Kill La Kill review
The year was 2013. Obama had just started his second term, we were all asking what this damn fox was saying and Studio Trigger released one of the biggest anime originals of all time, Kill la Kill.
Studio Trigger has always had a big load to carry. As a spiritual successor to Gainax, the studio that produced Gurren Laggen and Neon Genesis Evangelion, they really have a legacy to maintain. And still, they, mostly, have carried it. Especially in their first ever work, Kill La Kill.
Kill la Kill has everything. It’s got and incredible story, stylish clothes and transformations, and in studio trigger fashion, incredible Character Design, a magnificent art style, and best of all even some top tier fan service (uff, really had to get out the dictionary for that one)
Let’s start with a really underrated aspect of the anime, which is the Art Style. It’s this strange 90's-like cartoony style that is executed really well, and shows the origins the studio comes from.
And yet still, with that 90’s style they still had incredible animations. Like yeah maybe not Mappa level but still everything was smooth and well done and i didn’t even see a tiny bit of CGI. Yeah some battles were simplified a bit, to just some simple images, especially in difficult parts, and it sometimes seemed like the characters were just aimlessly hitting swords around. Still, considering this was their first work, and it was probably underfunded plus the fact this was 2013, I say it's excellent work!
Ok, now the fun parts. The story is, sigh it’s too big to grasp. It’s very well written, being funny and serious at the same time and having some incredible plot twists. And while it didn’t really leave me reflecting on the meaning of life, its plot changes were enough to completely change my view on some characters. Plus, I know I'm pushing a lot, but the comedy is really well done. It’s very over the top, it ridicules the plot itself sometimes, it uses every medium to it’s disposal (score, animation, voice acting ecc…) to make you laugh and can then pull back to the serious part in mere seconds.
Like, I know I'm lowkey glazing it, but for example, the final fight isn’t some 2 EP shtick, it starts all the way at EP 17, and it’s 7 episodes of pure action, comedy, emotion and whatnot. It has characters reflecting on their own existence, switching sides, multi stage plans that get destroyed but even bigger multi stage plans, fakes, plot twists here and there and a BUTT LOAD of transformations.
Ok, but I'm seriously getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even explain the basic plot of the anime!
Meet Ryuuko Matoi. A troubled girl who, after the murder of her father, wanders around our neo-realistic Japan in search of the killer.
She has only one lead, half of a giant Scissor (i’m 100% serious), a blade created by her father. Ryuuko is sure that by finding the other missing half, she will find the Killer.
All of this leads her to the prestigious Honnouji Academy, a high school unlike any other. The academy is ruled by the imposing and cold-hearted student council president Satsuki Kiryuuin alongside her powerful underlings, the Elite Four. In the school's brutally competitive hierarchy, Satsuki bestows upon those at the top special clothes called "Goku Uniforms," which grant the wearer unique superhuman abilities.
Ryukko immediately comes in and says “Man, F**k all that” and immediately challenges Satsuki. Of course she is immediately destroyed by a simple club president that wields a 2 star Goku Uniform, not even a 3 star (like the Elite Four). Defeated, she retreats back to the now abandoned and destroyed Matoi mansion.
Here I wanna open a parenthesis on this. Defeat is shown a lot in this show. Sometimes in a comedic way, like here, but later it’s actually seen in a very serious manner. And that’s what I like about Ryukko. While in the end she always wins, it doesn’t come with a series of hardships and problems, with those including defeat. Ok, back to the story now.
There, thanks to some help from a figure I will not reveal (as it constitutes SPOILERS!) she comes into the possession of a Sailor Uniform she dubs Senketsu, that seems to have a will and personality of his own. Senketsu is a Kamui, a special type of uniform. You see, all Goku Uniforms have a special fiber called Life Fibers. These fibers awaken superhuman strength and abilities in their wererears.
Well, while One star Goku Uniforms have 10% of life fibers, Two stars 20% and so on, a Kamui is composed of 100% life fibers! Having acquired the power to rival even Satsuki, she must now fight against all the battles that the cruel and cold student council president has put against her.
Along the way she meets Mako Mankanshoku, who, along with her family, brings basically 70% percent of the comedy in this show. Their over the top, exaggerated actions, her hilarious monologues that more often than not motivate and help Ryuuko, make her and the family my favorite characters of the entire show. Like how can you not hate this Dense cutie pie of a girl!
But, there is a problem. To achieve 100% of its power, Senketsu needs to transform. Into what? How do I even describe this? Sugoi. Just sugoi. Not only does this give us some incredible transformation scenes (in reality all Goku uniforms need to transform, but Senketsu is the best, no question) but it also transitions into my next point, the Fan Service!
Even here, they did an incredible job! They embraced the cringy elements, especially with some characters, and gave a lot of treats while never making either a central point of the plot nor being too “in your face” about it. How many more 10/10 can I give!
Before I wrap this up, a little touch on the score. The opening were meh, but I really like the first ending, and the way it’s played in the final episode and how you start to see all the symbolism that you ignored before is really good. The score is good, it hypes you up and as i said, makes you laugh harder in the comedy bits, but nothing special.
In conclusion, Kill la Kill was a banger of a show. It was Jam Packed with action scenes, and I laughed hard at the over the top and very well written comedy, while actually choking on some of the plot twists.
Is it worth your time: Fuck Yeah it is.
Is it a must watch: Absolutely
My final vote: 10/10
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