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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Why Aren’t You Watching Kill La Kill?

Hey, you. Yes, you, GP reader #34784A (yes, we monitor you all), I want to ask you something: why aren’t you watching Kill La Kill?

Well, obviously, you’re reading Geek Pride right now, and you should continue to read this fantastic site. But, when you have wrung us dry of fascinating content, you should boot up Netflix or something similar and watch the anime Kill La Kill.

Produced by newcomers Trigger, it is a brand new IP (am I the only one a little disappointed sometimes when I find that a film/TV series is actually based on a book?) released during the course of this year which involves some of the creative minds behind the cult hit mecha anime Gurren Lagann. It’s hard not to see the influences from Gurren Lagann in Kill La Kill, with its love of…

Wait, you haven’t watched Gurren Lagann either?! Right, I’m giving you permission to close Geek Pride right now and go watch Gurren Lagann. Go on. Go. Seriously. Go. Now.

Done? Good. Then you’ll now understand the glory of this .gif.

Kamina-Glasses

Anyway, Kill La Kill takes the ludicrous over-the-top nature of Gurren Lagann and combines it with the somewhat traditional Magical Girl / school tropes you often see in anime series. It follows the story of Ryuko, a homeless girl who is searching for the person who killed her father. She has tracked them down to the Honnouji Academy; a strange combination between a school and an overbearing Government, and enters as a transfer student to find out what’s happening in this odd place. From there, it seems like it’s going to be a standard FIGHT, FIGHT, BECOME MORE POWERFUL structure, with abilities being unlocked and so on through fighting and the power of friendship.Take My Zeni

Refreshingly it does not follow the standard plot at all, with unusual twists and a commitment to instilling humour into the series. With the living clothing that becomes more skimpy / sexual as it provides more power, you originally think it’s going the annoyingly standard route of objectifying its female characters. And then you see the men’s costumes, and you meet the Nudists (seriously), and see that everything is being played simultaneously straight and for laughs. And it goes from there, developing a unique style and unique twists on common tropes.

Kill La Kill also has a unique animation style, likely brought on by the relatively low budget that Trigger had to work with. Freezes, repeats, and hilarious titles in the Grindhouse fashion are used well, to the point that you understand it more as a style choice than a financial one. There is a deliberation in each scene, in the artistic direction, which comes across perfectly. And the music… the music is perfect; a combination of classical music, Western pop, and J-Pop is woven throughout the episodes.

I found it without knowing it was made by people who made Gurren Lagann, and devoured all twenty four episodes in the space of three days. So it has a great plot, is laugh-out-loud hilarious, contains excellent visuals and music, and manages to never take itself seriously whilst being a serious, sensible show.

Again, GP reader, I ask you: why aren’t you watching Kill La Kill?

Killlakillpromo

 

SeanPWallace
SeanPWallace
Sean is an editor, writer, and podcast host at Geek Pride, as well as a novelist. His self-published works can be found at all good eBook stores.

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