G-4rce Anime Reviews: Kill la Kill
Alright, new review today. Hope you guys enjoy!MyAnimeList Reception
8.20/10
Ranked #312
Okay, so after finishing Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, I suddenly felt the urge to watch Kill la Kill. I've known about this anime for a long time. The first time I caught a glimpse of this anime was the scene where Ragyo beat the sh*t out of Satsuki, so that was a start, and for the many years I've known about this anime, I've continuously refused to watch it because I was feeling that it would be a bit too much for me, which I know sounds stupid considering the fact that I love Monogatari and the main character always gets brutally ass-handled in that series. With Kill la Kill being on Netflix, though, I decided why the hell not, and it immediately hooked me from the first episode and onwards.
Kill la Kill is from a anime studio called Trigger, which was created by a few former Gainax employees (Gainax made Gurren Lagann if you didn't know). Probably the best way you can recognize that this anime had something to do with Gainax is that the art style is quite similar to Gurren Lagann's. What sets these two anime apart, though, is the animation in Kill la Kill is much more frantic. In fact, the animation is not just frantic, but it's delightfully creative and in-your-face. My jaw dropped wide open when this was showcased in literally the first couple of minutes in the first episode. Everything moved so buttery smooth that watching art as flat and cartoony as this in 720p was utterly spectacular. This anime is loud, eccentric, and completely out of control, which surprisingly works frighteningly well. The massive amount of fanservice slapped all over the anime worked, unless you're reluctant towards that stuff (I suggest growing some balls). This anime made me WANT to see some ass and titties, which I only thought Monogatari could make me do (seeing Kanbaru Suruga naked in that anime put me in a freaking trance). The fight scenes were crazy good. They retain that Gurren Lagann style except way more frantic. The soundtrack is SICK; only something Hiroyuki Sawano could pull off. By far, my favorite track is Blumenkranz, which basically played whenever Ragyo made an entrance. I ended up loving that song more than Don't Lose Your Way. When it came to its looks and sounds, Trigger made sure that Kill la Kill would be unmatched, and they succeeded in every possible way. Although, we can't be biased here. The storyline is what's really important. That is what a majority of my final score is going to consist of. Is Kill la Kill all looks and no personality? Let me start off with explaining some of the characters...
My God, the characters are simply too good. Their personalities were simply spot-on and I loved every one of them, even the villains like Ragyo and Nui who normally piss viewers off. All of the characters were absolutely lovable, from Ryuko to Satsuki, but, by far, the best character was Mako. She was delightfully annoying, talkative, and random that it brought out the child in me. She wasn't a tedious character, though. She sparked hilarity every time she appeared on-screen, even going as far as stretching the comic animation of the anime to it's absolute limits. What really shocked me about this anime was its storyline. It's actually... really good. Don't get me wrong, this anime is still very wacky and silly. There are definitely some themes and gimmicks that were thrown in the anime just for the f*ck of it. Even the entire premise of the anime is ridiculous. Some sort of alien material called Life Fibers are made into clothing and give wearers epic powers. This basically causes conflict between the powerful and the weak. The powerful, who take control of the Life Fibers, and the weak, who succumb to the powerful. Then this whole dilemma results in random sh*t like characters getting naked and starting a nudist clan to show opposition towards Life Fibers. Most likely just a gimmick to stretch the fanservice limit even further. Although, these silly and wacky themes result in some moral connection, which was so awkward and overly cartoony that it still WORKED. The characters' personalities somewhat drove the story into a combination of both silliness and seriousness. This anime made me actually care so deeply for the good guys. Take Satsuki for example. I hated her at first. She seemed like a completely narcissistic, power-hungry bitch only until we find out that this personality was all a ploy to overthrow her own mother, Ragyo, who was the real power-hungry bitch, from her throne. Satsuki pays heavily for these actions, though, as she's brutally beaten and sexually abused by Ragyo, which was so infuriating. Although, what made me love Satsuki so much was that she triumphed through the abuse and helplessness. She was a strong and level-headed character. This is what really made me love Ragyo because I admired how cruel she was, that the anime would be nothing without her brand of evil.
Even with a story so all over the place, it still managed to captivate me, which is a big difference compared to my experience with Gurren Lagann. Quick Gurren Lagann review right now, and this is probably gonna piss some people off. In my opinion, Gurren Lagann is a great anime, in fact it's a fantastic anime and I know the creators really pushed hard to make it work, but my major problem with the anime is its story. Literally the entirety of Gurren Lagann focuses on one moral base, and that base is human determination. 28 episodes of constant "no matter what happens, we're gonna kick your ass. We will drill a hole through the heavens and expand beyond reality. That is the willpower of humans. You can't beat us no matter what you do." 28 episodes of JUST THAT. The story doesn't drive away from that single base for at least one episode and it soon got repetitive. Kill la Kill, however, mixes its story up and takes sharp turns away from the predictable. This is one reason why I loved the anime Mob Psycho 100 so much. After the first few episodes, the anime drove away from its expected theme by adding new themes and new bases. It's pretty much like experimenting with something that you're not sure may work, but your characters will push what may not work into something fantastic. The characters in Kill la Kill did exactly that, which is why it captivated me so much regardless of how wild or over-the-top it became.
Overall Score 10/10:
I was really debating on what score I wanted to give Kill la Kill, but what I loved so much about it was that it literally forces you to shut your mind off, take a break from seriousness, and get blasted with pure entertainment. Although, Kill la Kill tests how open your mind is to see deeper into its story; to look beyond the wackiness and look toward characters who were going through something. It's basically another Mob Psycho 100, and it has immediately made my top 10 favorite anime of all time. I recommend this mainly to anime veterans, as people who are starting anime may not understand it's themes or its purpose. If you're a fan of anime, this is an absolute must-watch by all means.
More posts will be coming soon, so keep yourselves updated if you want more! Thanks for the support!
Comments
Nice review as always. - visitor
Good review. - ProPanda