KILL LA KILL ep18: !!!!!

This episode was like watching someone reach the summit, only to be grabbed by the balls and tossed all the way back down to the bottom! F*CK!

I was so ready to write something positive, but everything good that happened this episode was wiped away by the near godly hand of Ragyou Kiryuuin. I dare say that this episode had the most jarring power swing I’ve ever seen in an anime. And this looks like it could be a worse defeat than anything I’ve seen in any other anime. Every pinnacle was overshadowed, and any weakness became a glaring flaw for the world to see.

How beautiful and triumphant Lady Satsuki looked before her fall. Everything was planned for: the Devas were attempting to neutralize Nui, the students had apparently neutralized Ragyou’s secretary. Lady Ragyou was still alive, but harshly impaled on a cross, and the original Life Fiber had been stopped – and it still was nowhere near enough! Lady Ragyou needed only gather herself (literally) after Lady Satsuki’s second failed attempt to kill her. And from then on, she showed why she was such a fearsome monster. Beating the life out of her daughter and ripping Junketsu off her body. With Junketsu now in Lady Ragyou’s already powerful and impressive posession, she’s practically become a god.

Ryuuko on the other hand seemed to show some of her best moments before her fall. When Lady Ragyou got free, she didn’t waste any time turning Lady Satsuki’s own army against her, using those same damned life fibers to control their minds. For a moment, even Ryuuko was under her control, and we saw her and Lady Satsuki clash once again, though this time they should have been allies. In an incredibly ridiculous, yet impressive scene, Ryuuko actually manages to rip free of Ragyou’s mind control. And even when stopped and antagonized by Nui, she refrained from going berserk, and actually reached her greatest heights in sychronization and power, nearly defeated a stunned Nui. But Lady Ragyou was able to intervene and handle the more powerful than ever Ryuuko like a doll!

The biggest surprise of all though, was to see most everything in the show connected by two acts, Lady Satsuki’s retelling of her past, and Lady Ragyou ripping out Ryuuko’s heart.  Lady Satsuki’s story cleared up many things.  We saw the man who was her father, a talented scientist who was recognized and chosen to marry Lady Ragyou.  Unfortunately, my belief that she had lost her humanity long ago was proven more than true.  Way back even then, she was still a monster, choosing to use their first born for Life Fiber experiments.  That first born was of course Lady Satsuki, probably showing why she had such freakishly strong strength as a child.  When that didn’t yield the results they wanted, they used their second born to attempt to fuse Life Fibers into its body.  When that failed, that child was dumped and left for dead.  That act is what turned her husband, Souichiro Kiryuuin against her.  It’s what made him tell his daughter the truth about the world before he was killed.  Why does this tie into Ryuuko having her heart ripped out?  Because that heart was covered in Life Fibers.  Ryuuko was infused with Life Fibers just like Lady Ragyou was.  Thus proving that that dumped baby was Ryuuko, and making Lady Ragyou her mother, Souichiro her father, and Lady Satsuki as her sister!

Mind!  Blown!

This episode is KILL LA KILL‘s best!  It’s also its darkest.  The only thing I miss is the humour, which for the most part was non-existent because this episode was packed from beginning to end with action and intense moments.  This episode does such a thorough job of erasing hope, and crushing everything positive that I’m really left speechless.  I’m at a loss as to how this show proceeds, though I know it will.  Fantastic work, Studio Trigger!  Fantastic work!

Note: why the hell is Lady Ragyou always playing with Lady Satsuki’s vagina?!  Is it to add insult to injury?!  Or is she really horny for her daughter?!  It’s just so weird!  Even for this show!

Further Reading:

• Episode 17