Previously on Kill la Kill:

Ryuko experienced the madness known as “No-Late” day but managed to survive by the skin of her teeth. Even though she survived the hectic day, she has a lot more surprises coming her way. Spoilers Ahead!

Things have returned to normal (are what can pass as such) for Ryuko, that is until she encounters a mysterious gunman named Tsumugu Kinagase. Hell bent on destroying the Kamui, Tsumugu makes it his mission to strip Ryuko of Senketsu so he can destroy him. The two engage in battle on the school grounds, but when the Student Council gets involved, Ryuko finds herself fighting a battle on two fronts with little to no chance of survival.

The action returns this episode and it is definitely pulse pounding as Ryuko engages in her hardest fight yet.

Tsumugu

This episode we are introduced to the lone gunman Tsumugu who hates all things having to do with life fibers, especially Kamui. He is introduced as a badass early as he takes down the members of Honnouji Academy’s gardening club while scoping out Ryuko with a sniper rifle. He is pretty powerful and has many guns and weapons in his use, such as needles that drain the properties given to the wearers of life fibers. He also has a catchphrase, “Let me tell you two useful peaces of information”.

Through him we also learn more about Aikuro. During his first encounter with Ryuko, Tsumugu is stopped by Aikuro and it is revealed that they two know one another and that Tsumugu owes Aikuro some sort of life debt. It is also revealed that the two belong an organization known as “Nudist Beach” (fitting seeing as how Aikuro always strips when he is alone with Ryuko and Tsumugu is shown outfitting his weapons butt-naked).

Ryuko gets some development here as well as she strengthens her bond with Senketsu. Throughout the episode the two have their fair share of disagreements with one another, all of it coming to a head during Ryuko’s second encounter with Tsumugu. Where Mako (who just happens to be on bathroom cleaning duty when Tsumugu & Ryuko’s fight ends up there) shares more odd pearls of wisdom and brings the two together, which even gets Tsumugu to look at clothes differently.

Speaking of their second fight, it is animated gloriously as Tsumugu gives Ryuko all she can handle. The student council also gets involved when Satsuki sends Nonon Jakuzure (the only female member of the 4 elites and regulator of the non-athletic clubs) who sics the gardening, rakugo, and 100 poems club on the pair. This culminates in massive brawl both inside and outside the school, with Ryuko trying to survive and Tsumugu systematically taking the clubs down while also staying one step ahead of Ryuko. The action in these sequences is also complimented by the classical music piece that Nonon plays during. Not much is known about Nonon at this point, but she does state that she has been with Satsuki the longest and that the attacks on Tsumugu were just a ploy to gain information for something bigger.

Nonon

“Trigger” is a pretty good episode with some great action, music, character development, and even some comedy thrown in for good measure. The battle between Ryuko & Tsumugu is definitely the highlight and Tsumugu himself is a pretty bad ass character. We also get a peek into the student council is plotting.

4.5/5