Kill la Kill

KILL LA KILL ULTIMATE REVIEW ATTACK THINGY SYKE Story: 8 Similar to Gurren Lagann, this anime runs off pure enjoyment. However, it is pretty bad at being serious. We don't really remember the parts where Aikuro dumps a bunch of exposition like it's the bloody Ice Bucket Challenge. We remember the part where Satsuki just kicked a certain someone's buttocks. Also there was this one scene...in a bathtub...hang on I'm gonna drink more bleach. It's hard to take seriously but dang does it entertain! Presentation: 5 While the artwork for the characters, even when it makes Tumblr start rolling, looks pretty good. But this series seems to say "up yours" to any sort of fluid animation. Even in fight scenes it seems the animation team was cutting several corners. Though some moments, like the one butt-kicking scene, and one scene with a flying dagger,and the pur...*drinks bleach*...excuse me..were very well animated. But most of the time it seems like a slideshow, even if it does seem to fit in well Sound: 10 Great soundtrack. Makes anything seem epic. When you're taking a dump, the soundtrack will make it awesome. When you're taking a final, you're saving the world. When you're taking a bath...*more bleach* The over the top soundtrack goes well with the over the top nature of the show. Now only if they spent this much effort animating. Characters: 8 We have a solid group of mains. Ryuko is alright. She has an intriguing backstory, even if she seems to go MAXIMUM EDGE a bit too often. Mako is passable as comic relief, but actually can be taken seriously on occasion, which is an A in my book. The real meat is Satsuki. If the story was from Satsuki's POV, it would be at least 19.99 percent cooler. Eh has a calm and cool personality and doesn't afraid of anything, despite the fact that [SPOILERS] The Elite Four are excellent companions for Satsuki, and have great personalities and solid backstories. Ragyo and Nui are threatening villains, even if they're a bit farfetched. Their rapiness does get very old after a while *shudders* Let's just say Aikuro (aka Exposition Bin) got annoying and only is notable for "nudisto, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETCH" FINAL VERDICT 8/10 Would watch again BUT I'M SKIPPING THE PURIFICATION SCENE NEXT TIME trigger you sick pervs RECOMMENDATION: MEDIUM HIGH

Edit of my Review from 5? years ago. I've rewatched the series many times since then, and my stance is a little changed. This Anime is far from a masterpiece, but very good at expressing its' core message in a very convincing narrative. The story stands the test of time, but the artwork feels misplaced, as some lazy edits in the frames leave for some pretty mediocre drawing in art direction. Characters: still great, little less appealing than they were in the past, but their character traits and motivations are there for the main cast, other than... the drawback of the series: the supporting cast. They have little to no development and it feels like they were thrown in there to exist rather than have a purpose. Sound Holds up well, no changes, soundtrack and score composition are always amazing under sawano. Overall a great show regardless of any underlying flaws which most shows do have, but not the masterpiece I once though it was. big points for holding up well 5+ years later. *Original Review Below* I'll start off by saying that this review is my opinion only and I will admit I am a bit biased towards this particular anime, that being said... "I MUST STRIP!" There, right there in episode 3, is when I knew it was going to be like Gurren Lagaan. Kill la Kill is an original anime produced by Studio Trigger, the send-off from Gainax, the studio that made Gurren Lagaan. *WARNING* This review is a bit lengthy and if you do not wish to read it all go with my rapid summary TL;DR: It blew my mind out more than a gun ever could Story: The story goes something like this: Girl, namely Ryuuko, wants to find her Father's Murderer, and goes to an academy to find some answers; she ends up getting screwed over, then finds a talking uniform, dubbed, Senketsu. She proceeds to use Senketsu to attack the students, who also wear superpowered "goku uniforms" and finds a rival in Satsuki Kiryuin(sorry for misspelling). Well my reasoning for this is basically the regular stuff, since i cant spoil too much out of the first few episodes, but anyone who has seen gurren lagaan knows exactly how they pace the series. the plot twists and rapid pacing contribute to the story for sure, but that was partly the problem, it went too fast. overall though, the story was still very entertaining. 9/10 Art: Okay, I wont call it the BEST art I've seen out of the season, but it has the comical consistency of gurren lagaan that I have always enjoyed, and completely enthralls me to glue my eyes to the screen. If you watch closely, the animation does dip past episodes 3-5, but still was good for the budget that Trigger could provide, which is pretty damn good. 10/10 Sound: "DON'T LOSE YOUR WAYYYYYYY!!!!!" The soundtrack was most likely the part that sold me in the beginning, even when i thought the concept was a bit sketchy. The music in the soundtrack is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who in my opinion is Godsent from the heavens, cause this guy knows how to write some badass tracks. from "Before my Body is Dry" to "Blumenkranz" to "Light your Heart up" I raised my volume to max every time cause i wanted to actually listen to the music more than the anime at times. all in all, I actually believe this soundtrack is better than Attack on Titan's. The openings, "Sirius" and "Ambiguous" by Aoi Eir and Garnidelia respectively, were probably the ramp for me to epicness. Ambiguous especially, made my mind blow when I heard the chorus. The endings, "Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai" and "Shin Sekai Kōkyōgaku", although they didn't hype me up like the openings, were pleasant to hear. 10/10 Character: Let's face it, no matter how much you think you hate Mako, in the end you can't hate her. The characters aren't as developed as in a romance or drama anime, but they were all entertaining enough for me to love each of them in my own way(except Ragyo and Nui, Screw them -.-). Even the antagonists were well based upon, I couldn't HELP but hate them, but I guess that is the goal of an antagonist. Aside from that, the voice actors are very good at their job, perfectly portraying the voices and feeling of each character, even though I couldn't understand the Japanese, I definitely felt the message of the character come through. Very big props to the voice of the homeroom teacher, Aikuro Mikisugi, Shin-ichiro Miki, the guy made me want to spit out soda each time he obsessed over "DTR!!!" 10/10 Enjoyment: If you couldn't tell by the amount of detail I'm trying to put into this review, I LOVE THIS ANIME. I usually don't admit that due to people disagreeing with me, but right now, I really don't care, cause I can't help but love it, the show did gurren lagaan's creators justice, and added onto epicness. sure, I wasn't part of the hype train initially, but after finishing it, I feel very satisfied enough to go out and ride that train to America. All in all, it was a superb piece of work, and I cannot say everyone will love it just as I did, but I can say that everyone will find an element in the show that they will love. 10/10 Overall: From the moment I saw the epic scenery of Honnouji Academy to the closing credits, Kill la Kill has been one of the most entertaining experiences I could ever have watching anime. It is action-packed, full of comedy and witty word-play, and can get serious to the point where you need to back off the screen in fear of the character jumping at you. The fast paced, epic action of Kill la Kill is not to be missed, even if the audience is varied, the anime is serious, downright goofy, and epic at the same time. At this time Kill la Kill is not released in North America or other countries, but has been licensed by Aniplex of America, so expect a release in the upcoming year or winter 2014. To all of you that have read this review and not watched Kill la Kill, I implore you to watch it (there is a free hype train ticket in your email).10/10

I gotta say, a friend forced me into watch this one, I didn't really care but when I saw that sick animation I just fell in love with it. The art-style is kinda odd at first, but then you get use to it you kinda start diggin' it. The plot development is just amazing, there even are a couple hardcore plot twists. The fight scenes are super awesome and hilarious at times and the music is just... It's so good that you just end up losing your way (See what I did there?). If you love good action and good plot, KLK is your anime.

There’s an old saying, that ‘clothes make the man.’ At Honnouji Academy, however, clothes make more than just the man... They make the warrior, they make the authority, and they separate the powerful from the weak. You see, at this school, classes are more than just those things you struggle to stay awake through while dreaming about the dreamy classmate a few seats over... They’re the things you’re bound by, as part of an ironclad caste system. Depending on your level in that caste system, you may or may not be given a Goku uniform, which are special school uniforms that amplify the natural abilities and club-related interests of their respective wearers. The more powerful the uniform, the more stars you’re granted, from one to three... With the very top position occupied by the stone-faced, cold-hearted Satsuki Kiryuin, the Student Council President who runs the school as if it’s her own personal dictatorship. She lords over her school, which itself lords over the town, with no living being opposing her rule. Enter Ryuko Matoi, a teenage nomad with a chip on her shoulder and one half of a giant pair of scissors by her side, looking for answers regarding the mysterious death of her father and taking no prisoners in her quest for those answers. With a unique sentient Goku uniform named Senketsu by her side, a hyper best friend giving her a place to stay, and a shady teacher constantly trying to convince her to get naked(for surprisingly non-rapey reasons), will this loudmouthed punk have what it takes to raze Satsuki’s rubric regime, or is she facing a literal uphill battle that she can’t possibly win? For those of you who haven’t read my April reviews, I like to describe Studio Gainax’s animation quality as being ‘inconsistent.’ Considering how abundant this problem is, I would expect the same from any animation studio that could ever spin off from Gainax... And yet, Studio Trigger has proven me wrong. Trigger was founded by two of Gainax’s former members, Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ohtsuka, as they left the company in 2011. Yes, this studio is only four years old, with only a few titles under their belt, and yet they produced one of the most unique visual wonders of that time period. I have never seen an anime that looked quite like Kill La Kill before. It seems to take the fast paced frenetic action of Gurren Lagann and combine it with the smooth, western character and art design of Panty and Stocking, effectively taking the best aspects of both shows while cancelling out the ugly shortcuts that originally plagued them. This makes it look more like a Looney Toons project than anything you’d naturally expect from the anime medium. Only, you know, with boobs instead of rabbits. It completely avoids the awkward frame rate drops that normally occur whenever the action speeds up in a Gainax show, and which is normally my biggest complaint about their animation, managing to look smooth even through it’s more demanding shots. Of course, whether it’s able to do this because they have a relatively high budget or because they’re extremely good at managing an average budget, I honestly can’t tell. It uses a lot of your classic moneysaving shortcuts, such as items and people moving as though they’ve just been cut out of the screen via photoshop, but they’re used so deliberately and so stylistically that it’s difficult to tell whether or not it was ever done out of necessity. Even when the characters have been reduced to frozen talking heads, there will almost always be something else moving on screen, whether it’s the clouds in the background, someone’s hair in the wind, or even just the design on their uniform. This is a really good line to blur, and it keeps up really well with the breakneck pace of the series. Of course, the outstanding art direction and exquisitely detailed backgrounds don’t hurt, either. There was a lot of great care taken with the visual aspect of this series, from the memorable character designs that tell you volumes about the students and soldiers they correspond to before you even hear them speaking, to the CG art that somehow looks natural, even when it shares screen time with the two-dimensional aesthetic of the characters. The soundtrack is surprisingly subtle, being one of the only aspects of Kill La Kill that comes even close to that word. I don’t even really want to call it background music, as it’s never wasted on scenes that don’t need it... It’s more like support music, used to amplify the effectiveness of action scenes and emotional climaxes, or just as tonally appropriate themes for the central characters. The two most memorable tracks... Aside from the awesome opening and closing themes... are the chilling theme music that heralds the terrifying villain Nui Harime, and the blood pumping Before My Body is Dry, which kicks in with the scream “Don’t lose your way” every time Ryuko turns the tide in battle. And as for the canon in-story music? You know your soundtrack is going to be awesome when one of your primary villains uses a marching band for a weapon. If I had seen the English dub by this time last year, it would have instantly had a guaranteed spot on my “Favorite Anime Dubs” post, and for pretty much the same reasons that Toradora made it in. Hell, this dub is so perfect that the two shows probably would have tied for second place, which isn’t surprising since they were released by the same company at around the same time. Fledgling voice actor Erica Mendez, who got her start only a few years ago by playing the voice of Rainbow Dash in several Brony videos, proves her mettle as the tough, gravelly voiced Ryuko, having no trouble navigating this probably throat-destroyingly intense role through all of it’s complexity. Christine Marie Cabanos shows us once again how awesome she can be when used properly, keeping up admirably in her role as the fast-talking Looney Toon Mako. It’s difficult to pick a standout performance in a dub where everyone is so perfect in general, but if I had to choose a favorite, there are two that come to mind, and they’re both supplied by veteran voice actors with some serious clout in their filmographies. The first one is Carrie Keranen, who’s probably most well known for playing Casca in Berserk, and in Kill La Kill, she plays the duplicitous school dictator Lady Satsuki. Her voice is very strong and powerful throughout the series, making for some very rousing speeches, with a sense of restraint at other times that hides the duality of her character. The other one is Stephanie Sheh, who is known for regularly getting typecast, and then stunning the crap out of people whenever she breaks away from her squealing moe mold. She has a lot more talent than people give her credit for, and it’s never been more apparent than in her portrayal of Nui Harime, who doesn’t come into the series until an Earth-shattering reveal at the halfway point. Her voice is sweet, high pitched, and overly-affectionate, yet Sheh’s performance is still dripping with malice and cruelty below the surface. Over-all, the dub is just as good as the sub, so you should be able to watch either track without complaint. If you’re watching Kill La Kill for the first time, it is perfectly understandable to go through a case of some sensory overload. This series hits the ground running, assaulting you with it’s ridiculous premise, it’s complicated plot, slapstick, stylized violence and constant, gratuitous, unapologetic fan service from both genders. It can become confusing very early on, and what’s worse, it might even lose your interest by the end of disk one. It’s a lot to take in, and it doesn’t bother easing you into it, so you’re going to have to really trust me when I tell you that everything about it... Yes, literally everything... Makes perfect sense by the end, in either an on-the-surface or metaphorical way. The main plot, for example, may seem like a random collection of excuses to see the cast as close to na…

Had I watched Kill la kill with an English dub, I might've thought it the production of an American studio. The premise and characters exhibit incredible expressiveness; it's like watching the thought flow of a mad genius. The vibrant animation style makes every mistake and short-cut look purposeful. The narrative just runs forward and doesn't stop - it bumps into you from every direction, hitting you with surprises, twists and even the kitchen sink. Sequence after sequence will smack you, leaving you laughing at one moment, then gasping at another. The series bombards you with subtexts and allegories that you're never given time to analyze. Never have I seen a narrative this stormy stay coherent and retain its impact. I must suspect the author's held these ideas inside for a long time, because of the cathartic manner in which they're unleashed. Kill la Kill's a series that's completely self-aware. The in-your-face fanservice and clichéd tropes are twisted to the extreme, and in the process they become something much deeper and thematic. The series plays the fool's role just to fuck with you. Though Ryūko Matoi's motive is revenge and Kiryin Satsuki's is power, neither seeks to directly dispose of the other. Their hands aren't stayed just by mutual respect, though. As the series progresses, everything begins to make sense, more than you'd expect from a story this crazy. Every episode ramps up the context and stakes - never stopping, never surrendering. It's a blissful ride to the very last minute. Even if you've contracted terminal cancer, you should watch this anime; it's well worth your time.

I bet you've already heard of Kill La Kill, whether it's positives from the fanbase raving about the show or negatives from people who dislike what style it is, neither of them are inherently wrong. Instead of writing an essay about this i'm going to create a list of Positives and Negatives, I know when you're just looking to see if an anime is worth watching you usually don't want to read all that much. Positives - The soundtrack is godlike, every song seems to fit their purpose perfectly and is composed brilliantly. - When the art is good, it's very good, this makes the fight scenes incredibly fun to watch. - The lightning fast pace that the show credits itself on is certainly there and helps to hold the audiences attention throughout almost the entire show. - After the middle arc the rest of the show has a superb pace. - A lot of the jokes hit the mark and help to break up the serious tone. Negatives - In some places the art and animation is of poor quality, if you need an entire anime to be well drawn and animated this could put you off. - The reasoning for the story starts off very shakily, if you get past this then the rest of the plot is quite enjoyable. - The middle arc seems very unnecessary and drawn out, not much happens. All in all an extremely enjoyable show that I could see myself watching again and again, the fanservice and other ridiculous plot elements means it probably isn't for everyone but if you think it might be for you definitely check it out.

What do you get when you mix 1 metric ton of over-the-top action, 1 gallon of ecchi, and the brilliant minds of Studio Trigger? You get none other than the psychotic joyride of Kill la Kill. From what I know about the series, this WAS a polarizing anime to begin with, but quickly turned into a smash hit. So is Kill la Kill as good as people have said it is? Let's find out. Story: I use this term EXTREMELY lightly, but out of all the categories, the story has got to be the weakest point of the series. While it does stick with what's given in the first few episodes(Ryuko looking for her father's killer), many of the early episode seem really awkward in terms of their individual plots. For the most part, the early episodes aren't very focused and doesn't provide much that adds to the story, such as when Ryuko faces off against the Tennis team captain. This being said, the early episodes are still a joy to watch and the story becomes more focused as the episodes progress. A word of warning though: The latter half IS a bit weird in terms of how it's executed. Art: Kill la Kill manages to have artwork that's pretty to look at, much like it's spiritual sibling: Gurren Lagann, and....unquestionably derpy at times. The artwork IS a feast for the eyes, but I've noticed there are some animation sequences that are rivaled with QUALITY animation memes. Sound: It's true that the art is a feast for the eyes, but the music of Kill la Kill is a feast for the ears. Every character I've seen in it has a character song that fits them PERFECTLY! Just listen to Gomen ne liko ja Irarenai(Sorry I Can't Be A Good Child). That song alone can summarize how epic the soundtrack is. In addition, the Japanese AND English voice actors do a fantastic job as their characters. Characters: Every character I've seen in this series is unique. The characters are pretty 3-Dimensional considering quite a few of their backgrounds being provided. To put it simply, they take their charisma up to a 10. Even the villains are likable!! My only possible complaint would be when Ryuko comes up with a way to defeat most of her opponents about 3 minutes into her fights. Enjoyment: I seriously consider this to be my 2nd favorite anime. Well done, Studio Trigger! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extra Things: A few things aren't explained explicitly, such as how Senketsu is able to move in Episode 24 when he shouldn't be able to(I still don't understand it that well. If they at least gave some kind of hint on what Senketsu was beyond being a Kamui, that would eliminate some confusion). Personally, I found the group known as "Nudist Beach" to be incredibly awkward... The characters apart of it were still awesome, but the entire groups name and choice of (hardly any) attire was just plain weird... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final Score: 9.25/10. WATCH THIS!!! NOW!!!

It's alright. I can understand why some people like it: creative character designs, great soundtrack, ecchi stuff, all and all good joking material; and I probably would've enjoyed it a lot more if I had watched it in middle school. It's just that the story isn't quite interesting, and I felt like I was forcing myself to complete the series while struggling to concentrate. It may be a comedy, but the show doesn't even feel like it takes itself seriously, and nowadays I don't find most of the stuff really funny, maybe amusing at best. Also, on one hand, the character designs are pretty interesting, but on the other hand, characters often get reduced to simplified naked bodies, and that somewhat lowers the value of the nudity in my opinion. Ultimately, if you're here for the memes, questionable nudity and some quality soundtrack, you might have a good time with this show. Otherwise, probably not worth your time.

Kill La Kill exploded onto the anime scene in late 2013 with a fair amount of hype, considering that the creative minds behind Gurren Lagann were teaming up to write and produce another series. The hype thrusters were activated, but does the series deserve the praise it received after its conclusion? This will be a spoiler free review. The story starts off introducing us to our main character Ryuko Matoi, a delinquent school girl packing a gigantic scissor blade looking to avenge the murder of her father. She has traveled across Japan looking for anyone who has knowledge of her father or the missing half of her scissor blade. She soon encounters Satsuki Kiryuin the student council president of Hyonnouji Academy, a school she rules with an iron fist, and has knowledge about Ryuko's father. The real interesting point of the Kill la Kill universe is the fact that people gain super powers through the use of their uniform, rather than having them inherently themselves. This pokes fun at how in most magical girl anime, the girl gains some ridiculous uniform after gaining their powers, rather than from the uniform itself. The story of Kill la Kill moves forward at a breakneck speed, and is absolutely over the top in every way, from the fan-service to the fights. The fan-service is what will alienate most people from the show, as well as the first handful of episodes which are really hit or miss until the story really finds its footing when encounter one of the true antagonists. The fan-service is blatantly shown through the uniform that Ryuko is forced to wear in order to access her super powers, and is seen throughout most of the cast, male included. This lackadaisical approach to nudity could be a little uncomfortable to some people, but the nether regions don't have nipples or anything like that, so its in good taste for the advancement of the story. Nudity and becoming comfortable in your own skin rather than focusing on material items like clothes is a integral theme to the story. The first few episodes are a pale comparison to the epic action that takes place later on in the series as the stakes get higher and higher, One reason the first half can be a bit tedious is adjusting to one of the supporting characters, Mako, who can come off as a bit annoying at first. Her rant scenes happen a few times every episode, and while some are genuinely funny, others are a drag and just annoying. The over the top nature of the series is also tough to settle into, but the jokes are really funny as well as the sight gags, and it really starts to click as the show goes on. The only problem is that if someone saw you watching some of the more over the top scenes they may question their sanity a bit, as some of the stuff that happens is completely bonkers, but that's what makes Kill La Kill great. The series works best when firing on all cylinders to the insanely catchy soundtrack in the background, as its over the top fights are beautifully choreographed and will leave you speechless as you watch explosions that turn into implosions that explode again, or see people embrace the idea of capitalism to the fullest by shooting their enemies with money. The strengths of the show lie in the fact that is not afraid to push the boundaries that are defined as normal, and y keeping an open mind you too can enjoy the crazy ride from this Trigger production. the second half of the story is the real stand out of the series, as the stakes get higher and the fights become more intense, but unfortunately some of the humor is sacrificed for a new more serious tone. Kill la Kill also features an ensemble cast of characters who are also zany and quirky in their own ways, with some of their personalities exaggerated to comical levels. The real stars of the show are Ryuko and her sailor uniform sailor uniform Senketsu, as watching them learn to compliment each other and bond as the series goes on is one of its finer points. Mako and her family kind of get on your nerves, but sometimes they can be quite funny, and Mako despite being certifiably insane is a loyal friend and quite comfortable with herself, self identifying as a slacker, The initial antagonists of the show, Lady Satsuki and her loyal partners the elite four are initially shrouded in mystery, but are all interesting characters in their own right, and go through some development of their own as their pasts and motives are slowly revealed. Overall the series is one fun ride as you watch the heroes move from one ridiculous set piece to the next, and it was always a blast to tune in and see what zany adventures the creators had in store that week. The over the top action and gags are what sets the show above others,and it truly is a unique creation that feature some nice visuals and some great fights that go along with them, as I find myself thinking of Kill la Kill whenever I want o have some brainless fun watching some crazy fights. Sticking with Kill la Kill despite the fact that it seems a little out there was one of the best decision that I made, and I would encourage others to give the show a shot, as it truly was one of the standouts of 2014.

Meet Ryuko Matoi, a high-schooler with a giant ass half of a pair of scissors who is out to take revenge for her dead father at... a highschool. To find the people responsible while fighting the Elite Four: The toughest mostly deadly group in the world with their leader, Satsuki Kiryuin the head of the school and of this city! At first Ryuko fails but with the help of her friend Mako and the secret weapon of her father, Senketsu: A talking super powered school uniform that turns into a battle stripper outfit (it happens). She'll be able to right wrongs in this chaotic world and avenge her father. "I'm sad that I lack the talent to make this shit up" - JonTron Lets not beat around the bushes, this is one of the silliest, most ridiculous things I've ever seen in my life and since I've seen Fooly Cooly, Panty And Stocking With Gaterbelt, Redline, Space Dandy and a good chunk of hentai, that's REALLY saying something. I shouldn't be surprised since this is from the same people who made Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking but they still managed to find a way. Now after reading that synopsis I wrote, you'd assume this is a sort of a parody of everything silly about anime from battle type shounen to magical girl shows and you'd be right... kinda. Much like it's older brother "Gurren Lagann", Kill la Kill is a testosterone fueled, over the top, action anime that's more about the passion than making any sense. It's fun, funny, the music's great, and the characters are likeable and enjoyable. Ryuko is a pretty dumb but hard working girl, always fighting to protect her friends, making comebacks to her enemies and even when she does screws up and make stupid mistakes (and she does) she'll acknowledge her mistakes and comes back on top. Satsuki is a no nonsense kinda woman, she knows exactly she wants and how to get it and she kicks all kinds of ass and even when she's defeated and broken down, do any threats phase her, fuck no! and Mako... she's just delightful. She's completely unpredictable, you never know what she's going to do next, you just know that Mako will be Mako, I haven't had this much fun with a crazy random girl in anime since Edward from Cowboy Bebop, if you don't like Mako, you have no soul and you hate fun. and that's what this show is: fun. Sure the animation's not very good but they do a decent job cutting corners and only use the really bad animation for comedy moments because the fight scenes between Ryuko and Satsuki are very impressive (for the most part) and since Trigger's a new company without Gainax to back up their animation, I won't hold that against them and sure this anime and it's characters are cliche as hell but hey at least the characters embrace the stereotypes they are (unlike most anime these days) but aside from that, everything about the show is incredible enjoyable. Is it as good as Gurren Lagann? No, definitely not but even a lesser version of Gurren Lagann is still good and the show seems like a funny satire of everything stupid about anime. Well that's what it seems to be about at first but like Gurren Lagann this show also has a second half and this is where my main problem with the show occurs. You see with a premise like this, it would be impossible to take a show like this completely seriously. Yes, Gurren Lagann was ridiculous too but that was more in it's execution, the actual story part itself doesn't seem TOO dumb. Read the summary I wrote on Kill la Kill and tell that doesn't sound like a comedy and at first that seems to be what Kill la Kill is but when the second part comes along, it becomes harder for me to tell if I'm suppose to take this seriously or not. There's a scene where one of the Elite Four shows off his powers before he fights Ryuko and she thinks she's got him figured out (that happens alot when bad guys in anime stupidly show off their powers and explain how they work and they act surprised when the hero figures out their powers) but he's got another trick up his sleeve and ask her did she really think he was stupid enough to do that without a back up plan, that sounds like satire to me but then some of the fight scenes aren't very well animated and are drawn out, are they like that because alot of shounen animes have fight scenes that are like that or is it just a drawn out and poorly animated fight scene? Is Ragyo is the way she is because there are some many villains with a superiority complex that wanna take over the world or is she just a lame villain? It's stuff like this that takes me out of the show a bit because I can't tell if I'm suppose to take this seriously in anyway or if it's just a farse. Take Panty and Stocking for example, love it or hate it, it makes no attempt to hide what it is, a parody of American cartoons like Cartoon Network/Adult Swim kinda stuff and it never strays away from that. This is the reason why Kill la Kill is my least favorite of these 3 shows because it doesn't have the freshness of Gurren Lagann nor does it have the consistency of Panty and Stocking. Normally these problems would ruin a show for me but because I love these characters so much and I was still enjoying myself that I guess I didn't care, I still stuck with it but I will say that if the second half was more like the first half then this show would've been an easy 9 for me. It was never going to be a 10 because Kill la Kill from the get go suffer too much from what I like to call "Younger Sibling Syndrome". Samurai Champloo has a bit of that too but Samurai Champloo still had it's own style, feel, and atmosphere. It wasn't just Cowboy Bebop with swords, it had it's own identity. It's impossible for me to look at Kill La Kill as anything other a female version of Gurren Lagann set in high school. It just doesn't have the originality of it's older brother (and TTGL overall had better characters, too) and that is going to hurt it but if you love Gurren Lagann and you're hungry for another show like it, this should definitely feed your appetite, if you hated Gurren Lagann, I can't see how this is going to win you over. As for my thoughts on the fanservice and if this show truly represents female empowerment? When it comes to talking about anime, I could care less about fanservice. When I criticize or even talk about an anime I have bigger fish to fry and I can't say much on the female empowerment stuff because I'm not a woman, so I can't speak for that, however considering that there are so many female fans of this show and cosplayers of these characters and girls who look up to these characters, I think it's safe to say that the show succeeded at what it was trying to do in that regard So that's Kill la Kill. It maybe sloppy, it may not make any sense but it's heart is in the right place. Love Gurren Lagann, be sure to check this out. Just don't expect it to be the savior of anime because it's not although it is better than most modern anime (not like that's saying much)

“Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! These are the truths of this world! Surrender to these truths, you pigs in human clothing!” From the moment I saw its original promotional art and took a gander at its original series blurb, Kill la Kill had my utmost attention. Set in Honnouji Academy, main character Ryuko Matoi stumbles upon the giant city/prison-like school, looking for information that will lead her to the killer. The only clue? The other half of her own Scissor-Blade, which worked to do the dirty deed. As she battles the forces of Honnouji's ruler, Satsuki Kiryuin, Ryuko will develop bonds, friends and grow as a character as the result of her various clashes and fights. Or, at least, that was the original concept that, more or less, made it into the first half of the series. The second half of the show, however, provides us with a great deal of inconsistencies, plot holes and some real laziness, all while still being a pretty enjoyable experience. So what's the big deal with Kill la Kill? Why do I feel that the work fell apart in a lot of aspects upon its closing? (And that's really saying something, coming from the director of critically acclaimed works like FLCL, Panty & Stocking and Gurren Lagann, Hiroyuki Imaishi! Why am I able to proclaim the goodness and overall over-the-top excitement about the series, while still pointing out its missed marks? That's something that I, personally, want to explore now and explain in detail, for good or bad. If someone sat me down and told me that I had to pick certain exact elements of this series that were a tad more problematic than the others, I would – without much or any hesitation – mention the consistent and worrying gaps in the categories of “Story” and “Characters”. If you've ever peered at the character design and art of Kill la Kill needless to say that it's near flawless. From Ryuko's braggadocios hair and demeanor to Nonon's perfectly matched outfit to go along with her powers and personality, it all goes together in such a way that you wouldn't expect from a modern anime. However, though the design of these characters is definitely a great strength, the biggest detraction from the characters themselves is...well, the characters themselves. While Nonon is truly beautiful from an aesthetic point of view, you will discover that she, in terms of actual character traits, can be summed up with one basic sentence, at best an elongated sentence. The same could easily be conjured up and explained about Mikisugi, Ryuko's flamboyant teacher, undercover for the secret Nudist Beach organization. Or Gamagoori, Satsuki Kiryuin's proverbial and almost-literal shield. And even Tsumugu, the mo-hawked mayhem who's sister died in an experiment. Though they all are a glam to look at, you can't help feeling that these characters are hollow shells of over-used character archetypes...which have been done, repeatedly over the years, in much better form throughout a majority of works. (And don't even get me started on Mako!) In short, none of the characters, from most of the heroes to the villains, are memorable, other than the obligatory Ryuko, Satsuki, Issin Matoi and Senketsu. The other aspect plaguing Kill la Kill to the point of parasitism is its balls-to-the-wall, “You're too slow!” plot that continues to speed up from the middle of the second half to the end. In some cases, this is seen in various parts of the anime community as a necessity...although it tends to be exactly the opposite. And, even if the show's story has fast pacing, we need to remember that that is not always a great thing. I'll admit, from a completely honest standpoint, that even though the first half of the series was very linear in nature and simple in concept...it worked. It took getting through the show as a whole to realize that, but the former part of the series definitely works at what it's trying to do and establish: a simple action/comedy based world with a play-it-safe “Monster of the Week” formula, layered thinly with a good amount of tongue-in-cheek elements and various parody nods. This method of story-telling was typical, but it was also lucid and got the best out of Kill la Kill's potential than its latter half did. The first 12 episodes are the parts of Kill la Kill that marginally make sense, even if it doesn't make sense. That is to say that much of the content present in the later episodes doesn't keep things easy to absorb and comprehend. For instance, it is stated (and assumed) that Ryuko is the only person able to don Senketsu, her talking Kamui which gives her her amazing powers, is herself. But this is later contradicted and blanked out by later events in the series. There are also Magic Bullets that end up being introduced and then forgotten almost immediately (a direct violation of Chekhov's Gun), a plot point that sends Ryuko on a trip that, in itself, doesn't add anything to the plot and turns up as useless, the true abilities of the Scissor-Blades being contradicted by the existence of one character, as well as the underwhelming reveal of what the Big Bads behind the series really are. (I'm not going to spoil it here, but let's just say that it sounds like something straight out of a bad indie film. There's no foreshadowing, no indication of anything and very much no class). I blame all of these missteps on the script writing/story making process of the entire staff, more-so the head-writer of the series, Kazuki Nakashima. In an interview about the series, he admits that With Kill la Kill, the whole staff (with myself included) submit ideas, like“Hey, this would be cool”, and the series' layout keeps changing. It's really a live production. If anything, it's quite similar to the experience I had when I was producing weekly manga. With weekly manga, you keep developing/making things in the direction the characters are moving, so it's really fun. Kill la Kill gave me that vibe.”. The bold portion of the quote says it all: not only did Kill la Kill have a rather chaotic schedule (this is normal for manga and most anime, so I'm not surprised), but Nakashima and the crew basically came up with the story week-by-week. And what's worse is that, how Nakashima makes it sound, it seems like any Tom, Dick and Harry had a hand in the process of the story structure. So you have people that aren't even used to making stories contributing to the story. If it were a group of established and critically acclaimed authors and editors, I could understand – this, however, just seems like a situation where there are just too many damned cooks in the kitchen. Now some of the fan-fiction-esque moments in the later half seem to make sense as to how they were made. But that's not to say every element smelled of mediocrity. There were moments that I truly appreciated, such as the further development of Satsuki and Ryuko's relationship with each other, Senketsu's amazing bonding with Ryuko and there's a great amount of symbolism in the series itself! (Although, the symbolism itself makes no sense in the overall context of it all). So it's not like everything in this element fell to complete calamity and chaos. It is just that, overall, the series' story is definitely not one of its strongest points and fails to hold on to an air of cohesiveness. Now, if the characters and the overall story of Kill la Kill leaves more to be desired, what does that mean for it's art/animation and the musical score of the show? Well, you can rest knowing that these two are the strongest elements of the series, although not free of their own small blemishes and boils. While some of the animation can seem not only stiff, but very cheap (as in character's sliding off the screen in the worst manner; I could understand if it was for comedic effect, but this happens in the most serious of moments), there are moments where it can shine gloriously. For instance: Ryuko and Satsuki's first fight was, for the most pa…

When you think about it, it would be insanely difficult for a new anime studio to make a successful anime series to get their company noticed. If a new anime company makes an anime, and the anime is bad, the anime company will have a hard time in making new anime for a long time. So Studio Trigger, who had a bunch of people that broke off from Studio Gianax, had a huge challenge ahead of them. But when they announced their new anime called “Kill la Kill”, they had a heap of hype surrounding it before the first episode even started. And now the anime has ended. Did Studio Trigger succeed in making their first mainstream anime they made a success? Or did it fail completely? Well, I’m glad to announce that Kill la Kill was a complete success! (THIS IS MY FIRST TIME REVIEWING AN ANIME, SO BEAR WITH ME.) (ALSO, MY REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.) [[Story – 8/10]] The story is kinda generic, but it still works. It’s sort of similar to the story of Gurren Lagann: where no matter how ridiculous the story is, it just works. The story was exciting, loud and funny. The story also got bigger and bigger as time when on. Again, sort of similar to Gurren Lagann. There was some hiccups along the way. Some examples were that even though they do explain stuff, it might make you confused. Half of the time they would explain something, I would just scratch my head and go “What?”. Another problem was the ending. I thought the ending was good, but it didn’t meet my expectations. Even though the ending did resolve everything, I had some questions that didn’t get answered. But ending aside, the story was fantastic. [[Characters – 8.5/10]] In terms of characters, the characters were also fantastic. The main character, Ryuko Matoi, and the main antagonist, Satsuki Kiryuin, are a rare type of character in anime: The strong female character. There is not a lot of animes that have strong main female characters. And Kill la Kill has a fair amount of strong female characters. Both Ryuko and Satsuki are fantastic characters. They might not be perfect, but they are still awesome. And then the supporting characters. The supporting characters were also fantastic. Mako might have been the Jar Jar Binks of Kill la Kill, but Mako was still funny. The Four Divas were awesome as well. (Nonon is best Diva). There was some problems with some of the characters, but I barely noticed the problems most of the time. [[Animation – 8/10]] I will admit, I am a huge Hiroyuki Imaishi fanboy. And you can see why. He created the animation for Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking, two shows I love so much. I really liked the animation of Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking, so I assumed that Kill la Kill’s animation would look great. And it was…most of the time. The animation reminded me so much of Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking because it looked pretty similar, just like I predicted. When the characters fighted, it looked fantastic. However, there are some problems. Sometimes, instead of animating an action, they would instead use different frames of poses to make the characters look comical and/or fast. A huge example is whenever Mako does one of her speeches. Instead of animating all the actions and poses she did, they instead just quickly showed pictures of her posing. It did look comical, but I believe it would work if it was fully animated. It also sometimes happens when the characters fight, which kinda annoys me. Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking’s fight scenes didn’t have this problem. But overall, the animation looks amazing. [[Sound – 9/10]] In terms of sound, I believe this is the strongest part about Kill la Kill. (Although I think many people would disagree with me.) The Japanese voice-acting is fantastic. All the characters voices sound amazing and match their personalities. Although Mako’s voice annoyed me from time to time, it still matched her perfectly. If Kill la Kill gets an English Dub, I would be kind of scared that they won’t do better than the Japanese Sub. And then there is the music. The music is phenomenal. The songs in Kill la Kill are amazing. The song “Don’t Lose Your Way” is just perfect. And the first and second openings of the series are also amazing. Although people might disagree with me, I think the second opening’s song is better. If you want your ears to be in heaven, then Kill la Kill will help you there. [[Enjoyment – 9.5/10]] I really, really enjoyed Kill la Kill. Not only did I not only get over the fanservice, I actually liked the fanservice, due to it being funny to me, which Panty and Stocking does as well. The story worked very well, the characters were larger than life, animation was brilliant, and the sound was amazing. If you want to watch an entertaining anime, Kill la Kill should be your first choice. Congratulations, Studio Trigger. I cannot wait to see what you come up with next. [[Final Rating – 8.75/10]]

I was getting vibes of Gurren Lagann watching Kill la Kill in its 24-episode run and I mean it in a good way. Like Lagann being a homage to old-school mecha anime, Kill la Kill is an action-comedy paying homage to old-school action anime with hot-blooded young fighters, crazy attacks, a ridiculously powerful student council, overly elaborate plot twists and over-the-top villains. It also packs plenty of revealing attire and nude bodies in its focus on superpowered clothing being capable of granting its wearer superhuman attributes and unique abilities, as well as a resistance group consisting of folks who wear nothing but strategically placed military equipment. Like Gurren Lagann, the series does sport substance to it beyond being a hodge-podge of cliches to poke fun of. While the first half starts off somewhat formulaic as Ryuko's abilities with her uniform Senketsu increase and she takes on the school's student council in a gauntlet-style tournament battle, the second half of the series shifts into a somewhat more serious and grand ongoing plot when major details are revealed concerning the origins of the superpowered uniforms, who kill Ryuko's father, some shocking revelations about Ryuko's origins, some seemingly villainous major characters from the first half not being as they seem on the surface and two new major villains coming into play for the second half. While these revelations may feel like the typically too convenient or cheap plot twists you would expect from a long-running shounen battle series, the show's direction was clear and there were some hints dropped that things may not be seemingly ordinary with elements to the title's plot and characters with the typical mold it seemingly had on the surface for much of its first half. The only major issue I have with the series was that there were points where the first half to Kill la Kill dragged in terms of developing its plot since it was fixated to a good extent on milking action anime cliches. Visually, the series milks use of subdued color tones and a drawing style for scenery and character designs almost like the work done by Gainax. The animation makes use of a number of standard techniques and shortcuts employed for 90s action anime, while mixing in its own unique spins to such tactics such as Nui's limited movements and cheap-like animation for much of her battles. The choices for Kill la Kill's animation are a great fit to compliment the title's over-the-top and manic action sequences. Overall, Kill la Kill was a fun run for 24 episodes with its manic comedy, over the top action and elements to older action anime being a nice combination for an action-comedy title. If you enjoyed Gurren Lagann, you're likely to get similar enjoyment out of this series.

Being the brainchild of famed director Hiroyuki Imaishi, the first full length anime series by Imaishi's recently founded but well loved animation studio Trigger and being hailed as the possible spiritual successor to Imaishi's previous critically acclaimed work Gurren Lagann; Kill la Kill had some very big shoes to fill in right from the start. But all of this is completely irrelevant. You won't hear me talking about how anime is saved or rambling on about #BASEDTRIGGER. But what you will get from me is my honest to God opinion on Studio Trigger's Kill la Kill It's hard to describe the overall plot without going into spoiler territory but the basic set-up that's presented at the very beginning is of 17 year old Ryuko Matoi's plight to avenge the death of her father Isshin Matoi. Ryuko seeks out and enrolls at Honnouji Academy intending to face his suspected killer Satsuki Kiryuuin who rules over the school with an iron fist. At the instruction of his father she intends to carry it out with the Scissor Blade; a weapon crafted by him and the very same weapon which led to his eventual untimely death. Satsuki then offers Ryuko a challenge. If she defeats her minions (All of which are students at Honnouji Academy) armed with the Goku uniforms and various other resources only then can she face her in one on one combat. After failing to defeat her first enemy with the scissor blade alone, Ryuko runs into a mysterious being known as Senketsu. Designed with the appearance of a sailor uniform, Senketsu is a living creature that feeds of the blood of its wearer and grants them great power in return. Armed with the the scissor blade and this new found power Ryuko Matoi intends to take down Satsuki Kiryuuin to avenge her father's death and end her rule over Honnouji Academy in the process... or at least that's what you'd expect from episode 1. However ridiculous it gets Kill la Kill's plot fairly easy to follow for the most part. That isn't to say that the suffers from that fact. The way the show handles its plot is actually one of its greatest virtues. This is not a super serious work ruined by its reliance on plot twists but rather an intentionally ridiculous and over the top series that sticks to its guns by providing mind blowing entertainment for the entirety of its 24 episodes. With all the shows being produced that have no idea what they're doing and constantly switch directions like its going out of style simply because the writers aren't confident enough in their abilities Kill la Kill is nothing short of an anomaly. Not only for anime in our current time but for anime in general too. The show has some pacing issues and a handful of pointless scenes that don't quite entertain or contribute anything meaningful to the overall storyline but they're barely even worth mentioning in a show that has so much going for it The cast of the show is quite large but needless to say some get more screentime than others. Fortunately the best characters tend to get the most screentime. Ryuko is a strong lead character with a likable personality and her fair share of character development. Her indecisiveness in certain scenes is a bit irritating but it's all part of the aforementioned character development so I don't mind it too much in the grand scheme of things. Although arguably the best character development in the show would be that of Satsuki. Once again it's hard to go into detail without spoilers but to summarise it I will say that I saw her in a completely different light by the end of the series than I did at the start. Mako Makanshoku acts as Ryuko's comic relief sidekick who does a fantastic job of reminding the viewer exactly how serious the show should be taken with her humourous monologues while also having some strong character development. And of course I can't go without mention Ragyou Kiryuuin and Nui Harime who are probably among the best villain characters I've seen in recent years. Nui did an especially good job of getting under my skin with her cutesy voice and nonchalant attitude while doing her evil deeds. The supporting cast is great including Mako's scumbag family, the sexy voiced Nonon, Gamagoori the manly giant with a heart of gold and the ever suave Aikurou among others. Being the first full length series produced by Studio Trigger; Kill la Kill is not an expensive looking show but its stylised animation is most certainly distinctive. Even with a minuscule budget Kill la Kill still manages to pull of some truly jaw dropping action set pieces. I've seen shows with big budgets and shows that make the most of their big budgets with a lot of blood sweat and tears but Kill la Kill may be the first show I've found visually appealing solely because of the passion that the animators have for their work. Although when the entire show is fueled by passion I guess it isn't as amazing a spectacle as it should be. But while it never truly holds the show back the low budget is noticeable. Corners are cut, frames are skipped and there's the occasional static frame or cheap animation effect used here and there. But this usually occurs during dialogue scenes and thanks to the stylised animation the show even manages to get away with it for the most part. So overall, the animation in this show still comes out as a high point even if it's not as strong as other things at play in the show. It would be a massive disservice to the show if I went the entire review without mentioning the soundtrack but I doubt there's much I can say about it that hasn't already been said. But, I digress. Scored by Hiroyuki Sawano of Guilty Crown, Blue Exorcist and Attack on Titan fame the score of Kill la Kill is suitably... well, amazing. Whether it be choirs, orchestras, the standard rock band set up or a mixture of two or more the score never fails to enhance the on-screen action. And since it is a necessity when reviewing this show I will agree with the widely agreed notion that 'Before my Body is Dry' is the next step on the path to evolution. The OP and ED themes of the show are not quite as noteworthy but all of them provide a visual treat with some good music. Both OPs serve to get the viewer excited for whatever will happen in the episode while the ED seem to be made with putting the viewer at ease. But out of the two OP and ED themes I found the second to be stronger in both cases. In terms of voice work this show has some of of the best performances I've likely ever heard in anime. While she has had a number of notable roles I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Ami Koshimizu's performance as Ryuko is a career high point. I know you're all thinking something along the lines of 'What about her performance as Hibiki in Suite Precure?' Or perhaps even mentioning her performance as Holo from that obscure little show about economics and stuff (I think it was called Salt and Fox or something). But I'm serious in saying that it is most certainly a very notably good performance. Special mentions go to Aya Suzuki who is indescribably perfect as Mako, Yukari Tamura for making me want to rip Nui's head off whenever she was on screen (Don't worry, you're supposed to hate her), Romi Paku's delightfully insane performance as Ragyou, Toshihiko Seki for his performance as Senketsu and of course Ryouka Yuzuki as Satsuki. As of yet an English dub has not been made. Overall, Kill la Kill is nothing short of a fun ride. If you're looking for a complex story with hard hitting mature themes you likely won't find it in Kill la Kill. But when you consider the fact that the show never intended to do anything of the sort you can't really fault it. However if balls to the wall insanity, over the top action set pieces, a grand story line with a massive scope and a great cast of characters appeals to you then by all means go ahead on watch it. But just know that under no circumstances should you ever lose your way in the process of watching the show.

Do you like animes that are action'y, fan-serviced but still story-wise, very fast-paced that packs 2-4 seemingly episodes into one episode, people fighting with every ounce of their willpower and resolve, and is incomprehensible? Well "don't lose your way", 'cause Kill la Kill's on the right track to that. The show is a lesser version of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, but that doesn't mean it's cheap. Oh no, it just took out mechs and universal-grand-scaled battles. This is a very epic anime with a very epic yet cheesy plot. You think those fan-service clothes are just for fan-service? WRONG. They're actually part of the whole plot(later on). You think X is dead? When Y is actually X? You think what you're fighting for is right in front of your face when it's actually behind you? So if you think you'd like to ride the thrill ride then go on and watch this friggin' amazin' anime, that people keeps saying it "SAVED ANIME". Critical Review: Story: Story-wise it's epic, yet cheesy. It actually goes well with the whole plot and theme which is why it's pretty good. Art: Art-style is not something to be fancy of. At some points it's rather average, to one point it looks friggin' awesome. But that's the whole point of the anime. Trigger and Hiroyuki Imaishi wanted it to be something like what other animes are supposed to be...a cartoon'ish. Which all animes are, but people just blindly separate them to different genres. Which I hate. That's why this is actually top-notch art IMO. Sound: Seiyuu/VA - Ryuuko's voice actor Ami Koshimizu, voice of Mugino Shizuri was enough to get my attention. Every seiyuu in the anime fitted well in their respective characters. Ranging from the comedic, quirky characters, to the serious, epic characters, and raging psychopaths/sociopaths. Music - Composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. Sang by Eir Aoi, Miku Sawai, GARNiDELiA, and Sayonara Ponytail. Even if I just mentioned Sawano, it would've been enough to know how epic the music are. It actually has one of the best if not THE BEST soundtracks in this season. "Before my Body is Dry", "Blumenkranz", "Till I Die", are just one of my favorites. SFX - I didn't really pay attention to this. But it was good IIRC. It wasn't realistic at some points, and some of those were just there for laughs. Character: As mentioned in my profile. I kind of despise rather pessimistic characters. Everyone in this show is as optimistic as they can be. They're all just memorable characters, even the ones who just appeared once in the entire series. It's just that they're all very epic in their own unique way. Enjoyment: Dah thrill and hype ride made it all da way mates. Overall: 9.9/10 It was too fast-paced imo. Could have have atleast a 5 - 10 min scene in the ending where...well I don't want to spoil you guys. - I wrote this right after I watched every episode on the date of March 27th, 2014. The date when it ended. So this is my full honest review.

Kill la Kill is an exercise in absurdity. Forget everything you heard. Don’t try to analyze symbols that exist only to be cool. Kill la Kill is an anime with an absurd premise that seeks only to make things more absurd. At some point, people fight using rulebooks and shooting bills. Randomness has been a common feature of comedy. Use it too much, and it stops being random. After all, if anything can happen then nothing is surprising. Kill la Kill isn’t random. Rather, it operates from a set of symbols and keeps finding ways to take them further. In fact, it’s because it has a set of symbols that it’s so unique. Originality is connecting two distant things. Kill la Kill was born when the director noticed how similar ‘fashion’ and ‘fascism’ were. The whole thing relies on connecting clothing to dictators who laugh maniacally and want to dominate the world. It should’ve been obvious for us now. After all, uniforms are a big deal in militaries which are dictatorships. No one did it before, not like this. It’s true that it’s not explored very deeply. The main villain wants to take over the world mostly because it gives Ryuuko something to fight, but it works. The series is absurd because it has its own style, and keeps finding ways to add more to it. That’s why Nui Harime is so surprising and at the same time is so fitting. She fits with the series’ obsession of clothing, but until then we haven’t seen a cute fashion girl. The heart of the series, though, is in the characters. For all of the pictures of Ryuuko scowling, Kill la Kill is a hilarious comedy. Good comedy comes from funny characters, not funny punchlines. By making sure every character is a joke, they manage to make every situation funny even when they’re ridiculous. It’s a difficult approach. Your characters can easily become one-note. They can become a joke or even a punchline that simply repeats itself. But the characters aren’t embodiment of jokes. They are ideas pushed to the extreme. The joke of Gamagoori isn’t that he screams a lot, but his ridculous devotion to discipline. Again, the show uses ideas as an inspiration point that affects everything There are also a lot of them, and so there is a lot of room for varied interaction. The ideas these characters represent constantly bounce off each other and clash. They’re also pushed to the extreme in a way that makes them all close-minded. So the interaction never changes anyone. Rather, we two buffoons completely sure of themselves refusing to admit they’re wrong. The series also has no filler interaction. There isn’t a single line of generic dialogue. Everything the characters do and say is modified by their personality. It’s not even a case of voice actors putting a lot of effort. The writing itself makes sure you can recognizee the speaker. This is why the characters feel so alive and real, even though they got blasted with missiles and don’t die. They’re not psychological portraits, of course. They’re mythic, embodying some ideas with grandeur. Yet, for all its lack of realism it feels more real than most anime. That’s because in real life, people react to things in ways that are uniquely them. So no matter how much you exaggerate, having this trait is the most important. Since the characters feel so alive, the anime actually has effective drama. It’s shocking at first, but the serious moments are touching. They’re also pushed to the extreme, of course. Mako’s eyes become a faucet but it doesn’t make them any less effective. The series establishes that these are living beings. Since they feel real, so is their drama. After all, a rock falling from the sky isn’t emotionally engrossing. A living person falling is tragic. When it’s someone we know, it’s even more. The variety and pure nonsense of this cast actually becomes an integral part of the plot later on. While the story of conformity vs. uniqueness is shallow, it uses the right symbols to bring it to life. It might be divorced from reality, but a story of a bunch of crazies fighting to keep their silly personality intact is relatable. It’s easier to believe it when the people fighting for uniqueness are as unique. The irony is that the only character who goes through a major change is Satsuki. She’s at first a symbol of conformity and The System, later to reveal she has different intentions and then to admit her methods were wrong. I’m not sure whether it was meant to shed more light on the ideas. It’s a little too disconnected. Still, it’s a good example of how flexible it is. The visuals are also a big deal. The amount of sexual fanservice has been blown out of proportions. The art style is closer to the Western caricature than traditional anime. Characters are often blobby and in weird shapes. The women have figures, but they’re mostly just there. Shots that emphasize their sexy build are rare. Many bodies are only vaguely female. Besides transformation sequences and a few suggestive shots, the series ignores nudity. It’s there. Some people sport their abs and you can get a decent idea of Ryuko’s figure but that’s it. Anyone looking for hot shots to screenshot will be disappointed. Everything else about the art style is brilliant. The expressive character design is a given. It’s the environment and action scenes that are more unique. Nothing is literal in this world. Every environment expresses the atmosphere, but is never meant to be taken literally. This may some like a problem for those who care about precise details. If you care about precise details, read history. Fiction isn’t reality but an expression of human thought. The scenery of Kill la Kill is physically impossible, but is important for the immersion. That’s because humans don’t take in precise details. We take in certain cues that make perceive our environment in some way. The action is the same. It’s rarely a case of tactics. It’s cool people swinging their weapons and uniform while color flashes. It’s a lot of fun but I’m surprised the Porygon effect didn’t surface. Besides the lump of exposition around the middle, it’s the only weak spot. Sometimes it’s too much, the colors flash and move and things explode and the only result is a headache. Kill la Kill is mostly good at controlling its nonsense (which is why it’s so impressive). A few action scenes are the only ones where its style works against it, doing more harm than good. It’s a small case. The anime also sometimes feel a little too long and overloaded. It’s never enough to ruin it, but by the final battle the series has less steam than before. As good and epic as it is, it’s not enough. The series pushed things to the edge so much that they didn’t have much for the end but a huge lump of fibers. Still, the flaws are tiny and barely worth talking about. Kill la Kill is the essential anime about beating people up and saving the world. There’s no reason to watch long shounen anime that never end when you have this. Even One Punch Man, which was a lot of fun looks tame and silly by comparison. It’s a series worthy of the hype, and I hope the fandom will keep it popular for a long time. 4.5 glorious Mako speeches out of 5

With Trigger studios new anime ninja slayer been released in a few weeks I thought I would do a review on a previous anime form the studio. Now kill la kill is a bit like marmite with people you either love it or hate it. I am one of the people that happen to love it. first let's get a brief overview of the anime. It is about this alternative society where the high school of the city in question rules over everything. our main heroine comes to this city to get revenge for her fathers death looking for answers, from there it gets crazy with transforming uniforms that can talk and alien life forms you would not expect; it's over the top epic. There were so many things that I liked about this anime, I personally loved the unique art style that I was presented with it is something that I had never seen before and although it is said some animation corners were cut due to budgets I think it added to the uniqueness of the art style. the characters were also very fresh and hilarious making me forget that the anime is ecchi and although it has a lot of ecchi it's not that type that is for fan service the anime is genuinely serious which makes it type of ecchi that's not painful to watch. the highlight of the anime for me however has to be the soundtrack never before have I heard such appropriate music that is great to listen to. if anything else just watch this to listen to the music it's that good in my opinion. Even though the story is in some parts a little wacky it all comes together in the end to give us a great. Trigger is a relatively new studio but their first full anime is one of my favourites and was well done and I am very looking forward to their next project which I fully intend to watch.

Kill la Kill is a pretty outstanding series in terms of how on earth can a show so action packed, fast paced and stylish still leave me feeling painfully underwhelmed. But, to be honest I’m probably being a bit too harsh, as KLK in its entirety is merely a reflection of the entertainment industry across the board – all flash and zero substance. It took a lot of A LOT of effort to finish this show as I found almost every aspect of it’s being to be a backbreaking, sickening experience that undoubtedly undermined, and maybe even lowered the intellect of just about everyone who watched it. But as I already stated, KLK only mimics the problems within today’s entertainment in how lacking it is in both quality and substance. It’s a big disappointment but hardly a surprise. Anyway. The plot of KLK revolves around two rival female characters Satsuki Kiryuin and Matoi Ryuko, the former is some kind of military/corporate/class president- dictator? (I dunno) whose initial goal is to gain world domination via the control of clothing. The latter is an underdog misfit looking to avenge the death of her wayward father. In between all that are numerous subplots that contain forced romance, some almost interesting relationships, a lot of bullshitted philosophy and political undertones that only serve to further muddle an already confusing story. In fact, that about encompasses everything wrong with KLK in how it completely lacks self awareness and it can’t seem to make up its mind as to whether or not it wants viewers to take it seriously. Boob jokes are being uttered within the same breath of discussing a flawed and oppressive government. It’s a cringe-worthy balance of political satire and obscenity. Most of KLK just leaves me unsure of whether I’m supposed to laugh at or ponder over what’s being said and more important how it was delivered. Even the artwork is in conflict with the dialogue. On its own, the style of Kill La Kill is quite good and so was the animation, which I’m going to assume was intentionally sloppy as to parody old shounen animes. Yet even this added more work to the already tedious job of taking KLK seriously which is hardly to say that I don’t like parodies. Actually, the first show to come to mind upon starting KLK was Panty and Stocking. They both use schools as a backdrop for hinting at mature, political topics especially in reference to Eastern vs. Western views of death, religion and economics. But by no means did you have to take them seriously or even recognize these themes to enjoy the show and at no point in time were we beaten over the head with winded speeches about idealisms and morals. PSG presented a number of topics with a level of subtlety, smartness and an impeccable sense of timing that Kill la Kill just doesn’t possess. My last problem with Kill la Kill is how it’s confused a lot of viewers into thinking this is some sort of new amazing thing allegedly reviving anime as a genre. That might be the case if the year was 1992 (when animes like this were charms WITHIN the genre, they didn’t DEFINE it) and not 2014 where every second anime released is an onslaught of stupid harems, fan service and *whispers* ~shock factor~. Gruel doesn't suddenly turn into a steak dinner upon receiving it larger amounts than what your used to eating and Kill la Kill exemplifies that. What anime isn’t doing what KLK did? What has KLK done that other shows aren’t still doing, and doing to death? Answer: not a damn thing.

Kill la Kill can only have one word describe it. PLOT. it has a lot of fan service due the superpowered school uniform. The main story hides behind the frontal approach of how Matoi Ryuuko is trying to get back what she once had from her father. The story line gets a twists late into the series and it amazingly stays "hyped" for most of the entire season. The art is a bit different from a lot of animes, but the gist of it is shown throughout the story.

First of all, this is my first review, and I apologize for my rusty English. But when I saw some reviews of Kill la Kill, I couldn't help but to leave my own opinion of this show. Well, when I began watching Kill la Kill, I had some bad expectations. But, as I was watching it, I realized that I found an anime with that feeling of "long time no see". Story: 7/10 As I said, the story isn't the strong point in Kill la Kill. It has that repetitive revenge plot we all have seen in anime these days. With a cliche story, but surprising sometimes, Kill la Kill turned out to be a genius parody. Today, anime just have focus on high school girls, horrible stories and huge, VERY huge fanservice. At first glance, Kill la Kill looks like one of those. But when you watch it, you see you were wrong. They had all these overused tropes in recent anime in the story, but in a funny and brilliant way. All the elements were there for they own purpose. Art: 8/10 The art in Kill la Kill it's good in its own way. I personally liked it very much. For me, it looked like the art of a 90's anime. Sound: 8/10 The soundtrack in Kill la Kill is very good, but unfortunately very repetitive. Some interesting eletronics are in the series too. The strong point here its the first OP and ED. Characters: 8/10 Although not very developed, the characters in this anime are all so idiot, and that makes them so damn funny. The most developed is the protagonist, Matoi Ryuuko. Enjoyment: 10/10 In my sincere opinion, this is the strongest point in Kill la Kill. It's funny, lively, and very refreshing. The characters are funny, the fights very exagerated, mass destruction almost every episode end the provocative clothing for no reason (the most aparent critic of exagerated fan-service) makes Kill la Kill unique and very pleasant to watch. Overall 9/10 Well, I don't have much more about to say about Kill la Kill, but the series is great. If I had to define it in one word it will be: "SURPRISING". It really teached me not to judge a book for it's cover. It's really worth it. For those who are still thinking if they should be watch the show or not, I say: Give it a shot, you got nothing to lose by checking it out. you may surprise yourself as well ;)