ANIME TUESDAY: Kill la Kill – “Junketsu” Review


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Previously on Kill la Kill:

Ryuko faced off against another obstacle in her path of vengaeance when she squared off against the captain of Honnouji Academy’s tennis club, Omiko Hakodate. After defeating her she confronts Satsuki once more, but flees. Spoilers Ahead!

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After her confrontation with Satuski the previous day, Ryuko begins to hunt down Aikuro to find how much he knows about Senketsu and her father’s death. Meeting him in a rundown building after school, he tells her of the life fibers, the threads that comprise the Kamui and the Kamui itself. Meanwhile Satsuki becomes enraged that Ryuko gains a Kamui before her and goes home to don her own uniform Junketsu (Purity). The next day Satsuki confronts Ryuko once again and the two girls clash in the middle of the school yard.

Kill la Kill sets the bar pretty high here and it’s only episode three! Some development some action it’s all here in this one.

Satsuki Vs. Ryuko

Satsuki Vs. Ryuko

We get a brief glimpse at a young Satsuki at the top of the episode when she is first introduced to her own kamui Junketsu. While we don’t see exactly how she becomes the power mad oppressor we all know and love it was nice to see her as a wide eyed innocent looking girl (if she ever was one). We also see her express an emotion that abject apathy when she actually becomes jealous and angry that Ryuko obtained a kamui before her.

Speaking of the kamui we get more of an explanation on them and the Goku uniforms courtesy of Aikuro. He tells her of the life fibers, the little strands of fiber that comprise the super powered clothing. The Goku uniforms are made  with 10% based on their stars (1 star has 10%, 2 stars has 20%, so on and so forth) but kamui are made from 100% of these fibers which is what makes them so powerful. He also tells Ryuko that while her father left him Senketsu to give to her, he doesn’t know for sure that Satsuki is the person who killed him.

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Ryuko and Satuski face off the next day both wearing their kamuis, while they seem to be evenly matched at the start, Satsuki soon gains the upperhand due to her ambitions of power trumping her embarrasment of being near naked. Ryuko is against the ropes until Mako of all people tells her to stop worrying and just get butt naked (of course), this allows Ryuko to finally understand just how the kamui should be used and she is finally able to use Senketsu’s power (which also gives her scissor blade an new form called “decapitation mode”), ending her fight with Satsuki in a draw. When Ryuko claims she will destroy Satsuki’s ambitions to get what she wants, Satsuki tells her that starting tomorrow, every club will be after her head and that she will be waiting to challenge her again if she survives.

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“Junketsu” is a damn good episode that with some funny moments, interesting developments, and some damn good action. The fight between Ryuko and Satsuki is gloriously animated and is on the caliber of a fight usually saved for the end of an action series. The jokes land and the things that are seen and explained are pretty effective. The quest for revenge continues next week as the hunt for Ryuko begins.

5/5

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