First Impressions / Kill la Kill

「可愛い女と呼ばないで」 (Kawaii Onna to Yoba Nai de)
“I’m Not Your Cute Woman”

Just when you thought Kill la Kill couldn’t jam more into their episodes, we get this. On top of this. And this. It just leaves me in awe how much they toss in every week, and it looks like we’re finally getting to the method behind their madness in Ragyo Kiryuin, who seems to be the ultimate antagonist within all of this. This doesn’t come as a surprise—some mentioned this possibility in the comments previously—but it doesn’t change the fact that I wasn’t expecting them to reveal what they did this week. It’s one thing to give a face to the vaunted Kiryuin mother, but another thing entirely to do that AND reveal the person behind the murder of Matoi’s father. Oh yes, did I mention how fabulous Ragyo was? No? Here, let me give you some sunglasses.

With that said, a lot of the discussion up until this point was centered around the large contrast there is between Matoi and Satsuki in general. They wear Kamui on the opposite sides of the color spectrum, possess opposing views on the value of order, and each have their own unique group of people by their side. And while Satsuki saying she’ll leave Harime Nui to Matoi won’t change the fact they’re still radically different people, it’s interesting to note how this suddenly opens up the notion of them being able to work together regardless of those differences. In the end, it seems like Satsuki wants to free herself from the shackles of her mother as much as Matoi wants to get her revenge on Harime (and thus, likely Ragyo as well), and it could very well end up being another classic “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” moment.

The question thus becomes: how will things end up from here? Satsuki herself seems unwilling (or unable) to fight off Harime Nui herself at this time, which means that using Matoi to defeat her will be the best thing possible. At the same time, it seems highly unlikely that Matoi’ll be able to defeat Harime at the current time, making you wonder if either Satsuki or Nudist Beach will get involved herself in someway. At the same time, there’s always the possibility Matoi defeats her but goes out of control while doing so. There’s a load of potential routes the story can go from here, and it’s nice to see how the story’s developed in such a way to facilitate the twists in this episode. For instance, it doesn’t look like the future would’ve held much in terms of time to give us any back story on characters like the Elite Four, which made it crucial that they developed the previous episodes in such a way that we got some back story before it was too late. Furthermore, this back story looks like it’ll serve well in giving us a foundation for each member’s motivations in the future—especially when Satsuki’s attempt to rule the world inevitably ends up going through Revoc and her mother.

At the same time though, the developments do leave me somewhat torn as to what to think about the series in general. As awesome as the over-the-top antics have been and as awesome as the potential of this series could be, I’m a bit worried about the developments here. Because (for me) a lot of the greatness of this series came from the natural contrast and interactions between our two Kamui wearers. As such, if the series suddenly decides to pull the “let’s all work together to bring down the big bad guy first” card, it feels like it’ll cheapen the story somewhat by tossing those contrasting views to the back burner. Of course, it’s highly possible that they don’t end up joining together—wouldn’t it be a twist if the rest of the story changes focus to only Satsuki?—and my worrying could be for naught. So I guess we’ll see how it goes for a bit before revisiting this thought. In the mean time, I gotta say… that darn TV owner’s earning a killing with his 100 yen/10 minutes of TV/person gig.

Author’s Note: Apologies on slight lateness of this post. Been trying to churn through final projects, preview and AOTY work while being sick the past week. Just a heads up though, next week’s post is likely to come out on Friday instead.

 

Preview

60 Comments

  3. I don’t think Harime did it. If you look closely at the sillouette from the flashback, the person who killed Ryuko’s dad looks nothing like Harime. Harime has a pair of giant megatwintails. The person in the sillouette has long, straight hair. That being said, I also don’t think it was Satsuki.

    Maya Stryker
    Reply

    1. That is what I thought, but 2 possibilities come to mind, a) she was wearing her hair down, b) is simply that the silhouette was an inaccurate representation of her to create confusion.

      Inversely though… I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t her.

      Goodwill Wright
      Reply

      1. You’re right. The sillouette from the first episode is different from the one from this one. (Since an image of this episode’s sillouette was already at the top of the page, I was just going by that.) The one from the first episode definitely looks more like Harime. That would also explain why the second one looks like Satsuki; maybe Satsuki was trying to stop her? (It would be a good way to justify Ryuko putting up with her for a future alliance against Ragyo.)

        Maya Stryker
        Reply

      1. Oh? I didn’t know he was signed on to compose for the upcoming X-Monolith game. That game is the sole reason I’ll be buying a Wii-U (if we are talking about the one with sexy looking mechas)

        But yeah, Hiroyuki Sawano has this sort exotic feel to his music which I really like. And the OSTs he compiles has a nice variety of selections.

        Goodwill Wright
        Reply

    1. The second I heard Yukari Tamura voicing a cute loli, before she did anything else, I was already fearing for my life.

      That was a really foolish move, Sanageyama. You DO NOT want to mess with the White Devil. You will be BEFRIENDED!

      MasterDragonKnight
      Reply

      1. She rather reminded me of Kirakishou from Rozen Maiden.
        It must be the outfit and the eyepatch.

        Also why is the other half of the scissors purple? I’m fairly sure it was blue last time we saw it.

        Riktol
        Reply

  6. Jakuzure actually had a great comeback with her “encore!”. I did enjoy it immensely, though Beethoven must be rolling in his grave… Nah, he would love the series too!
    A classic example of bait-and-switch-boss. Poor Sanageyama didnt even get to showcase his next version of Goku uniform…
    Now let’s pause for a minute and bathe in the awesomeness of Harime… ok? Done!
    So it was not Satsuki that kiled Matoi’s father. Series can actually end up with Matoi and Satsuki teaming up against ultimate enemy – probably Ragyo. And this would be EPIC end to epic series.

    ewok40k
    Reply

  10. This week had been too awesome with reveals.

    First, One Piece chapter 731 and then Kill La Kill episode 11.

    When Harime Nui pulled out that scissor blade, I had chills all over me. Trigger, simply awesome.

    I like the fact that Nui is voiced by Yukarin as well. Will Nui go all “STARLIIIIGHT BREEEEEAKER!/DIIIVINE BUUUUUSTEEER!” on Matoi?

    Tremste
    Reply

  11. Well the plot route from here is quite clear now. Satsuki’s mother is definitely the main antagonist with Satsuki trying to get out from under her. Her little school unification is nothing more than the building up of an apparatus required to take on her mother. Now this is where the philosophical differences come to light. Satsuki is trying to fight her mother using the same tactics she used to make herself into the rainbow-adorned image we saw this episode. This of course only replaces one despot with another in terms of actual change. Nudist Beach wants actual change, and thus the resistance against Satsuki. Their main goal is the overthrow of the current monopolistic holding of power by the Satsuki clan. Ryuuko is the wild card, a daughter of a man who made a potent weapon which offers the possibility to challenge Satsuki and her mother. Thus his murder. Satsuki believes Ryuuko can be of use in her campaign and therefore is currently testing her, seeing if she can subtly manipulate her into joining with Satsuki. Two Kaumis would be better than one after all. The problem is Ryuuko’s Raison d’etre and personality clashes with Satsuki’s, making that a challenge. It’s unlikely either will get what they want and have to come up with a compromise to each see their goals.

    Now we have the mother become involved. To her currently it seems like Satsuki is nothing more than a humourous annoyance, a child angry at the toys being taken away. Satsuki’s mother doesn’t see her daughter as a threat, or else the kawaii eye patch girl would be there to eliminate Satsuki, not for the s**ts and giggles essentially. I also agree she didn’t kill Ryuuko’s father. If anything little miss eye patch simply wants to see how capable Senketsu is and thus is willing to take advantage of circumstance to that end. After all, why waste a potentially valuable resource which may be co-opted later?

    If anything this episode really reinforces the herbivore reflection. Satsuki’s mother is the all powerful, abstract, uncaring state, a heterogeneous monolith made up of elders offering little or no opportunity, but plenty of risk. You can get something by joining the system, surrendering a part (or the entire whole) of yourself in exchange for wealth, power, legacy. Satsuki and Ryuuko offer the two challenges to the preexisting order. Satsuki is the usurping of the old order, replacing it with the exact same system, only under new management. Those who follow her will become the new political elite, those up and coming will be forced throw the motions as others have been before. Ryuuko is the individualist, fighting for identity and freedom, the ability to learn the truth and not be punished for it. Essentially the freedom to do whatever, whenever, with no interference from a faceless entity. Both challenges are equally valid, both have flaws within their structure, and the validity of both depend on your perception of human nature. Like a few series before it Kill la Kill is Trigger’s call to seriously reflect on why youth are abandoning contemporary society and forsaking the standard life.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    2. In my opinion, it can go both ways and Kill La Kill can introduce a villain later into the series that was really orchestrating the events and indirectly controlling the actions of Ragyo. Like… Nudist Beach being the real villains.

      For me, it is still too early to make assumptions knowing Hiroyuki Imaishi is directing it (director of Gurren Lagann). But of course, I wouldn’t be surprise if what you assume turns out to be correct either.

      Goodwill Wright
      Reply

  13. Honestly, I’m another one of those people who doesn’t think Harime killed Ryuko’s father. Not only does the silhouette not match, but I also think that, from a story perspective, it’s just too damn convenient. This subplot has been built up a ton and it should have been a big reveal. Instead we have the supposed killer show up out of nowhere and announce that she did it; talk about anticlimactic. And before anyone brings up the elephant in the room, the killer could have just given the scissor blade to Harime. If there’s one thing I can tell about the story, it’s that there is so much more going on than we know.

    On a sillier note, I hope I’m not the only one shipping Mako and Gamagoori. . .

    Ruddor
    Reply

  15. Math isn’t my best subject but here goes…

    Nanoha+Evil Badass Goth-Loli = ?????????

    Seriously though. It took me a few rewinds to figure out it was Nanoha’s VA. I guess my brain was refusing to compute the sheer genius of it all.

    The mother was scary bright. I mean.. rainbow bright… err… hmmm.. pun? Gah. If Satsuki could shine with the brilliance of the sun, her mom appears to be blazing brightly in all the colors of the rainbow…

    Ah… Trigger… I just can’t wait for next week enough.

    Radler
    Reply

  17. Nui didn’t kill Matoi’s father. She is, however, very keen to test Matoi’s strength which, as any smart villain knows, requires infuriating the opponent first. Hence, Nui lied that she killed Matoi’s father. But more factually, you can see that from (1) hair of the escaping shadow being clearly different and (2) Nui saying that she “pulled the scissor out of the body”, not that she put it there. I don’t know who did it, but it wasn’t Nui.

    Universal Bunny
    Reply

    1. I dunno, the resemblance between Nui and the silhouette in episode 1 is pretty uncanny…

      If you’re referring to the silhouette from episode 8, which clearly does not look like it could possibly be her, there’s the idea that Satsuki’s been on Ryuko’s brain for so long could have led to her having a false memory where she visualized Satsuki rather than the more vague image from before.

      Ian
      Reply

    1. Why the heck not !!!? .. you can say it’s fabulous, fashionable, cool .. whatever .. in a series this crazy it is “craziness” to ask why the two parts of a scissor are different colors .. really .. that’s the only “strange” thing that caught your attention XD

      HunterWulf
      Reply

  21. An observation (and possible plot-hole):

    “I pulled the scissor blade out of your father…”

    That must have been a brutal attack since when Ryuuko arrived, she met her father sitting with one scissor blade inside him. Which means whoever murdered him had to have put a WHOLE scissor in Ryuuko’s father, two blades and all.

    SO how would pulling the scissor out and only ONE of its blades remaining inside have been possible without really doing some serious damage?

    Also, Ryuuko’s father spoke at LENGTH with the blade still in him. Guy’s got the strength of a marine or war veteran or some shit to talk so much while supposedly being on the brink of death.

    And then there’s that explosion when Ryuuko left the house in pursuit of her father’s assailant.

    Too convenient, seeing as there were no signs of flammable material anywhere (since what happened was Ryuuko strolled in to her home and then found her father in the state he was in).

    We really don’t even KNOW if her father truly is dead and given her penchant to just jump in, it’s possible Ryuuko doesn’t truly know either.

    Either that or just poor story-planning.

    rinran
    Reply

    1. Most of that isn’t a plot hole, as much as an inconsistency, in which it doesn’t affect the overall plot that much. As for the father being dead or not, it’s 13 episodes too early for conclusion jumping.

      iion42
      Reply

  22. PS. I thought Satsuki was a boss (still do, and I mean boss as in “bawse” not, you know, “baddie”) until Kiryuin Ragyo opened her mouth to speak.

    What a deep, sexy, intimidating voice she’s got.

    And her brilliance is just, wow. Her minion literally had to put on sunglasses, and even then didn’t look directly at Ragyo.

    Her hair is very similar to Senketsu form Ryuuko’s, like a bird’s wings, spread out in either direction from her skull.

    Ryuuko says her mother died. She ALSO says she didn’t know much about her father. So who told her that her mother died? Probably her father.

    And since she knew very little about her father she probably and possibly didn’t know that he could be a liar.

    Then there’s Satsuki’s father, who gave her Junketsu as a present and wedding gown. No more mention of him since.

    Hmmm.

    rinran
    Reply

  23. PPS. If the speculation that Ryuuko and Satsuki could be related is true, and given that the only parental figure shown in Satsuki’s life is her mother, is it possible that they’re trying to avenge the same person?

    If that’s the case, Satsuki and Ryuuko are pretty much like the two separate halves of a complete scissor.

    Heh. Now THAT would be a plot development.

    rinran
    Reply

  24. I thought Nui Harime looked pretty shitty. Her character design was generic, and a little too tawdry. She didn’t mesh well in the universe that oozed out hyperbolic originality and awesomeness. She was an even bigger putoff to look at than Jakuzure.

    But she did have the plot in her favor and boy did my jaw drop. It wasn’t equivalent to Gurren Lagann’s infamous plot-thicker of course but i’m glad Imaishi had something like this up her sleeve. Ryuuko is standing no chance. I kinda hope and expect the nudist beach personnels to pull her out of the arena, even by force!

    KingofConquerors
    Reply

  26. I know she’s all butterflies (not really) and rainbows (very much), but Ragyo kind of scares me. Especially with her wardrobe closet of pure-white doom, “And which one of you shall adorn my body today?”. I think as the series has progressed, we’ve seen parts of Satsuki that, if taken out of the versus Matoi scenario, are very enlightening. I mean, all she’s done is talk about how she wants to change the world for the better. Every flashback scene of how the 3-star gang formed its alliance with Satsuki has been inspirational. And none of it has pointed to her being an antagonist.

    In fact, a friend of mine pointed this out to me the other day. Kill La Kill is by the same people who did Gurren Lagann. Taking that into account, they have a knack for slowing developing the first impression-antagonists into the good guys and revealing some other true antagonist. So maybe we’re not headed for a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” moment but more banding together towards the common enemy: Ragyo.

    Cloudy
    Reply

  27. That moment when Ryuuko’s glove trigger just bursts from her sheer anger .. THAT XD

    And Satsuki’s mother is one hell of an intimidating badass .. no wonder Satsuki is the way she it, i suppose she has been trying hard all this time to get out of her shadow and forger her own way (hence why she donned the Kamui without premission), and i say that she is actually using Ryuuko to further her plans, forcing her to fight with her henchmen/women and herself to both test her and help her power up, for the eventual team-up between them .. but that’s just my guess.

    Can’t wait for the next ep.

    HunterWulf
    Reply

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