Kill la Kill Episode 24 (Finale!) Notes – Matoi Ryuuko, Rebellious Princess, It’s Time to Graduate

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

The last two episodes had been build-up. The episode before last was the thematic build-up, so to speak, the fan-service, giving us all the themes and gags we were expecting. Last episode actually brought us back to Satsuki’s theme of “Pigs in human clothings” and Ragyou’s meta-theme of biblical references, and servitude as power (which contrasts and compares nicely with Satsuki).

Also, this is a show where everyone is a shounen hero. Ragyou now has had her power-up again, the second since being betrayed by Satsuki.

Time for the final fight. I expect much to be a spectacle, we’ll see how much goes beyond :)

Thoughts and Notes:

1) The Spirit of Man: (The War of the Worlds Musical reference, check it out)

1) Hundred Men Assault – Sanageyama had always been a gang-leader. Though he, like the other members of the Elite Four are all powerhouses on their own, they are also leaders, they also know the power of working together. Note this shape, he can only get as high as he is because he stands on the shoulders of his comrades (yes, I’m paraphrasing Isaac Newton here). But, some could also consider this a reference to the Tower of Babel, the conceit of thinking you could stand against God.

Kill la Kill Episode 19 Notes – Our Humanity, Under Siege

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

Believe it or not, Kill la Kill had been my #1 show for the week for the past 3 weeks, and it’s been quite some time since it’s been this strong. The last few weeks had been great. Last episode certainly left us in a precarious position, with the two girls, the two sisters being smacked about by their mother, who took one daughter’s clothes, meaning her dignity, away, and is holding the heart of the other daughter, the one fueled by her emotions.

I guess it’s now up to the supporting cast. Supporting cast that’d been given their own flashback scenes, a supporting cast that had been set up not as shounen sidekicks, but as protagonists. I wonder how long this will go on, and how awesome our Elite Four and Others are going to be. Show me, excite me. You can do it, Trigger.

Thoughts and Notes:

1) Humanity Under Siege:

Gamagoori and Mankanshoku for life!

Kill la Kill Episode 18 Notes – Cry Out Your Resolve! Fight for Freedom!

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

It’s 3 am. Kill la Kill is out. I am tired.

Screw it. We’re doing this.

Well, last episode certainly ended with a bang, and even Ryuuko was left with nothing to say aside for “What the hell is going on?!” – Satsuki set upon Ragyou, but it seems like we can’t count Ragyou out so quickly. This will be a battle, with so many sides and participants – Ryuuko, Nudist Beach, Kiryuin Ragyou, Kiryuin Satsuki, Nui, the Elite Four, and who knows what’s going to happen with all of the people in the stadium who are currently busy being consumed by their clothes? And we can’t count out Mako just yet either…

There’ll be fights, and there’ll likely be flashbacks and revelations. I just don’t know what is going to happen asidefrom all of this, and what will happen afterwards, because I doubt it’d be done with one big fight.

Fall 2013 Anime Mid-Season Impressions (Part 1/2, B-K)

So, another season of anime reached its half-point and it’s time to watch my mid-season impressions, where I talk a bit of the show and rate it.

Due to how many shows I have to cover (15), I’ve cut them into two halves, sorted alphabetically. The shows within each episode are sorted roughly by excitement generated within me or how good they are. I’ve also bolded in the following lines what shows I’ll recommend people without reservations.
The first post (this one!) will cover: BlazBlue: Alter Memory, Coppelion, Galilei Donna, Gingitsune (Silver Fox), Kill la Kill, Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary), and Kyousougiga (Capital Craze).
The second post will cover: Log Horizon, Nagi no Asukara, Outbreak Company, Samurai Flamenco (Samumenco), Strike the Blood, Tokyo Ravens, Unbreakable Machine-Doll, and Valvrave the Liberator’s 2nd season (Kakumeiki Valvrave).

Kill la Kill:

 

To those who don’t know, I avoid reading most online discussion of this show, so the hype and anti-hype and plain old disappointment won’t affect me too much (I try). So, what do I think of it? I think it’s a very interesting show. The clothings as an external power source that runs counter to normal shounen sensibilities where true power must originate from within, and clothing as dignity/humanity had been very real thematic threads in the show’s early episodes, until it came time to shed them as second-hand skin, and to proudly don one’s clothes, and be proud of not wearing one’s clothes… I feel the yarn had got a bit tangled for the writers in that segment, but since it’s early, not every reversed thread must truly find its way into the final tapestry.

The source of power still seems a very relevant thread in this tale, and I’ve noticed that not only are the antagonists in this show potential shounen-show characters/allies, but a few of them could even be the stars of a shounen action show in their own right, especially considering what happened in episode 6, where Sanageyama had to show his will for power was greater than everything else, his desire to win, to fight a strong opponent, and maintain his dignity. I’m still curious about all the “Balance of power” talk we’ve had, and hopefully the lessons of Nazi Germany and the George Orwell references in episode 1 (both 1984 and The Animal Farm) wouldn’t just be discarded from here on out.

I really wonder what the show could do with more money. The artistic direction and use of stills is brilliant, but it’d be nice to still see it augmented with more money. The musical direction and the choice of classic pieces throughout the episodes greatly enhance the experience of watching this show.

Episodes Watched: 6/25
Current Grade: A? Some episodes are amazing, some episodes are really good, a couple didn’t hit the mark, and within each episode there are also moments of greatness within an ok episode and weak moments in a good episode. So I’ll give it an A? for now.

Anime Season Begins – Fall 2013 Week 1.5 Impressions (Part 1/2)

Well, I’m watching a lot of shows this season, even more than last season, about 20. So I’m going to split this post into two parts, the first will go live today, and the second will likely go live in a couple of days. I will not post this sort of list every week, certainly not for this number of shows. I intend to cut down the amount of shows I’m watching to 10-12 by next week or the week after, to leave me more time for other things.

There will be spoilers of episode 1-2 of the shows discussed, but that’s part of the premise, honestly.
Shows covered in this part: Coppelion, Nagi no Asukara, Gingitsune, Yuushibu, NouCome, Strike the Blood, BlazBlue: Alter Memory, Tokyo Ravens, Kill la Kill, Outbreak Company.

Well, let’s dive straight into it. Again organizing it by how well I like them thus far to make it easier to read. Will also use some keywords to describe each show.

Got Me Hooked:

 

Kill la Kill – In case you’ve lived under a rock, this is the hottest show of the season, and perhaps the year. Made by the people who had left Gainax to form Studio Trigger, many of the people behind Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are also behind this show, and it shows. Kill la Kill is very sure of what it wants to be, which is a spectacle. Everything is over the top, and we also get some interesting note on the nature of power in the background. Koshimizu Ami who plays the main role of Matoi Ryuuko is an inspired choice, giving the same vibes she did as Kallen in Code Geass. Watch it, it’s fun.
Watched: 2/25(?)
Keywords: Popcorn, over-the-top action, fascism, nature of power.

Sadly, I can’t cover all the expressions Ryuko has in one photo, especially not her cheeky smile.