Looking at Kill la Kill: That One Scene

Examining "the scene" scene which has become a focus for critics engaging in re-evaluating how "problematic" a series Kill la Kill is.
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**Spoilers**
This video contains spoilers for the entirety of Kill la Kill
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Notes:
1. Boyd, 2016. Pg. 62.
2. See for example: Black, 2016; Torres, 2018; Reddit, 2021.
3. Goop, Oct 15 2009.
4. Taylor-Harding, 2018. Pg 112.
5. Chaisiri, 2013.
6. Boyd, 2016. Pg. 73.
7. Kinsella, 2002. Pp. 218-219, 224-26.
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Sources:
Black, Mo. “This Show is Progressive, I Swear! On Kill la Kill”. Moe’s Home For Treatises and Hot Takes. Medium. (July 18, 2019). / this-show-is-progressi... , (accessed February 12, 2021).
Boyd, D. J. (2016), ‘“Nonsensical is our thing!”: Queering fanservice as “Deleuzional” desire-production in Studio Trigger’s Kiru ra Kiru/Kill la Kill’, Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture, 1: 1, pp. 61-83.
Chaisiri, Andy Lee. “Kill la Kill: The Fashion of Fascism” Art-Eater. (November 17, 2013) [Accessed February 12, 2021)
Marshmallowgoop, “Anonymous Asked October 15, 2019.” marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/po... (Accessed March 19, 2021)
Kinsella, Sharon. “What’s Behind the Fetishism of Japanese School Uniforms?” Fashion Theory, Volume 6, Issue 2, pp. 215-238. 2002.
r/killlakill, Reddit. 2021. / kill_la_kill_ryukos_aw... (accessed March 12, 2021)
Taylor-Harding, Rosie. “Caught in couture: Regulating clothing and the body in Kill la Kill.” Law and Justice in Japanese Popular Culture - From Crime Fighting Robots to Duelling Pocket Monsters. Ed. Pearson, A. Giddens, T., & Tranter, K. Routledge, New York, 2018.
Torres, Riane. “My Fave is Problematic: Kill la Kill”. Anime Feminist. (June 22, 2018) www.animefeminist.com/my-fave... (accessed March 13, 2021).
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Music:
Sanctuary Of The Sky Gods by Nathaniel Wyvern is licensed under a Attribution License.
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[@alessandrott7568]

This argument is further consolidated by the very kamui transformation depictions: The girls are first stripped of the basic clothing form of the kamui, then they're weaved together, resulting in that mid-stage cocoon shape. The completion of this "metamorphosis" happens when they ultimately emerge from the cocoon in an overly-evident matured state. There are other possible metaphors and variations to the interpretation presented in the video, but the core is really there. However contentious this show may be by approaching its subjects in such a way, it does it to accomplish a legitimate purpose.

[@StudyofSwords]

Right? That's all I really want to say throughout this entire series, there's more to KlK if you are but willing to take a closer look and not be prescriptivist.

[@Stevem]

The citations and text in this were much improved and i thought the topic discussed was pretty enlightening i remember seeing pbs idea channel going over some of this is the past and their assertions never really seemed right to me

[@StudyofSwords]

As always really appreciate your feedback!

[@Hakaru]

Good analysis. I like that you are using Kill la Kill as a case study for the fallacies that people make when critiquing anime or just media in general. I should probably rewatch Kill la Kill to refresh my memory and maybe engage more with the ongoing discussion.

[@StudyofSwords]

This has been the most organic writing process for any video I've made as of yet, tbh, and the more I started to explore the literature on the series, the more apparent it became that the criticism direct at the series tended to occur along a couple of specific tracks, so it has definitely been worthwhile to actually engage with the criticism, rather than simply ignore it.

[@Dark_Peace]

This was a great vidéo ! Happy 8y Kill la Kill ! I think the show allows to raise a lot of questions about how we critisize a show. Like, plenty of people ignore the context / the symbolism / ...and more. Kill la Kill is truly the opposite of what it's accused to be.

[@StudyofSwords]

It's really disappointing that even after 8 years the "People aren't here for the plot!" argument remains as pervasive as ever. Maybe thing's will have shifted by the 10 year anniversary. Also, glad you enjoyed the video!

[@derpi3438]

I feel like that statement will only get more prevalent as time goes on. I think a good bit of folk tend to just praise something for seeming more "mature"/"darker" on a surface level without thinking a bit more deeply about such things and seeing whether it even does them right or not for example

[@Dark_Peace]

@@derpi3438 I watched this video for KlK's 8th anniversary, and now I got your comment as I am editing a video essay on KlK for its 9th anniv. The stars are aligned.

[@yungchangsta]

This is very well done analysis

[@StudyofSwords]

Thanks. There really is a lot of substance here, it's one of the reasons I started off by addressing the "overthinking" critique.

[@OccuredJakub12]

Thing is, just because the scene can upon review be considered through the lens of a metaphor of menstruation, it will obviously not be considered that by anyone upon first viewing. It's everything in the shot. The framing of the characters, the language used, the fact that Senketsu is male-coded, it's all meant to point the viewers towards a certain interpretation. And there are ways it could have been shot or staged to not be as creepy. It could've been presented more comedicly or have Ryuko retain some level of agency in it, or even make this feel more like a vampire or monster attack than a r**e. I dunno, I actuallty find KLK's use of sexual topics and even themes of sexual assault in the other instances much more appropriate and acceptable and this scene always sticks out like a sore thumb on a rewatch for me. EDIT: Then again, it does go a long way in making us feel the same kind of embarassment and hesitation that Ryuko feels for the first few episodes in wearing Senketsu

[@StudyofSwords]

This is true, but that's the nature of regular patterns of media consumption, something that appeared cut and dry when first experienced, can then appear different when recontextualized in light of the series as a whole. With that said, I do understand that reading and how it's counter intuitive to make the case that it could be read as I do, but between Satsuki's experience, later manifestations of coded/literal SA, I think there's enough textual support present to justify it. Cheers!

[@shirleyrobbins6890]

Kayanna: So what did Senketsu mean by "I don't want to go back to sleep!"?

[@mushymass9716]

This is a very well done analysis, and I congratulate you on your mental chops. However, I have an issue with this take. As you acknowledged in the video you put out before this one, pieces of media do not exist in a vacuum. They exist in relation to other things in the world. This goes for Kill la Kill as much as it goes for any other piece of media. Let's say that you're correct about the Kamui being representative of female sexual awakenings during puberty. Given that this is the case, I have a real issue with the way that female sexuality is portrayed here. The idea that a sexual awakening/initiation into womanhood is somehow involuntary and lonely is pretty horrible if you think about it. Neither Satsuki nor Ryuko go through this experience in what I would consider to be ideal circumstances - in Satsuki's case, she is able to exercise a higher degree of autonomy than Ryuko, but she still has to struggle against her own family to achieve this "awakening" and therefore goes through that crucial time in her life with very little support. Furthermore, being that this is media with a visual element, the imagery is absolutely a part of the message. The reading that the kamui represent female sexual awakening carries the implication that feminine sexuality equates to the "newly-awakened" female being sexually available for male consumption. Everybody understands that the revealing outfits in this show constitute fanservice, which means that the fact that these images will be consumed by horny male audience members is so widely understood that it goes without saying. This fact, coupled with the presentation of the kamui (which effectively cause the female body to be *completely* available for men both in- and out-universe) as a expression of female sexual awakening, ends up saying something quite disturbing about womens' sexuality: That a woman who is "sexually awakened" should express her sexuality by being available for male consumption. Thanks again for this video - It's nice to see a thoughtful critique of the show.

[@StudyofSwords]

Ah, watch the last video in this series "Fanservice as a Weapon", it addresses specifically the male gaze and character subjectivity in KLK.

[@StudyofSwords]

As to the visual metaphor of female sexual awakening, yes there can be element's which are less than desirable - puberty brings with it awkwardness, self awareness of the way you feel and are treated by others in a way you weren't before. And of course for most afab individuals, menstrual cramps, bleeding and other uncomfortable aspects go right along that to compound and already stressful situations. Of course, the fact that neither Ryuko nor Satsuki have any sort of parental support network, or social network (in that Satsuki's position doesn't afford her one, even with her loyal retainers) and Ryuko has up to this point been an orphan and a loner, I think the struggle presented in both cases leverages this. Of course, narratively speaking Ryuko will very soon have that support network and supportive female figures in her life with Mako and her Mom.

[@porky1118]

2:40 You're overthinking this. This was obviously implying sexual assault. Everyone who watches this should get it the first time. Except you're in the target audience (teens) maybe.

[@StudyofSwords]

I obviously disagree, and given how other literal and metaphorical sexual assaults are portrayed in the series, the text bears out this reading.