Kill La Kill is on its surface a show about teenagers getting naked and being put into situations that put their bodies on display. With the protagonist getting power from being ogled and leered at. This is an incredibly reactionary and intellectually dishonest analysis of the subject and refuses to actually engage with the fact this show is a direct critique to the way that women, especially teenage women, are sexualised in Japanese media. Any analysis of Kill La Kill that refuses to contend with the fact that the sexualisation of the characters is not only necessary to the plot, but is the entire point of the show doesn’t merit any consideration. That being said, it is incredibly grotesque in the amount of sexualisation that takes place, and I can completely understand if you would be uninterested in watching the show, just know that it is in my opinion worth pushing through the reactionary rejection of nudity and sexualisation to experience a show that deliberately pushes against the way that society sexualises and perverts the sexualised other.
In a truly wonderful breakout series, published on the tightest budget known to man, Studio Trigger manages to tell what I would argue is one of their most compelling stories ever. Hot on the heels of animating the amazingly gnostic Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and having split from Gainax, Kill La Kill places female liberation, body positivity, fashion and fascism to a head in this beautifully animated epic that draws on the image of the indomitable willpower of humanity to push against the oppressive forces that work to liberate people from the chains of morality. Wearing everything it has to say about class and power on its sleeve, Kill La Kill crafts a story that I truly believe deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest pieces of animated art ever.
The animation is also incredibly well done, making use of an incredibly stylistic art style to squeeze the most out of their incredibly limited budget. This stylisation and artistic direction leads to an incredibly visually striking work that stands out and catches the eye. This art direction is coupled with the occasional incredibly technically astounding piece of animation that stands out as some of the most impressive things I have seen to date.
All in all Kill La kill is a show that is worth pushing through that uncomfortable reaction you get to sexualisation to experience the art and storytelling that are incredibly compelling, and I highly recommend it