Kill La Kill General Discussion Thread

[Master Chibi]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

Wow, that's weird. FMA (in all its iterations) has a pretty standard, and very clean, style, though I guess it does look more "Western" than most (for obvious reasons). I can see someone being "meh" about it, but dislike? What kind of art style to you see as ideal?

I don't have any ideal one, I just didn't like how round everyone's face was at the start. They reminded me of qp dolls my sisters played with as children haha

[solomon]

Originally Posted by Master Chibi

By the time this show is over I will still have not accepted the whole 'clothing are evil aliens' deal. It just never sat well with me. I've done this with other shows in the past mind you, I thought 'surfing robots' was dumb with E7 and didn't watch it, only to go back to it years later and fall utterly in love with it, and I thought FMA's original run was horrible because of the art style. Same with OP. Eventually went back and fell in love with them all over again. I started with this show from the start and well I still think the premise is moronic. Ah well lol

Long time no post.

Yea that kinda sums up my feelings although mine are softer. I knew from the start that this was gonna be a big silly Go Nagai-esque wackfest (I mean that with the highest of praise).

Still I think ever since the dynamic of Ryuuko vs Satsuki changed to Ryuuko + Satsuki has dulled the blade of the show. Also Nakashima I guess had to come up with some cockamamie backstory for the Kamui, but focusing on it just makes it all the weaker as opposed to when they were more just a badass prop and story trope.

Still it's not a huge gripe, a great show just went down to good/decent is all. I'll still stick it through if only cause it's such a visceral thrillride visual and audio wise.

[Master Chibi]

Yeah I will happily praise the execution this show has, it's fantastic but the content it's executing is subpar and honestly laughable at points too.

[Moizeus]

I usualy don't post in here, but all I gotta say. Is that the storyline, and execution is well made. As someone that rarely watches animes that are not on Toonami nowadays.

I thought I share this funny image *Half Spoiler* http://funnymama.com/post/231205

[Guernsey]

I just watched a few episodes but a few questions: Is it satire on fanservice tropes? Or is it just really good shonen story?

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

I just watched a few episodes but a few questions: Is it satire on fanservice tropes? Or is it just really good shonen story?

Yes.
(10char)

[SeijiSensei]

Along with being a satire on regimentation and authoritarian strains in Japanese culture, of course. And perhaps an attack on the influence of the fashion industry.

This is a show that begins with a discussion of Hitler, after all.

[GDiddy]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

I just watched a few episodes but a few questions: Is it satire on fanservice tropes? Or is it just really good shonen story?

I'd say it's a satire on several tropes:

Fanservice

Magical girl...oh come on, that's what both Satsuki and Ryuko are. Kinda.

Shonen: This is a hundred times better than bullshit like Naruto and Bleach.

[Guernsey]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Along with being a satire on regimentation and authoritarian strains in Japanese culture, of course. And perhaps an attack on the influence of the fashion industry.

This is a show that begins with a discussion of Hitler, after all.

So that is what it is satirzing? I guess we weren't supposed to find Ryuuko's and Satsuki's uniforms attractive although it kind of varies on that. Also, there is also the fact the clothes themsvles are sentient and supposed to metaphors for identity (?).

Originally Posted by GDiddy

I'd say it's a satire on several tropes:

Fanservice

Magical girl...oh come on, that's what both Satsuki and Ryuko are. Kinda.

Shonen: This is a hundred times better than bullshit like Naruto and Bleach.

That makes sense but agreed on the last part.

[solomon]

I hardly think this is satire.

If anything its a tribute to those things...............but mainly it's a big Go Nagai riff for those familiar with his stufff. I mean Ragyou and the Covers pretty much sealed that up. (Such gaudy villian and plans).

Also the ED with all the Mako stars running, was I the only one who got Urusei Yatsura vibes from that?

[Triple_R]

It borrows some of the aesthetics of magical girl. These being the flashy transformation scenes and the character designs for Nui (ironic) and Ragyo (classic magical girl "final boss" look - Ragyo would visually fit perfectly as a Sailor Moon major villain). I don't think it's saying much about magical girl anime, but mostly just using popular aesthetic styles and playing with certain mental associations to give Nui's character a certain ironic "Oomph!" - "Looks like a PreCure heroine, acts like The Joker" is an effectively jarring combination, making Nui quite memorable.

It's an answer to the common shounen critique of it being too slow-paced. But it's not saying "shounen is bad, period". It's saying "look how great shounen could be if it wasn't so incredibly slow!" I suppose you could view it as a challenge to the shouen genre to try to get more fast-paced plots going.

As for the fanservice... I think that might have been an initial hook, but I get the impression that most viewers just kind of got used to the skimpy outfits and were fairly desensitized to them by the end. I know that I've become pretty desensitized to them.

[Guernsey]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

It's an answer to the common shounen critique of it being too slow-paced. But it's not saying "shounen is bad, period". It's saying "look how great shounen could be if it wasn't so incredibly slow!" I suppose you could view it as a challenge to the shouen genre to try to get more fast-paced plots going.

That is a good point although the pacing is one of my main problems with it. While it doesn't dwell on the same topic for hundreds of episodes, it is little too fast paced for my tastes and I have to really pay attention as not to miss anything. It could be argued that that may be the point but at same time, it doesn't work for me and it keeps reminding of shows such as Kim Possible or Fairly Oddparents where it doesn't the viewer anytime to breathe. I honestly feel like suffocating when I watch this show...I am exaggerating but that is my point.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

As for the fanservice... I think that might have been an initial hook, but I get the impression that most viewers just kind of got used to the skimpy outfits and were fairly desensitized to them by the end. I know that I've become pretty desensitized to them.

I think the fanservice argument might have had merit if not for the fact that the show has been figuratively pointing at it and snickering since day one. With the stylized art style and the over-the-top feel of the series, Ryuko and Satsuki's "skimpy outfits" are more garish than titillating. The first real "fanservice shot" of the series (not counting Bathtime Satsuki, which was ruined by the rest of that scene), might have been Nonon saving Matarou in her NB gear.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

The first real "fanservice shot" of the series (not counting Bathtime Satsuki, which was ruined by the rest of that scene), might have been Nonon saving Matarou in her NB gear.

You don't see the "strings-in-slots" design of the two Kamui as "fanservice shots?" This is especially true for Junketsu. Other than a patch over the pubic area, there isn't anything connecting front-to-back except a string running through Satsuki's genitals and between her buttocks. As the second image shows, Nui certainly appreciated the view Junketsu offers. Admittedly it is only slightly less modest than many "Brazilians."

Images slightly NSFW.

[Guernsey]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

I think the fanservice argument might have had merit if not for the fact that the show has been figuratively pointing at it and snickering since day one. With the stylized art style and the over-the-top feel of the series, Ryuko and Satsuki's "skimpy outfits" are more garish than titillating. The first real "fanservice shot" of the series (not counting Bathtime Satsuki, which was ruined by the rest of that scene), might have been Nonon saving Matarou in her NB gear.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

You don't see the "strings-in-slots" design of the two Kamui as "fanservice shots?" This is especially true for Junketsu. Other than a patch over the pubic area, there isn't anything connecting front-to-back except a string running through Satsuki's genitals and between her buttocks. As the second image shows, Nui certainly appreciated the view Junketsu offers. Admittedly it is only slightly less modest than many "Brazilians."

Images slightly NSFW.

When I was in New York in 2009 and I was watching Bleach, one of my cousins noted how repressed Japan must be in order show such fanservice in anime. She isn't an anime fan mind you but she was just making an observation. Still the show must actively making fun of the fanservice, the Junketsu and Senketsu don't really look attractive to me although they are hardly the only offenders. The REVOCs uniforms don't really look like they are going to protect anything or anyone.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

You don't see the "strings-in-slots" design of the two Kamui as "fanservice shots?" This is especially true for Junketsu. Other than a patch over the pubic area, there isn't anything connecting front-to-back except a string running through Satsuki's genitals and between her buttocks. As the second image shows, Nui certainly appreciated the view Junketsu offers. Admittedly it is only slightly less modest than many "Brazilians."

Images slightly NSFW.

It's not the way the uniforms are designed (they certainly are revealing), as how they're presented. It's so highly self-aware that any fanservice is diluted. Just compare any shot of them in their Goku Uniforms in-context with any fan art of them in a similar situation, and it's pretty obvious which one is more fanservicey.

[SeijiSensei]

I wonder if adolescents have the same perspective you and I share about how the "self-aware" nature of the presentation diffuses the fanservice. I've always thought the fanservice aspects of the show were largely parodical, but that doesn't make them any less racy.

[Tyabann]

Trying to argue that fanservice isn't "really" fanservice because it serves a purpose is kind of a pointless argument, IMO.

[SeijiSensei]

From the episode 22 thread:

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

What about Sukeban Deka? Saki is easily the most well known sukeban protagonist in anime, manga and even live action.

In fact, Kill la Kill's first ending was a homage to Sukeban Deka (the live action version though).

I just watched all of the first episode of Sukeban Deka in live-action and part of the first episode of the anime version. (Both are available with subs). The parallels with Kill la Kill are remarkable. There are certainly many identical scenes in the EDs, though I was disappointed that the live-action version didn't include Saki looking at a wedding dress.

I was more impressed with the parallels between the two shows thematically and visually. Here are just a few non-spoilerish things that stood out while watching the first live-action episode:

• The red sash that Saki wears with her uniform makes it look much like Senketsu. Also, when we see her from the front, her uniform has badges on her left and nothing on her right which reinforces the similariity with one-eyed Senketsu.
  
• Like Ryuuko, Saki is a transfer student and a delinquent. Her weapon is as absurd as a scissor blade; Saki wields a high-tech yoyo.
  
• Unlike Ryuuko, Saki agrees to work as an undercover police agent in exchange for the government not executing her mother. She was convicted of some unspecified, but apparently capital, crime.
  
• Saki also has a handsome older male controller like Mikisugi who provides her with missions and those yo-yos she throws.
  
• Class distinctions play a significant role in both shows. The first episode pits scholarship girls, of which Saki is one despite coming from prison, against upper-class princesses.
  
  Spoiler for the badges:

  They reminded me of how Nazi-controlled parts of Europe required Jews to wear a Star of David. The scene where the girls tear them off was poignant.

Watching just the first episode I could see many little tributes Kill la Kill makes to Sukeban Deka.

Saki's actress, Saitou Yuki, brought just the right mix of cuteness, strengh, and sexuality to the role.

[Tokkan]

http://www.crunchyroll.com/kill-la-kill



Oh no, they've become self-aware. This is the end for humanity.