Why Kill La Kill Is Probably The Best Anime Of 2013/14 For Me [Spoilers For Whole Show]

[8bit_Ghost]

So after I finished Kill La Kill, I can't deny that I was impressed by how good it was. It was a wild ride for sure. But I didn't get just why it was as good as it was. And then, today, after thinking about Ryuko's huge yell at the end: "People are People, and Clothing are Clothing.

And then it hit me.

Kill La Kill has a very important central theme. It was:

Don't let people's perceptions of who you are or who you should be rule your life. Be who you want. Don't let society judge you. Don't let society force you to do what you don't want to do. Find people who love you for who you are and support you. And love people for who they are and not what you think they are.

People are people, and clothing are clothing. One does not define the other.

The show uses fashion as what determines who a person is and what sort of person they are by what they are wearing. Even though Ryuko ended up forging a bond with Senketsu, she was still forced into a state of being where she had no control over her life. However, she took on the duty not just for others but for herself as well which allowed her to break free of the oppression society placed on her as well as the oppression on others.

Senketsu gave his life in the end not just to protect Ryuko but to also allow her to escape the role that her clothing put her in. When people are naked, you cannot judge them except by who they are. Baring the body bares the soul and frees them of the societal structure they are decorated with normally.

It also fought to show that nudity as a sexual element is pointless and people naked is simply people natural. Why sexualize something that is simply how we are under our clothes? Once everyone in the world sees eachother naked then the need to sexualize that is also nulled.

More things that just made the show amazing are:

Raygo's threat of Life Fibers returning isn't necessarily her trying to say that all was for naught, it's a parallel to how societal oppression can be fought but in the end someone else will come to try to set more definitions on you. It really brings out the two foundational themes of KLK, which are "fashion" and "fascism".

Also, the blood offerings to the kamui is a reference to the sacrifices we make to be a certain type of person. Ryuko and Satsuki made these drastic sacrifices for power, and when Ryuko first started using Senketsu, she exhausted herself because she didn't realize that she needed to bare her soul first in order to reach those heights, and therefore made unnecessary sacrifices. Satsuki using Junketsu and exhausting herself was because she was fighting using the very thing she despised and wanted to control/annihilate. Not to mention Junketsu was a creation of her mother's design that was created to oppress. Trying to fight in that oppression and be a fake oppressor was too much for Satsuki, and only until she had the support of her friends and family to be the person that she really was, she had no control over that power which Junketsu held. Only by wearing the care of her family and fully accepting their support was she able to break her own oppression.

As a last thought:

It's kinda weird that the face of oppression, Raygo, is female. After all, all oppression can be linked to the patriarchy, which has been established by men. So why is Raygo female? Well, it's because people can become so caught up in what they believe is right that they can't look past anything else, even if it seems impossible for them of all people to be like that. Raygo's obsession with the life fibers shows that it's not her who caused this, it's the oppression itself. She's simply a tool of oppression, which is why even when Ryuko knew that Raygo wasn't the one at fault, she still killed herself at the end. She would rather die than let go of her ideals, no matter how much that pushed others away. She would rather be feared and hated by everyone forever than forgiven, which shows just how badly she was a slave to the machine. What made Raygo who she was is really sad, both because we won't know where she turned into the monster she became, and also because she could have been someone so much more. After all, she was strong willed and tenacious and powerful. If directed somewhere else, she could have been a hero instead of a villain.

As a post script, here is the link to the translation of Raygo's theme, Blumenkranz (Floral Wreath). http://pastebin.com/sQK2yvdQ
When you read the lyrics, it comes to be noticed that the song actually helps speak more about the themes of the show than Before my Body is Dry does.

So yeah. Hope you enjoyed reading my long analysis of Kill La Kill.

 

EDIT: Wanted to show off my Ryuko-themed Valkyr with Dakra Prime colored as the Scissor Blade

 

 

Hard to get it perfect, sadly...if I changed the main color to black though then she'd almost have the hair.

Edited April 3, 2014 by 8bit_Ghost

[Axeroix]

i still havent watched it yet but i probs will after my GCSE's (english peeps know my pain) are over

for someone coming from watched mainly BeBop, Darker Than Black and Ghost in the shell how do you think it will make an impression on me

[123Olympian]

Agreed, I gotta watch the new FT episodes, although KLK is stupendous.

[Spellbinding]

[Axeroix]

Agreed, I gotta watch the new FT episodes, although KLK is stupendous.

is that out yet?

my friend will Lose it

[Katakuna]

[123Olympian]

is that out yet?

my friend will Lose it

Yup tomorrow. :L 

[MegaSnail]

-snip-

Or maybe, just maybe, it's just an amazing anime that has a lot of action.

(nice job looking in on it).

And bewbs.

And eechi.

And comedy.

And sexy dudes.

And funny dudes.

And stupid dudes.

And just dudes in general.

Edited April 3, 2014 by MegaSnail

[ScorchedIce]

I'd make an actually thought out comment about KLK, but it would take too long. <i mean look at the lenght of this "short" reply

So i'll just sum it ip by saying what people who kinda wanna watch it but don't know want to know:

Plot is good, it really goes from almost no plot whatsoever to enourmous in a few episodes. Animation is good. Characters are memorable and lovable, And it's just fun to watch, and make your own conclusions about it, you will, like OP find actual meaning in this anime, even though you won't think it could happen during the first episodes, with all that apparent "fanservice" and sillyness.

For me, it really went from just a fun anime to watch, to one of the best from 2013 right there with AoT. I @(*()&#036; love it.

TL-DR;

S#&amp;&#036;'s good, go watch it.

[Dochi.]

Also, don't forget:

 

[Kaian-a-coel]

It's kinda weird that the face of oppression, Raygo, is female. After all, all oppression can be linked to the patriarchy, which has been established by men. So why is Raygo female? Well, it's because people can become so caught up in what they believe is right that they can't look past anything else, even if it seems impossible for them of all people to be like that. Raygo's obsession with the life fibers shows that it's not her who caused this, it's the oppression itself. She's simply a tool of oppression, which is why even when Ryuko knew that Raygo wasn't the one at fault, she still killed herself at the end. She would rather die than let go of her ideals, no matter how much that pushed others away. She would rather be feared and hated by everyone forever than forgiven, which shows just how badly she was a slave to the machine. What made Raygo who she was is really sad, both because we won't know where she turned into the monster she became, and also because she could have been someone so much more. After all, she was strong willed and tenacious and powerful. If directed somewhere else, she could have been a hero instead of a villain.

So if the BBEG is a guy, he's evil and he must die, but if it's a girl, she's just a tool of the evil patriarchy and nothing is her fault?

WHAT THE F*** (wo)MAN?

She doesn't get a free pass to redemption JUST because she's female!

Now, I didn't watch the show and thus can't judge her actual shot at redemption. She may or may not deserve it that's not the question.

The problem is that (in your post) all her evilness is handwaved away because of her gender, and said evilness is blamed on the opposite gender.

 

This is not feminism, that's matriarchy.

 

Turning the hourglass of oppression upside down does not solve the problem.

 

After all, all oppression can be linked to the patriarchy, which has been established by men.

Yeah, and all evil can be linked to the original sin, which has been commited by women.

 

Neither of those statement is true, and neither of it is okay in any way shape or form.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Kaian-a-coel

[8bit_Ghost]

So if the BBEG is a guy, he's evil and he must die, but if it's a girl, she's just a tool of the evil patriarchy and nothing is her fault?

WHAT THE F*** (wo)MAN?

She doesn't get a free pass to redemption JUST because she's female!

Now, I didn't watch the show and thus can't judge her actual shot at redemption. She may or may not deserve it that's not the question.

The problem is that (in your post) all her evilness is handwaved away because of her gender, and said evilness is blamed on the opposite gender.

 

This is not feminism, that's matriarchy.

 

Turning the hourglass of oppression upside down does not solve the problem.

 

Yeah, and all evil can be linked to the original sin, which has been commited by women.

 

Neither of those statement is true, and neither of it is okay in any way shape or form.

 

The original sin was in a book written by men.

 

Also, the show is about oppression. Raygo did not become who she was because of her own thoughts, she was manipulated into the being she is by promises of power by allowing herself to become a slave to it. That's a perfect example of how oppression favors all who devote all to it and help enforce it.

 

Also, I never once mentioned feminism or matriarchy. Only the patriarchy, which I would love to go into detail about with you. On tumblr.

[Kaian-a-coel]

The original sin was in a book written by men.

Does that make your own statement less false?

 

 

Also, the show is about oppression. Raygo did not become who she was because of her own thoughts, she was manipulated into the being she is by promises of power by allowing herself to become a slave to it. That's a perfect example of how oppression favors all who devote all to it and help enforce it.

Have you ever heard of Saruman? Mind giving your opinion on his downfall?

 

 

Also, I never once mentioned feminism or matriarchy. Only the patriarchy, which I would love to go into detail about with you. On tumblr.

"Everything's the fault of women!" => patriarchy, evil. (I agree with that)

"Everything's the fault of men!" (your own statement*) => tumblr feminism, aka matriarchy, also evil.

 

* see:

 

After all, all oppression can be linked to the patriarchy, which has been established by men.

[8bit_Ghost]

Does that make your own statement less false?

 

 

Have you ever heard of Saruman? Mind giving your opinion on his downfall?

 

 

"Everything's the fault of women!" => patriarchy, evil. (I agree with that)

"Everything's the fault of men!" (your own statement*) => tumblr feminism, aka matriarchy, also evil.

 

* see:

You keep thinking that the patriarchy is a men-only thing. It's not. Just because the root word is patri- (padre, father) doesn't mean it's a men thing.

Also the tumblr thing was a joke. I believe in equality but tumblr takes it too far.

And patriarchy isn't "the fault of women".

Your interpretation of "original sin" is "the fault of women".

Now I would love to stop this derailment because it's not about KLK anymore.

[MegaSnail]

You keep thinking that the patriarchy is a men-only thing. It's not. Just because the root word is patri- (padre, father) doesn't mean it's a men thing.

Also the tumblr thing was a joke. I believe in equality but tumblr takes it too far.

And patriarchy isn't "the fault of women".

Your interpretation of "original sin" is "the fault of women".

Now I would love to stop this derailment because it's not about KLK anymore.

This is what happens when you try to place logic into this type of show. I watched the entire thing, it really isn't much of anything but action. If you REALLY want to see more deep into feminism in anime you should watch another one, this one really isn't the most ideal one. Let's face it, sex sells and it'll probably never leave the industry. 

You can fight it. It wont stop it. 

(I personally hate it to the core).

[8bit_Ghost]

This is what happens when you try to place logic into this type of show. I watched the entire thing, it really isn't much of anything but action. If you REALLY want to see more deep into feminism in anime you should watch another one, this one really isn't the most ideal one. Let's face it, sex sells and it'll probably never leave the industry. 

You can fight it. It wont stop it. 

(I personally hate it to the core).

There's more value to the show than you would think, in my opinion. Sorry that you don't like the show.

[BrotherSharp]

For you guys who want to watch more Kill la Kill, I present you with it's OVA.

 

 

Note: Viewer discretion is advised

[8bit_Ghost]

For you guys who want to watch more Kill la Kill, I present you with it's OVA.

 

 

Note: Viewer discretion is advised

This isn't the normal OP but oh my god what