First Impressions / Kill la Kill

「あなたを・もっと・知りたくて」 (Anata o Motto Shiri Taku Te)
“I Want to Know More About You”

This week on Kill la Kill, the fight between Matoi and the Elite Four continues, and things end up going faster than I ever anticipated. If there’s one thing the quick dispatch of Inumata—by forfeiture no less!—shows though, it’s that each of the Elite Four have their own distinct personalities and their own personal reasons for being there at Honnouji Academy. Indeed, one of the nice things about the show is how its giving each of the members their own time in the limelight, and it’s kind of amazing how much they manage to fit in each episode. It gets a bit hectic from time to time sure, but I guess that’s just par for the course with this show.

On that note, it’s interesting that we theoretically know more about everyone else’s relations with each other than we do about Matoi, her past, and her own relationships outside of Mako’s family. Combine this with the fact that we also don’t know much about the Kamui she’s wearing either—even Senketsu doesn’t know about himself!—and what this does is further increase the gap between her and those at the top of Honnouji Academy. At this point, she’s a giant mystery box rolled up into one, and it shows in how reckless she is in her fights too. They say there are few things more dangerous than those who have nothing to lose, and Matoi arguably has little to lose considering what she already has and what she doesn’t know.

There’s one problem with this mindset however, and Inumata ends up pointing it out early in the episode:

How long can your body take it?

Historically, those with nothing to lose usually end up losing their lives—the only thing left they can lose—and it looks like Matoi’s setting herself for that exact result. If anything, her Kamui’s evolving far too fast to be considered natural, and it’s something that could backfire before it’s all said and done. Arguably, Senketsu’s the only other thing she has left, and it would not be without irony if Matoi’s body does proves capable of withstanding the onslaught of the Elite Four, but Senketsu proves incapable of withstanding the force evolution Matoi’s forcing out of him. That said, it’s even more ironic considering it’s the Naturals Election, and they’re totally throwing that and the concept of Natural Selection out the window.

For the moment though, it does seem like Matoi’s got everything under control, and I guess we should just sit back and enjoy the show while it lasts. Because if there’s one thing the preview hints at, it’s that we’ll be getting some kind of surprise arrival in the coming week, and it doesn’t look like Matoi’s going to be able to get a reprieve from that. Guess we’ll be keeping the demolition train goin’… though it doesn’t look like Jakuzure’ll end up joining the others on the sideline just yet.

Author’s Note: Due to finals and work on the Winter Preview + AOTY posts, there is a chance that next week’s post will be delayed and combined with the following week’s episode in a double post. I’ll try to get it out as per usual, but it may not be possible depending on how certain circumstances work out.

 

Preview

31 Comments

    1. I am so eager to know that new girl, too. I wonder if she is going to be the Bigger Bad/Final Boss of this anime.

      Fantastic episode as usual. Ryuko gets to fight Inumata and Nonon in one episode. Love their uniform powers. I wish the Ryuko/Inumata could have lasted a little longer, though.

      Nonon is like Kuroko (due to her ear-worming voice) and Liang Qi (due to her loyalty to Satsuki-sama). I love Nonon so much.

      John Hayabusa
      Reply

  6. “That said, it’s even more ironic considering it’s the Naturals Election, and they’re totally throwing that and the concept of Natural Selection out the window.”

    It’s not really ironic as Naturals Election is only a pun in the English version. The Japanese version used a totally different pun having nothing to do with natural selection.

    Nipah
    Reply

  9. Talk about not getting what you expected. I was waiting for a “I analyzed all your moves” fight. Didn’t get that. I thought the Inumata fight would last the entire episode. Didn’t get that one either. Trigger sure knows how to throw us some curve balls 🙂

    livid
    Reply

  10. Inumata’s uniform screams Tron in all its cyberpunk glory. Of course only made more outrageous by the amount of poses he possesses. Also thoroughly enjoyed how dear band leader’s uniform became first a mechanized heart and then a flying heart, all the while we have the morbid imagery of bone wings and a skull embedded in her hat. If it’s not an angel of death reference then i’m not drunk enough at the moment.

    Guessing the eyepatch girl will have something to do with Nudist Beach, getting Senketsu to either slow down in his evolution or transfer to someone else, giving Mohawk an opportunity to provide us with additional pieces of information, and potentially the NB teacher another observer (victim?) for his strip tease sessions.

    Pancakes
    Reply

  11. My guess, could be way off, is that the second part will focus on Nudist Beach. Too little has been mentioned about them since their introduction, so i hope they’ll go deeper into that in the coming episodes.

    Wuz
    Reply

  15. Having seen Sanageyama’s uniform appear in the preview, it’s a bit obvious Jakazure will lose… OR… it will be one of those episodes where they have a flashback of the previous episodes.

    ion52
    Reply

  18. One wonders if possibly the growing number of defeated four divas is in fact a desired result of Lady Satsuki’s overall plans. Whatever they are, it seems to revolve around Matoi in differing ways. On one hand we have Matoi being an unwitting pawn thinning out the herd of weaklings. However on the other hand, it seems the use of Matoi is more to make her forces stronger as in the case of Sanageyama, by breaking her elites and club president superiority complex she allows them to actually grow stronger as both characters and soldiers in quest of possibly usurping her parents rule.

    I am also sensing a mixture of resentment and sexual tension between Matoi and Satsuki, this probably stems from the fact that Matoi is the first rival that Satsuki hasn’t been able to outright defeat and subvert to her thinking and faction, if the flashbacks aren’t evidence enough. Add to that Matoi own burning to desire of revenge of her father’s death, you a perfect recipe of worthy opponent for both them. The only question being is whether that worthy opponent status will lead them into an unusual partnership, foyay relationship, or Satsuki/Matoi’s death. What this has in store of Satsuki own plans is really up in the air.

    And then there’s Nudist beach, which while the defualt la resistance is more seen monitoring and possibly neutering Matoi’s Kamui than actually opposing Kiryuins, which begs the question whether they were even really against Kiryuins to begin with, just more against the use of Life Fibers. Though this perception is probably isn’t helped by the cryptic aikuro, and Mr. Pervert both sending mixed messages about there organization’s underlying intentions.

    Echo
    Reply

  20. Of course it’s a desired result. She has shown pretty clearly to not want them dead because they still factor into her overall plans, and it’s doubtful that they are gone for good. More importantly, I think Satsuki plans on not only using Matoi to clear her ranks (which she has been shown to be doing for weeks), but to use Matoi as a weapon against Nudist Beach and any other enemies she has. There has been something of a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker going on between them for awhile now.

    I will miss this segment of the series. In my post (link here: http://sekijitsu.com/2013/12/07/kill-la-kill-10-combat-evolved/) I explain that without a doubt next episode is the begining of a new stage in the series. WHen the girl from nudist beach arrives, that will spell the end of the Ryuko vs. Satsuki main arc that we’ve had for so long. I guarantee it.

    Zabi
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *