Kill la Kill

Things I've Been Looking Forward to this Thanksgiving Weekend:

• Properly EV training a Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Greninja.
• Seeing the family and stuffing my face with food (for 'Murka).
• Watching my brothers in the Ohio State vs. Michigan game.
• Catching up on muh Kill la Kill.

I love this anime.  No seriously, I LOVE this show.  Definitely my favorite program debuting this season.  And from the chatter I've heard on a few of my favorite forums, many of you agree.  So when I'm told to write a post about an on going anime, only one came to mind.

Sorry "Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai", you were a close second.

New shows can be so hit or miss sometimes, but I often find myself going back to the studios who don't wrong me every few months.  It's no secret that I  ADORED both Panty and Stocking and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, so when I heard that the creative minds behind those shows jumped ship to Studio Trigger, I was quick to watch Little Witch Academia, which I also enjoyed.  But with the amount of hype Kill la Kill received over the summer, I went in as I so often do--skeptical.  But I'm happy to say that six episodes in, this show has not disappointed.

Kill la Kill takes place at Honnouji Academy, a school atop a massive mountain town run by an all powerful student council which itself is controlled by its autocratic president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Each member of the council wear special uniforms called Goku Uniforms that grant them superhuman abilities (reminiscent of the "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, which they use to oppress the rest of the school's students and staff.

"Why else would we wear these stupid costumes?"

Enter the protagonist, Ryuko Matoi.  This transfer student to the academy has a personal vendetta against Kiryuin, who she suspects knows something about the death of her father.  In the first episode, “If Only I Had Thorns Like A Thistle…” Ryuko is easily outclassed by a member of the student council wearing a special uniform, despite being a notable fighter in her own right, wielding a giant scissor sword.

As fate would have it, Ryuko would stumble upon a special uniform created by her father called a Kamui, which is a talking sailor fuku that is fueled by the wearer's blood... made of Life Fibers of concentrated human souls... it makes a lot more sense when you watch the show...

Director Hiroyuki Imaishi's influence is prevalent in this series, as Kill la Kill feels very much like one of his older projects in Gurren Lagann.  With over the top visuals and stories, the combat sequences, though scaled down from universe sized shurikens, feel just as grandiose and important. 

Much smaller...

Is it weird that despite how much I love this show, I'm more interested in seeing the Ryuko cosplayers this summer? For better or worse.

Know your limits!

But what do you think about Kill la Kill? And what else do you want to see me talk about on the blog or on YouTube? Send me your feedback to my twitter!

-  BW