Project #108: Kill la Kill Part 1

Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Remember in my Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt review I said we would never get a second season? Well the reason for that is quite simple. The director of the series Hiroyuki Imaishi left Gainax. That’s right Hiroyuki Imaishi the same guy who directed Gurren Lagann, Dead Leaves, and also worked on other notable animes like Evangelion, Black Rock Shooter, and FLCL left the studio in 2011 along with other Gainax employees such as Masahiko Ohtsuka to form a new studio known as Studio Trigger. Studio Trigger along with Wit Studios is one of the newer studios to come out in recent years and the two studios really made their presence known in 2013 with two of the biggest animes to come out that year. Wit Studios gave us Attack on Titan which is one of the most epic animes I’ve seen in years and Studio Trigger gave us Kill La Kill which is one of the most wild-paced and craziest animes I’ve seen in years. *Shizuku comes in* (Shizuku): And what’s wrong with a little craziness? It works wonders for me. (Nitsuj): . . .Get out of here Shizuku. (Shizuku): Aww~ boss I’m hurt, you’re doing a review on one of my all-time favorite animes from my favorite studio and you didn’t invite me to review it with you when you know you need me. (Nitsuj): Like the world needs Justin Bieber. Look I appreciate you wanting to help but I’ve got this anime covered. (Shizuku): Don’t be so sure boss, you said it yourself this anime is crazy and going alone into this anime could be dangerous. The last guy who review it alone wound up in NIMH. (Nitsuj): Really? Well I don’t want that to happen to me. (Shizuku): And~? (Nitsuj): And it has been a while since you and I have done a crossover together not to mention your review during the AI arc was my favorite. Alright you win you can join the review. Now give are fans a little information about this anime. (Shizuku): Gladly. Kill La Kill came out in 2013 and was an original anime idea directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima both of whom worked together on Gurren Lagann so it’s nice to see these two back together again. As the boss said this anime was considered one of the best if not the best the anime to come out in 2013 getting praised for its action scenes, fun characters, good humor, enjoyment, and of course the level of craziness you can’t find anywhere else in anime. Let’s stop wasting time and take a look at Kill La Kill.

 

Opening and Ending Theme

 

(Nitsuj): The opening for this anime is “Sirius” by Aoi Eir who you might remember sang the second opening for SAO season 1. It’s a rock song that gives off that old school Power Ranger feel to it which in my opinion is always a good thing. Aoi’s voice pretty much dominates the song and sings the song quite nicely and with a lot of passion. (Shizuku): When I first I heard this song I thought I had accidently clicked SAO since the beginning of the song sounds like “Innocence” but the two songs are different and personally I like Sirius over Innocence. The ending for this anime is “Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai” by Miku Sawai. This song is a little more slow-paced than the opening but the singer Miku still dominates the song with her voice and sings great. (Nitsuj): The song gives off the vibe that it’s talking about the main character and her past before the anime started. About how there was something missing from her life that she couldn’t put her finger on but knew it was something important. The ending also gives us a few hints on what’s to come in the anime like the main character stops to admire a wedding dress on display, she walks pass a statue of a red cube that resembles people, and there’s even a poster of her fighting someone while she’s waiting for the bus to go to school.

 

Episodes 1-4

 

(Shizuku): So we start the anime off at an academy called Honnouji Academy (Nitsuj: As supposed to somewhere else in a school-based anime? (Shizuku): Shut up). As a teacher is teaching history to the class the captain of the disciplinary committee Ira voiced by Tetsu Inada (Mr.1 from One Piece) busts in through the door to interrogate the students accusing one of them of stealing what’s known as a Goku uniform (glad to see Dragonball Z still has an influence on the world today). The Goku uniforms are these special uniforms that grant powers to students and they’re split into 3 categories, One star, Two star, and Three star uniforms the higher the star number the stronger powers that student gets (Nitsuj: Caution. Side effects include spikey gold hair and immense power beyond your control). The student who stole the uniform tries to make a break for it but he gets cornered and has no choice but to fight Ira. They have a crazy battle as you would expect with Ira ultimately winning. Now you’re probably wondering why the teachers and principal allow such behavior to go on in a school environment (Nitsuj: It’s no different from any other school if you ask me) it’s because this school is ruled by the student council president Satsuki voiced by Ryoka Yuzuki (Ino from the Naruto series) who relies on fear, power, and oppression to keep her school in order (Nitsuj: That’s what I do in my reviews. (Shizuku): And I’m sure it’s work wonders for you in the past). We than cut to the main heroine of the show Ryuko voiced by Ami Koshimizu (Kallen from Code Geass) who has just transferred into the academy and is making her way through the city (which looks like something out of a Gorillaz music video. (Nitsuj): Yeah seriously it’s like we step into one of their music videos, I keep expecting to see some of the characters pop up and start singing). She reaches the academy where she befriends another student named Mako a hyperactive girl who had one too many chocolate bars for breakfast (Nitsuj: Said the woman I caught stuffing her face with my Reese cups last night). She’s voiced by Aya Suzaki, imagine a sweet gal like her playing a sweet, hyperactive girl in a crazy anime where logic means nothing. After class Ryuko goes to confront Satsuki pulling out half of a giant pair of scissors (Nitsuj: What the. . .(Shizuku): First it was drills now it’s scissors. What is it with this studio and their bizarre choices of weapons? What’s next, a rubber band?) asking her if she knows who has the other half. Why? Well because the person who has the other half is responsible for killing her father and now she wants revenge (Nitsuj: Oh so it’s Afro Samurai. (Shizuku): No! It’s Kill La Kill and it’s totally different. (Nitsuj): How? (Shizuku): Fuck you that’s how). When Satsuki doesn’t give Ryuko the answers she’s looking for she tries to attack her but gets stopped by Takaharu captain of the boxing club and two-star uniform wearer. He pummels her easily (watch the right hook Ryuko and work the body) forcing her to retreat back to her burnt house (Nitsuj: Yer a bum Ryuko) where she falls down a trap door and finds a living sailor uniform who forces her to put it on (I’m pretty sure this counts as attempted rape) and grants her powers (Nitsuj: SHE HAS THE POWER~). Back at the school Takaharu has captured Mako and threatens to dump her in hot cooking oil unless Ryuko comes out to fight him (actually fried Mako sounds good right about now so take your time Ryuko). She shows up in the talking sailor outfit which is very revealing with its miniskirt and mini top (//gaggingonsexism.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/horriblesubs-kill-la-kill-01-720p-mkv_snapshot_20-03_2013-10-05_16-42-50.jpg. (Nitsuj): Oh God, and here I thought Yoko’s outfit was revealing. Compared to Ryuko, Yoko actually looks subtle) but on the plus side it makes her invincible and she’s able to beat Takaharu destroying his Goku uniform in the process. We end the episode with her getting ready to talk to Satsuki.

 

(Nitsuj): We pick up where episode one left off in episode two with Ryuko getting ready to talk to Satsuki (who I swear to God looks like a man) but she begins to lose consciousness because the sailor uniform gives her power in exchange for her blood and she’s forced to retreat (Shizuku: I’ve heard of wardrobe malfunctions but this is ridiculous). She makes it back to town where she passes out and is discovered by Mako’s younger brother and friends who are shocked and turned on to see Ryuko in that revealing outfit (well I know what they’ll be dreaming about tonight). He takes her back to his place (dang son slow down. Take her to a hotel where she can’t find out where you live) where his father treats her injuries since he’s a back-alley doctor (Shizuku: That’s what he is? I thought he was a beached whale who somehow learned English, ). Ryuko wakes up to the sight of Mako’s dad hovering over her and she mistakes him for a rapist (//youtu.be/9xfzZ7KGEv8). After Mako calms her down they all have dinner and go to sleep where we get a flashback of Ryuko and the sailor uniform. It turns out the uniform was made by Ryuko’s father (that’s some hobby dad. I can see why mom left), has a mind of its own and seems to have amnesia (Shizuku: So what, it forgot what a sailor uniform does or something?). She names the sailor uniform Senketsu voiced by Toshihiko Seki (Duval from One Piece) and goes off to the school where the events in episode 1 unfold. Also Ryuko is the only one who can hear Senketsu talk (that’s usually a sign that you’re crazy). The next day Ryuko and Mako go to school where we see that there’s a separation between the rich and poor, it turns out that whatever star uniform you have in school determines where you and your family lives. The higher the star number the better living you have and the less stars you have the poorer you live like Mako since she has no stars (well that’s a lot of pressure to put on a student. Do well in school or you’ll live in poverty, literally. (Shizuku): These guys are more hardcore than Baka and Test). When they reach the school Mako gets attacked by the tennis club for skipping out on practice yesterday (Nitsuj: Um, guys did you not see the whole capturing thing yester-. (Shizuku): Don’t try to bring logic into this anime you’ll only wind up more confused). The club captain Omiko steps forward reveling that she has a two star uniform and challenges Ryuko to a game of tennis (she also has a telescope eye I don’t know what to make of-. (Shizuku): What did we just talk about? (Nitsuj): I know but it’s hard not to). She tries to awaken Senketsu but he doesn’t respond to her (it needs blood. Use your head) and she gets pummeled by tennis balls and falls into the school river. She gets saved by her homeroom teacher Aikuro voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki (Mustang from FMA: Brotherhood) who tells her that in order to activate Senketsu she needs to give it blood (Shizuku: Geez, when it said give me blood when you first met him that didn’t tip you off?). He gives her a glove which will allow her to give blood to Senketsu easier and she goes to face Omiko in a game of tennis. At first Ryuko does bad because the normal tennis racket can’t withstand her power but when she starts using her scissor she gains the advantage (this scissor is the scissor that pierces the heavens. Who the hell do you think we are?) and wins the match (ame, set, and Ryukown’d). She tries once again to get answers from Satsuki after the match but Ryuko has lost too much blood and Satsuki has drawn out her blade which has some mysterious power to damage Senketsu. Ryuko decides to retreat with Mako vowing to return (you just did this last episode).

 

We start episode 3 with a young Satsuki looking at a wedding dress (and if you can believe it she actually looks like a little girl in this flashback. What the hell happen to her? (Shizuku): Puberty is a friend to no one). We than go back to the school where we see Ryuko follow her homeroom teacher around trying to get answers about Senketsu. She finally meets up with him and he explains that he was a friend of her father who helped him work on the creation of Senketsu, is the one responsible for leading Ryuko to Senketsu, and is part of the secret organization known as Nudist Beach (so you’re the one we have to blame for some of the craziness we’ve seen so far). He says he snuck into the school to find out what Satsuki’s family is planning to do to conquer the world. He also tells us that Senketsu is a Kamui a form of clothing made out of 100% life fiber which is responsible for giving all the students who wear Goku uniforms super natural powers (Shizuku: It’s true, clothes do make the person). One star uniforms are made of 10% life fiber, Two star 20%, and Three star 30%. So wait, if this life fiber is so powerful why don’t they just make all the uniforms out of 100% life fiber? (Shizuku): A good question, we see in a scene later that students can only handle about 30% of life fiber, any higher and it becomes too much for them to handle and they go on a rampage). That night not being able to stand someone master something before her, Satsuki goes down into the secret area of her family mansion to retrieve that wedding dress we saw at the beginning of the episode which is actually a Kamui called Junketsu. Even though her mother forbids her to wear the outfit and many of the servants try to stop her (she’s at that age of rebellion I guess. Also, she hits people in the balls who get in her way) she gives Junketsu her blood and makes the Kamui hers. The next day at school Satsuki confronts Ryuko first thing in the morning (Shizuku: Oh come on we’re waking up, wait until lunchtime) and we get her crazy wardrobe transformation scene (and if you thought Ryuko looked ridiculous in her outfit. . .well Satsuki looks as equally ridiculous as her). The two begin to fight throughout the school with Ryuko losing because she hasn’t truly accepted wearing Senketsu because she’s still embarrassed being seen wearing it (*Nitsuj stares at Shizuku’s revealing outfit* Shizuku: Before you speak just know that if I hear anything you say that pisses me off I will end you right here right now. (Nitsuj): You look very nice. (Shizuku): Why thank you). After being beaten down Ryuko finally gets that she’s been rejecting Senketsu all this time and finally accepts him and the fight picks up again this time with Ryuko able to hold her own against Satsuki. The fight goes back and forth with the school as well as other students getting destroyed in the crossfire (Students: Why do we go this school again?). In the end Satsuki wins because Ryuko collapses from exhaustion but she promises to destroy all of Satsuki’s ambitions whatever they might be (Shizuku: World domination what else? Haven’t you been paying attention to this anime?). Satsuki accepts this challenge and allows Ryuko to live saying that she’ll challenge Ryuko again if she can defeat all the school clubs and committees which Ryuko accepts. We end the episode with Satsuki warning Ryuko that tomorrow her kingdom (the school) will be coming after her (tomorrow you dine in Hell).

 

(Shizuku): Not a whole lot happens in episode 4 but it sure is one hell of a funny episode (Nitsuj: Probably the funniest episode in the series). We start the episode off with Mako’s mom washing Senketsu so Ryuko doesn’t have a uniform for school and it’s the worst day not to have Senketsu because it’s No-Late Day a special event created by the Disciplinary Committee where they turn the whole city into a maze of traps and the students have to reach the school before the first bell while avoiding the traps otherwise they’ll be expelled (whatever happen to just plain detention?). Ryuko and Mako are determined to make it to school on time and along the way they meet another student named Maiko a no-star student who got her arm broken, befriends Ryuko and Mako, and teams up with them to reach the school (//youtu.be/4F4qzPbcFiA). As they’re making their way through the traps Mako’s dad and brother try to give Ryuko, Senketsu but Maiko keeps slipping on the traps pulling down Ryuko’s pants to revel her striped panties which distracts Mako’s dad and brother causing them to get a nose bleed, crash and fall unconscious (I see London, I see France, I see phoned-in fanservice) leaving Guts (Nitsuj: Do you have it) the dog the only one to deliver Senketsu to Ryuko. The trio reach the 1-star level where they hijack an armored bus and ride it through the 1-star level while avoiding the gunfire of the residents trying to stop them (Nitsuj: Jesus~! These guys are firing AKs and missiles at them! No doubt the NRA is having orgasms while watching this scene). They barely make it through the level and reach the school where Guts shows up to give Ryuko, Senketsu but Maiko grabs Senketsu herself and reveals herself to be the mastermind behind all the crazy traps that Ryuko and Mako had to go through (//youtu.be/kdhhQhqi_AE), her plan is to steal Senketsu and use him to take down Satsuki and take over the academy. She puts on Senketsu and immediately transforms (Nitsuj: She looks ridiculous and NOT in a hot way) but Senketsu restrains her allowing Ryuko to beat Maiko and get Senketsu back. But Maiko decides that if she can’t beat them she can at least make sure the two never make it to school on time (so in other words she’s going to be a bitch). She reveals that the academy in front of them was a fake (the academy was a lie) and activates a moving side walk which transports them all the way to the harbor area of the city which is the lowest part of the city and Maiko escapes via parachute (//youtu.be/l8o5fxnDUjs). With only 5 minutes left to reach the academy Ryuko and Mako continue Grand Theft Insanity and hijack a rope cart which takes them all the way to the academy and they literally crash into their classroom with just one second to spare to make it on time. As for Maiko, Ira overheard all of her plans and as punishment he expels her from the academy (Nitsuj: Does he has the power to do that? (Shizuku: The academy is run by a high school girl who allows the Disciplinary committee to create life-threatening traps that would kill a normal human-being I think anything flies at this academy).

 

Episodes 5-8

 

We get a slow story in episode 5. A mysterious sniper by the name of Tsumugu who comes from the Nudist Beach organization (well that’s a very pleasant image) and is trying to assassinate Senketsu because he believes that Senketsu will corrupt Ryuko and ultimately destroy her if left unchecked. (Nitsuj): So he wants to kill Senketsu for something he might do? (Shizuku): Well you’re a man of style and fashion if someone is wearing an ugly shirt doesn’t that mean we should destroy it for the greater good, //youtu.be/N_q2wBzT6uU? (Nitsuj): Yes, but when something is uncertain and a possibility we shouldn’t just assume it’s gonna happen and just wait and see what’ll happen. If the worst scenario does happen then we take action. It’s basically like with Batman and the kryptonite he keeps in his utility belt. He’s not gonna pull it out on Superman at any time he’s gonna wait and have it on standby in case Superman does go crazy on him and needs to be stopped. (Shizuku): *Sleeping and snoring* (Nitsuj): Wake up woman and review this anime! (Shizuku): *Wakes up* Oh sorry you were saying something boring that I kinda fell asleep. Anyway, the assassin attacks Ryuko at school and tries to destroy Senketsu with these special needles that server the blood bond between Ryuko and Senketsu, pins her to the ground and tells her to strip (Oh sweet Jesus call the cops! (Nitsuj): You have to wait another year before you can ask her to do that you sicko!). Before he can finish her off he receives a letter from Aikuro and retreats (O~kay). He meets up with Aikuro where we find out that Aikuro saved Tsumugu’s life in the past and he tells Tsumugu to back off but he refuses (Aikuro: Dude I’m trying to make the moves on her. You can have her friend or Satsuki. (Tsumugu): That’s a girl? What the hell happen to her?). The next day comes and Ryuko decides to take on Tsumugu head-on where we see that Tsumugu beats her with his tactics and clever thinking. While the two are fighting the non-athletic clubs such as the gardening, the poets, and rakugo (it’s when a lone story-teller goes on stage, sits in the seiza position, doesn’t stand up, and uses only a small cloth and paper fan to tell a long complicated but funny story) club led by Nonon who is one of the Elite 4 of the academy and is the closest person to Satsuki (Nitsuj: Possible lesbians) try to catch them. She’s voiced by Mayumi Shintani (Haruhara from FLCL). The two make quick work of the clubs (did you really think non-athletes had a chance when athletes can’t even beat her) and Tsumugu once again pins Ryuko down and tells her to strip (I just went over this, back away from the girl or I’ll call the National Guard on your ass). Senketsu gives himself up to save Ryuko and Tsumugu shoots him with needles but luckily (I think) Mako is there to stand up to Tsumugu and return Senketsu to Ryuko who vows to protect Senketsu until her last breath (if you destroy Senketsu she’ll have nothing else to wear). Tsumugu sees the bond the two have for each other and decides to stop and just in time because Nonon has arrived with the Band club and plans to capture both of them (what are you gonna do play bad pop music until they surrender?). Tsumugu throws a smoke bomb and he escapes with the unconscious Ryuko getting her some place safe and then leaves saying that he’ll believe in the duo but if they act up he’ll return to stop them.

 

(Nitsuj): At the start of episode 6 Ryuko tries to get answers from Aikuro. After that things start to heat up big time when Uzu voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama (Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho) the head of all the athletic clubs and one of the elite 4 decides to fight Ryuko in a kendo match. Ryuko accepts the challenge and goes to face him where we see that just like Senketsu can transform Uzu’s uniform can transform as well into a giant suit of armor (Shizuku: Okay I call discrimination on this part. Why does he get a cool suit of armor while Ryuko gets a revealing schoolgirl outfit that somehow makes her nipples disappear? (Nitsuj): Because the target audience is male and having him in a revealing outfit like Ryuko would turn us off). Uzu blocks all of Ryuko’s attacks because he can sense and predict all of Ryuko’s moves (Nitsuj: He’s got the shinning. (Shizuku): Don’t you mean shining? (Nitsuj): Shh! Are you trying to get me sued woman?). But Ryuko tears off a piece of Senketsu’s cloth to block Uzu’s eyes and deliver the final hit to beat Uzu. Feeling a shamed and defeated he goes to Satsuki and begs for another chance to defeat Ryuko promising to win. Satsuki sees his resolve and gives him another chance and a bamboo stick of challenge is delivered to Ryuko first thing in the morning. She tries to use the same trick like her last battle but like Mr. Freeze from Arkham City, Uzu has learned from his mistakes and sees through her tricks. We see that Uzu realized he relied on his eyes too much and in order to fix that he got his eyes sowed shut to heighten his abilities so now he can predict Ryuko’s movements even better than ever (Shizuku: Cool trick. I gotta learn how to do that). After that it just becomes Uzu owning Ryuko with the bamboo sticks, head shots, body shots, waist shots d’aww you know what I’m talking about. He goes in for the final hit but his uniform overheats and shuts down on him allowing Ryuko to escape (lucky).

 

In episode 7 Ryuko is constantly being attacked by weak club presidents with 2-star uniforms (so we’re just gonna skip that whole mess that happened in episode 6? (Shizuku): Look likes it, it’s not like it was important or anything. (Nitsuj): Oh wait. (Nitsuj and Shizuku): IT WAS! (Nitsuj): Seriously why would they not continue something as major as the stuff that happened in episode 6? The motherfucker sowed his eyes shut just to beat Ryuko and probably would have won. Continue that story). Ryuko finally understands that Satsuki’s school system is meant to indulge people in their selfish worldly desires and leave them as nothing more than pigs rolling around in mud (Shizuku: Hey those are my plans for world domination. (Nitsuj): No I think that sounds like politicians). Ryuko decides to fight against this system by destroying it from within and starts a Fight club with Mako as the president (Shizuku: Hot damn where do I sign up). Because of this Mako earns a one-star uniform and her family moves up to the one-star district which is a hell of a lot better than living in the slums (it’s like landing on free parking in Monopoly and getting all that money. (Shizuku): I’m pretty sure that’s not a rule. (Nitsuj): It’s how I play). Mako continues to improve as a president while Ryuko continues to own everybody in the school and with their combine efforts they manage to increase the club’s reputation that it allows Mako and her family to move up to the 2-star district (like landing on free parking a second time in Monopoly. (Shizuku): Again, not a rule. (Nitsuj): Again, how I play) but things start to go south when the family starts to go off and do their own thing without spending time with each other. Ryuko finally has enough of the family falling apart and quits the Fight club (you can’t quit, you’re the only club member. Which begs the question how the club was able to form in the first place? Don’t you usually need at least 4 or 5 people to start a club?). This forces Mako to dawn her two-star uniform and fight Ryuko in order to maintain her new lifestyle. The family shows up and as you would expect they turn on Ryuko and cheer on Mako who begins beating the shit out of Ryuko who refuses to fight against Mako. After what I can only assume is hours of taking a beating Mako finally stops disappointed that her family isn’t stopping her (you’re the one who put on the uniform ya crazy money loving funny girl). She apologizes (as does the family) and forfeits her two-star uniform meaning they have to move back to the slums and shuts down the Fight club. So Ryuko shows that humans can beat worldly desires which doesn’t faze Satsuki at all and we end with Satsuki deciding to hold elections.

 

(Shizuku): In episode 8 Satsuki announces that the natural elections is starting where for 7 days students are free to battle against each other in a anything goes fight and after 7 days they have to reach the school alive to move on to the next round of the election. The whole point of the election is to give students a chance to re-establish their social standing in the city and get a new Goku uniform (I really do love the way this girl thinks, it’s like someone created an anime character based off me and forgot to pay me royalties). After the announcement the whole school as well as the city erupts into anarchy with students fighting one another to eliminate the competition, fires being started, and buildings exploding (It’s like The Purge only funnier, works, and actually enjoyable to watch. (Nitsuj): This is highly unacceptable, //youtu.be/yv_ptXgAzZA). Ryuko decides to use this time to go back to her family’s mansion with Mako on the family scooter (which was stolen of course) hoping to find some clues as to why her father was murdered. She doesn’t find anything but we do get a little backstory about her. It turns out her relationship with her father wasn’t all that good in fact she actually lived in the student dorms for most of her life instead of at home with her father. During her school life she started getting into fights at school becoming a full blown delinquent as a result of it (Nitsuj: Hey check it out Shizuku, they’re telling your life story. (Shizuku): Kiss my well-shaped ass you troll). When she reaches high school she receives a letter from her father saying he wants to talk to her (Nitsuj: I hear you’ve been causing trouble at school daughter. (Shizuku): Only a little). She goes home where she sees that her father has been stabbed and is slowly dying, Ryuko goes after the killer but they escape and her house gets set on fire (well this was a good talk dad, now lately I’ve been feeling strange any chance you- (Nitsuj): Oh look at the time, time to get back to work off to school with you, I’ll see you like never). After not finding any clues Ryuko and Mako ride back to town but they run out of gas and get picked up by Ira (who has a license and we find out later is almost 20 years old) who offers them a ride back to town saying he’ll face Ryuko at the natural election finals (or you could just face her now and get it over with). As they’re driving they get attacked by the Automotive and Airsoft club who are after Ira (why, because they have a death wish and I’m sure Ira is willing to grant it). Actually to be fair they want his 3-star uniform so they can defeat Ryuko but no matter how you look at this it’s obviously a death wish waiting to happen). Ira spins out of control and crashes forcing him to face the Automotive and Airsoft club head on where they open fire on him but he activates his uniform which we never get to see but shields his entire body from their attacks and rather than fight back he just takes the hits asking for more (Ira’s a masochist, that’s a rather unpleasant thought). During this barrage of attacks we see how Ira first met Satsuki. He was the student council president at a school where two kids leeched off the power of their parents to rule the school but Satsuki came and took over the place with ease. Moved by Satsuki’s presence Ira waited 2 years for Satsuki to graduate from middle school and followed her back to Honnouji Academy where he became her follower. After the story Ira finally unleashes his wrath on the Automotive and Airsoft club and defeats them all easily. We fast forward seven days later where the remaining students are gathered in the court yard awaiting the next part of the elections where 5 pillars mysteriously rise up from the ground (Nitsuj: What is with this school? I swear, this school is making public schools look like private schools). Satsuki announces that the first 5 to reach the top of the pillars move on to the final round and as you would guess Ryuko and the elite 4 are the ones moving on to the finals. Before moving on however the Elite say they each want to face Ryuko one on one and Satsuki allows it saying if Ryuko wins she’ll tell her the truth about her father’s death. We end the episode with Ryuko getting ready to fight Ira.

 

Episodes 9-12

 

In episode 9 Ryuko gets ready to face Ira but Ira sticks to the rules and says their fight will begin at 1pm which is about 5 hours away (great, now what the hell do we do? (Nitsuj): Well I do know a fun activity we could do that would easily pass 5 hours. (Shizuku): If you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting I will smash them into tiny pieces). The fight begins between Ryuko and Ira where we finally get to see Ira’s uniform transformation Shackle Regalia a bondage suit that makes him pretty much invincible, absorbs all attacks, reflects those attacks by on others, and throughout all of this he enjoys getting beaten up (Nitsuj: Sweet Lord the man’s a hardcore masochist). Ryuko plays it smart and doesn’t attack him but he begins attacking himself building up power and then transforming into his uniforms second form Scourge Regalia his attack mode so to speak and begins whipping Ryuko’s butt with whips literally (no he literally is whipping her butt. (Nitsuj): Yeah *slaps hands* yeah *slaps hands* yeah *slaps hands* yeah *slaps hands* yeah). Ryuko is pretty much forced to go on defense throughout the fight almost losing at a few spots but hanging in there. She tries attacking him but since his uniform is protected by cloth armor Ryuko’s attacks become ineffective. Ira finally has enough and goes in for the kill but Senketsu has a plan for how to win (great, coming up with a strategy to beat a masochist like him can’t be easy). He has Ryuko return him to normal and she grabs one of Ira’s whips and gets pulled inside his bondage suit (disgusting). Once inside she activates Senketsu turning him into a sharp bladed sailor suit (Nitsuj: Hi, hello, when could she do this?) and shreds the armor from the inside giving her an opening to take him down. She lands the final strike on Ira, destroying his uniform (Nitsuj: put some clothes on you creepy muscular masochist) and winning the first match. We end the episode with Houka the last of the elite 4 voiced by Hiroyuki Yoshino (Debito from Arcana Famiglia) and the guy in charge of the academy’s information and strategy committee getting ready to face Ryuko.

 

(Nitsuj): We start episode 10 by seeing how Houka met Satsuki. It turns out he was your run of the mill hacker who hacked into Satsuki’s company which is pretty impressive considering their network is said to be unhackable (Sony thought the same thing and look what happen to them). He quickly gets found out and caught but instead of just killing him right in the middle of an alley, Satsuki instead invites him to her academy where she promises to give him all the information he wants. Going to the fight, Houka activates his 3 star uniform turning it into Probe Regalia a technical suit that can analyze all of Ryuko’s movements and abilities (Shizuku: how fitting for a neeeerd~). But Ryuko counters his analyzing abilities by fighting recklessly throwing him off and gaining the upper hand. Houka resorts to camouflaging himself to avoid her attacks but Ryuko gets more reckless and expands one of Senketsu’s eyes across the arena exposing him and she goes in for the kill but before she can deliver the final hit Houka forfeits saying he doesn’t want to lose all the data he’s gotten from the match (Shizuku: Ha, coward~). With Houka defeated Nonon steps in to face Ryuko where we find out that Nonon is actually Satsuki’s childhood friend and has been with Satsuki longer than any of the Elite 4 (I still say there’s a possible lesbian romance going on between those two). She activates her uniform known as Symphony Regalia which is basically her inside a giant sound system (how is that with all these uniform changes I still find the Elite 4’s uniform subtler than Ryuko’s uniform?). Ryuko tries to attack but Nonon uses powerful soundwaves to fight Ryuko along with the Texas Ranger theme to back her up (Shizuku: Hi-ho Silver away~). Nonon tries to eliminate Ryuko by destroying the arena they’re fighting on but Ryuko gets even more reckless and activates a new form of Senketsu known as Senketsu Shippu (Ryuko’s being really awesome in this episode I’m not gonna lie) which allows her to fly and remain in the match pissing off Nonon (you mad sis). As all of this is going on Aikuro becomes troubled by how quickly Senketsu is evolving and contacts Tsumugu telling him to assume a worst-case scenario to end the episode.

 

The fight between Ryuko and Nonon continues in the skies in episode 11 where Nonon seems to have the upper hand inside her giant flying sound system (boy, that’s one thing I never thought I live to say) until Ryuko catches one of her missiles and fires it back at Nonon destroying the sound system and Ryuko finishes her off (Shizuku: *slams desk* OBJECTION! She’s still in the match). Right you are Shizuku, it turns out Nonon has another form of her uniform called Da Capo which fires even stronger sound waves at Ryuko which begins to disrupt her connection to Senketsu making her weaker. But Ryuko manages to get back up absorb the sound waves and match the sounds waves to the sound of her heart (Shizuku): O_O what? (Nitsuj): Yeah, I don’t get it either, I call bullshit). Ryuko manages to push the sound waves back on to Nonon and deliver the final blow destroying Nonon’s uniform (next time write some original music). With Nonon defeated it’s time for Ryuko to have her rematch with Uzu (finally, we’ll see which one of these two is the better fighter) but before the two can fight a mysterious girl comes on the battlefield (new challenger). This girl is Nui voiced by Yukari Tamura (Tenten from the Naruto series) an acquaintance of Satsuki who was sent by Satsuki’s mom (Satsuki: Moooooooom~, I’m trying to destroy my arch-enemy and take over the world. Butt out). Nui quickly destroys Uzu’s uniform by pulling on a thread and knocks him out of the ring (scene here: //youtu.be/QemtAb7-0Nw, damn, she owned him). She then turns her attention to Ryuko who she wants to fight even though she doesn’t have a goku uniform herself but she has something even more sinister and meaningful. The other half of Ryuko’s scissor blade meaning she’s the one who killed Ryuko’s dad hell she actually tells her straight to her face and smiles about it (she’s a bitch). We end with Ryuko’s rage reaching its peak and her getting ready to fight Nui.

 

(Shizuku): In episode 12 Ryuko goes on a furious attack against Nui (what were you expecting? The girl killed her father I would have done the same thing) where her blood reaches a boil point and she gets consumed by Senketsu and transforms into some monster (Nitsuj: O_O What. . . the. . .fuck. . .is . . .that). It turns out this was Nui’s plan all along because she wants to see how strong Senketsu can really get (remind me again where killing her father fits into the plan? (Nitsuj): Afro Samurai. (Shizuku): Shut it). The monster goes on a rampage destroying the school (yay no final exams) and Satsuki decides she’s seen enough and steps in to stop Ryuko from killing herself and destroying her school (Nitsuj: I’ve had it with this motherfucking girl destroying my motherfucking school). The two clash and magic black fiber consumes the screen with Mako swimming through it to reach Ryuko and bring her back to her senses. She begins to smack Ryuko to bring her back and it starts to work. Ryuko is able to come back down and revert back to her human form (Nitsuj: Well this is embarrassing. (Shizuku): For who Satsuki, Nui, or Ryuko? (Nitsuj): You decide. The day was saved by the weakest most nonsensical character in the show. What does that say about the three overpowered monsters disguised as high school girls?). Ryuko passes out and Aikuro and Tsumugu give a sigh of relief they didn’t have to kill Ryuko. After the credits we see that a few days have passed and Satsuki tells Ryuko that she was the one who told Nui to attack Ryuko’s father and steal the sword scissors from him (figures) before telling Ryuko that this whole natural elections thing was just a ploy for gathering data on the goku uniforms so she could perfect them. Thanks to Ryuko’s battles with the Elite 4 Satsuki now has all the data she needs to perfect the goku uniform and is now making plans to go on a school wide trip where she’ll conquer all the schools in the countries and take down the big 3 schools who oppose her ambitions (time to take the craziness on the road. Alright).

 

(Nitsuj): And with that I think this is a good place to stop for today. Too much craziness in one day can drive a man insane, you gotta pace yourself. I think I’ll watch something normal like Adventure Time and finish anime next week. Until then, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.

 

*All videos, pictures, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respected owners. All rights reserved.*

 

Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment, feedback, or request down belong or send to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com

Posted in Projects, Year 3 and tagged , , .