Ryuko and Inumuta begin their clash, where Inumuta reveals the power of his Ultima Uniform is to analyse Ryuko, and camouflage himself. However, he comes undone when Senketsu stretches himself to cover the entire arena and crush Inumuta. Jakuzure then takes to the battlefield in her tank like uniform, and proceeds to reveal it is capable of flight. She destroys the arena, and it all seems over for Ryuko, until Senketsu further evolves to become capable of flight. The episode ends with an enraged Jakuzure vowing to destroy Ryuko.
WOW. A whole lot happened this week, and I gotta say, this week’s episode was probably my favourite one so far. It combined humour, action, exposition and plot progression all in one very well presented package. The difficulty now is writing a blog post on what happened and trying to dissect what it all means.
Let’s start off with Inumuta and his battle. I found his backstory sequence quite slick and to be my favourite of the Four Deva’s. Much like Sanageyama, Inumuta came to Honnuji to continue to challenge himself. However, unlike previous Deva battles, Inumuta didn’t really gain anything through his loss (other than data). Not only that, but his battle bucked previous trends by being over very quickly. However, I really liked the aesthetic of his transformed suit – including the weird positions he took up – and the Evangelion references present throughout it. His suit design is a shout-out to the test suit worn by Asuka in Evangelion 2.22, Senketsu’s crushing eye move mimicked the angel Sahaquiel, and the displays utilised by Inumuta mirrored those employed by NERV. That was pretty cool.
Speaking of cool, how about the spectators? Mako, Gamagoori and Inumuta were fantastic to watch on the sidelines and had me in stitches. Mako cheering herself on to cheer on Ryuko was just golden, and the interactions between her and Gamagoori were classic, too. My favourite interaction, though, was that between Inumuta and Gamagoori (Sorry, I mean former Disciplinary Chairman). The fact these secondary characters get focus within episodes and such killer dialogue makes me really happy, and is a benefit for the show, because you don’t need Satsuki or Ryuko on-screen to entertain you.
Stealing the show this week, though, was Jakuzure. She enters the arena accompanied by a marching band, and proceeds to show off her custom Deva uniform. In what I regard as the most stylish Deva transformation, Jakuzure reveals that her uniform is a mammoth heart-shaped tank which is also capable of flight. She then proceeds to pummel Ryuko (cheerfully, jauntily and one-sidedly) with accompanied by classical music such as the William Tell Overture Finale, all the while chewing the scenery and providing us with some great reaction images. However, as Senketsu unveils his Gale form, she reveals her true colours; a screaming, furious girl bent on destruction.
Their battle was wonderful to watch, and spectacular to watch. THe fact it was set to classical music only made the recorder missiles and demented faces Jakuzure made all the more delicious. Not only that, but we gained some insight into Jakuzure and Satsuki’s relationship. They’ve been friends since kindergarten, and they vowed to stay friends. Jakuzure even dares to address Satsuki as chan rather than sama. Is this perhaps misguided of her? We’ll have to wait and see.
In terms of plot progression, the biggest thing of interest is the evolution of Senketsu, and Mikisugi’s concern over this. It would appear that Ryuko and Senketsu are headed down the same path as Tsugumu’s old flame at terrifying speed. Satsuki herself has noticed this as well, although I’m not completely sure whether she is aware of the consequences or not. If she is, this Naturals Election could have been orchestrated to fuel Senketsu’s evolution and lead to Ryuko’s destruction. Mikisugi is certainly concerned enough to be asking for Tsugumu’s help, which worries me.
To me, the fact that Ryuko synchronises with Senketsu is very important (as opposed to Satsuki, who overrides Junketsu), and perhaps gives us a clue as to where they are headed. Will the reach the point where Ryuko and Senketsu are no longer individual entities? And could this then lead to Ryuko’s death as her being is consumed to fuel Senketsu?
Obviously, the outcome of this will be explored as the battles continue, but it raises questions as to whether or not Ryuko and Satsuki will actually clash. If they do, I think that could be the thing which leads to over-evolution, if you will, of Senketsu.
Not only that, but we have the introduction of the mysterious Harime Nui next week, who herself could change the course of the story dramatically. Another reference to Satsuki’s mother was again made this week through Inumutas’s backstory. The tower she appeared in episode 6 was emblazoned with Revocs, so this could foreshadow her involvement in the future being greater. No matter what happens, though, Kill la Kill continues to defy my predictions and expectations in a wonderful way.