The entire team that brought you Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking has reunited at Studio Trigger, the newest animation studio on the block, to present one of the most over the top action series in a long time! Kill la Kill presents a very unique story with an interesting concept behind the powers in this series and blends it with wild, jaw-dropping animation and over the top fight scenes in the same fashion that made Gurren Lagann such a hit series! While KLK is not meant to be taken seriously in the slightest, this show admittedly can get a little TOO silly and makes you complain that it doesn't take itself seriously enough. Plus it's chalked to the brim with some of the most excruciating and shameless fanservice that I've ever seen, but WHO F***ING CARES WHEN THE FIGHT SCENES ARE JUST SO F***ING AWESOME?! After watching this as well as Trigger's OVA Little Witch Academia, I can already tell that Trigger has a bright future ahead of itself! Kill la Kill kicks all kinds of ass! WATCH IT!

While many may yell "Fan Service!", there are some deeper themes that justify the excessive nudity and sexualization of women in this show. It's ironic that a show that tries to break the mold is lost in its translation to the average viewer, who crucify it as the opposite. The sexualization of women with the Kamui's transformation is symbolic of a woman 'transforming' when she undergoes puberty; the result is a woman who must struggle in a newly seen perspective of a society who pressures her into its stereotypes and standards. The Kamui requiring the wearer's blood can't be more obvious with what it's referring to. The MC's initial shame is remedied into pride in her strength; it's only when she fully accepts what she is that she can fight with the Kamui's full potential. The same is with women in society: women must turn it into a strength, not into something to be ashamed of. Tyrion Lannister puts it very aptly: “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” It's interesting to see an anime flip female sexualization on its head so cleverly that most viewers don't even notice.

Before I get into the review, remember Ikki Tousen? Remember how it tried to deliver fanservice, story, and action all at once? Remember how it tried to look like a story based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Remember how it tried to look like it had action when all the 'action' consisted of were stills? Remember how it tried to be sexy by having panty shots and boob flashes every half-second to the point where it became gross and disgusting?
Well, you're better off not remembering.But I bring it up because, imagine if someone got it right. Seems impossible, right? What if you bring together of previous members of Studio Gainax and Studio 4°C? And the director and lead character designer previously worked on the legendary anime known to all of us mortals as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann?

Yup! Together, now known as Studio Trigger; they did the impossible, broke the unbreakable! The lovechild of balls-to-the-wall action, off-the-scale Holy $#!T Quotient, and insane comedy, Kill la Kill takes the closing months of 2013 by hurricane! Following the footsteps of Ryuko Matoi as a newcomer of Honnouji, an academy city ruled with a titanium fist by Satsuki Kiryuin and her insanely powerful student council! To make matters worse, Kiryuin makes use of Goku Uniforms, clothing that enhances the strength of the wearer and are given only to her most loyal students.
None of this deters Ryuko, as she goes head-on into the arguably fascist community. With the sentient uniform known as Senketsu, a Kamui that grants incredible power; a crimson scissor blade capable of destroying these Goku Uniforms, adding to Ryuko's arsenal; and the local screwball Mako Mankanshoku; Ryuko intends to let nothing stop her as she proceeds cut down everyone who stands in her way, liberating the enslaved city in process of her ultimate goal: to discover and defeat the one who killed her father.

It's a rather simplistic plot, one that normally wouldn't interest a lot of people if it weren't for the characters that drive it along. This being done by those who've originally worked on the legendary Gurren Lagann, the characters are where Kill la Kill's writers put their game on, making all of them interesting, watchable, and so on in their own little ways. Our protagonist, Ryuko, gives an incredibly hot-blooded performance, enough to give the legendary Kamina himself a run for his money, as she charges headlong into every fight with such gusto that the manliest of all men would be proud of. Mako, base-breaker as she may be, is insanely random. There is no moment she can't make funny, and there is no line she is unwilling to cross. Kiryuin, herself, quite literally radiates with such charisma and honor (especially for a villain), an aspect of her that alone makes her worthy of being one the primary antagonists of the series.
Though really, these brief descriptions of them don't do any of them justice. Because it's not so much their personalities that tell us who they are as it is their actions. Right in the first episode, our first impression of Ryuko bumrushing her opponent with her scissor blade, cementing her absolute hot-bloodedness that put most shounen anime protagonists to shame. Being marked guilty from association with Ryuko, Mako is at the risk of being dunked in hot oil. However, she instead complains of how it will make her outfit transparent. And Kiryuin... well... she doesn't do much except make a speech, but that alone puts the entire school in awe of her literally shining charisma and authority. These characteristics seem sort of cheesy, even a little Sue-ish, but 1. it doesn't mean any of them are perfect as people and 2. it's so insanely overdone it's awesome!
And the kicker here is that this is just covering the two main characters and Ryuko's foil. The world of Kill la Kill is filled to the brim with radical and crazy characters that are just impossible to hate. We have Akuro Mikisugi, a seemingly mundane homeroom teacher who's quickly revealed to be an exhibitionist (one that I can appreciate looking at); Ira Gamagoori, a colossus with an inability to speak in a conversational voice. Link, I mean, Viral, I mean, Dammit Nobuyuki, I mean, Uzu Sanageyama is arguably the most affable antonist out of the bunch, if you can look past his diehard loyal toward Titanium-Fist Kiryuin (I think I'll call her that from now on). And then ther-[Humrh360's process of getting to all the characters is taking too long, so I'll just fast-forward to where we get to the good stuff.]

And now we get to the real meat of Kill la Kill: THE ANIMATION. Here is where Kill la Kill absolutely shines. Befitting of the company producing it, Studio Trigger blesses us with fluid action scenes and shots of distilled awesome; whether it's one character or another showing off their badassery, or skipping the formalities to deliver the beatdown and raise hell. And when it's not the action it's the comedy. Befitting of the guys who brought us Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill ramps up the comedy to almost South Park levels with its surreal, rather drug-induced repeat cuts, distortions, and even moments where it looks as though the scene was animated by a middle-school Flash animator. Normally, this would dock points if it wasn't for the gags that go along with, usually the gag being Mako's tangents of Chewbacca logic. And it all works out because of how well paced it all is. Rather than creating gratuitous moments of fluid animation on a scene that serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever, the seemingly lazy animation routine is used for when we're not focusing on the action or awesome. When the adrenaline, action, and music do kick in, so does the animation. Everyone puts on their A-game to deliver what are truly the most epic fight scenes and comedy skits. This balance of total balls-to-the-wall action and surreal line-crossing comedy truly provide the entertainment and quality of Kill la Kill. This especially stands out as throughout the season, anime have been taking the road more often traveled by adapting romantic comedy light novels (pshyeah, I'll believe ya), which in turn don't require much in terms of animation... except maybe for the occasionally boob bounce, nipple slip, cooter shot, or suggestive pose that makes it look like the characters are having intercourse; all of which bring into question how they manage to be considered literary works.

And speaking of which, we step into the dark mire of the Kill la Kill series: the infamous fanservice. If any of you know me from the few reviews I've done, you know that I have an admittedly irrational aversion to fanservice. Digressing, though.
Kill la Kill's most notorious aspect is the design of Ryuko in Kamui-mode Senketsu, and the Kamui outfit in general. The design leaves very little to the imagination, to the point where in the actual story, Ryuko herself is incredibly embarrassed to wear such a thing. And who can blame her? I mean, sure it gives the power to break loose and kick everyone's ass. But it's very much your run-of-the-mill oversexualized outfit that you could easily find in some MMO or otaku-aimed video game. All too often, such characters only exist for two reasons: to serve as some reward or something like that, or to market the franchise; both of which people view as degrading human moral values as they also often lack purpose and character. For someone who really wants the anime industry to change for the better, and stop blowing the budget on fanservice, I really oughtta cringe at this.
Except I can't. Unlike any other anime that's chockfull of this sort of slop, with Kill la Kill there is the context of the narrative, and with it we have a chance to properly analyze it (mind outta the gutter, boys).
Like many other shounen anime series, Kill la Kill is a coming-of-age story. However, it's focus is on a girl, rather than a boy, facing the societal pressures put on young women. Throughout the series, clothing and physical appearance are massive recurring themes, both of which very often reflect on a character's personality. We can take the uniform thief from the very first few minutes of the series as our example. He starts off tubby, unattractive, and as weak as he looks. However, with the Goku Uniform, he instantly becomes more shapely and attractive as he gains the strength it provides (he still gets his butt handed to him). However, real focus is on our protagonist Ryuko. The first time we see her, she's in an outfit not uncommonly worn by school delinquents; she's got a red streak in her hair; and if you look closely, her pupils are rifled. This makes it incredibly obvious that she's a loose-cannon that can't be controled by authority. However, she's incredibly embarrassed to wear Senketsu despite the massive boost to her strength it gives her due to everyone looking at her either with perversion or revulsion. Ryuko, in her initial outfit, couldn't give any less of a crap of how people viewed her. However, upon donning Senketsu, an outfit that emphasizes every part that falls victim to the male gaze, she's also forced to simultaneously confront these societal values that are asserted, not only on her, but just about every other girl. Unlike all the other characters' outfits, which change the appearances of their clothing to make them as powerful as they look, the Kamui instead removes clothing, providing little room for Ryuko to make such an impression. That's where Senketsu and the power of the Kamui come in. Because of these powers, Ryuko not only breaks past the idea that she's some weak and helpless sex icon, she becomes even more powerful despite them.
Put in comparison to other anime; say Maken-ki, Vividred Operation, Photokano, and so much more that I'm just too laZY or tired of dealing with; Kill la Kill manages to turn fanservice into much more than just a way to pander to an audience only interested in a little tittilation. The examples listed have two things in common, and it's that they have absolutely no justification for it's own fanservice, nor do they really address it in their own show. And that's not even getting into each of their own individual problems. I mean, Maken-ki features a cast of what're supposed to be teenagers, and yet every single girl has frikkin' G-cup sized hooters. (What.) Vividred's girls seem far too improbably developed for middle-schoolers. And Photokano constantly tries to play itself off as a romance, but just as frequent squeezes in fanservice shots that break that atmosphere. But the big one that they all have in common is that whenever fanservice is being played up, the girls go from being possibly good characters to being little more than sex objects. Sword Art Online, Freezing, Sekai de Ichiban, Infinite F[WHOA WHOA WHOA LANGUAGE DOOD!]ing Stratos, you name it. In Kill la Kill, Ryuko is being subjected to this view anyway, but she still continues to kick ass. While she is never able to control how the crowd saw her, she didn't let that become a reason to suddenly become weak.

Now here's the real question: Am I trying to ruin your experience by applying critical analysis and theory (and maybe a bit of tumblr surfing) to find philosophy and other intellectual stuff in what is ultimately one crazy-as-hell action fest? No. In fact, I can just as easily be spout a loud of nonsensical bs just because of my interpretation of Kill la Kill. For all I know, all those other fanservice laden anime could be dropping these kinds of anvils too, but I do know that if they are, they're being far too subtle about it. But I do hope that with this, I've convinced some people to give Kill la Kill and the magnificent bastards of Studio Trigger a chance.
My Verdict: Kill la Kill is nothing short of fantastic, spectacular, and of course, awesome. Few anime of the Fall, and the Winter season so far have the fluid action as Kill la Kill, as characters pump the adrenaline into the the fight in ways that would make Gurren Lagann proud. And when it isn't that action that serves as the point of engagement, it's the comedy as Kill la Kill isn't afraid to take a piss at itself and the shounen genre in general, while adding to it with it's deranged animation that add to the humor. And beneath the seemingly shameless fanservice is an anvil that needs to be dropped: that being sexualized doesn't mean being weak and helpless, and that breaking past the way people view you is the real achievement. Of course, it'd help if you get an outfit that effectively makes you go Super Seiyan. But true to it's legacy, Kill la Kill proves to be awesome, hilarious, entertaining, and even a bit insightful.
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Oh, balls to all, why the hell not?
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!

So far only the first 3 episodes have been released, and it's already been a fun ride. The first thing that hit me was the animation:

Animation 10/10: The last time I saw animation as fast paced as over the top as this was in Gurren Laggan, and as we know the people who made that also made Kill la Kill.

Story 10/10 (projected): Although you may think the story won't be strong, everything up to now has been buildup, If we've learned anything from Gurren Laggen, this anime will be full of surprises, comedy, drama and tons of fun. I'll update this section once the anime is further ahead.

Characters 10/10 (projected): So far for characters we have the strong willed lead, the all powerful antagonist, the side character charged with comedic relief & bringer of over the top moments, and the wise yet hilarious professor. Along with some other characters, I can only imagine how great they'll all play into each other. I'll update this section once the anime is further ahead and the characters are more developed.

Overall: Just like Attack on Titan got all the well deserved rave in the spring and summer, Kill la Kill will be the anime of the Fall and Winter seasons. Look forward to an incredibly enjoyable ride, this is definitely a show that won't disappoint!

Kill la Kill is a throwback to the kick-butt heyday of anime yore, inspired by the bad girls, street punks and no-nonsense awesomeness of classic 80's anime. Though the title is a head-scratcher in English, it's actually quite punny in Japanese --- pronounced "kiru" instead of "kill", it means both "to cut" and "to wear" in the original Japanese, which is the general gist of the show: cutting clothing, or in this case, super-powered school uniforms that allow a despotic student council president (Satsuki Kiryuin) to lead a ruthless organization of clubs and students to rule over Honnouji Academy.

Enter Ryuko Matoi, a fire-starter punk of a girl, wielding half a giant pair of scissors like a sword, going on a journey of revenge as she searches for the woman that killed her father. As fate would have it, the cold and calculating Satsuki holds information that Ryuko needs --- and she's not going to give it up without a fight!

Whether it's the free-wheeling animation, the frenetic pacing, the atmospheric world-building, or the intense energy that drives this series, everything about Kill la Kill is pushed to the absolute edge (even the fanservice!) But it all boils down to one all-encompassing, all-describing, all-too-appropriate word: fun. This series is a LOT of fun to watch, and by the time you pick your jaw off the floor, you're smacked in the face again --- one, two, three times! and another wave of awesome, high-octane action knocks you out of the ring. I just can't get enough of it!

What's old is new again, and the spirit of classics like Project A-ko, Cutie Honey, Sukeban Deka, Otokojuku and other series of the Showa era are brought back to life in a modern work that borrows the best of the old-age sensibilities and cranks them up to eleven with the technical skill and finesse of a new era ready to deliver the goods!

Kill la Kill comes with my highest recommendation. Go watch it!

As a female watcher, I have found that it is hard to find female leads in animes that I can relate to/aspire to be like. Most female-led animes are left in the shoujo genre where the girl's story is completed with her life intertwining with some dude's life. Not saying that that's necessarily bad, but it's definitely getting old. But when I try to branch out to other genres, it's as if there are no female leads to be found. And if I ever do stumble upon such an anime, it's usually a piece of sexist garbage.

But then there's Kill La Kill.

Kill La Kill is not only a superstar in and of itself in not only the fact that there is a strong female lead but that there is an equally strong female lead whose battles aren't watered down to petty squabbles. Not only that, but the animation, story line, and sharp dialogue make for a well rounded watching experience for any viewer.

I cannot recommend this anime enough!

kill-la-kill-coverI know I'm a bit late in talking about this one, but I wasn't able to watch it for a while. Having finally watched all 12 episodes of the first arc of Kill la Kill, I'm struggling to write a review of a show that is this unique. Kill la Kill stares Ryuko Matoi, a young lady who is a bit of a delinquent. She comes home to see her father murdered and goes on a search to find the murderer - recognizable because half of the weapon used to kill him, a giant pair of scissors, was left behind. Her search leads her to Honnouji Academy, a school that is controlled in virtually every way by the student council led by Satsuki Kiryuin.

It's a fairly straightforward premise, but nothing else about this show is. Kill la Kill uses absurdity and a rather crude take on humour to provide commentary on several very interesting and intelligent issues, but never in a straightforward enough way as to feel controversial. It isn't breaking any new ground, but it's still very interesting to such an interesting way of exploring these issues. It reminds me a lot of Angel Beats except with a much broader reach.

To take a step back though... Honnouji Academy is more than just a school, it is basically the entire city to some degree. Standings within the school determine a family's social and economic standing within the city, and are delineated by the type of uniform a student has. The uniforms are not simple clothing however, they also imbue special powers upon the wearer. No-star students, such as Ryuko's friend Mako, do not get any additional power and live in the slums. As you get more stars, the uniform grants additional strength leading up to the strongest - the 3-star Goku Uniforms worn by the members of the student council other than Satsuki which grant overwhelming power to their wearer.

Ryuko enters into this with nothing and challenges them, and is beaten senseless. Afterwards, she stumbles back home and falls into her father's secret lab and stumbles upon a special uniform known as Kamui Senketsu, a piece of sentient clothing that bestows upon her powers surpassing even the Goku uniforms. Using this uniform, she attempts to assault Honnouji Academy in an attempt to get Satsuki to tell her the truth about her father and to avenge him. Initially anyways...

One thing that I find so impressive about Kill la Kill is that the show features several scantily clad women - Senketsu, for example, is a standard school-style sailor outfit normally, but when Ryuko activates its power it transforms into an outfit that can barely be called one, since it hardly covers anything - but always manages to avoid feeling like mere fanservice, even during a rather disturbing massage scene. The over-the-top insanity of the show helps a lot in this regard, but I think that the personality and self-aware nature of the characters plays an even bigger role in this.

The show features four characters that I would classify as main characters: Ryuko, Satsuki, Mako, and Senketsu(yes, Ryuko's outfit). None of these characters are one-dimensional or flat. Every one is a well developed and multi-layered personality - even if Mako often appears a bit simple. They accentuate these characters with a variety of characters who are little more than caricatures of common tropes providing a means for the characters to show new and interesting facets to their personality.

Ryuko battles her way through tennis balls, whips, musical notes, needles, sports equipment and just about anything else you can imagine on her way to Satsuki. Wielding her giant half-scissor, she tackles foe after foe in battles that continually get both more absurd and more entertaining.

Needless to say, I've found the show to be quite entertaining. The animation isn't ultra-realistic, the humour is a bit crude, and not everything makes sense... but it's a perfect showcase of the type of thing you can only do in an anime, and also of the reason why I love anime. It's eccentric, exciting, and also fairly intelligent despite the insanity. I can't wait to see what the second half of the series has to offer.

The above was a review I wrote midway through watching the Kill la Kill series. If you're interested in more anime/gaming content, my website is http://www.shadowedblade.net/