Well…ok, that all just happened. I predicted a lot would go down in Ryuko finally getting a shot at the Elite Four and Satsuki Kiriyuin. But wow, I could never have predicted THAT MUCH would ever go down. Kill La Kill brought the goods and somehow both exceeded expectations and got me pumped for what’s to come in the second half of the show…even if one or two things didn’t gel so well with me, but it’s more of a personal preference thing.
Sure enough, Ryuko did get to fight most of Satsuki’s Elite Four and each successive fight was even bigger and better than the last. While I feel like I have to say Gamagoori’s fight was my favorite, I might actually tie it with Jakuzure’s battle, even if she isn’t one of my favorite characters. Both of these duels went for pure over the top spectacle, as loud and explosive as you could make a fight. And both delivered in their own ways, from taking Gamagoori’s sadistic fetish to the next level and showing how powerful it made him; to Jakuzure’s uniform turning into a booming classical music belting mecha that was more of a flying tank meets a massive theatrical sound system. Between the two Gamagoori gets more the vote from me because his character is freaking hilarious. He’s an honorable guy who takes his principles way too seriously but somehow never becomes as annoying as other characters are when they take things too far. Plus Gamagoori got to enjoy some fun banter with Mako on the sidelines and their clashing personalities are comedy gold. Jakuzure’s continuous boasts at knowing Satsuki inside and out because she’s known her since elementary school got super annoying even before she stepped into battle. Plus her battle was longer for no reason and denied a chance for tech guru Inumuta to really show off what he was capable of. Then again, he was only interested in gathering data and when he was satisfied, he threw the fight…to each their own? Idk, I still like him better than Jakuzure.
Ryuko herself got to unleash some awesome new armor abilities with Senketsu, even if it did seem like each was their own ex machina. A souped up Wolverine mode and a flight mode both looked amazing…but they weren’t the best new forms we saw. Believe it or not, the award for best new mode was the unfortunate Monster Mode that Ryuko awoke after she found out who really killed her dad…the childlike Nui Harime. It reminded me of a robot from Medical Mechanica in FLCL, except more the stuff of nightmare. Misshapen and ferociously powerful, creatively its one of the neatest looks to come out of Kill La Kill and yeah…it was scary as hell. This new berserker form even allowed Ryuko to put up a decent brawl with Satsuki, even if it wasn’t the duel I was hoping for. In the end, Satsuki’s intentions to kill the berserk Ryuko were held off thanks to everyones favorite energetic ex machina, MAKO MANKANSHO!!!! I liked this moment a lot, especially when Mako had to remind Ryuko of the help she gave her during last weeks rags to riches storyline for the Mankansho family. This is one friendship no one should take likely, even Satsuki had to give Mako her props (of course Mako’s big takeaway was that Satsuki knew her name).
Throughout all the madness, we got a glimpse of Ragyo Kiriyuin, Satsuki’s Mom and who knows what trouble she’ll stir up in the second half. Who will be doing just that is Nui…and yeah…I’m not a fan. I get that her innocent design and personality are to heighten just how scary she is because Nui is a soulless killer and uber fan of violence. But that constant smiling and her ability to be so OP just irk the hell out of me. I guess I brought me a little satisfaction that she can get pissed off when things don’t go according to plan…or you know when Ryuko’s Dad slices her eye out before she kills him. Nui is the kind of antagonist who is meant to push buttons. Sure you can like her cute design and Looney Tune like wackiness. But she’s also the kind of bad guy you really, really, REALLY want to see get what’s coming to them. After all, she killed Ryuko’s dad with that playful smile on her face like she was enjoying freetime on the playground. The even scarier thing? She ISNT the big bad of the series. Again, that honor probably goes to Satsuki’s mother and if Nui is already this unstoppable, what kind of a nightmare will Ragyo Kiriyuin be?
Kill La Kill has been a wild ride so far that I’m really enjoying, even if some characters are better than others. Now we have new players, new revelations and a ton of questions that still need to be answered in the second half: will Senketsu and Ryuko go berserk if they fight again? What is this “Nudist Beach” group Akihiro and Tsumugu seem to be part of? What role will Ragyo Kiriyuin play in all of this? And what the heck does Satsuki stand to gain by taking over every high school in Japan? Guess we’ll find out more about that last question next time as Kill La Kill kicks of the Tri City Schools Raid Trip…a raid that’s a trip…ok I will laugh at that title.
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