KILL LA KILL ep10: Prince Know-it-All & Princess Death-from-Above

You know I was about to say that this was the most disappointing episode of the series so far for me, but I jumped the gun a bit. This definitely a transitional episode with much more insanity waiting. And to say that I’m disappointed is to show how spoiled I’ve become by the previous episodes.  Gifted with the exquisite violence and perviness, there’s nothing more you could ask from this show. It’s doing its damnedest to entertain.  I really shouldn’t be complaining when I can experience the joy of watching high schoolers fight to death for love, revenge and the right to wear fancy swagalious uniforms.  Try finding that on Netflix!

It’s time for another battle! And Ryuuko’s second opponent is – DEFEATED!

Nah, I”m just kidding. But it sure as hell felt that way. First though, we see the crowd getting hyped for the next match. While Mako’s family is up to their usual antics, she finds herself with a special guest spectator. It’s Ira! It seems that punishment is given out quite quickly at Honnouji Academy, as the powerful former Deva has been relegated to just another NO-Star student thanks to his loss. Pretty much naked and bubbling over with muscles, the guy still steadfastly sticks his chest out and proudly cheers on Lady Satsuki and the other Devas. Mako of course won’t be outdone! She takes the time and effort to cheer herself on, so that she may cheer on Ryuuko even harder. I swear – Mako’s the greatest thing about this anime! She’s amazing!

Ryuuko’s fight with the second Deva, Houka Inumuta gets off to a leisurely start, as he takes his time analyzing her before transforming into ascended Ultima Uniform, and then gathering more information. We’re also given the usual flashback where we learn that Houka was a hacker that the Kiryuuin foundation caught cracking their super strong cyber security. Lady Satsuki recognizes his talent and gives him an invite to Honnouji Academy. Nothing special or inspiring really.

Ryuuko shows that she’s able to adjust more quickly to her opponent this time. As right from the start she does her best to defy her opponent’s expectations and calculations. Houka’s response is to make himself an impossible target with optical camouflage that would make Solid Snake jealous. And while this tactic has its benefits, it’s quickly overcome with some engenuity on the part of Ryuuko and Senketsu, as they use a massive brute force attack to squash Houka flat. Houka’s defeated, but before she can slice away his Ultima Uniform, he forfeits the match, stating that he’d rather have the information he’s gathered from her, than a victory.

Up next is Nonon Jakuzure, the drum major of the Devas. She’s quite smug and confident going into her match. But before that, we get another flashback, this time to show how she became devoted to Lady Satsuki. We’re shown that even as child, she was a spoiled, pampered, snobbish little princess. And we’re also shown that even in kindergarten, Lady Satsuki was a freakishly strong, and serious personality. And it’s this strong personality that draws even a princess-type like Nonon to be a dedicated devotee and friend to her.

Back in the present, Nonon arrives at the battlefield in the expected regal fashion, commanding her band all the way down to the ring, where she then immediately goes into battle mode and transforms. her Ultima Uniform becoming more of a flying battle ship than a uniform, something Ryuuko notes herself.

Her uniform, Symphony Regalia Grave is especially thematic and “punny”, as it lets out powerful bass pulses, and sharp weapons as attacks, on top of it being able to fly. Even crazier is that it can fire large missiles shaped like clarinets (or was that a recorder?)! She commands quite the impressive arsenal, but Ryuuko being the straightforward person that she is sees the opportunity for counterattack and snags the flying princess and slams her back to the ground.

Not to be outdone, Nonon counter attacks by using her flight and the rules of battle to her further advantage. She blows the platform for the arena to bits in hopes that that will get Ryuuko disqualified. But that attack is countered by Ryuuko and Senketsu’s amazing transformation into the flying Senketsu Gale!

As this goes on, Aikuro takes notice of Ryuuko’s efforts and Senketsu’s ever increasing number of transformation with a worried eye.  He calls up Tsumugu with a warning to get ready for the worst.

End of episode.

As I said before, this is one of my least favorite episodes of KILL LA KILL so far.  It’s not to say it was bad,  it just had some part that I found lame.  I was less than impressed with almost all aspects of Houka’s battle with Ryuuko.  Houka seemed like the weakest, most boring member of the Devas after this.  I expected more from him in battle.  And I wanted more passion from him when it came to his background story.  Now on one end, he’s all about getting information, and not giving it out; so I can somewhat see him sandbagging this battle to get what he really wants.  But it was not entertaining to watch.

Nonon’s debut on the show’s battlefield was much better, though again her flashback was rather quick and bland as well.  Though her battle, and battle tactics were incredibly simple, I did like seeing Symphony Regalia Grave in action with all its silly overly thematic weapons.  Plus she had an awesome quote when she talked about how she was gonna beat on Ryuuko before their match.  Still, the overall feeling I got from this episode was one of slight disappointment.  The hype and energy was there, but I didn’t get the same feeling of passion from this episode that I felt for others.  It all seemed to go by a little to quick for me.  Weird as it may be, it seems that I wanted more bloat to go into this episode.  By that, I mean I wanted more of the silly grandstanding and passion from the characters.  I might have to blame my deflation on Ira and his battle last week.  Ira himself is such a grandiose, ridiculous and blusterous character that he makes the other Devas shrink in stature and screen presence in comparison.

The important thing that needs to come from this episode is how the agents of Nudist Beach are watching her progression with cautious fear.  They see Senketsu as a parasite, clearly, but I’m curious as to what exactly they are worried about.  Do they fear her becoming a mindless and super powerful beast like what we saw several episodes back when they attempted to fuse a student with a 50% Life Fiber concentrated Ultima Uniform?  Or is the threat she poses that much worse?  We’re still only approaching the halfway point of this story, so there’s no guarantee that we’re going to get much in the way of answers at this point, and there’s still much that needs to be moved forward in this story.  My guess is that Lady Satsuki is using the power of Ultima Uniforms for some greater aim than just dominating Japan.  I think she’s preparing for an even greater threat than underdogs like Nudist Beach and Ryuuko.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see  former enemies become friends and vice-versa in this show.

Further Reading:

• Episode 9