Genre Action, comedy-drama, magical girl Licensed by Madman EntertainmentAniplex of AmericaAnime Limited | ||
Kill la Kill (Japanese: キルラキル, Hepburn: Kiru Ra Kiru) is an anime television series produced by Trigger. It follows vagrant schoolgirl Ryuko Matoi on her search for her father's killer, which brings her into violent conflict with Satsuki Kiryuin, the iron-fisted student council president of Honnouji Academy, and her mother's fashion empire.
Contents
The series is Trigger's first original television anime project, directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima, both of whom had previously worked together on Gurren Lagann. It aired in Japan between October 4, 2013 and March 28, 2014.
Aniplex of America licensed the anime for a simulcast with a home video release starting July 2014. The series premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on February 8, 2015. A manga adaptation by Ryō Akizuki began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine from October 4, 2013. An OVA was released as a 25th episode on September 3, 2014.
Plot
Kill la Kill is set at Honnouji Academy (本能字学園, Honnōji Gakuen), a fictional high school situated in Tokyo Bay, Japan on the island of Honnō City. The school is dominated by its fearsome student council led by Satsuki Kiryuin. Its students wear Goku Uniforms (極制服, Gokuseifuku, from gokusei (極製?, "finest quality") + seifuku (制服?, "school uniform")) which give their wearers superhuman abilities because they are constructed with a special material known as Life Fibers (生命戦維, Seimei Sen'i, lit. "Life Battle-Fibers"). Vagrant transfer student Ryuko Matoi, who wields a scissor-shaped longsword that can cut Goku Uniforms, challenges the council as she searches for her father's killer. Although she is initially easily defeated, she finds a sentient sailor uniform that she names Senketsu, a Kamui (神衣, lit. "Godrobe") which is completely made of Life Fibers and transforms her so that she can face Kiryuin and her trials and obstacles. She is befriended by her hyperactive classmate Mako Mankanshoku and lives with her family.
When Satsuki reorganizes the allocation of Goku Uniforms through a battle royal and king-of-the-hill event known as Naturals Election, Ryuko faces the members of Satsuki's Elite Four, who wear powerful Three-Star Goku Uniforms, in a series of duels. Her final fight is interrupted by Nui Harime, the wielder of the other Scissor Blade and the murderer of Ryuko's father. In the ensuing fight, Ryuko transforms into an uncontrollable monster.
With the Tri-City Schools Raid, Satsuki annexes the major schools in the other regions of Japan, and quashes Nudist Beach (ヌーディスト・ビーチ, Nūdisuto Bīchi), a paramilitary organization led by Ryuko's homeroom teacher Aikuro Mikisugi. She arranges for a festival that will host her mother Ragyo, the academy's director and the CEO of REVOCS Corporation (REVOCSコーポレーション, Ribokkusu Kōporēshon), a clothing manufacturer that has dominated the worldwide market. Mikisugi reveals that the Life Fibers, which have been woven into all REVOCS clothing, are actually alien parasites that consume their wearers. When they devour the festival audience, Satsuki turns on her mother, revealing her end goal has always been destroying Ragyo, but the rebellion is short-lived as Ragyo has fused with the Life Fibers to attain tremendous power. Ragyo recognizes Ryuko as her own daughter and Satsuki's younger sister, who survived the termination of a Life Fiber experiment and was raised in secrecy by Ragyo's missing husband Isshin Matoi.
A month later, Ragyo and the Life Fibers have devastated Japan and have captured Satsuki, leaving the Elite Four without Goku Uniforms and forced to hide out with Ryuko and the others at Nudist Beach. When they rescue Satsuki, Ragyo captures and brainwashes Ryuko into fighting her. After Ryuko frees herself, she and Satsuki challenge Ragyo, who plans to use a space satellite to command all Life Fibers to consume their human hosts and detonate the Earth in order to propagate the Life Fibers throughout the universe. After taking down the satellite transmitter and blasting the cocoon that houses the Original Life Fiber, Ragyo absorbs Nui and flies in to space to manually activate the satellite, but Ryuko chases Ragyo into space and defeats her, causing the Life Fiber clothes to perish. Following the battle, Senketsu sacrifices himself and burns up on atmospheric re-entry to return Ryuko to Earth.
In a follow-up OVA episode, Ragyo's secretary Rei Hououmaru disrupts Honnouji Academy's graduation ceremony, using leftover Life Fibers to create doppelgängers of Satsuki and the Elite Four. However, they are defeated by Ryuko, the real Elite Four, and Nudist Beach, and Satsuki convinces Rei to abandon her struggle. Honnouji Academy is shut down during the sinking of Honnō City and everyone leaves to live out normal lives.
Development
The television anime project, directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi at his animation studio, Trigger, was first teased in the March 2013 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine released on February 7, 2013. Kill la Kill was officially announced on May 8, 2013, with scripts written by Kazuki Nakashima and character designs by Sushio.
According to director Imaishi, much of the plot is based on his observation that the Japanese manner of pronouncing "fascio" (ファッショ, fassho) is nearly the same as the word "fashion" (ファッション, fasshon), his observation that the pronunciation of the Japanese words "school uniform" (制服, seifuku) and "conquest" (征服, seifuku) are identical, and that the titular kiru may mean "kill" (キル), "to cut" (切る), or "to wear" (着る).
Broadcast
Kill la Kill aired in Japan on MBS' Animeism programming block between October 4, 2013 and March 28, 2014. It also aired on TBS, CBC and BS-TBS.
The series is licensed in North America by Aniplex of America, who simulcast the series on Daisuki.net, and streamed it on Crunchyroll, and Hulu. The series aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block in the United States from February 8, 2015 to August 2, 2015.
Japanese
The video release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD began on January 8, 2014. Soundtrack CDs are included with the first and fifth volumes, making-of documentary DVDs are included with the third, seventh, and ninth volumes, and drama CDs are included with the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth volumes. An original video animation episode was released as part of the ninth volume on September 3, 2014.
English
The series was released in five BD/DVD volumes in North America. The first volume was released on July 15, 2014, in limited edition BD/DVD combo packs including soundtrack CDs, as well as standard Blu-ray Disc and DVD releases. At Anime Expo 2014 held in Los Angeles, Aniplex premiered the first English dub episode, and hosted a performance by theme song singer Eir Aoi, and a panel with script writer Kazuki Nakashima, director Sushio, producer Yosuke Toba, and voice actresses Ami Koshimizu and Ryoka Yuzuki.
The series is licensed in the United Kingdom and France by Anime Limited under its All The Anime label, and was simulcast on Wakanim, later receiving a digital release on Netflix. The series was released on Blu-ray and DVD in three Collector's Edition sets, the first part was originally slated for a December 8, 2014 release date but was moved up to November 17, 2014. Subsequently, the release was pushed forward a further two weeks to see the first release being available in the UK on November 3, 2014, while the Blu-ray version was pushed back by a full month to December 1, 2014.
In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment, who simulcasted the series on Madman Screening Room, and later released the series digitally on AnimeLab. The series was released on Blu-ray and DVD, and mirrored the release pattern of the North American releases. The first volume was released on October 15, 2014.
Soundtrack
Music for the series is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. For the first fifteen episodes, the opening theme is "Sirius" (シリウス, Shiriusu) by Eir Aoi, while the ending theme is "Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai" (ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない。, "Sorry, I'm Done Being a Good Kid") by Miku Sawai. From episode 16 onwards, the opening theme is "ambiguous" by Garnidelia, a duo consisting of vocalist Maria and composer Toku, and the ending theme is "Shin Sekai Kōkyōgaku" (新世界交響楽, "New World Symphony") by Sayonara Ponytail. Aoi's song "Sanbika" was used as an insert song to accompany climactic events in episodes 3, 7, 11 and 23.
The first soundtrack album was published on December 25, 2013. Aniplex USA also released the CD on January 17, 2014. It features 18 tracks, including six vocal songs performed in English and German. The background music tracks feature titles that are typographical variants of "Kill la Kill".
The second soundtrack album was released in Japan as part of the fifth DVD/Blu-ray disc set on May 7, 2014. It also features "Kara-OK" (空OK, karaoke) versions of the vocal tracks from the first album, among other background music.
All music composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Ryō Akizuki began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine on October 3, 2013. The series ended with the seventeenth chapter on February 4, 2015. Udon Entertainment has licensed the manga adaptation.
Reception
Kill la Kill was well received by critics. Eliot Gay of Japanator called the "uniquely fun, even gripping" series "a reminder of how fun and creative anime can be at its best", despite the readily apparent budget constraints. Kat Bailey of IGN, describing the series as "magical girl anime on speed", noted that its over-the-top absurdity was part of its charm. Joseph Luster of Otaku USA described the series's concept as "mostly straightforward setup for revenge and shonen-style 'stronger! STRONGER!' battle progression", but praised its execution. Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku appreciated the series for "perfectly mixing comedy and action", its pacing, internal consistency and over-the-top straightforward adaptation of standard action anime tropes.
The animation of fight scenes and character movements, as well as the "keen selection of music", were particularly praised by Robert Frazer of UK Anime Network, The site selected it as the 2013 UK Anime Network Awards winner in the "Best streaming anime" category. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network also appreciated the inventive and funny animation and the series's "retro shonen action pushed to (...) loony, hyperactive extremes". Michael Logarta of GMA News Online likewise noted the "superb pacing", to-the-point storytelling and well-realized characters in the series's "whirlwind of gorgeous visuals, story, and unfettered insanity".
Kill la Kill won multiple prizes during the 4th Newtype Anime Awards, including Best Character Design (Sushio), Best Script (Kazuki Nakashima), Best Sound, and Best Picture (TV Broadcast). It placed second for Best Theme Song ("Sirius"), Best Director (Hiroyuki Imaishi) and Best Studio (Trigger). In the Best Mascot category, Senketsu placed third and Guts placed ninth. In Best Character (female), Ryuko placed second, and Mako placed third.