「俺の涙は俺が拭く」 (Ore no Namida wa Ore Ga Fuku )
“I Will Wipe My Own Tears”

It’s time for a fresh start. All student have the right to attack other students. We call it the Naturals Election.

Oh ho, I see what you did there. I’m pretty sure Darwin never intended his theory to be used this way, but I guess it works. It’s all about natural selection and survival of the fittest this week, and Satsuki’s continues to show just how good she is at getting people to beat the crap out of each other. It goes to show that if you’re going to do something, make sure you go all the way. Don’t half ass the things you do, and never ask for something when you can get it with your own hands. Granted, it doesn’t always mean you’ll get what you want—especially when you have the Elite Four and Matoi standing in your way—but it sure doesn’t hurt to do so.

That said, this was one crazy episode. All the developments made it feel like a season’s finale, and it might as well be, considering how Matoi’s suddenly being thrust into a King of the Hill fight with the Elite Four. To top things off, we end up seeing more into Matoi, Gamagoori, and Satsuki’s respective pasts, and it’s like: “Wait, there’s still 17 episodes left!?” Just makes you wonder what exactly they’re going to show over the remaining episodes—especially since they’re blowing through developments with some ridiculous pacing.

I guess we’ll see. In the meanwhile though, there were two interesting tidbits from this week I wanted to talk about. The first of course, is Mako’s view regarding life:

My light’s always yellow!

Essentially meaning that she chooses to live life cautiously, it makes for some good philosophical pondering. After all, it’s not exactly a bad way to live a life, as you’re less likely to get yourself into some mess you can’t get out of. At the same time though, one can argue that you’re not really living if you spend all your time being cautious, and it’s something that makes you wonder about life and which view is most fitting for you.

Matoi’s return home gives us the second tidbit, and it comes from the fact that the area around her house is peaceful despite the chaos brewing from the Naturals Elections. Yes, one can say that it’s due to the fact she doesn’t exactly live close to the Academy, but it’s precisely this that makes this quite symbolic in my opinion. And it’s because it feels symbolic of the fact that many of us are living rather peaceful lives despite there being major conflicts somewhere else on the planet. It goes to show just how big the planet is, and how life tends to move on—especially if you’re not directly involved/detached from the conflict. There’s a lot one can say about perspective here, and it was something I felt was an interesting notion to consider.

Ultimately, that’s about it. Aside from Gamagoori’s epic ride and masochistic tendencies, there’s not much else to talk about here, so I’ll catch ya guys back next week! Just be sure to keep away from Gamagoori when he reaches his climax, because his release is… quite something.

 

Preview

41 Comments

    1. The Ryuko/Mako vibes are getting a little stronger. Also, I got to give Ira some props for his masochistic powers and his loyalty to Satsuki-sama. Short-haired Satsuki-sama is so lovely!

      Looks like we are going to have a gauntlet match arc of Ryuko vs. the Elite Four. I am eager to see Houka’s and Nonon’s pasts, especially Nonon’s.

      Oh and DAT END CARD.

      John Hayabusa
    1. This episode finally convinced me that Satsuki is not the main antagonist of the series. I feel like she’s slowly going to fall into a Lord Genome role, where her true intentions are revealed to be more positive than they first seemed, and that she herself is fighting against a bigger enemy (her mother/family?).

      Though I sure hope she stays alive at least until we approach end of the series.

      Tre
      1. Though I sure hope she stays alive at least until we approach end of the series.

        Or she may come back as a head in a jar. And then walk out nude in space and eat a big bang for breakfast.

        MasterDragonKnight
      2. actually I think her role is some sort of hybrid between Lord Genome and Viral role from TTGL.
        that aside, why all of this farce?if Satsuki wants a fight between Ryouku and her 4 heavenly kings, she can simply say so..isn’t it?

        thedarktower
    2. I think she will join Mako and Ryuko and 4 divas and go fight some serious foe , the girl with blue scissor according to some ep back i remember fabulous teacher says that Kiryuin family help Matoi’s father develop ultima uniform and i think that Satsuki doesn’t know who kill Matoi’s father neither, she fight Ryuko because she want Ryuko to prove that human can still be save,and obviously satsuki create this school to prepare for something big, such as revenge for MAtoi’s father death I love honouji Academy system by the way, it’s a guarantee that hardwork won’t go unreward you just have to beat your desire, Matoi also seem don’t really mind about school system either , it’s not the system that is the problem but also HUMAN , therefore this system is create to reward those with determination like “4 deva” in fact they are bunch of nice guy/girl, the rest are just pig wearing human clothes

      PeTdo
      1. I had always been going the route of ‘Satsuki being raised in a brain-washy sort of way’ concerning the overall plot.

        But I think the one thing everyone’s certain on at this point is that Satsuki is not the final boss, that’s for sure. There’s always a major secondary plot going on in these shows Imaishi handles. TTGL had two show up, PSG had 1 show up halfway through and a 3rd in the final episode and now we’re only eight episodes in and a main plot line of the show is on the verge of being resolved.

        DigitalFowl
  1. Wow, that was some feast for the eyes, though not for the heart (nice pun take on the naming of this whole shenanigans of an election – Natural (s)Election…).
    And I can’t beleive Gamagoori’s at drinking age (in Japan), I was guessing 18… the normal age for a newbie driver. Still, he’s a man of integrity, full of intentions of a better society…

    …anyway, enough about Gamagoori, the way they fought their way out of school is hilarious.

    info600
  2. Ah it’s early this week! 😀 Nice prompt post!

    This episode…… how can it be that TRIGGER can make each one better than the last?? Maybe because the first ep didn’t really show much promise- it left everything so open that the story could’ve gone any which way, and the overblown style over substance made it look inferior to Gurren Lagaan. Now, I can safely say they have enough material to really build this story into 25 episodes, and I am relieved! We get not one but 3 back-stories, and only TRIGGER can take an formidable chairman and “make him learn to drive a car” as his episode arc!!! They made it work!

    starss
  3. I keep on finding similarities to TTGL, and I hope they continue. And by that I mean that I hope this election pretty much ends the whole academy/elite four conflict so they can introduce a anti spiral-like twist and a new enemy on a bigger scale, and something tells me Satsuki’s reveal on the murderer will do just that. Luckily, we have a bunch of unexplained story elements, like Satsuki’s mother/family, Nudist Beach, and the life fibers that go into Senketsu after every fight. Don’t let me down now, Trigger!

    On another note, I will be watching next week for Gamagoori’s bondage armor – complete with ball gag!

    Ruddor
  4. Looks like there is a hidden antagonist behind the scenes. Likely has to do with the reason behind Satsuki’s “unification” of schools and the creation of the uniforms (source of life fibres potentially?).

    Satsuki’s tower also looks strangely like the Geass symbol seen on the opening title screens for Code Geass S1. Considering how much philosophy is contained underneath the onslaught of popcorn entertainment here it wouldn’t surprise me if Trigger is also subtly tongue-in-cheek referencing CG’s melodrama.

    Pancakes
    1. This is the end, my friend.
      Watching Kill La Kill exceeds your recommended weekly dose of awesome. In order to protect the universe the show will end with this episode.

      Signed,
      The Surgeon General.

      Or you could look it up, the length of the show has been mentioned in previous entries.

      celebrinen
  5. On a drive, on a drive!
    On a drive to Hell!
    Goin’ totally upside-down to the bottom of the pit! Hey!
    We’ve left the track and are gonna crash!
    Hit someone from behind and you get a pileup!
    We’ll all go to hell together!

    Dude
  6. I completely lost it when Gamagoori started to get “erect” and then “climaxed” all of the place.

    They weren’t even trying to hide it behind innuendo, it’s official. His power is a freaking masochistic orgasm.

    Dear lord do I love this show. I can’t wait to see them take this further.

    DSSeraph
  7. Natural/S/election… gotta love the pun!
    I see Satsuki as believer in some weird crossover between social darwinism and meritocracy…
    Actually I could see her stepping down voluntarily if she was ever defeated herself.

    ewok40k

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