Anime Review: Kill la Kill

Hello everyone, a few bits of news for everyone. First and for most is in regards to the Conception II demo I reviewed last week. As the six or seven people who actually read my blog might know, the reason why I posted that review as because Atlus was having a sweepstakes where the winners can get a download copy of one of four games if you posted some sort of content about the demo, including a blog post (also I wanted to try something different). Low and behold, I was one of the contest winners, and so I got a copy of Etrian Odyssey IV. Immediately after the announcement from Atlus, I got a huge boost to my view count. So if you're one of the individuals who came from Atlus's twitter, welcome to my blogs. I'm Crescent, or CRES if you are on the Mighty No. 9 forums, and here I review various anime and video games and I post a new review, or a mindless, rambling, barely coherent rant every Sunday (usually before 5 PM PST). I also now have a Twitter account (because I needed one in order enter the sweepstakes) @CRESC3N7. Follow if you want, I don't really care. Anyway, here is an introduction to the type of reviews I do: Let's review Kill la Kill.

It isn't every day that a sailor suit with an eyeball is forcing himself on you.

Ryuko Matoi is on a quest to find her father's killer, her only clues are the over-sized scissor blade that killed him and Honnouji Academy: an elite high school with a very rigid status based structure thanks to their Goku Uniforms. These Uniforms give super human strength and power to those who wear them (just roll with it) and at the top of this hierarchy is Satsuki Kiryuin, the student counsel president and daughter of the school's CEO. None defy her well, None except for Ryuko. With the help of Senketsu, a sentient high school uniform that transforms into a skimpy outfit of immense power (again just roll with it), Ryuko will get the answers she is looking for. Even if she has to beat the living snot out of every single person in Honnouji Academy just to get to Satsuki. But how are you suppose to fight against the super powered Tennis club president in an outfit that leaves nothing left to the imagination? Get ready for intense over-the-top action, ridiculous comedy, skin tight uniforms, nudists, and larger-than-life characters in Kill la Kill, made by the same people behind Gurren Lagann.

Aren't you two cold?

 The easily way to describe Kill la Kill is to imagine the most ridiculous thing you can possibly come up with, and then multiply that by 20 and then raise that to the 14th power. And that only accurately describes the first 3 minutes of the first episode. The rest of the series is an exponential growth curve that doubles itself every 5 minutes. Much like Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill plays off like a perpetual game of "I dare you to come up with something more over-the-top than this" that remains strangely coherent. The entire thing about a sentient school girl uniform and the scantily clad heroines is actually one of the more SENSIBLE things in the series. By the end of the series you just have to accept that element because the line between ridiculous, silly, and serious is so amazingly blurred that the only term that can accurately describe it is "It's like Gurren Lagann."

Just in case you think that only the girls get naked.

Of course that is where the series will lose you. Kill la Kill is insane, quite literally too. The only logical thought process is the one that the series invents for itself, and like Gurren Lagann it goes SOOO far into this bizarre and ridiculous premise that if you have any reservations about the series than you will be completely out of it by the time the title appears in the first episode. Simply put, there is a special kind of ridiculous quotient that you need in order to enjoy the series. One where you just have to accept what the hell is going on on-screen, no matter how ridiculous it is. Anime fans may already have this quotient, but regular.... people, probably don't.

Kill la Kill is a REALLY hard anime to review, because it is one of those things that you just have to see in order to understand what it is like. Did I enjoy it? Yes, it is ridiculous fun from start to finish; however, the key word there is ridiculous. If you are a sensible person or do not find the ridiculous entertaining, then you probably will not get Kill la Kill at all. In fact I am almost certain that if this is shown in any sort of academic circles, it would be viewed as juvenile, poorly written, and sexist. Fortunately, most anime circles revel in the ridiculous. Kill la Kill is Highly Recommended.

Watch Kill la Kill on Crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/kill-la-kill

Until next time.

-Crescent, I look at her, and she looks at me, and I look at her, and she looks at me, and I look at her...