Four gets to fight Nui, Ryuko and Satsuki both fight Ragyo, and the episode ends with the massive reveal that Ryuko is made of Life Fibers and that she's Ragyo's daughter (and by extension Satsuki's sister).
Far From The Madding Crowd/Incomplete: These two episodes fit more as a two-parter, but they're both excellent. Ryuko's grief and anger after learning she's Ragyo's daughter is incredibly compelling, and having Satsuki use Senketsu to try and save Ryuko is a fun way to switch up the dynamics for their final battle together.
Tell Me How You Feel: Probably my favorite episode of the series, this was just nonstop payoffs and fanservice (the good type). Ryuko gets Senketsu back, Nui loses her arms, Mako gets her fight club uniform back, Ryuko dual wields scissor blades, Satsuki finally apologizes, the main cast gets a cute celebratory dinner together, and the episode ends with a badass dual transformation with Satsuki and Ryuko.
Imitation Gold: The first part of the final battle with Ragyo is stuffed to the brim with fantastic aerial action, with most of the cast getting the chance to get some hits in, and I love that Nui has gotten so unhinged that she straight-up hijacks the credits.
Past The Infinite Darkness: Ending the series on an incredibly strong note, the big final battle was incredibly satisfying. The action was great, the character moments was impactful, and aside from Senketsu's death, the series ended on a categorically happy note. And I already wrote about how happy Ryuko and Mako going on a date makes me.
Overall, Kill La Kill is kind of a mess. It's not super well-plotted and can be pretty problematic at points, but it's also one of the most bonkers and fun anime I've ever seen. The characters, the twists, the animation, the action, the comedy, and the music are all fantastic, and it made for a series that I don't think I'll be forgetting anytime soon.
4.5/5 Stars
Favorite Episode: Tell Me How You Feel
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