The Official MSBS Anime Review: Kill la Kill

Don't lose your way in your mind
We have to be as one
Don't be afraid my sweet heart
This is the way to be more strong
Harbor my deep secret
It makes me so blue
Run through this game before my body is dry

Happy people of TheTopTens, there are two things you need to know. One, this is the fifth anime review of Aniplex's August Lucky 7 getting underway. Two, in this anime review, I will be reviewing the anime series Kill la Kill. Consisting of 24 episodes and 1 OVA episode, all of those episodes will be in mind as I analyze Kill la Kill. From the creators of the anime series Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill certainly proved to be just as great as its predecessor product. Don't lose your way, folks, because you all better get ready for the anime review right now!

Kill la Kill follows the main protagonist Ryuko Matoi, who travels endlessly in pursuit of tracking down any traces of who was the person that killed her father. Her only clue being the missing half of her father's invention, the Scissor Blade, her search leads her to Honnouji Academy, a high school located in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the island of Honno City in the Kanto region, where it is ruled by the cold and ruthless student council president Satsuki Kiryuin and the Elite Four. Set under a harsh and competitive hierarchical system, those at the academy who survive to be the fittest of the fittest are granted battle outfits named Goku Uniforms (ahem, not the one from Dragon Ball Z), which give them unique superhuman strengths and abilities. Over the course of Kill la Kill, Ryuko must fight her way through the students donning these Goku uniforms if she wishes to defeat the Elite Four and Satsuki in order to find the killer behind her father's death. One day, after being defeated by one of the students at Honnouji Academy, Ryuko retreats to the ruins of her home where her father was killed and finds a special sentient Kamui named Senketsu that she uses in order to become strong enough to take on those who stand in the way of her goal of uncovering the mystery behind the culprit who murdered her father.

Now I shall begin analysis of the animation, art, and music of Kill la Kill. If you recall, I mentioned earlier that Kill la Kill was made by the same creators of Gurren Lagann. With that said, the animation studio behind Kill la Kill's animation production was Studio Trigger, which just so happens to have been founded by former employees of Gainax, the animation studio behind the animation of Gurren Lagann. Taking that into account, Studio Trigger has been known to be very unconventional and expeditious in terms of tone and visuals, which is shown quite a lot in the anime series Kill la Kill. Many of the action sequences were thrilling to watch, with the series having some of the most breathtaking and amazing fights I've seen in this entire decade of the 2010's next to Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, Fate/Zero, and the 2014-2015 Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works! Seriously, just search up Ryuko Matoi's first fight against Satsuki Kiryuin and you'll know that this series' battles are absolutely the bomb! I also need to mention that there's a MOTHER LODE of fanservice in terms of nudity depicted throughout the majority of Kill la Kill, which is only just half of what the show's premise is, which I will discuss in the next paragraph of this review. As for the art, I was initially not very used to the art style of Kill la Kill, but over time, I did manage to get used to it and was able to find the art of Kill la Kill very impressive. Don't believe me? Kill la Kill earned not one, but two awards for the show's character design! And I can see why. All the characters looked very diverse and unique with their own designs and really showed that effort was being put into making the characters look distinguished. But that's not all. The designs of the Goku Uniforms and the Kamuis that appeared throughout Kill la Kill were all visually appealing and splendid to look at, whether it be the Goku Uniforms of the club captains, the Elite Four, or the Kamuis worn by Ryuko and Satsuki. Finally, as for the music of Kill la Kill, though the opening and ending songs aren't really my favorites, I felt that they were still pretty enjoyable to listen to and that they fitted the theme of Kill la Kill, as this is a mature magical girl anime taking place in a high school setting (yes, this is a magical girl anime, people). Sirius by Eir Aoi, Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai by Miku Sawai, Ambiguous by GARNiDELiA, and Shinsekai Koukyougaku by Sayonara Ponytail were all pretty nice to listen to whenever they played in the episodes they were played in. As for the OST, it's composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who, if you remember from my Blue Exorcist review, also composed music for that anime and Attack on Titan as well! Once again, Hiroyuki Sawano did a phenomenal job with his music compositions for anime, with many of the character theme songs being my favorite soundtracks from the OST, with emphasis being put on the Elite Four's character theme songs, which really represented the actual characters themselves very well. I also liked Light Your Heart Up, since it was a really heartwarming and touching song even thought it wasn't used much throughout Kill la Kill. I should really listen to that song whenever I'm feeling down or something... But most importantly, I enjoyed Before My Body is Dry, which was a song that really symbolized the bond between Ryuko and Senketsu while sounding awesome and epic at the same time! Anyways, what I can conclude is that the animation, art, and music for Kill la Kill are all great to the point of being worthy of deserving a place in the heavens!

Moving forward, now I will begin analysis of the story of Kill la Kill. Now since I can't really give official names for any arcs in Kill la Kill, I'm just going to briefly describe the series in my own words without giving away any major spoilers. Basically, as the story of Kill la Kill progresses, Ryuko goes through many tussles and struggles as she tries to reach the Elite Four and Satsuki in her goal of finding her father's killer. Ranging from facing off against club captains or rushing to get to class on No-Late Day while traversing many life-threatening obstacles, Kill la Kill presents every top-notch idea that anyone could brainstorm when coming up with the plot for an episode in an anime revolving around high school and clothing. Speaking of clothing, clothing even acts as the main premise of Kill la Kill in the form of the Goku Uniforms and Kamuis worn in the anime! That, and there's actually a mystery behind these pieces of clothing that is progressively unraveled as the series progresses. In addition, Kill la Kill manages to keep Ryuko's father's death relevant to the plot, where it eventually becomes vital to said plot as the series goes on. I would also like to say that just like its predecessor Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill gives a wonderful presentation of intense action, a great mix between comedy and drama, interesting character development, and even clashes between differing ideologies throughout its entire run! And with that, now I end my analysis of the story of Kill la Kill.

Now that I've mentioned the character development of Kill la Kill, now I would like to actually start analysis of the characters of Kill la Kill. So we have Ryuko, the second-year transfer student at Honnouji Academy who is a fierce and stubborn tomboy that's not afraid of much and is a very determined girl, especially when it comes to her wanting to find her father's murderer. Not only is Ryuko a young woman who can fight to the death without showing fear of dying while doing so, but she has also been shown to be very close and loving towards those she loves, but very hateful and loathing towards her enemies. Then, we have Satsuki, the student council president of Honnouji Academy who rules the school with an iron fist, being a prideful and steadfast leader who is harsh and stern in her authoritative rule over Honnouji Academy, while being very close with the Elite Four and protecting them just as much as they protect her. There's also Mako Mankanshoku, the comic relief for Kill la Kill who is an energetic and outgoing female second-year student who quickly becomes attached to Ryuko and befriends her. Not to mention Senketsu, who is Ryuko's Kamui that literally has a mind of its own, being an observant and level-headed creature who has a strong bond with her and can even be considered as acting fatherly towards her when it comes to his genuine friendship with Ryuko. I could go on and on more about the many memorable characters that appear in Kill la Kill that are just as great as the entire cast from Gurren Lagann, but I think I've said enough for this anime review considering I think that it's best that those who haven't seen the series yet go watch it for themselves if they truly want to know how awesome the characters are. After all, Kill la Kill was initially going to be a manga focusing primarily on fighting scenes, only to shift to focusing on the characters themselves.

Now as for the flaws for Kill la Kill... wait, what flaws? I found just about every nook and cranny of Kill la Kill to be clear of any major flaws that may have plagued the anime. To add on, I also liked the conclusion to Kill la Kill in both its 24th episode and OVA episode altogether. Other than that, I honestly didn't really have a problem with Kill la Kill! I absolutely cannot see how anyone else could find anything wrong with this series!

It's hard to believe that I barely knew about this series until I learned about it from my sister, who at the time I found out about Kill la Kill, was experiencing the greatness of it in its original run while it grew in popularity all over the Internet. And after seeing all the episodes of Kill la Kill including the OVA, now I finally know what I was missing out on all those years that I wasn't into anime. It only took about 1 or 2 years after Kill la Kill finished airing that I began to binge watch the entire series after watching Deadman Wonderland and Attack on Titan as I started to get into anime again ever since the time I watched all the episodes of Digimon Tamers on Netflix. Badass battle scenes, astonishing animation and art, bundles of legendary songs and original soundtracks, an engaging story, ideology clashes, incredible characters, tons of fanservice that all the weeaboos and otakus in the world could possibly be catered with, hysterical comedy and deep and complex drama, complete with an original premise, Kill la Kill has it all. So here's my final score for Kill la Kill:

10.0 out of 10.0 stars

Next anime review: The Official MSBS Anime Review: God Eater

And before I go, I'm gonna leave you with a little something for you to enjoy...

In the dusty basement where we met
May you surprised so much
Because you're talking now
I gotta find the truth from many fights
But I'm all alone
You're the only one who can help me out
We'll be as one

We're ready to fight
Look over there
They try to kill us for stars
Our bond has got much stronger than before

Don't lose your way in your mind
We have to be as one
Don't be afraid my sweet heart
This is the way to be more strong
Harbor my deep secret
It makes me so blue
Run through this game before my body is dry

So it seems there's no other choice
But to go all out
Stay with me and let's stand out
And out shine those trying to get our stars now
All we have to do is figure out how strong we are
and what it takes to stay alive
Sync and learn what we can do to take 'em down
It's revenge and survive
For now, we know in part
And You can feel my heart
So help me to stay focused so I don't fall apart
I wanna be complete
It's not in me to retreat
I could lose on my own so I really need you with me

I gotta find out who killed my dad
I hear the voice of you in my mind
I gotta find out who killed my dad
I hear the voice of you in my mind so

My blood is pumping
I'm ready to fight when you are
Let's let no one break the bond that is ours
Show them what it means to be a shining star
You have my body
Let's fight as one

Can't move my feet in the dark
Don't wanna be all alone
Can't feel the heat in my blood
Do you remember what he said

Don't lose your way in your mind (I really need you with me)
We have to be as one (Help me to stay focused)
Don't be afraid my sweet heart (I wanna be complete)
This is the way to be more strong
Harbor my deep secret (Fight as one with me)
It makes me so blue (Let's take 'em down)
Run through this game before my body is dry (Be a shining star)
(You have my body, I'm ready to fight when you are)

Until then, peace!

Comments

Good review, I don't plan on watching it though, I don't need to be sent to some weird therapy camp for child molesters. - Skullkid755

Yeah. Toonami even had to censor some of the fanservice and one molestation scene from the show while it was being broadcasted on the Saturday night block. - visitor

Which toonami adult swim or cartoon network toonami? - Skullkid755

Considering how the content of each toonami differs, adult swim toonami, - Skullkid755

Adult Swim Toonami. - visitor

I can see why. - Skullkid755

Now I just wish they can show Fate/Zero and the 2014-2015 Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works on Toonami. - visitor

Nice solid, long, and detailed review. It's good to see that you put a lot of effort into your reviews. - visitor