Whenever I meet people, I always try to uphold respect for someone. However, now that I'm older, I realize that passion is one of the biggest contributing factors to admiration. It doesn't matter if it's writing or not. If you have an idea or goal you want to achieve, I can never find it in my heart to stop you.
Because I never want to be the person who tells someone how they should express themselves, not when I'm still fighting to do the same. This is probably why I quickly fell in love with Kill la Kill. For I haven't seen such unfiltered passion quite like Studio Trigger's first outing in a very long time. So sit back, dear reader, as I elaborate on my feelings and explain why Kill la Kill has unrivaled passion.
Note
Unlike many of my other reviews, I will be using Kill la Kill's anime instead of the manga, specifically the English Dub. But like my other reviews, I will keep this relatively spoiler-free and be as opinionated as possible. If you don't like what I have to say, this might not be for you. Now onto the series.
Summary
Welcome to Honnouji Academy, a shining empire ruled by the elegant but fierce Satsuki Kiriyuin. With an iron fist, she enforcers her reign through the use of Goku Uniforms, clothes intertwined with supernatural substances called Life Fibers, to create a hierarchical tyranny. It would've stayed that way, too, if it weren't for the intervention of our mc Ryuko Matoi. On her quest to find her father's killer, Ryuko's path intersects with Satsuki's, forcing the two into a dangerous deadlock.
While Ryuko at first fails her mission, she later can find her father's parting gift, a sentient outfit named Senketsu. Now armed with her father's two parting gifts, Ryuko has all she needs to fight against the academy and all they stand for. Thus starting a war that will have friendships tested, secrets revealed, and the world in the balance.
Characters
Despite the short length, Kill la Kill has a large cast that works well in its favor. Before watching the series proper, I never heard the best things about Ryuko, but I'm glad I got proven wrong. She's honestly one of my favorite female protagonists in a while. Due to her rough upbringing, Ryuko is fierce, aggressive, stubborn, and fearless.
However, that personality quickly gets developed as she meets more friends, showing a genuinely protective, calm, casual, and friendlier personality. Ryuko stays dynamic throughout the entire story, growing stronger while showing she can make up for her mistakes. She may have started as a nomad out her revenge, but she ends this story,
Her main rival Satsuki Kiryuin is her polar opposite, displaying a reserved, cruel, intelligent, calm, noble, and ambitious personality. Like Ryuko, though she is not entirely heartless, showing an evident faith and respect towards her subordinates despite being willing to do anything for an advantage. Especially in the second half of the series, she displays far more layered motivations.
Supporting them respectively, Ryuko's best/first friend is Mako Mankanshoku, a ditzy goddess of chaos that I swear is pretending to be human. While I'm not sure what floats between her ears, her carefree, loving, and friendly attitude makes her a dependable ally. Later on, Ryuko also meets Aikuro Mikisugi, an eccentric nudist who's a part of a larger group against the Kiryuin dynasty while accompanied by the stoic muscle Tsugumu Kinagase.
Satsuki's Elite Four count as the early series' main antagonists. Through various flashbacks, we see the personalities of the strictly giant of a man Gamagori, arrogant geek Inumuta, snappy spitfire Jakazure, and honorable warrior Sanegaeyama. From there, we get a gaggle of goons that show up every once in a while, serving as boat friend of foe throughout the story.
Presentation
Kill la Kill, visually speaking, is more complex than many other series I've covered. Not only due to this being Trigger's first run but also because series director Hiroyuki Imaishi was a key worked on Gurren Lagan, combined with the series focus on fashion, and it's a lot to analyze. So let's take it from the top.
Artsyle wise, the roots of Gurren Lagan are a little noticeable. However, you can see stark differences. The colors got muted, the environments less cinematic, and the outlines less bold with snapper animations. This fits what the show is going for, so I don't mind. While 3d did get spliced into certain scenes at the start(not saying they were bad but more jarring), the anime seems to have a balance of stiff, less detailed animation to enhance comedy but remaining spastic for fight scenes. If they do it to intentionally save their budget, then kudos to the team because that's too smart. Either way, Kill la Kill's visually has always been very spastic and high energy, so you'll never be bored.
Character design-wise, I'll also give some big ups as well. Every main character looks frankly iconic, with consistent color schemes and outfits brimming with personality. The best examples are the elite four, who go through multiple wardrobe changes but never forget their core elements to show who they are. I love the visual gags that also stick with certain characters, making them all the stronger. Combined with the diverse fashion set, Kill la Kill's got so much drip that I need an arc.
Even audio-wise, Kill la Kill is immensely interesting. The ambiance in the series fight scenes always fits with multiple tracks having a very intense but rousing nature. Though something I immensely appreciate is the surprising variety when it comes to character themes. They all feel very on point on the characters from Satusuki's heroic but militaristic sounding theme, Raygo's soul-shaking german romp, to Ryuko's iconic "don't lose your way" we got a great selection here. And that's not even about Ambiguous an opening so good I could probably devote an entire blog to for just how great it is, while including probably my favorite finishers and diegetic play in any series.
Finally, I would like to say something controversial: Kill la Kill has one of my fav dubs of all time. Every VA sounds like they have the time of their lives, yet they fit their characters immensely well for comedy and drama. I can't get enough of particular standouts, are Erica Mendez and Ryuko Patrick Seitz as Gamagori. Ben Diskin as Takarada and of course Christine Marie Cabanos as Mako.
Overview
Honestly, to describe the overall plot of Kill la Kill in one statement, but I'll try anyway. This anime is the ultimate definition of "Wait, there's more." By all accounts describing the adventures of an exhibitionist and her crazy pals as they save the world from sentient clothing shouldn't work. Yet this series somehow does. Though before I lean into that, I might as well address this real quick
Given the nature of the series, fanservice kind of runs with the territory. Usually, most anime T and A doesn't do a lot for me since I feel like it's either in poor taste, feels way too forced, or takes from certain characters (after all, the internet already takes care of imagining all that's under there).
It's kind of like a joke I can see a mile away. On the flipside, though, Kill la Kill never annoys me with this. They get their horniness out of the way pretty fast and invest it in the plot so seriously that I forgot it immensely. I know some people won't ever get over this barrier, but I think Kill la Kill handles this better. The beginning of the series is very villain of the week, with random events and villains coming in to give Ryuko minor nuisances. This mostly builds Ryuko's main relationships, giving us some mysteries. The Elite Four coming in with the promise of the real big bad does the story ramp up. Episode 13 onwards is genuinely peeling back Ryuko and Satsuki.
Which all collects into probably the final stretch of the story. It is an all-out war that completely blurs the status quo lines, horrifying revelations, and pushes everyone to their limits. I'm not the biggest fan of leading towards a final battle that surprisingly puts everything full circle with death and villain motivation. Despite that, I can't say I was particularly disappointed in how Kill la Kill ended. Instead of using some last-minute cliffhanger, or unresolved plot thread, this series has an ending OVA that shows how far every character has come. Which, for me, are some of the best things you can do for an ending. Meaning, the only thing I got left is to mention the.
Epilogue
I'm glad that I saw Kill la Kill in a proverbial sea of anime recommendations because it is a classic, short, or just a genuinely good series. But also because it was my first real introduction to Studio Trigger. I've always heard the name floating, so it was only inevitable that I got on board. And after seeing their story, it's hard not to feel enraptured by them.
Much like their namesake Trigger to me at its core, is the detention of unbounded, unbridled creativity poured into every work. A trademark theme of a series about bearing your true self despite what society might want to clothe you into. And as I said at the beginning of this review, I can't help but respect that. For this entire writing journey of mine, has been trying to give form to my passions. I know my "voice" is often limited through text, but let it be known I do put a lot into this.
Every blog, chapter, and word I write is to make an impact because I learned recently that people aren't going to see your effort and invalidate your work, belief, and voice—all without doing a damn thing to put money where their mouth is. However, as long as you apply your own worth and fight for yourself. You'll be surprised at what you can do.