Hello everybody, and we’re going to be reviewing something a little different this time around. I’ve mentioned a couple of times here and there in some posts that I am a big fan of anime, which for those who somehow do not know is essentially Japanese animation. I have recently started watching more of them thanks to things like Crunchyroll, and I’ve been thinking of awhile to review some of the ones I really enjoy. Don’t worry I’ll still be doing plenty of movie related posts, I just want to try doing something a little new (besides in terms of new releases, and things to see right away, July is surprisingly barren). Now which one is going to be the first one you are going to review, and why is probably what you are wondering. Well I’ll be reviewing the first anime series that I really got into, and that is Kill La Kill produced by the wonderful Studio Trigger. In fact I actually plan on reviewing a couple of their shows this month to get ready for the Kill La Kill videogame that will be coming out later this month, so keep on the lookout for those. Also these reviews may be a little more spoilery than my movie reviews so if you do want to check these shows out, you should do it before hand, and then come back for this review, or if you really don’t care about spoilers, then read on! So without further ado lets get on with this review of Kill La Kill, which is one heck of show that’s for sure!
Our story begins when we are introduced to a mysterious teenager named Ryuko Matoi who is heading to a famous high school in Japan for unknown reasons. The school in question, Honnouji Academy, is ruled with an iron fist by the Student Council President, Satsuki Kiryuin. The students are actually distinguished by the uniforms they wear, with the so called “pigs in human clothing” being the lowest ranking, and then the higher ups wear these powerful suits called Goku Uniforms that give the wearers these superhuman abilities thanks to them being made with a very special material known as Life Fibers, with with the 3 star’s being the most powerful, and only given to Satuki’s most loyal Student Council members, the Elite Four. When Ryuko arrives at the school she comes to take revenge on Satsuki for killing her father. When she confronts the president she pulls out part of what seems to be some sort of scissor blade, and tries to fight against her council. Unfortunately she is easily defeated, and is forced to retreat to her father’s abandoned house. When there she accidentally stumbles upon a sentient sailor uniform that only she can hear, and that forces himself on her to be worn. She then goes to rescue a girl who helped her out earlier, Mako Mankanshoku, who was taken hostage by the school to be used as bait to lure Ryuko in. Everyone is shocked to see that not only is Ryuko stronger than before but also that using her scissor she can destroy Goku uniforms, and take their life fibers. This piques the interest of Satsuki who then challenges her to fight all of the Club’s in the school as well the Elite Four in order to learn the truth about her father. But when people like the Nudists Beach Resistance, and Satsuki’s mother, Ragyo Kiryuin get mixed up in all this, Ryuko learns that not only is there more to her father’s past than she thought, but also that there may be more at at stake going on than she realized.
I might as well start off by stating that this show is absolutely not for everyone! It deals with some extremely weird concepts such as (slight spoilers) how all clothing are actually aliens wearing us, and helping us evolve, and the whole concept of the life fibers will have more than a few people scratching their heads. Add in the fact that there is a fair amount of excessive nudity, zaniness, and swearing throughout (whatever you do, do not show kids this), and yeah you either dig it, or cannot stand it.While yes some ideas the story deals with are needlessly complicated, and there are times when the pacing does suffer thanks to many scenes just throwing all of this exposition about how these clothes work at us like crazy (even if I do find them enjoyably insane), I still freaking love this show. Other than the exposition scenes, the show is paced nicely, and thanks to there only being 25 episodes, there is really not much filler as every episode felt like it was moving the story along, and even if there is a little bit of filler in an episode it is mainly there to develop the character’s relationships more. I also love how the story doesn’t go the way you would expect it to like you think its just gonna be Ryuko fighting all of the clubs the whole time, but no in fact its only the first couple of episodes that she does this, and then the story starts getting more a lot more interesting, and very twisty indeed, leading to a very satisfying finale that wraps everything up perfectly (well technically episode 25 is an epilogue to episode 24 which was originally the final episode but they both work very well in terms of wrapping things up). Another reason why this show works so well is because it really doesn’t take itself too seriously, knowing fully well how ridiculous it can be at times, and just going with it while also making fun of many anime tropes in the process (jokes that I understand a lot more after watching quite a bit of anime). But even with a pretty self aware tone, the more dramatic, and emotional moments are handled just as well as the at times darkly hilarious comedy that is present, and there are some nice messages sprinkled throughout that add some nice substance to the proceedings (there is a bit of a subtle theme of social classification thanks to the whole no star, or Goku uniform rankings). The world-building is also pretty cool presenting a completely alternate version of Japan that is pretty well realized, even if there are some things that were a bit weird like how the rest of the world is not nearly as advanced from the glimpses we see of it. The story can be very strange, be its very strange in a delightfully strange way, and I never got bored watching these events unfold.
Re watching the show, I just kept thinking to myself, man I pity the people who would have to adapt this series in live-action (Hollywood don’t you even try to). You’ll hear me say this a lot about Trigger shows, but this simply cannot be done in live-action, it is something only animation can do better, and it would not work any other way. This show fully takes advantage of how limitless animation is as a medium, and this is just a joy to watch. One thing you’ll notice is how fast paced, and zany it is, and how it always feels like something is moving around the screen constantly, especially when it comes to the character movements. While this will definitely turn some people off, I think those who really like their animation over the top, and extremely stylish will appreciate it greatly. The backgrounds are also well done capturing this world’s Japan really well, even if their not all that special to look at, and the character designs are all memorable and capture the personalities very well with all of them standing out from each other (I really liked the designs of the club leaders in particular even with very little screen time). Then there’s the action which is a lot of fun, and creative taking advantage of the capabilities of Senketsu, the powerful weapons, and the different Goku Uniforms like the Elite Four’s Regalias (same goes for the memorable transformation sequences). It isn’t always perfect however as some of the stiff movements can be noticed, and when 3D is used it is pretty noticeable as well, but it still is very well animated overall. The soundtrack is also just as memorable with a lot of memorable tunes some of which like “Don’t lose Your Way” being surprisingly inspiring (although it is annoying how they play that tune in almost episode, but to be fair it does match perfectly to any action scene), and the openings do a good job of getting the viewers hyped, and the ending credits are nice (the 2nd one being very adorable).
Another thing Trigger excels at is making fun, and memorable characters whom the audience wants to see succeed, and that is of course the case here. I think its appropriate to start talking about out main heroine Ryuko herself, and she is just awesome. Not only is she a bad*** in every way, but she also has her own problems that make her very relatable like she doesn’t always think things through, she can be unsure of things at times, she lashes out at things many times, and she can be impatient but that relatability is what makes us want to root for her to succeed. Senketsu serves as a good mentor figure for her, and their relationship is probably the beating heart of the series where we get some good emotion, and really funny humor thanks to the fact only she can hear him, and he is a freaking talking sailor uniform. Her relationship with Mako is a huge highlight, and as for the latter she may not be the brightest but she is always willing to help, calm and cheer on Ryuko as well as inspire those around her, and she does work as good comic relief (Whenever she gives an inspiring speech, it cracks me up every time). I also really enjoy the over the top dynamic with her family as many of the best laughs come from that, as her parents, little brother, and dog each get moments to shine. Then there’s the cold, and strong willed Lady Satsuki who is one of the more interesting, and compelling characters in the series since her motivations for what she is doing are slowly revealed as the series goes on, and (vague spoilers) she does end up having a nice relationship with Ryuko thanks to a certain twist that is revealed later on. As for her Elite Four which includes the Disciplinary Committee Chief, Ira Gamagori, Athtletic Clubs leader Uzu Sanageyama, Information, data collecting, and Strategy analyzer, Houka Inumuta, and sassy band leader/non athletics clubs committee leader, Nonon Jakuzure, their all a lot of fun, and are each given backstories through flashbacks that help develop them more, and explain why they owe their lives to Lady Satsuki, and how they would do anything to protect her. My personal favorite of the four is Gamagori since his severe adherence to the rules provides a ton of great laughs, and I like how he never tries to hurt the weak, and defenseless, and he even helps Ryuko, and Mako out sometimes. Other supporting players like Ryuko’s enigmatic, and secretly sexy homeroom teacher, Aikuro Mikisugi, who is actually a member of Nudist Beach, and the intimidating, and revenge seeking, Tsumugu Kinagase, are pretty entertaining, and help move the plot along well. There is also the soft spoken, and villanous Ragyo who (again obvious spoiler) is the main antagonist of the series, and yes she does share a connection with Ryuko which I won’t give away here. She works as a big threat, even if I found her motivation to be a little vague in terms of why she wanted to take the over the world using life fibers. In fact I actually found her associates to be more interesting like her gleefully sadistic Grand Couturier, Nui Harime, and her loyal secretary, Rei Hououmaru, who gets some satisfying development in the last episode. Oh, and if your wondering, I watched the show dubbed, and its probably one of the best dubs for an anime I’ve seen since all of the voices match the characters very well so if your going to watch this show, then this is the way to do it.
While not for everybody, Kill La Kill is great example having both a great style, and quite a bit substance wrapped into one. It may not be perfect, but it sure as hell is a lot of fun, and it is a nice delightfully strange series that I think fans of anime will really enjoy, thanks to the bizarre concepts, and story-lines, energetic animation, and memorable characters. I’d say this is really a show more for people who have watched a lot of anime, than for people who have never seen one, so if you fall in the latter category I would start by watching other series, than try this one out since I think that way you will appreciate it more, and get many of the jokes. Heck I think I actually liked it more when re-watching it for this very review than when I first saw it, and even then I really enjoyed it. So overall just a great, fun, series from one of my favorite animation studios. Oh and be on the look out for reviews of Gurren Lagann, and Little Witch Academia in terms of Trigger shows later this month, and I am going to be reviewing all 3 seasons of My Hero Academia throughout the next couple of months to get ready for season 4. But if you want me to check out, and review any other animes leave some suggestions in the comments, and maybe I will end up reviewing them in the future. Oh, and just remember one important thing… Don’t lose your way!!!
Rating: A-
Leave your thoughts down below in the comments, and see you guys later!
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