JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Kill la Kill – My Own Impressions

KILL LA KILL

Studio: Trigger:

Genre: Action, Magical Girl, Comedy

Hey guys.

Welcome to another anime review.

And, as part of my series of reviews of the works from Studio Trigger, as an special occasion due to the imminent release of Trigger’s new series; BNA: Brand New Animal, I continue with my series.

Again, I apologise for not being able to publish my next Trigger review on that day when I say I will post it. But it is been a very busy time for me, without mentioning that I have to go back to get familiar with some of the best moments of this gem.

With said that, I want to introduce you all…

(The best key visual you could possibly find)

But before I continue with my review, I want to leave you with the same recommendations that doctors and scientists share with all of us.

1. Wash your hands
2. Maintain social distancing
3. Stay at home

And most importantly:

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE CORONAVIRUS!!!

Having said that, let’s continue with the review.

PREMISE

Kill la Kill takes place in a very interesting high school, the Honnouji Academy, controlled by the all-powerful, fearsome Satsuki Kiryuin (voiced by Ryoka Yuzuki) , who controls Honnouji with an iron fist. But she is not alone, Satsuki has the all-mighty Student Council at her back, reinforcing the strict rules of the school, also, all of the Student Council members wear the Goku uniforms, which give the user superhuman strengths and abilities due to the material they are done, the Life Fibers.

Everything changes when a new transfer student, a delinquent called Ryuko Matoi (Ami koshimizu), arrives to Honnouji; shortly Ryuko challenges Satsuki and the student council, with the help of a giant sword that looks as half of a scissor, called the Scissor Blade, and her own powerful uniform, or «kamui», called Senketsu, invloving into mind-blowing and vivid battles against Kiryuin minions; for one single purpose: To find the murderer of her father – Isshin Matoi.

On her quest, Ryuko has a wonderful ally on the very first friend she makes, Mako Mankashoku (Aya Suzuki), and an underground organization who acts as a «resistance group» against the rule of Satsuki, called Nudist Beach.

Now that was one hell of a premise.

Anyway. Kill la Kill is the first full anime produced by Studio Trigger; before that, Trigger only made Inferno Cop. Also, Kill la Kill was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, and written by Kazuki Nakashima, both of them had previously worked on Gainax’s Gurren Lagann. Being released from October 2013 to March, 2014, Kill la Kill consisted in 24 episodes, and an OVA released on September 3, 2014, with the music being composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who also worked in Blue Exorcist and The Seven Deadly Sins.

Finally, reception about Kill la Kill was largely positive, and it got better with the years. Watchmojo ranked #20 on their list of Top 20 Best Anime of the Decade. In fact, you can find many mentions of either Ryuko or Satsuki in many of the website videos. Again, every single episode is full of adrenaline, by the hand of the trademark style of Trigger (and the staff behind Gurren Lagann) colour, hyperactive animation, an ear-ecstatic soundtrack, intense choreography, especially from the battles between Satsuki and Ryuko.

To be honest, I was very surprise about the animation and the charater design, when I saw Kill la Kill years ago.

But that’s not all.

STORY

Like I said, Kill la Kill consists of 24 episodes and an OVA.

And as the story progresses, we find out that the story is more about mere fighting, or your typical sci-fi story with those teases of ecchi. Some episodes deal with themes like family, future, freedom (The clothes are evil. What do you expect?), friendship, and vengeance. This is one of the many things I love about Kill la Kill, every element of the plot has a purpose, something that allows each of the characters to grow in one way. And I mean all of them.

Furthermore, after you watch all the series of Kill la Kill, you realise this:

1. The Plot focuses on that authoritarian school, and those backing it, that must be stop at all cost.
2. The Story is about a girl fighting to discover the truth, with that path leading her to become more that she really is. 

Because that is what you feel. As the story evolves, the characters evolve. The protagonists, the villains, the supporting cast, while you grow attached to all of them; of course you would choose some characters over others, but everyone is so special.

Another element that plays in favour is the animation. Along with the choreography, the moments where the animation goes into a really frenetic rhythm are those in which you almost feel the intensity of the fights, and how each of our characters feel at the moment, with some pieces of the background adding to the emotional charge, creating a epic, beautiful eye candy shot despite the overcrowding.

Pure epicness

And there are more moments.

Even for comedic moments, that rhythm really adds to the laughs.

By the way, fans of Little Witch Academia… did you notice how similar are Mako and Akko?

Definitely the animation is indeed one of a strength for the story.

Now. most of the people that have read my blog entries remember that sometimes I recommend for people to live the experience and create their own opinion, and Kill la Kill are one of those anime that make my statement warranted.

And if you like Gurren Lagann, you will definitely adore the story of Kill la Kill.

But there is one element left for me to mention.

CHARACTERS

And of course, I could not forget about the characters.

Personally, the design of Ryuko Matoi is one of my favourite. it has that feeling of the type of anti-hero that we like for being rebellious, yet likeable, and her outfit holds a pretty neat balance between good ol’ serafuku uniform and what you could expect from someone like Ryuko Matoi. Being an absolute badass and a girl with a gold heart, despite… not being so trusting.

Also… kudos to both Ami Koshimizu and Erica Mendes for bringing identity and strength to the character.

And speaking about great characters… Satsuki Kiryuin always have the power of being the «waifu» of many fans. Also, her hime cut is fantastic, when you compare her with other characters with hime cut, you understand why that hairstyle is so popular in anime.

(WONDERFUL, CHARMING LADIES)

But don’t let the arrogant, fearsome appearance from Satsuki Kiryuin fool you. The character is more complex and fascinating that it looks, especially during the second part of Kill la Kill.

Finally, we got Mako. The perfect comic relief, and foil of both Ryuko and Satsuki. A character that has a lot of energy and a lot of comedy that definitely reaches the limit of Adorkable. Seriously, every time I get to see Mako, I feel I am falling to the floor of how hysterical she is.

And of course we got so many others. And I wish I could have a lot of pictures that I can show here. But I am getting out of time.

But to sum up, the cast of Kill la Kill has a lot of variety and charm, exactly that you would expect from the staff who created Gurren Lagann. And now, I can see that a lot of love has put in the characters, and their distinct personalities.

And we will remember Kill la Kill because of that.

CONCLUSION

Despite being the first official anime of Trigger, Kill la Kill is definitely one of its best creations. And now that set the standard of many of their most recognisable trademarks, crazy, vivid animation; creative, nuanced characters; epic, imaginative battles, and a great lore of their stories.

And the same model was followed by other creations, such as Little Witch Academia, SSSS Gridman, Ninja Slayer from Animation, Space Patrol Luluco, one of the best anime of 2013, and of course… one of the best anime of the 2010s.

Done.

Thanks again guys for joining me on my review of Kill la Kill. Next time (Not tomorrow, because I don’t trust my words), I will come with a new review, until them…