Kill La Kill - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll

[frodonk]

This episode is a strong contender for the best episode of any series this year. Seriously.

[pikachuwei]

I wouldnt call KLK a masterpiece in writing either, it kinda started going all over the place in the eps before the elite four battle arc but after episode 3.

KLK just doesnt seem to click the same way for me anymore which is weird, its got fantastic character design and a brilliant OST. The fight scenes, while kinda trigger happy on reusing frames, are well animated and heavily stylized for maximum badassery. (Though I still havent been WOWed by a fight in KLK since ryuuko vs satsuki in ep 3 though, i feel all the fights since then have been a downgrade )

Maybe you're right and KLK just doesnt hit the right notes for me anymore. Though like i said before i still think its a great show, just not the saviour of anime that people only half-jokingly call it. Im waiting on next season for it to prove me wrong.

Also on an interesting note before KLK came out i rewatched TTGL so i could have it fresh in mind to compare with KLk and I think TTGL highlights something KLK lacks atm, a sense of progression.

By the halfway mark of TTGL simon and co have fought with the spiral king and brought him down seemingly saving the world. Meanwhile ryuuko hasnt even come close to challenging satsuki yet and we already got introduced to higher powers than her. She still knows jack shit about the kamui and the other stuff satsuki promised to tell her and wouldnt even have known who killed her father if nui didnt prance up to her to announce it. Simon also developed a lot during the journey to the spiral king from little wimp to taking on kaminas role as badass motherfucker. On the other hand Ryuuko is still basically the same person personality wise she was at the start besides having friends now. Even physically, simon travelled a huge distance to reach teppelin, while ryuuko has been at honnouji academy this entire time.

Basically KLK is a bit static in its progression, so maybe some pacing issues? Im really worried that the development of the Ultima uniforms means Ryuuko has to fight the elite four all over again. Hopefully the inevitable ryuko and satsuki alliance occurs during the next arc and we see the ultima uniforms being used against some Revocs goons instead.

[pikachuwei]

Originally Posted by frodonk

This episode is a strong contender for the best episode of any series this year. Seriously.

If miss cockblock mako didnt completely ruin the end of the fight id be inclined to agree, but as it stands i prefer episode three of KLK to this as a contender for best episode of a series this year.

I mean yes mako is awesome and its funny to see her butt in to troll people during fights but they usually are in the middle of fights for some pep talk, not at the fucking climax of an otherwise pretty brilliant battle to pull out the cliche crying friend saves berserk friend scene

Mako-intervention is best enjoyed in moderation, not in spadeloads

[Poetic Justice]

Originally Posted by Solace

Sorry, but KLK is fantastic. Expecting it to be something it's not, just because it's made by some of the same people, doesn't make it any less fantastic.

It's not good even if it's not compared to TTGL. It doesn't do anything new with the standard formula, nor does it hold any redeeming features that make it stand out from the endless stream of shounen fighting anime.

That might change later on, But we're already at the halfway point and it keeps on dragging along.

[pikachuwei]

Originally Posted by Poetic Justice

It's not good even if it's not compared to TTGL. It doesn't do anything new with the standard formula, nor does it hold any redeeming features that make it stand out from the endless stream of shounen fighting anime.

That might change later on, But we're already at the halfway point and it keeps on dragging along.

Well i agree with the dragging and formulaic part, but i wouldnt say KLK isnt good.

Its still got impressive stylized visuals, fairly strong supporting cast (Mako and satsuki are two of the better characters this season, though i cant get over ryuukos lack of development for a MC at least shes fairly badass unlike the seemingly infinite amount of spineless MCs out there in other shows) and one of the best soundtracks of the year hands down backing it up. In terms of production values alone it stands out from the dime a dozen fighting anime. Really all it needs is much better pacing and the courage to shake up the formula and add some spice.

Because of the problems afflicting it in the first half of the show i doubt KLK will reach the same levels as TTGL but it still has potential to be a fantastic series

[frodonk]

Originally Posted by pikachuwei

Mako-intervention is best enjoyed in moderation, not in spadeloads

I was half expecting her to be killed when she did that, though it would seem they couldn't have let everything end during that battle, even nui was annoyed by the interruption There might be another fight between them in the future and that's why it was interrupted by mako. We can only hope the final confrontation will live up to what we've seen so far

[Shyni]

That was... intense.

Also, something for the "people die if they are killed" montage?

[Guido]

I couldn't asked for better outcome than what the midway episode delivered and with Christmas break approaching fast things with the story are going to cool down a little while before resuming again in the nex cour of episodes.

I'm not afraid to state that Mako is idiotic with capital "I", but she's fundamentally the ultimate moral and heart compass for Ryuko to remain anchored human. After all, she's her first, real friend Ryuko has ever made, and the power of that friendship was needed for Ryuko to cool down from being a monster and to prevent her from dying of blood loss.

Furthermore, have to give kudos to seiyuu Yukai Tamura, because she can perform characters that are more than meets the eye from the surface to the inside. I mean both Nui Harime and Tabane Shinonono (from Infinite Stratos fame) have way so much in common with each other: on the outside both look cute and duffy, but their real nature on the inside are just so damn frightening.

We got a little some more progress and revelations during Ryuko's badass, crazy monkey goes bananas rampage. It is confirmed that Matoi Isshin was killed by Nui Harime, because he meddle in things he shouldn't have meddled from the start. That has to be for him to be found out making a Kamui; the Rending scissors were just a nice bonus for Nui to lay off her hands to play with but paid the price with her left eye and only managed to get the left half of the scissors, nevertheless. BTW, I am not so sure that Satsuki herself was the mastermind behind Dr. Matoi's murder. Perhaps, she issued the order as she put in words to Ryuko, but my hunch tells me she isn't the type to plot and scheme underhandedly. Besides, I'm also theorizing on what Satsuki's doing building herself an army.

Spoiler:

The King of the Hill battle and the tournament were just display for Satsuki to witness the fruits of her labor in action and making the final adjustments to the Goku uniforms, as Ryuko deduced.
As far as she admits to hate it, Satsuki probably would be with no choice but to appreciate Nui Harime's interference in order to see for herself the mistakes and learn to properly fixing them with the Goku uniforms.

I theorize that Satsuki raising an army dressed in Goku Uniforms in order to attempt a nationwide conquest of all schools throughout Japan is another display match, however, this time on real life to test how Goku uniforms can fare in real battles in the outside world beyond the Academys' walls. Why?
I think she wants to have at her disposal the strongest henchmen and uniforms in order for her to take on a bigger objective, or enemy, or threat. And, I think as well that Ryuko is essential to carry out that plan.

[Jazzrat]

Just started on this series and finally caught up to the latest episode. This is the kind of dumb fun anime that would hook me in for the fun that i wouldn't mind turning off my brain to enjoy in the same way as TTGL. Though in terms of madness, neither one came close to the level of FLCL.

As for the comparison between TTGL and Kill la Kill, neither one brought any revolution to the medium but focused more on homage of past animes and revel in the absurdity of it's respective genre. Personally, even if the story stick to the tired battle shounen anime storyline, i hope it can maintain the level of energy and fun throughout the series without getting bogged down too much by narrative pigeonhole for a serious story.

As for Satsuki, I'm getting lots of Vegeta vibe off her and wouldn't be surprised to see crazy fanfic pairing of her and Ryuko by the time the series ends. Nui's entry into the story is pretty predictable, overly cute and cheerful characters tends to be the mask writers use to hide(?) sadistic psychos though surprisingly they didn't try to drag about the mystery killer of Ruko's father that a lot of shows tend to do. I hope they stick to it and move the story forward instead of adding more twist to it.

[Anime Online]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

I hope they stick to it and move the story forward instead of adding more twist to it.

Ragyo: "Ryuko, I am your mother."

Ryuko: "Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~"

Something like that?

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by Anime Online

Ragyo: "Ryuko, I am your mother."

Ryuko: "Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~"

Something like that?

More like throwing new characters to be the REAL killer into the series and overused the "revelation" trick which can be tiring after awhile like beating a last boss only to have another 2 more last boss.

I think Ragyo is probably the final boss for the show but i wonder if they ll fall into the hole of putting in more final bosses without giving enough time for exposition.

[dniv]

I had no clue what was going on for most of this episode...

There was so much blood, no one has that much blood

The Grand Couturier is completely insane--what an excellent character

Ryuko's dad can fight. I'm happy he got that girl's eye. She really got pissed off after that.

IMO this episode was one of the best episodes of any anime I've ever seen. It was my third favorite episode of shows this past year so I was hugely impressed.

A lot of people seem to be disagreeing, but my favorite part was when Mako just swam in there. This is so much like Gurren Lagan at times This also reminds me of another series I like with its insanity...

This was a great episode 10/10!!!

[Iron Maw]

While I wouldn't call this episode the best of year (large due to some of cheapness on the production side) it's very good. I can't seem to care all that much for Mako like most others do though. =/ A lot of her scenes just don't work for me and I found her "RyuukoxN" screams more annoying rather than funny/endearing. Then again it kinda of been that way for me since the beginning of the show.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by dniv

Ryuko's dad can fight. I'm happy he got that girl's eye. She really got pissed off after that.

Right? It reminded me of Kill Bill's Pai Mei gouging out Elle Driver's eye .

[tuckersister]

I think the woman that Ryuko saw that night wasn't Nui. The woman had a blue scissor half. I also think that Ryuko will met this woman and will train to become stronger to face Nui again. It's just theories. However, I definitely sure the woman Ryuko saw had a blue scissor half, not purple.

[immblueversion]

Originally Posted by tuckersister

I think the woman that Ryuko saw that night wasn't Nui. The woman had a blue scissor half. I also think that Ryuko will met this woman and will train to become stronger to face Nui again. It's just theories. However, I definitely sure the woman Ryuko saw had a blue scissor half, not purple.

Stylization: it's not just for not being taken seriously anymore.

While we're at it, I'm certain the entire world used to be monochromatically red and presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio at one point in time.

[Eragon]

Originally Posted by Shyni

That was... intense.

Also, something for the "people die if they are killed" montage?

Why do I feel its an intentional jab at Shiro ?

Extremely good episode. I like Nui - or I like her flirting. Hmm....meh

Mako was being awesome for the past two episode and this one capped her awesomeness quite splendidly. MakoXRyouko foevah !! No wait RyoukoSuki foevah !! But, that will leave poor Nonon all alone

Anyway, Satsuki's info-dump to Ryuko was a bit transparent. The next episode will be quite interesting if there's gonna be more Ragyo.

[Seitsuki]

Satsuki's real goal is obviously building a harem. She already has Nonon and Nui, now she's just getting ready to add Ryuuko to the mix.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Eragon

Why do I feel its an intentional jab at Shiro ?

The translation certainly is, but you'd have to look at the original Japanese of each to see if her actual line is.

My guess is it isn't. The original F/SN meme, IIRC, was the result of something of a mistranslation, or more likely a too-literal translation of a figure of speech. This probably is, too (as most subtitle humor is), but I'm willing to bet it's in a different manner.

[~Yami~]

the bloodiest battle I ever saw...
Blood splashing everywhere... Harime Nui being troublesome and awesome for same time (well, I love her VA very much)... Mako stole the show at the end
We're almost get through the ending if Ryuko really managed to kill Nui... but well... we still got time for that

To think that Harime Nui is strong enough to go on par with Kamui users... which means there are still several super-strong people around.. like Satsuki's mom