02.28
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to circumstances involving a certain “Last One Until He Makes Another One”-movie, Marquis is unavailable to provide this week’s installment. Happily EclecticDude volunteered his time to act as substitute.]
Why isn't it NEXT Thursday already?!?
So, we have entered the endgame at this point, or at least we have been since the end of episode 18 and its fantastic twist. Ryuuko has finally reached the point of no return, which is evident in the fact that Mako’s tension breaking goofy moment doesn’t diminish her fury or rage.
Ah, but here comes Nui and Ragyo come to taunt our (heroine). I like how Nui and Ragyo are presented as these otherworldly spiral like horrors connected to each other, both equally as sinister and evil. Urged on, Ryuuko goes back to where the series began, the Academy, to confront her mother and seek justice for her father’s death. Her previous allies get turned down one by one as Ryuuko finds her alone, with only her rage and sadness as companions. A sad soft ballad playing in the background, as she moves toward her destiny, is thus very fitting.
Meanwhile, Nudist Beach along with the Elite Four go about to rescue Satsuki. Senketsu naturally feels , along with some of the rest, that Ryuuko can be saved. So, with the help of Osaka remnants and the Nudist Beach’s secret weapon (a giant knife battleship) with a somewhat appropriate name heh. On a side note, this episode has some of the best music of the entire series, with Hiroyuki Sawano giving it his all. Granted, the music for this show is fantastic but it truly shines here.
So, Ryuuko has reached the Academy. But instead of wanting to fight her, they convince her to join their side. The initial skirmish between Nui and Ryuuko seems a bit similar to their previous fight (like how the use of limited animation to depict their fight is done). Nui play head games and while she might seem wrong, what she says is in fact true or at least a grain of it is. Of course, the reveal of her true nature is something I did see coming. Nui Harime is in many ways a dark shadow of Ryuuko, what she could have been if the circumstances were different…..More on that later. Also, talk of the ‘threads of fate’ which are in keeping with the visual motives and symbology throughout this series.
Nudist Beach likewise come in and try but fail to pick off Ragyo. Fortunately, Satsuki escapes with relative ease, though at the moment she is relatively powerless. A reunion is in order for sure. What a grand entrance indeed for that!
So, after fighting Ryuuko directly and playing head games with her, Ragyo just forces Ryuuko into Junketsu, effectively making her a weapon whether or not she wants to. What follows is a sequence far more distributing then Ragyo’s actions toward Satsuki in the previous episodes. At first, I was utterly floored by this, just about to the point of heart break, then I realize that what should be heartbreaking, is instead insidious; that early mentions of wedding dress takes on a whole new meaning with this sequence.
In the end, Ryuuko becomes that dark shadow of herself that she dreaded and yet was forced into and Satsuki, either for justice or to save her sister, dons Senketsu and is ready for a rematch long anticipated.
Thus, realignment has occurred and the balance has been restored, it seems. Kill la Kill, you just love playing with the expectations of the audience and just when you think its played out, Kill la Kill comes in and says ‘You can know everything huh?’. Based on the preview, I surmise that the next episode will be a rematch since in terms of open conflict, the two haven’t duked it out since episode 3. Except, the roles are reversed: Ryuuko as the harbringer of the apocalypse and Satsuki as the savior of humanity, ready to do what she must to fend off this otherworldly menace.