Kill la Kill – 01

At Honnouji Academy, the student council committee chairs don “goku uniforms” that bestow upon them supernatural powers. Their president Kiryuin Satsuki rules the school like a king. When Matoi Ryuuko transfers to Honnouji, she immediately confronts Satsuki – a grievous offense – and is beaten to a pulp by Boxing Club Captain Fukuroda Takaharu. Ryuuko escapes to the ruin of her house where her father was killed. She falls deep below the city, where a crazed uniform pops out of the garbage and forces her to wear him. When the council uses Ryuuko’s friend Mankanshoku Mako as a hostage, Ryuuko comes to her rescue, using the power of her new uniform to handily defeat Fukuroda.

An omnipresent thread in the work of director Imaishi Hiroyuki’s work has been comically over-the-top action at a hyper-sonic pace. Whether establishing a location, introducing a character, or landing a blow, everything is taken up to 11, and sometimes 12. If something has to be labeled, it’s done in huge blocky red letters. If anything has to be said, it’s usually yelled. This episode was the polar opposite of the relative stillness and calm of Coppelion, and not just because its city is inhabited (and what an awesome, insane-looking city it is). Where Coppelion strives for realism, Kill la Kill, is, in its most heated moments, pure abstract impressionism.

Suffice it to say, this was a hell of a lot of fun to watch unfurl. The personalities are kept quite simple: the imperious Satsuki, the defiant, plucky Ryuuko, the air-headed Mako. Most importantly, while the episode had some dark themes and serious moments, it knew when not to take itself too seriously, and is therefore infused with moments of bawdy comedy. It’s a potent stimulant of a show that knows exactly how absurd it is and runs with it, taking it as far as it can. Ryuuki is painfully aware of how incredibly revealing her new (apparently sentient) uniform is too, but that doesn’t stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Rating: 8 (Great)

Stray Observations:

• The goku uniforms are ranked on a scale from zero stars (powerless) to three (world-bending strength). Interestingly Satsuki’s uniform has no visible stars. Doubtless it has a personality like Ryuuko’s.
• Satsuki has a whole council of committee chairs in every shape and size. We’re sure we’ll watch Matoi go up against them one by one in future outings. Meanwhile, all she has friends-wise are the Mankanshoku siblings.
• Satsuki’s oxymoronic slogan is similar to the famous one in Orwell’s 1984: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
• We loved the sound a very rigid Mako made when Ryuuko set her down after untying her.