Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill
Promotional artwork featuring protagonist Ryuko Matoi, wearing the uniform Senketsu, and the antagonist Satsuki Kiryuin (background)
キルラキル (Kiru Ra Kiru)
Genre	Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Anime television series
Directed by	Hiroyuki Imaishi
Written by	Kazuki Nakashima
Music by	Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio	Trigger
Licensed by	AUS: Madman Entertainment NA: Aniplex of America UK: Anime Limited
Original network	MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS
Original run	October 3, 2013 – present
Episodes	25 (1 unaired)
Manga
Illustrated by	Ryō Akizuki
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine	Young Ace
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	October 4, 2013 – present
Volumes	1

Kill la Kill (キルラキル, Kiru Ra Kiru) is a television anime series produced by Trigger. The series, which is Trigger's first original television anime project, is directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima, both of whom had previously worked together on Gurren Lagann. The series began airing in Japan from October 3, 2013. Aniplex of America has licensed the anime for a simulcast and a home video release. A manga adaptation by Ryō Akizuki began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine from October 4, 2013.

Plot

Kill la Kill is set at Honnouji Academy (本能字学園, Honnōji Gakuen), a fictional high school in Tokyo Bay set in post-apocalyptic Japan that is dominated by its fearsome student council, led by Satsuki Kiryuin. The council members wear special uniforms called Goku Uniforms (極制服, gokuseifuku, lit. high quality uniform, from gokusei + seifuku) that grant them superhuman abilities, which they use to oppress the rest of the school's students and staff. Ryuko Matoi, a student wielding half of a scissor-shaped longsword, transfers to Honnouji Academy in search of the owner of the other half of the scissor blade, the person who killed her father. Defeated by the council after interrogating Satsuki over the killer's identity and whereabouts, Ryuko comes across a sentient sailor uniform she names Senketsu, who puts himself on Ryuko. Using Senketsu's special abilities, Ryuko stands up against Satsuki and her henchmen, the Elite Four (四天王, shitennō), to liberate Honnouji Academy from their iron grip and find out the truth behind her father's murder.

Characters

Main characters

Ryuko Matoi (纏 流子, Matoi Ryūko)

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu

The main protagonist, a 17-year-old vagrant schoolgirl who transfers to Honnouji Academy in search of clues relating to the death of her father. Ryuko wields one half of a giant pair of scissors created by her father with the other half stolen by his killer. Her weapon is capable of destroying Goku Uniforms, thus putting her at odds with the student council. She currently lives with the Mankanshoku family. She also possesses a special uniform also known as "Kamui" or "Kamui Senketsu" which gives the user special abilities.

Senketsu (鮮血)

Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki

A living sailor uniform Ryuko finds beneath her house. Senketsu is a Kamui (神衣, lit. "God Clothes"), an outfit made from 100% Life Fibers that provides its wearer with godlike abilities in exchange for their blood. By synchronizing with Ryuko, Senketsu can transform into an indestructible suit of armor, albeit with a skimpy appearance, much to Ryuko's initial embarrassment. Whenever Ryuko destroys a Goku Uniform, Senketsu absorbs its Life Fibers. His name literally means "fresh blood".

Satsuki Kiryuin (鬼龍院 皐月, Kiryūin Satsuki)

Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki

The 18-year-old student council president at Honnouji Academy, and the main antagonist. Because her mother leads the school's board of directors, Satsuki dominates the school to the impotence of its principal and teachers. She administers Goku Uniforms to students based on their skill sets. She wields a katana named Bakuzan (縛斬) and possesses the Kamui Junketsu (純潔, lit. "purity").

Mako Mankanshoku (満艦飾 マコ, Mankanshoku Mako)

Voiced by: Aya Suzaki

An energetic second-year student and Ryuko's classmate at Honnoji Academy. She immediately befriends Ryuko upon the latter's arrival at the school. Mako lives with her parents and younger brother in the slums of Honnouji. She is a bit slow-witted and more often than not finds herself in dangerous situations, but she has a good heart and cares for Ryuko, encouraging her many times.

Honnouji Academy Elite Four

Ira Gamagoori (蟇郡 苛, Gamagōri Ira)

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada

One of the student council's Elite Four. He is Satsuki's loyal, massive enforcer who leads the disciplinary committee at Honnouji Academy. His three-star Goku Uniform is the Shackle Regalia (縛の装, Shibari no Sō), which takes the form of bondage gear. By undergoing various masochistic attacks, he can activate its second transformation, Scourge Regalia (死縛の装, Shibaki no Sō), which covers his body in thorny whips. He is 20 years old, having waited two years after graduating Middle School to enroll at Honnouji to help with Satsuki's plans.

Uzu Sanageyama (猿投山 渦, Sanageyama Uzu)

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama

One of the student council's Elite Four. He regulates the athletic clubs at Honnouji Academy, including the boxing and tennis clubs. He himself specialises in kendo and possesses the three-star Goku Uniform, Blade Regalia (剣の装, Tsurugi no Sō) , which takes the form of a large armored bōgu. He initially possesses Tengantsu (天眼通, Clairvoyance), which allows to him to predict his opponent's moves with super fast eyesight. However, after suffering a defeat from Ryuko, he chooses to have his eyes sewn shut, heightening his other senses and giving him the more powerful Shingantsu (心眼通, Authority of the Mind's Eye), which allows him to percieve everything around him with no blindspots, an ability that even exceeds the limits of his own Goku Uniform.

Houka Inumuta (犬牟田 宝火, Inumuta Hōka)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino

One of the student council's Elite Four. He is in charge of Honnouji Academy's information and strategy committee, aiding the student council by analyzing information via his laptop. He is also in charge of the analysis of the Goku Uniforms made in the Sewing Club. He possesses the three-star Goku Uniform, Probe Regalia (探の装, Saguru no Sō), which allows him to quickly calculate attack trajectories and use optical camouflage to hide from his opponents.

Nonon Jakuzure (蛇崩 乃音, Jakuzure Nonon)

Voiced by: Mayumi Shintani

One of the student council's Elite Four. She regulates the school's non-athletic clubs, such as the gardening and biology clubs. Among the members of the Elite Four, she has been with Satsuki since kindergarten and thus claims that she is the one who knows her best. She possesses the three-star Goku Uniform Symphony Regalia (奏の装, Kanade no Sō), which takes the form of a giant sound system that produces powerful soundwaves and can transform into a flying airship.

Nudist Beach

Aikuro Mikisugi (美木杉 愛九郎, Mikisugi Aikurō)

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki

Ryuko's enigmatic homeroom teacher. He secretly observes and aids Ryuko by leading her to Senketsu. Whilst generally having the appearance of a frail, shaggy teacher, he is actually a glamorous smooth-talker with a habit of slowly stripping his clothes and making moves on Ryuko whenever they are in private, much to Ryuko's chagrin. Though he did reveal the existence of Nudist Beach and him being its agent to Ryuko, she did not believe him due to the organization's ridiculous name.

Tsumugu Kinagase (黄長瀬 紬, Kinagase Tsumugu)

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

An acquaintance of Aikuro's. He bears a strong hatred of Kamui, which stems from an experiment where his close friend, Kinue (きぬえ), died when the Kamui she was testing ran her dry. Tsumugu fights using special needles that sever the connections between the Life Fibers in Kamui and Goku Uniforms and their wearers. He is known to say, "Let me give you two pieces of information."

Mankanshoku Family

Mataro Mankanshoku (満艦飾 又郎, Mankanshoku Matarō)

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura

Mako's delinquent younger brother, who often steals things to get by.

Barazo Mankanshoku (満艦飾 薔薇蔵, Mankanshoku Barazō)

Voiced by: Kenyuu Horiuchi

Mako's father, who runs a backalley clinic, allegedly killing more people than he's saved.

Sukuyo Mankanshoku (満艦飾 好代, Mankanshoku Sukuyo)

Voiced by: Yukari Fukui

Mako's extremely carefree mother, who works as a housewife.

Guts (ガッツ, Gattsu)

The Mankanshoku family's pet dog.

Other characters

Isshin Matoi (纏 一身, Matoi Isshin)

Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto

Ryūko's deceased father who created Senketsu and was killed by Nui. He also created the scissor blades, which were used against him by Nui, who stole the purple blade, whilst he left the red blade to Ryuko.

Ragyo Kiryuin (鬼龍院 羅暁, Kiryūin Ragyō)

Voiced by: Romi Park

Satsuki's mother who watches her daughter's actions from afar. She is the CEO of Revocs, a gigantic corporation that manufactures and supplies over 90% of the world's clothing. Ragyo is a figure of great elegance and power. In all her appearances, she is surrounded by multicolored light, which also emanates from her hair. She appears to have seven star-shaped scars on her back.

Nui Harime (針目 縫, Harime Nui)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

The Grand Couturier (High Order Tailor) of the Kiryuin family, whose strength even Satsuki fears. She is the one who killed Isshin, stealing half of his scissor blade, which is purple in color, whilst also losing her left eye against him in the process. She has the ability to use her hands to target the Banshi, special Life Fibers that are vital to a Goku Uniform's structure, and destroy it. She also has the ability to manipulate puppets, and even change her appearance.

Media

Anime

See also: List of Kill la Kill episodes

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. The series began airing on MBS' Anime-ism programming block from October 3, 2013, also airing on TBS, Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting and BS-TBS, and will begin release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD from January 8, 2014. Soundtrack CDs will be included with the first and fifth volumes, making-of documentary DVDs will be included with the third, seventh, and ninth volumes, and drama CDs will be included with the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth volumes. A original video animation episode will be released on the ninth volume released on September 3, 2014. For the first twelve 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. For episodes thirteen onwards, the opening theme will be "ambiguous" by Garnidelia whilst the ending theme will be "Shin Sekai Kōkyōgaku" (新世界交響楽, New World Symphony) by Sayonara Ponytail.

The series is licensed by Aniplex of America, who are simulcasting the series on Daisuki.net, Crunchyroll, and Hulu. In Australia and New Zealand the series is streamed by Madman Entertainment. The series is licensed by Anime Limited in the United Kingdom under its All The Anime label and is simulcast on Wakanim.

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Ryō Akizuki began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine from October 4, 2013. The series' first tankōbon volume was released on December 2, 2013.

Music

Untitled

Music for the series is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. The original soundtrack of the anime was released on December 25, 2013, and features 18 tracks, including six vocal songs. The vocal songs are performed in English and German, and the background music tracks feature titles that are typographical variants of "Kill la Kill". Aniplex USA will also release the CD on January 17, 2014.

Kill la Kill Original Sound Track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Before my body is dry"	Hiroyuki Sawano, mpi	Mika Kobayashi	4:07
2.	"goriLLA蛇L"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:16
3.	"犬Kあ3L"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:34
4.	"Blumenkranz"	Hiroyuki Sawano, Rie	Cyua	4:19
5.	"AdラLib"	Hiroyuki Sawano		3:24
6.	"鬼龍G@キLL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:38
7.	"KILL7la切ル"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:46
8.	"Suck your blood"	Hiroyuki Sawano, mpi	Benjamin Anderson & mpi	3:40
9.	"Kiっ9=KELL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:51
10.	"k1ll◎iLL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		3:08
11.	"Light your heart up"	Hiroyuki Sawano, cAnON.	Aimee Blackschleger	3:56
12.	"昼裸lilL♪"	Hiroyuki Sawano		2:02
13.	"斬LLLア生LL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:25
14.	"キ龍ha着LL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		4:15
15.	"I want to know"	Hiroyuki Sawano, mpi	Benjamin Anderson	4:07
16.	"寝LLna聴9"	Hiroyuki Sawano		7:08
17.	"Kiる厭KiLL"	Hiroyuki Sawano		5:06
18.	"Till I Die"	Hiroyuki Sawano, cAnON.	CASG (Caramel Apple Sound Gadget)	4:41
Total length:				1:17:22

Reception

Kill la Kill has received significant positive response due to its animation which, despite having a "cartoony" presentation for the fight scenes and character movements, are well designed as mentioned by UK Anime Network's Robert Frazer. Despite sharing similar comments, Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network found the series too formulaic and repetitive.

External links

• Official website Template:En icon
• Official website Template:Ja icon
• Kill la Kill (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia