Brief Synopsis
Released: October 4, 2013 – March 28, 2014
Episode Count: 24
Rating: PG-13 (MyAnime List) / TV-MA (Netflix)
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll (and Netflix)
The world of Kill La Kill is set in an exaggerated version of a Japanese high school called Honnouji Academy. The gimmick of this show is that certain people/students have more power than others. Their power comes from “Life Fibers.” These are special fibers that are put in clothes and if your clothes have these fibers in them, then the wearer can manipulate their outfits into fighting gear. The gear is different for each wearer according to their abilities, personalities, and how many Life Fibers are in the outfit.
Honnouji Academy is run by the Kiryuin family. This family has a deeper connection with Life Fibers. The Kiryuin in charge of Honnouji academy is Student Cousel President, Satsuki Kiryuin. She and her “Elite Four” run the school with an iron fist, using life fibers to make the school uniforms.
One day, a girl named Ryuko Matoi arrives at the school and makes a challenge to Satsuki. That she will defeat Satsuki to get information about her father’s murderer.
Kolb’s Actual Thoughts
This show is nuts, in interesting ways but also in some annoying ways. Start thinking of every anime stereotype and trope in your head. Got them in mind? Okay, well they are all in here. This might be the most anime-ish show since the early 90s. Everything is overblown and exaggerated. From fight scenes to comedic moments, it is a lot to take in. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, shows should have their own sense of ‘style’, which this has plenty of.
I would say it is an action-comedy and the story has some good twists and turns relatively speaking. However, there is a big component to this show that was a bit too much. That component? … Nudity. Since the show's main focus is on clothing then of course nudity would be a part of it. An example would be when our main character, Matoi, would defeat an enemy, their clothes would comically shred apart leaving a naked person. The reasoning is that Matoi’s Kamui would absorb the Life Fibers in the other suit. Another example is an organization that arises later in the show opposing Life Fibers called Nudist Beach. Can you guess how much they are wearing? Go on guess…
Anyway, there is never full nudity. The show always covers characters up in some form or another, but outfits are often skimpy, or they show a naked person but don’t include the details of the nakedness, or they so some Austin Powers gag where something is blocking the privates. If you are curious as to what I am saying, just watch the opening song for the first season and you will get the point.
Recommendation: "Nah, It’s okay to pass on this one."
While I found the comedy pretty good and the gimmick of the show interesting, Kill La Kill had way too much “fan service” for me to recommend. I would say the story was not wholly unique enough for it to look past all the negative. I would also say that it is not important enough to anime culture that it needs to be seen.
To the show’s credit, they didn’t try to trick the audience. It is rated TV-MA, so viewers should know what they are getting into. So, you the viewer, must decern for yourselves if fan service makes a show good. I say no.
- Kolb
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