Kill la Kill
Episode 14: Ride Like the Wind
Well they did it. Just when you thought Kill la Kill was maxed out on the crazy scale, they ramp it up once more. From the sadness and shock in which the last episode ended, rises a storm of unrelenting chaos and confusion that threatens to consume the Kansai region. But such is to be expected in this series…
With the Tri-City Schools Raid Trip underway, Satsuki has finally begun to realise her goal of world domination and, subsequently, revolution. Well every army needs a target so, under the “divide and conquer” mentality, Satsuki divides her army in three and sends them to Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka. Her Elites finally net a chance to redeem themselves, following their defeats at the hands of Ryuko. With a division under their command, they begin their assault on some…strange places. I mean, if you thought Hannouji was strange…you’d be right, but these places take the cake.
Though the Goku Uniforms remain a uniquely Hannouji garb, that doesn’t mean other schools don’t possess skills of their own. Say, I don’t know, an American Gridiron team clad in steel-plated armour. Though naturally this force only emerges after a barrage of Molotov cocktails fail to stop their opponents. Which they did. Fail I mean. Anyway, befitting his overall personality, Gamagoori expresses a power greater than steel, than fire, than a charging American School Football team: discipline. You see to true students, rules are ironclad, unshakeable guidelines by which all should live. They will remain strong through all adversity. So naturally a book containing said rule can pierce steel right? Well that’s what happened. Luckily, on the type chart of insanity, ironclad is beaten by marbled beef…I can’t even begin to justify this stuff anymore. So with steak-lined military hardware from Russia, Kobe launches a counter attack that is immediately repelled by, once again, the ironclad rulebook. I mean everybody knows that tank shells are deflected by guidelines. It’s Ridiculousness 101. If Hannouji students are indeed protected by the very rules imposed on them, then their faith in Satsuki may just be as understandable as their fear. Maybe.
Meanwhile, Jakuzure also runs into some trouble when her target employs some animal deities. Or something like that. Anyway, these geomagnetic Bey Spirits give Inumuta the chance to showcase his tactical acumen by utilising the Art Club, instructing them on how to alter the school’s phase space and disrupt it’s geomagnetism, thereby eliminating the apparitions who appear due to electrical interference with the brain’s receptors because of magic and science and stuff. Anywho, music rains down and another school is brought to it’s metaphorical knees before Hannouji. These Elite guys are pretty competent when they’re not losing to a protagonist.
Osaka proves the greatest challenge. Though their communication network was severed by Hannouji, as with the other school, there was one element that Inumuta did not expect: grandmothers. Using their own brand of superpower, rumours spread across the region at a record pace, allowing Osak to prepare for the Hannouji invasion. Never underestimate anyone, especially in this show. Regardless, Osaka serves as the greatest foe to Hannouji in both strength and ideals. So concerned with money that even the citizens are controlled by the school system, Osaka wishes the world to remain as it is because they lead good lives. Their fighters use money as ammunition for crying out loud. The whole city basically serves as a hyperbolic representation of capitalist society as it now stands, that which Satsuki seeks to tear down. When every character behaves in such a reprehensible way, it get kinda hard to tell who the bad guy is anymore…Satsuki’s still high on the list though.
In the midst of all the chaos and clash of crazy weaponry lies Mako. Oblivious as ever, in her own special way. Using the comedic powers that arise in her when sufficiently motivated, Mako catches money fired out of a gun in order to go on a spending spree. She is on a  field trip after all. Her Osaka escapades once again showcase her inhuman exuberance and ability to find joy in the little things. Something almost every other character appears incapable of, too caught up in their complex plans and twisted ideals. Speaking of complex plans, it is in the face of Satsuki’s plan that he decides to shed his assumed identity, fully revealing himself as the Nudist he is…
Desiring a swift and absolute victory, it is revealed that Satsuki had the shredded remains of Senketsu affixed to select members of her student-soldier army. Which ultimately serves as little more than a beacon. One that Ryuko is determined to follow. Clad in what remains of Senketsu, which happens to take the form of a sentient scarf, she sets out to collect the various pieces of her friend in the hopes of reforming him. To cut a long story short, that’s exactly what the episode does. Rather than beginning a  long, drawn out anime story arc, Ryuko gathers every piece of Senketsu back in on trumpet filled display of awesomeness. Well, almost every piece. It would seem that Ryuko’s gauntlet is still at large and it just so happens to be in the worst possible hands: Satsuki’s. Just in case you didn’t think she was powerful enough, the Kamui wearing President now has the added booster of a second Kamui.
So with Ryuko burning with motivation to save her friend and Satsuki standing in her way, next episode is bound to be full of action, excitement and a little verbal combat. Whatever happens, let the battle for Senketsu begin!
Check out more Kill la Kill Impressions HERE.
