kill la kill 16

The Girl Can’t Help It

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Narratively speaking, KILL la KILL is about a six on a scale from 1 to Mid-2000s Sunrise. If Ryuko’s dad shows up, then it’ll be a solid Mai Hime on that scale. But, who cares? We get adorable Mako ED! New World Symphony isn’t any special musically or animation-wise but seeing so much adorable Mako after yet another episode of over-the-top Manly Man anime (featuring Women)? It just hits the right spot. My personal favorite Mako is Centaur Mako. Snowman Mako would be second with Strawberry Mako getting the bronze. But we’re all the winners here.

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Speaking of Manly Man… Aikuro isn’t in this category, but he is quickly becoming my third favorite character, after Mako and Guts, and passing Teddy Bear Gamagoori. He hasn’t really done much. He has cared for Ryuko a few times, but he has been terrible in shepherding her into a force that can challenge Satsuki. I would say Mako has been better in that regard (oh gosh did Mako’s death flag just get tripped?!?… imagine starring at the adorable Mako ED after the episode where she is brutally killed).

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15 FLASHBACK

Also… what the fuck are those things? How can I even begin to take those battle suits seriously? NUUUUUDIST BEEEACH is now my favorite insurgent organization. I mean, what madness caused them to think these battle suits were a good idea? However, my favorite thing from episode 15 was not Nuuuuuudist Beach or all the Ryuko and Satsuki ass shots, but rather… Gamagoori and Mako’s standoff. This whole Osaka battle would have been a complete season back in the day (think Kenshin‘s Kyoto arc). You could have had two episodes dedicate to Gamagoori vs. Mako, another three with Tsumugu and Nuuuuuudist Beach vs. Inumuta, and another two on just Satsuki and Ryuko posing against each other.

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15 FLASHBACK

Okay, okay, the Gamagoori x Mako shipping has not only left the port, but it’s headed straight to the moon. I would love a visual novel centered around Gamagoori as the male protagonist who pines for Satsuki, but he discovers that he’s actually in love with Mako. I also love how this is their intimidation poses.

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Back to the narrative mess… okay, KILL la KILL is never intended to be a great work of fiction. We’re not watching Anime Moby Dick, despite Ryuko going Ahab for revenge at times, and the narrative has been nothing sort of craziness (the whole get to school episode is big tip-off). But it’s a mess. It’s not like Gurren Lagann which had a reason for shit that is happening… KILL la KILL just has shit happening. It keeps trying to one up itself when it doesn’t have to, and when the show writes itself into a corner, it tosses a Satsuki x Ryuko dual. Like Ryuko has been all about revenge against whomever killed her father, and she finally learns the truth… and suddenly, she doesn’t want to use Senketsu to achieve her goals anymore? Wait, what? What could possibly be Senketsu be used for beyond fighting? It’s like finding an M1A1 battletank, blowing shit up with it, and then finding out it was designed for war… so you stop using it. Okay, I’ll keep the M1A1, but I’ll only drive it to Costco. I’ll only ride into war with my Honda CR-V. (Though those lines blur at a Costco parking lot…) Maybe that’s the issue. Ryuko seems less of a character than Aikuro or Satsuki or even Mako and Senketsu. At least they behave consistently with their belief systems. They don’t always fall into the Naruto “NANDATTO?!” trap like Ryuko falls into… where she is always reacting rather than engaging.

(Or maybe the issue is that the story has been full of ups and downs rather than trying to build to a crescendo. That’s something most great narratives strive for– the sex curve– slow foreplay, things heat up, then it all builds to a climax. KILL la KILL is uneven. It’s not like a progression like Clannad where it goes through a bunch of stories about haremettes with Nagisa and Tomoyo’s relationship building, then it becomes very serious, and then magic plot happens. Or even Gurren Lagann where you could argue for two story climaxes. But this show and Monogatari SS just seem to not follow the curve… but there’s still time! Simon hasn’t even gone to space yet in GL 16.)

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That gun placement. Nuuuuuuudist Beach doesn’t fuck around with their packages. I noticed how the gun is at the hip for the ladies.

(Why the neck braces? Why disregard clothing but still wear a neck brace? They are not going to wear any bulletproof armor, but they will wear something that prevents whiplash? Maybe that’s the drawback of their mecha…)

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So free.

(I imagine Aikuro is like Rei if he never reconciled with Rin.)

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Even their logo is genius. They also have a badass secret hideout.

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And I was just here thinking, “Mmm, the only thing ImoCho is missing is some good old fashioned mother/daughter incest.” I like how 2014 anime is so nonchalant about showing a woman pleasuring another woman, but when it comes to a boy and girl holding hands, we need to dedicate a whole episode for it while stewing for it over another two and another to deal with the aftermath. I’m looking at you, Chu2, and hopefully before episode 39 of Nisekoi.

(No, seriously, between this episode, ImoCho, and Sakura Trick, it is just a hilarious juxtaposition of how boy/girl relationships are done in anime. We needed a whole season of Chu2 for Rikka and Yuta to admit they were batting against each other meanwhile NOPE LET’S KISS AND GROPE ASAP in Sakura Trick. I am hoping for more out the lead for The Pilot’s Love Song since he didn’t instantly feel disgusted by touching a girl. We need to bring back the perverted male leads of the late 2000s, like Tomoki from Sora no Otoshimono. Maybe we can get an anime with a male lead patterned on Tyrion Lannister.)

(Chances Satsuki and Ryuko will team up to take down her mom has been taken off the books in Vegas.)

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Terrifying.

(The croquette is a nice touch. Back on the board at Vegas? Changes Mako will get her Kamui before the show ends. I hope we get a fanservice special about how Mako gets a Kamui for a school trip to the beaches of Okinawa. Halleluiah.)

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Aikuro cosplaying as various Servants for the Holy Grail War.

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Satsuki has the fewest costumes in the opening. I think even Tsumugu has more (if you count with and without nose bandage). One thing the narrative is doing right is showing how Ryuko and Senketsu are working together while Satsuki and Junketsu are not. Ryuko and Senketsu are a team. Satsuki and Junketsu are just using each other for their own personal gain.

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The scene where the two sides stare each other down… with iOS7 parallax… looks familiar.

(It’s also the only scene that gets redone in all three versions of the OP, except the obligatory enbiggening of Gurren Lagann. Crazy to think Gurren Lagann redid its opening animation three times but kept the same OP, Sky-Blue Days, but used stanzas from it. What show keeps an opening song for two cours anymore? Titan, if anything, should have kept its original opening…)

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Shaft could learn something from this recap episode.

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Animation for battle sequences? Spare no expense. Animation for everything else? North Korean quality. At least the music is consistently good. Great soundtrack; very impressed by Hiroyuki Sawano (who also composed the soundtrack for Attack on Titan). I like how the music encompasses quite a few genres, something Gurren Lagann did well too.

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Three MVPs…

1. Nuuuuuudist Beach.

2. Satsuki’s lovely skin.

3. Hiroyuki Sawano.

HONORARY MENTION: Snowman Mako, Strawberry Mako, Centaur Mako, Devil Mako, Ice Cube Mako, Nurse Mako, Pirate Mako, Mustache Mako, and KILLlaKILLSucksBallsWithoutMeMako.

7 Responses to “kill la kill 16”

  1. Gotta love how 16 got all the love, but ep 15 with its battle got two screencaps.

    Or how the “Not even for you” Gamagoori line doesn’t get a mention. Ep 15 was insane. This ep? Ragyo is… kinda like a Gendo with a thing for molestation.

    Can’t wait for the School Festival. Usually so mundane, unless it’s School Rumble.

  2. I don’t even think you can count Junketsu as having personal gain and using Satsuki, when she’s the one who has been forcing it to obey her ever since she first wore it. It’s no wonder it acts so savage when it gets treated like an animal meant to do its masters bidding.

  3. Ragyou was just massaging her daughter.
    Ever get a massage when your body is aching?
    Shit gets INTENSE!

  4. Junketsu was meant to be Satsuki’s wedding gown. It’s acting so viciously because it doesn’t like unmarried virgins.

    But seriously, I’m okay with the narrative being all over the place because I don’t think it does any good to overthink a plot so simple you could speedcap it in 5 minutes. Which they did. Which I like. Which is how all recaps should be, and Shaft taking notes would be most wise indeed.

  5. It’s got to be Pirate Mako.
    .
    I loved the bit where Satsuki and the best of Honnoji Academy are facing off against Ryuuko, the best of Nuuuudist Beach, and… Mako standing on Gamagoori. There’s good marking.
    .
    I’m happy enough with the scattergun plot and breakneck pacing – it makes the show unique and entertaining compared to the other dross we’ve had recently.

  6. when Aikuro started moving the galaxies with his bare hands I was definitely getting TTGL flashbacks

  7. OH Jason of Miao you see into the future!

    http://static.giantbomb.com/up.....e_head.jpg

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