First Impressions / Kill la Kill

「君に薔薇薔薇…という感じ」 (Kimi ni Bara Bara? Toyuu Kanji)
“I’m Crazy For You.”

Kill la Kill’s back for its second half, and it’s exactly the kind of game-changing episode the series needed. It explored the aftermath of the series’ hectic first half, gave us quite a few surprises while it was at it, and did some quality reinforcement of the topics it tried to broach. Best of all, it did all of this despite having little to no actual action, and it bodes well for Kill la Kill if it can build on this with the remaining 11 episodes.

For all intents and purposes, this episode was a preparatory one for the upcoming academy raids on Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It’s anything but straight forward though, because it’s revealed also that this is just the final step to forcing Nudist Beach’s hand, and it’s an interesting revelation that changes the playing field. Because whereas the previous episodes hinted at some kind of future conflict with the Nudists, this episode finally verifies exactly how the Kiryuin’s are aiming to get to them—both literally and figuratively via clothing distribution. Needless to say, the execution this week was spot on in this regard, and I did quite like the whole “clothing is sin” and “clothing will force the naked apes of Nudist Beach out” elements they put here this week. Best of all, they combined this with some masterful puppeteering work on Harime Nui’s part, and I was admittedly caught off guard by how effectively they strung up Matoi throughout the episode. It played on the whole “hero recovery” trope in style, and one wonders just how she’ll get back into things now that she’s lost Senketsu AND received a load of additional mental trauma while she’s at it.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the episode (for me, anyway) however, ends up being the fact that Gamagoori didn’t even seem to realize that the discipline committee members chasing “Narita” weren’t actual members. Granted, it’s highly possible that this is merely due to Harime being on a whole other level power-wise, but it’s interesting nonetheless because one can say a lot about this just being a side effect of the system being run at Honnoji Academy. There’s essentially little to no individuality among the general populace, and this lack of recognition hammers in this fact, as this basically says that there’s so little individuality between them that they can’t even be distinguished from one another.

With that said though, it’s interesting to note that those below a certain level seem to have been excluded from the raid despite this lack of recognition—either intentionally or via the Naturals Election—and it can be said that this may be representative of a kind of compassion on Satsuki’s part. Considering how she’s treated the members of the Elite Four up until this point, this definitely wouldn’t be beyond her character at all, and it’s something that confirms her to be a better representation of “goodness” than Matoi actually is. We had seen some of this before hand already, but this episode makes it especially obvious, and the fact that even Matoi ends up being saved by Satsuki is a key development that adds further to this notion. In addition, it once again opens up the potential of Matoi at least playing some part in helping Satsuki fight against Ragyo, which is a rebellion we all know is coming at some point. It makes you wonder if this same compassion might not end up leading to Satsuki’s defeat at the hands of Matoi—we know she’s going to reunite with Senketsu at some point too—when it’s all said and done though…

Ultimately, it’s quite a good start to Kill la Kill’s second half. I was contemplating dropping the series if this episode didn’t end up demonstrating some additional promise outside of its action-related aspects, but that idea’s been put on hold for now. After all, how can I drop the series when they finally gave us Blumenkranz in its full glory? Just a heads up though, future episodes may not be covered until Friday night, and may/may not be slightly reduced in terms of content depending on circumstances. I still may drop the series at some point if it doesn’t end up meeting the potential this episode hints at, but for now, let’s see where this goes. Until next week though, try not to trust any random new people that pop up into your life saying you inspired them in some way. It might just save your life. Oh yeah, remember that wearing clothing is a sin!

 

Preview

67 Comments

    2. I wish I had a hot mom like Ragyo. I assume that we will not see Senketsu for a while. I am very sure that Trigger will not let him stay dead. I am eager to know how Ryuuko will fight without her Kamui.

      JohnHayabusa
      Reply

  2. I doubt Gamagoori even noticed those puppets chasing Nagita. Notice how they all disappeared right before he came, making it look like Mako was spreading Anti-Kiryuin propaganda all on her own. In retrospect, I realized that getting Mako roped up in the Raid Trip (or Battlefield Trip, which I still believe is a better name) also prevented her from remaining by Ryuko’s side without the heartache of killing two of our beloved characters at once. And Ryuko could probably use a good, healthy dose of Mako right now… (Nui, you clever bitch…)

    Ian
    Reply

  3. Although it’s still looking like Satsuki is going to remain the sole enemy for Ryuuko, I hope I don’t have to eat (all) my words and have Ragyo still be the enemy in hiding. This episode was good all around and confirmed that KLK still remains the popcorn entertainment series to top this year. Not much in the way of action, but at least we know that Nudist Beach is the ultimate target, implying that there is still one mystery we are not purview to yet.

    While the philosophy has largely been hashed out, the speech over clothing was an interesting take again on the whole individual vs. community dichotomy. Here (again) we have Satsuki through her mother holding up the community as absolute, with clothing as the vessel to eradicate individuality. This does hold some truth, as the primary reason (for example) for school uniforms is to bring all school members to an equal level and extirpate their differences, allowing for all unique nuances to be left at the door, promoting a better learning environment. What better way to kill off a bunch of reactionaries than by taking away their sole mechanism of identity–their clothing? It’s much easier to identify a threat when foundation is homogeneous than when you have to account for statistical noise.

    How Senketsu is going to be recovered is certainly going to be interesting, but who wants to bet that the red handkerchief Ryuuko still holds is the “soul” of Senketsu and the only part she needs to properly revive him? Furthermore based on the dichotomy above, the defining factor of Ryuuko’s being was Senketsu. Without her Kaumi she is effectively a tabula rasa, her raison d’etre gone as now she has no way to fight. I’m going to guess that when and how Ryuuko gets Senketsu back she is not going to be the same person per say, and likely not be fighting for the same thing either. Whether I’m right or wrong either way we are still in for one heck of a ride. KLK might not be everything it could be, but it’s still pretty damn good, especially when you consider Trigger’s budget.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. Somehow I get the feeling this is still all part of Satsuki’s plan, including the part with her mother and Nui’s independent action.

      It is doubtful that someone of her caliber would have missed a part of Senketsu. More likely, she deliberately left Matoi the most important center piece (and covered her up with a blanket), knowing that she would crawl her way back up. When she finally does reconstruct Senketsu, she may be powerful enough as a pawn to be used against Nui and her own mother.

      MasterDragonKnight
      Reply

  4. I was kind of surprised at how good this episode was too. Think the show in general would’ve been better if it had stuck to this kind of worldbuilding and storytelling instead of monster-of-the-week antics. I’m genuinely interested in how all these parties – Satsuki, her mother, Nudist Beach, Matoi and of course wild card Harime Nui are going to play into all this.

    Now let’s hope they stick with this, and don’t fall back in old habits.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  7. They keep upping the suspense with the goddamn cliffhangers! I never thought Ryuko would ever be defeated and Senketsu would be destroyed and in the hands of the enemy!! I see another 10-minute retirement for poor Ryuko.

    starss
    Reply

  10. Awesome episode,
    IDK why people thought there would not be a plot or something worthy, or they were going to be with a format similar to “monster of the week” they were throwing misteries and characters during the entire series so i thought that obviously something would be happening in later episodes.

    Gurren Lagann was like this, up until episode 8

    defc
    Reply

    1. Lol, good one. Ripped Into Pieces (R.I.P.) Senketsu.

      Anyway, I know this is pretty obvious but REVOCS is COVER spelt backwards (minus the “S”), so anyone got any thoughts on this?

      Or it could stand for REVOlution Clothing Society or something. I’m not sure, just trying to justify the naming convention here.

      Goodwill Wright
      Reply

  14. I swear Harime Nui is becoming one of my favorite villains in anime so far.
    1)First time showed up she takes out one the Elite Four without even trying.
    2)Brings out the big reveal of who killed MC’s father when most of the people suspected it to be Satsuki.
    3)Being overpowered as fuck who temporarily went berserk on Matoi’s father the moment dude cut her left eye off out of a simple distraction which lead her to want to torment Matoi for it.
    4)The first episode of the new year and she pulls a Shingetsu/Vector from Zexal to somewhat get Matoi to wear Senketsu again only to have him completely destroyed and almost killed if Satsuki had not showed out of nowhere to stop her.
    Last but not least her constant breaking the fourth wall:
    https://randomc.net/image/Kill%20la%20Kill/Kill%20la%20Kill%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2029.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Kill%20la%20Kill/Kill%20la%20Kill%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2035.jpg

    I most likely will gain a lot a hate for this but by end of all this I just hope she has some tragic backstory that lead her into being this blood thirsty monster before she would get killed off, which I hope she doesn’t.

    75ChaosFlare
    Reply

  15. Am I the only one who is wondering how come Matoi in battle form shows so much underboob when she has striped underwear underneath? For a while there I was wondering if she was going nopan for majority of the first season!

    And also anyone else wondered why her striped underwear stayed on despite Senketsu being ripped to shreads? Maybe they are made from the same material which Hulk’s pants were made out of?

    Taiakun
    Reply

  16. -It’s always the little things that keeps it fresh animation wise.

    -All those characters, and all of their personal animation quirks (especially Harime Nui, she kept playing around with her intro-proper)… soooo good…

    -Harime Nui…oh you sneaky little … you are THE one nut job that I would not want to meet. Ever. (A complement to her character design.)

    OTOH, I never thought that I got the call right…

    @ Zephyr: You can even do the episodes in point form! Just don’t stop! I beg of you!!!

    info600
    Reply

  20. yeah..when things seem similar in fashion i like to compare…but this show is deff not captivating and drawing me in like gurren laggan…with dat said, this show has ITs OWN THING.. the clothing aspect,,they could do soo much more over the top type story stuff with that ALONE..but its not being done…too bad…maybe at the end they’ll pull out all the stops…and that mankanshou…whatever “water head girl” is the JAR JAR BINKS of this show..shes wacky and sometimes amusing …but just terrible..i like her family more….do like rainbow hair mom though.

    BROOKLYN otaku
    Reply

  22. Dear God, Blumenkranz was worked so well into that sequence with Ragyou. Sawano-sama’s soundtrack can really help bring out the best in this series. Glad to see you sticking around for more KLK coverage, Zephyr!

    Trippwire
    Reply

      3. The Deutsch pronunciation is utter sh*t for Blumenkranz, not that it makes it a bad track though, I liked it regardless 😛 No Bayern accent, all that differentiates that from Upper German is the rolled r’s (the German we most commonly know has “swallowed r’s” said at the back of throat) which are nonexistent for this track.

        No gutturals for the uch sound, no -ch hiss for such words as ich, umlauts have no accentuation (staerker should sound like stairker, not starker, and fluesterst like fleeustersts, not flusterst for example).

        Cannot really be blamed though, even English speakers have trouble getting these sounds right, especially the -ch. Took me 2 years of German lessons before I got them down pat, with a liberal dose of Neue Deutsche Haerte to go with it.

        Pancakes
        Reply

  27. Seeing how she has only one piece of cloth left, I can’t help but wonder. Maybe they’re going to make a new uniform with that one piece attached. It won’t be as nearly as powerful as the original, but would at least pack some power in certain places.

    drifters
    Reply

    2. Because she use them on “other Hosts”, Her God-armor will raise power off-screen. So they can build in a Time skip, and dont need to explain her “Upgrade” Story. But then Satsuki was that Powerful from the Start, and Matoi was a Greenhorn from the Start. She just used a drip (or some more) of her Power. Where Satsuki is the Ocean

      I go with this 🙂

      Approved 🙂 *Thumb Up* (Imagine this Picture http://de.narutopedia.eu/images/a/a6/Nice_gai.jpg)

      Germanguy
      Reply

  28. First, thank you for covering the series after all.
    Secondly, I am all eagerly awaitning some mass clothing-powered battles after the endless series of duels.
    Thirdly, there is interesting dynamic between Satsuki, Ryuko, Ragyo and Harui. Satsuki seeks to challenge Ragyo and is somehow counting at using Ryuko and her Kamui. Ragyo seeks to control Satsuki, but her use of Harui is dangerous, since not even CEO can control a true artist. And Harui is here for the evulz (entertainment-evil-lol). This all has a beautiful combination of chess-like strategy and russian roulette being played.

    ewok40k
    Reply

  29. Okay, i am watching again. This entire “Tekken” Fights was not my Style. Sure in Naruto it was too. But after the Duels, they saw that Story is more the Glue that hold all together

    Thank you. Please take care of me, again Kill la Kill

    Germanguy
    Reply

  31. It’s very interesting how this show is, at least on Ryuuko’s side, staying true to the monomyth cycle (http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Structure_104:_The_Juicy_Details here explained by Dan Harmon). At the midpoint Ryuuko gets what she wanted, and now at the beginning of the second half, pays the price. Now all that’s left is the climbing back up to the beginning, with a twist.

    And what a climb to the beginning it is, having to get Senketsu back.

    However, even as Satsuki is supposed to be a parallel protagonist, I don’t see much of the cycle in her story (yet). Most of her development has been implied, though if this second half does focus on her side of the story we might see just what are her whole plans.

    EH2
    Reply

  34. Well, some Persons are afraid of their own Dark Side. Others one embrace it with all their Mind

    Looks like Matoi want to stay on the Light Side. And are Afraid of her own Dark Side. Satsuki looks like she are in Control, trough her Willpower

    Perhaps we will see a Scene, where Matoi will need to rescue Satsuki of her own Dark Side Pool. If sometime your Willpower Wall is penetrated, you get instant sucked in

    And for the others 4. Sure, Matoi beat them. But they should not forget, Matoi climb the Walls of them, they put around Satsuki. They are still Her Shield. Only 1 was stronger as them, 1 of 10000000+ Peoples on the World. In the first, Satsuki beat them also. So there are someone with the same Powers. So you still useful for your “Master” Your Walls are still high enough for the rest “Scum”

    If you are not anymore, the Wall is also gone. This is the great Sin, your doing to your Master…

    Germanguy
    Reply

  36. I find it very annoying that they had to throw away a good character like that, just to reveal him to be an already-known, much less interesting old character. Seriously, how annoying can Harime Nui be?
    Anyway, the episode really gave me back reasons to watch this show. I liked the big development at the end (though I know it won’t be permanent).

    lorenzo
    Reply

  37. I always wonder why these reviews use Ryuuko’s family name instead of her given name. It looks odd next to Mako, Satsuki or even Ragyo.
    And I hope Senketsu’s death is not like Kamina’s death. Despite being, you know, an outfit, it was my favorite character here.

    Blumen
    Reply

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