Kill La Kill Anime Review

I'm a man of interpretations; i read them, I think about them, and of course I write them. So when I said 'I'm going to have the Kill La Kill review out tonight,' I think that what could've easily been derived from that was that I would be posting today—five days later...

Here I'm going to take a crack at reviewing one of the most underrated, unknown series that came out during the fall season because it hasn't been done before. The question remains; is it worth it? Let's not waste any more time (though I'm pretty sure we could waste the rest of our lives trying to figure out what the hell Kill La Kill means)

Animation--The first thing you'll notice when jumping into the anime is the animation—it's weird. It's so weird that my friend quit after the first episode. Me? Aside from the fact that it would be pretty hard to review a show you dropped, I've seen this;

               When I searched for thre URL to upload this video I got a video about Einstein

So here I go again, I could tell you exactly why the animation is impressive, but then I think you can just click the video below and see for yourself. Instead I'm going to address a certain kind of thing about the animation; it's style. There are a ton of recycled animations in this anime. Anymore and I would've believed that this was produced by Al Gore. Seriously though, it's kind of ridiculous, and may turn a lot of you off. My friend dropped the show entirely because of this.

The fight scenes are chaotic, a lot of stuff is happening on screen. At the same time, you can follow it all. Look seeing is believing, a picture is worth a thousand words, and more than anything; I'm lazy.

Plot--What kind of plot can you expect from the people behind anime featuring things such as such as Mind f*cks , Interdemensional Head Boners, And re-enactments of Saving Private Ryan with Sperm?

 A pretty good one actually. Are there better out there? Of course! Yet in some ways, I think I like this anime more than Gurren Lagann.

Okay, the pitchforks and torches are all well and good, but I think I'm going to draw the line at the tank. In all seriousness, while the show starts out kinda slow, the second half of the show is amazing. The first half of the show mainly consists of monster of the week style encounters—the only reason for coming back being the ridiculous fights. There are reasons why I didn't like the first season that much (too much Mako and not enough Nudist Beach), but let me tell you that episode 12-24 is worth the wait. Some of the plot twists are a bit predictable or underwhelming, but it's all worth it for one of them. Remember the 'reaper' twist of Mass Effect? Yeah, rip the logic out of that, dress it in a sailor suit and you have a Kill La Kill twist. By the end of the series, everything is cranked up to eleven—Tension, fights, orchestral nonsense, plot twists, monologues, everything!

 Sound---Oh yeah, this show not only has some damn good voice actors, it features Hiroyuki Sawano as composer. Don't know who he is? Attack on Titan ring a bell? Maybe Zombie Loan? Guilty Crown? If you haven't said yes yet, give me your address and an excavator—I'll need it to get you out of the rock you're living under. Needless to say everything is scored brilliantly. I think that this is his best soundtrack yet. While always carrying an electronic undertone, all of the tracks sound unique and diverse. Especially those modeled after a character. Here's Kiryuiin Satsuki's.

                                       

                                         Because Before My Body Is Dry is too mainstream!

Anyway, the anime features voice actors such as Ami Koshimizu (Kallen-Code Geass, Anemone--Eureka 7), Nobuyuki Hiyama (Gurren Lagann---Viral, Gundam 08th MS team--Shiro,) and a bunch of other voice actors that you can gawk over here.  How are they though? Well rounded. For every Harime Nui we have a Mako, for every Ragyo, we have a Mako, and of course for every Ryouko, we have a Mako. There isn't a ton of character development, so in that sense, I can't really praise or critisize performance. However I will say that all of them play their characters well. Even Aya Suzaki (voice of Mako) plays her role well. 

Fanservice--  I think the fanservice in this anime is just misunderstood. Maybe all along it's been trying to highlight the effect gender has on mainstream media. Maybe by exaggerating and making everything seem over-sexualized, they're shedding light onto exactly what sexuality is. Maybe the sheer amount of sexual content onscreen makes us appreciate the...

Okay, but sorry guys, but this isn't commentary on fanservice---this is fanservice. Don't believe me? Try defending this; (NSFW)

Yet I equally disagree with everyone who says that the fanservice ruins the show. In every single one of the fights the main goal of the animator is to make the scene look as kick ass as possible—not to try to make you as hard as possible. In fact some of the fanservice adds to the show. "What you say?!" you say aghast.

                               You laughed, admit it Free! Hater, you defiantly got at least a giggle

Really though, look at the fight scene above, if you're focusing on the character's boobs the whole time, there's something wrong with you.

This is satire of fanservice!

                                                                      

Characters-- How ere the characters designed? I think Ryouko said it best herself; 

I liked the characters here, and because I'm going to say that they are well done, I have to make up some philosophical bullsh*t to make it seem like I know what I'm talking about. So the characters in Kill La Kill, while not the best on the market, are certainly better than a lot of other anime characters [insert hate for Freezing here]. What makes these characters good is their personalities. Each and every one of them has a distinct personality, and aside from a few, most aren't age old anime stereotypes. From the imposing Satsuki, to the well...no other way to say it, masochistic Gamagoori, everyone is distinct, giving each of their scenes a unique vibe. I also liked how a lot of the side characters are given ample screen time; not just shoved off into the corner like last-weeks trash.

You knew this was coming. When I said most of the characters were unique, you knew i was going to talk about the one who isn't. What you probably didn't know is that the one I'm talking about is our very own rebellious Ryouko. Is she a bad character? No. She makes boneheaded decisions that make up the majority of the plot holes in the anime. She has some crazy character flips. Yet is she any different from any other shonnen protagonist we've ever watched. To sum it up; she's Yuusuke with boobs. She's a lot of fun, and her speeches are often grandiose. Her voice actress is great as is her soundtrack, which adds to her character. I just found her the least interesting.

Now we get to the one you've all been waiting for; Mako. I wasn't as annoyed by her as most of you...is what I'd like to say. Let me put it this way; she's charming at first, and I really mean that. Like at first she's charming. I was honestly charmed for the first millisecond she's onscreen. Yet her voice actor is grating, and her over the top nature ruins any kind of tension or drama that was set up. As for her comic relief... in the words of the immortal Alyx Vance, we don't go there.

 So is it worth your time? The real question is; can you stand an annoying character, tons of fanservice (though if you've been watching anime as long as I have you won't notice) and some crazy 180 degree character turns. If you are, prepare for one hell of a ride. You'll never look at a T-shirt the same way again. I loved the series and cannot wait to see what Trigger has in store for us next.

Thanks for reading, and liking following and whatnought is always appreciated!