KILL LA KILL's Ending is Limp, Anemic and... Meaningless?

Wow. The show couldn’t even commit to a meaningful death scene in its last
episode. Again, there are a number of small instances in this episode which
demonstrate what’s been wrong with the show in broader strokes…

INDUCTIVE EXAMPLE #1: Gamagoori shaking off his dramatic sacrifice like
a corpse sitting up before the theater lights dim in a high school play? That’s
more or less what every deadly battle in this show has been like....

INDUCTIVE EXAMPLE #2: the show
cuing all of its theme songs, repeatedly, throughout this episode. They lose any
impact when you play them that many times - - and that can be said for pretty
much all the cool shit in about this show...

INDUCTIVE EXAMPLE #3: Ryuko pointing out that Ragyo’s monologues are
long-winded and nonsensical. Hanging a lampshade on something doesn’t make its
inclusion OK; it just makes it clear that even the show’s crew knows that a lot of on-screen
content isn’t actually working...

== TEASER ==

When I walked away from GURREN LAGANN, I felt good. The story had
successfully conveyed a message of self-belief and positive thinking with
characters you cared about. The heroes grew as people. Losses were permanent.
The themes were poignant and real.

As much I loved spectacle, I did nothing but yawn when Ryuko went
Super-Saiyan (neglecting , no less) and battled Starship Ragyo across the cosmos. There was
nothing to it. She wasn’t coming to an emotional breakthrough. She wasn’t making
some thematic point. She wasn’t even cracking a pointed satirical joke. I was
just a lot of colorful lines on paper.

Again, I wouldn’t dismiss KILL LA KILL as merely eye candy. It feels
more like watching a particularly creative animation studio’s demo reel. I’ve
seen that they have plenty of ideas, and they’ve got serious style, and there’s
a ton of personality to their characters, and there’s lively performative
energy to their energy to their work. That's all great.

Now, could they please tell me an actual story next time?

Watch "Past
the Infinite Darkness" and decide for yourself, then read my comments
about the previous episode.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk