Dead Leaves, one of Hiroyuki Imaishi’s previous works, clearly demonstrates this problem. The end result is dirty, organic, exaggerated, and thoroughly unlike the clean-edged, hyper-polished animation that defines Kill la Kill’s contemporaries.īut brilliant visuals and amazing animated sequences alone can still create a shallow viewing experience. Animation director SUSHIO (the pen name of animator Toshio Ishizaki) drew upon the heavy lines and emotive compositions of gekiga comic books to express extreme emotional states. This technique is reminiscent of the visual stylings of the late, lamented director Osamu Dezaki in such works as The Rose of Versailles and the Golgo 13 films. The animators of TRIGGER also used a technique that they dubbed “harmony” to match freeze-frames of dynamic action scenes to dramatic, full-color paintings for an extra visual punch. These paintings were then digitized and composited to integrate them with the cell and computer animation. To achieve its unique visual aesthetic, numerous analog techniques were deployed, such as creating the backgrounds as watercolor paintings on paper first. Kill la Kill is also a stylistic atavism, a throwback to earlier eras of Japanese animation. The series is filled with high-octane fight sequences that revel in ridiculous collateral damage (e.g., one battle levels the city of Osaka) and ludicrous violence, where the slightest injuries result in comical geysers of blood. Kill la Kill can also be consumed as pure spectacle. Whether Kill la Kill is exploitative or empowering remains up for debate, but viewing the series through the lens of sex-positive feminism isn’t necessary to enjoy it. Suffice to say that Kill la Kill is less about pervy peepshow thrills and more about characters learning to be comfortable in their own skin, whether that skin is bared for all to see or not. I won’t say more on this subject for fear of giving away crucial plot details. Clothing and lack of clothing are central conceits throughout the series, and nakedness isn’t merely played for laughs or for titillation, but for deeper thematic purposes. Some critics have condemned this as crass sexism, but I contend that Kill la Kill earns its nudity. Characters both major and minor spend some portion of the series in the buff, be it the initial awkwardness of Ryuko’s battle dress or the glorious exhibitionism of Aikuro Mikisugi and the nearly naked guerrillas of the underground freedom fighting group, Nudist Beach. The elephant in the room with Kill la Kill is its use of male and female nudity. Then it ratchets up the intensity until the plot rockets into space. It tips its hat to the manga of Go Nagai. It draws further inspiration from violent shonen action series like Fist of the North Star and Saint Seiya. Kill la Kill is a show that starts off with nods to delinquent high school shows like Sukeban Deka and Sakigake!! Otokojuku. It has killer animation overseen by chief animation director SUSHIO. It has great music composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. Kill la Kill has style and it has substance.
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