Inumuta Houka, who was recruited by Satsuki five years ago when he hacked into her company’s stocks, faces off against Ryuuko. She has Senketsu enlarge his eye to the size of the battle area, neutralizing his optical camo. Not wanting to lose his data, Inumuta elects to forfeit, so Jakuzure Nonon, who has known Satsuki since Kindergarten, is next. She initially overpowers Ryuuko with sound and even takes to the skyin her uniform, but Ryuuko joins her there as Senketsu evolves and achieves flight too. Concerned the kamui is evolving too fast, Mikisugi calls Kinagase, who heads to Honnouji.
We admire a show that knows exactly what it’s doing…and simply gets on with it. To that end, this week isn’t just Inumuta’s battle—as he forfeits barely halfway in—but Jakuzure’s too. As she promises, she puts on quite a different show than the two guys who preceded her. As Satsuki-sama’s oldest disciple (and the closest thing to a friend), it seems she has the best toys and the most leeway to bend the rules of combat, i.e. leaving the battle area by air or laying waste to the entire arena with a recorder-missile barrage. The proceedings are kept quite jaunty and proper with the orchestral accompaniment, and Kill la Kill pulls out all the stops meshing shonen and mecha battle tropes with a whimsical musical aesthetic.
Ryuuko looks utterly outclassed as the very ground beneath her feet crumbles, but then the episode reminds us, she and Senketsu are on a roll, and they’re not going to let cloaking devices, sound-waves or the power of flight bring them down (we also dug the use of Mako as her calming device). If Jakuzure can fly, so will Senketsu; that’s the power of a 100% life fiber kamui. The reveal of her “Gale” regalia is an awesome moment, but it’s also a cause of growing concern for Mikisugi. We also got the feeling Ryuuko is letting herself get too swept up in her power and trying to do too much to fast, which could lead to everything blowing up in her face at the worst possible time.
Rating: 9 (Superior)
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