Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill Cover Art featuring Ryuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuin
Kill la Kill Cover Art

Overview

Kill la Kill is probably the most popular anime created by Studio Trigger. It follows Ryuko Matoi, a high school-aged girl, who is searching for her father’s killer.

The plot of the first half is Ryuko fighting through the students at Honnouji Academy by wearing a uniform made out of Life Threads which gives her and her opponents superhuman powers. The latter half of the series, however, becomes more extreme as Ryuko is no longer fighting to solve her father’s murder, but rather to save the world.

While there are some in this world who embrace the Life Fibers and the powers they grant, there are others who oppose the Life Fibers and want a more pure way of life. This anti-Life Fiber organization is known as Nudist Beach and yes, they are exactly what they sound like; a paramilitary group composed of nudists.

Characters

Ryuko Matoi is the protagonist of this anime. Her father was murdered by someone wielding a giant pair of scissors and now Ryuko is in possession of one half of the scissor blades. She transfers to Honnouji Academy in search of the person who owns the other half of the blade.

The Life Fiber uniform that Ryuko wears is named Senketsu and it is one of two specialized Life Fiber uniforms known as Kamui. Her scissor blade is also special in that it can completely destroy Life Fibers which no other weapon is known to be able to accomplish.

Mako is Ryuko’s best friend at Honnouji Academy. She is hyperactive, as is the rest of her family with whom Ryuko is staying. Mako and her family serve as the primary comedic relief of the series.

Satsuki Kiryuin is the primary antagonist of the first half of the series. She is the student council president and the undisputed leader of the academy. Below her are her Elite Four which are made up of the leaders of each of the student organizations. Satsuki is also in possession of a Kamui like Ryuko.

Later on in the series, Satsuki’s mother, Ragyo Kiryuin is the main antagonist. She is the head of a company which creates clothing out of Life Fibers. This is where Nudist Beach come into play as their goal is to take down Ragyo and her empire.

Ryuko Matoi wielding her scissor blade
Ryuko Matoi

Conclusion

While many people love Kill la Kill, I didn’t like it as much because it seems to get a little too out there by the end of the series. A comparable series would be Gurren Lagann in which literally every battle is larger and more extreme than the previous, but it worked within the world that was set up in that series. In Kill la Kill, by the end not much made sense anymore.

Because of this, I can only give Kill la Kill a 6/10. If the ending was better it would have been a 7, but no higher than that.

While there were some things I didn’t like, such as the ending, there were also plenty of things I did like about this anime. As usual, Studio Trigger didn’t disappoint with what seems to be their signature animation style. Also this series has a great OST with one of my personal favorite songs being Ragyo Kiryuin’s theme.

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