KILL LA KILL! ep20: bare-assed and angry

I have unfinished business to attend to. Before I can really move onto a full schedule of watching new anime, this must be complete. There’s no sense in playing around with a bunch of new unproven anime, when I still have just a few more episode of what may be a masterpiece in the end. The final stretch for KILL LA KILL.

Whew! Someone’s pitching a serious b*tch fit right now! Ryuuko is not taking the whole surprise of being a being of Life Fibers well. She rejects everyone and evertything in a blind, hate-filled rage upon the world. And it’s so hard to watch, because the end game from the beginning is so transparent for Lady Ragyou and Nui. Ryuuko is just to be antagonized into charging in with no backup, no plan and no love on her side and just be ensnared by the mass of evil that is now Honnouji Academy. It’s incredibly sad when even Mako can’t get Ryuuko to relinquish her hate, even as she rubs Senketsu against her.

The one bright side to all this? At least Ryuuko is able to commandeer a badass and ridiculous motorcycle to help take her revengeance.  I mean, if you’re gonna throw your life away, it may as well be on a badass motorcycle. Thousands of people make that choice every year, and I support it.

With Ryuuko out of the picture, we see again how this show can be a roller coaster ride of emotions.  We get the giant downer and frustrations of the Nudist Beach clan and the Four Devas as they realize that they’re not gonna have Ryuuko on their side for this battle.  Things do turn around when Hoka is able to hack his way into Honnouji’s computer network and give everyone a feed of Lady Satsuki.  Seeing that she’s still alive and in a way sharpening her claws gives them more than enough hope and motivation to move on, and Nudist Beach follows suit.  With the help of some of their last remaining and very rich connections, they unveil the super ship, Naked Sun.  It will be their vessel in their assault on Honnouji Academy.

While I expected Ryuuko to attack Honnouji Academy, I wasn’t quite sure what Lady Ragyou was planning.  But it doesn’t take long to understand that it’s clear that she wants to take Ryuuko into the fold.  She still sees Ryuuko as her daughter despite their ongoing war with each other, and wishes to have her replace Lady Satsuki as her trusted second in command.  Even Nui joins in to try to recruit Ryuuko.  Telling her how they’re basically soul sisters, each born of a Lady Ragyou.  Nui being born from an artificial womb made of Life Fibers (freaky), and Ryuuko actually being born of Lady Ragyou’s body herself.  And when words fail, we see Junketsu forced upon her.  And the Godrobe is more than enough to subdue the wild and unfocused Ryoko.  There’s little she can do but attempt to struggle before it’s all over.

Meanwhile, Lady Satsuki is able to escape from her cage and rendevous with Nudist Beach and the Four Devas as they attack Honnouji Academy.  With her saved, Aikuro suggests they head back for now, but Lady Satsuki tells them that they could try but they won’t get very far.  What does she mean by this?  It’s simple, Ryuuko has gone mad with her possession by Junketsu and attacks the Naked Sun.  With nowhere to go, and everything now on the line the most unlikely of alliances forms.  Lady Satsuki and Senketsu join together to oppose Ryuuko and Junketsu.

Man!  That was a quick and enjoyable watch!  It’s really easy to breakdown the flow of the show by emotions alone.  The anger of Ryoko, the sadness and then excitement of the Four Devas, the despair of Ryuuko as she’s overtaken by Junketsu, and the shock of most everyone as they see Ryuuko return with murderous intent .  And there’s never too much time allowed to linger and sulk before the story forces things to move forward with another flood of emotions.  I do wonder how Lady Ragyou will be overcome, and what her goal is now.  If the Naked Sun goes down, it’s over.  She rules the world.  Humanity will forever exist as slaves and fuel for its clothing.

I do find the somewhat lenient direction she’s taking with Ryuuko a little suspicious.  She seems to have a very twisted maternal streak.  I can’t quite tell if there’s some level of guilt, or humanity leaking out through her actions.  This show has had a theme of showing its villains as redeemable people.  Perhaps there’s still some hope for Lady Ragyou, though I don’t believe she’s gonna live once the wrath of her daughters catches up to her.  For now though, she’s clearly on top of the world, as two of her three daughters are slugging it out beneath her.  What a twisted world has been woven…

 

Oh!  That was a pun!  I made a pun!  Get it?!  Woven!  I didn’t even realize!

Further Reading:

• KILL LA KILL ep19: face the fear of a world devoid of nudity