One of the first times a cosplayer dressed up as Kill La Kill’s main character, Ryuko Matoi, it resulted in a call to the police. And that’s just one of the sexy outfits in Kill La Kill.
I didn’t plan to watch this show. One look at Ryuko’s revealing getup instantly let me know that not only are women not its target audience, but possibly unwelcome onlookers. But when none of my friends were dropping the show, I realized I’d judged it too soon.
It’s not that nobody has a problem with the clothes of Kill La Kill. It’s that the issues around the controversial clothing, as Emily said best, become an acknowledged part of the plot.
The title of Kill La Kill comes from the Japanese “kiru,” which can either mean “to cut,” or “to put on (wear).” It’s a graphic-novel stylized universe where clothing grants wearers unthinkable strength. As a result, different qualities of clothing (ranked as no star, 1 star, and higher), are restricted by the high school’s totalitarian ruler (and Ryuko’s main rival), Satsuki.
Ryuko dodges this hierarchy by uncovering a kamui, the most powerful type of clothing in existence, in her late father’s basement. The kamui comes with one caveat: it needs to drink her blood to transform into battle gear—you know, the publicly indecent form.
At first, Ryuko finds her outfit aggressively humiliating, but a speech from Satsuki seems to change her mind: “Exhibitionist? Nonsense! This is the form in which a kamui is able to unleash the most power! The fact that you are embarrassed by the values of the masses only proves how small you are!” (Of course, this is just too convenient, like when Power Girl explains an alleged plot-based reason for her cleavage bearing costume.)
Once in costume, Ryuko’s physics-free, high energy fighting style takes Gurren Lagann to the next logical level. And it’s truly entertaining. Firebrand Ryuko, formidable Satsuki, and Ryuko’s high-energy best friend and cheerleader, Mako, show that female characters can still be strong and nuanced and likeable even if they were designed with the male gaze in mind.
But are those outfits really necessary?
I loved this loldwell comic above because it really encompasses just how much of a barrier fan service is to the chance of anime ever getting accepted as a legitimate art form. When the New York Times reviewed Space Dandy, one of the first things they pointed out was the excessive focus on women’s breasts and butts. An anime can have lots of saving graces, sure, but the question most people are going to have after watching an episode is indeed something like, “Where are everyone’s clothes?”
Kill La Kill wanted to make a point about clothes, I get that. I think that also could have been done without such scanty coverings. I think the real reason here is the creators’ unnecessary concerns about whether men would watch a show about a tough gal like Ryuko.
Ryuko’s clothes say, “She may be tough, but the viewer is the one who’s really in charge.” And that’s something Kill La Kill could do without.
23 Comments.
Why the “fan-service” in KlK is not just some basic fan-service :
http://i.imgur.com/DpG1VIk.jpg
Thanks @Chaos. I mean, I get the fan service is there for a reason, but people still looked at me funny when I opened that link at the public library just now! We need to realize that the depth we glean from anime isn’t always apparent to outsiders given that there are BOOBS AND BUTTS EVERYWHERE
Especially considering that most people’s knee jerk reaction is going to be “disgusting” because they’re likely only going to see a screen shot, which is, most importantly, out of context. And since most everyman will see that out of context, he/she will most likely dismiss it and never want to watch it.
Same for Gurren Lagann with Yoko, and she’s less offensive than Ryuko/Satsuki’s kamui outfits.
I guess it ends up being a problem no matter what, though, because it already is, historically, a defining trait of the medium. Personally I think Imaishi here is being a bit meta while having fun – I say this based on their previous work on Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, which featured female characters who were at the same time showed in sexy poses (and so purposefully that the art style explicitly switched from “Powerpuff Girls” to “anime soft porn” in the instant they transformed) and so absolutely off-putting for the standard model of female attractiveness usually proposed in anime – one of shyness, submission, and purity. While the main character in P&SwG was a badass nimphomaniac. Unsurprisingly, many typical otakus absolutely hated the show.
The issue is that, even being meta and commenting about anime, it’s still going to be in there. Only an anime that completely breaks the conventions of its genre could shake it off altogether. I can think of few of those. Most relevantly, from this last year, Shin Sekai Yori and Aku no Hana, both of which dealt with sexual themes in an absolutely non fanservicey way… and both of which, sadly, were commercial failures.
Could be that Hayao Miyazaki has a point when he says that what’s killing the anime industry is that it’s now dominated by anime fans. As ridiculous as it sounds, it’s true in the sense that anime is becoming more and more self-referential. Space Dandy is especially glaring an example as it was marketed almost more to Western countries than to Japan, AND STILL it couldn’t let go of the (frankly pointless, in its case) fanservice elements.
@Chaos: Thank you for a very interesting infographic. A lot of it being spot on when it comes to puberty and the male view. Not all males naturally, but certainly a good deal of them.
What Lauren said above reminds me that this is an anime I haven’t mentioned to anyone that it’s a must see aside from Lauren. I’d certainly never use it as an example of something to check out for non-anime viewers. I’ve had more than a few people give me weird looks when I mention I watch anime. Every time it comes down to anime being ‘perverted.’ Hard to convince someone otherwise or get them to sit down and watch some of a series even lacking in fan service.
This was something I wrote as part of a comment on the recent ‘Space Dandy’ article:
While ‘Kill La Kill’ can said to be full of fan service, I think they also, at times, do a nice job of mocking it through the actions of the pitifully lecherous male members (including the dog) of the Mankanshoku family. Personally, I see that as saying, “Look? Look!? That’s what people who *need* fan service look like when they get it or think they are about to get it.”
I tend to agree.
While the particular moment you mention in the show does seem to support a kind of embrace of sexuality, KlK undermines the gravity of its own message by inserting copious amounts of fanservice that most ordinary people will see as just being there for titillation.
I really like the show, but it’s pretty clear who the fanservice is for, and, again, this puts an artificial ceiling on how seriously folks will take it.
“the show does seem to support a kind of embrace of sexuality, KlK undermines the gravity of its own message by inserting copious amounts of fanservice that most ordinary people will see as just being there for titillation.”
-flawless.
when i hear ppl say how “empowering” naked characters are, my first response is to laugh so i won’t cry.
> “when i hear ppl say how “empowering” naked characters are, my first response is to laugh so i won’t cry.
spot on. Why can’t there be female empowerment WITHOUT gratuitous nudity, anime? The justification is nothing but really messed up, circular reasoning.
It’s not women making this cartoon.
When I started watching it, I snobbed it as simply sexist. Now I’m watching it and have fun; well, when the fanservice comes up I don’t jump from joy (I avoid ecchi shows like the vampires the garlic) but I overlook it. I might digress, though.
What needs to be said is although your argument makes sense, it doesn’t necessarily stand through a thorough inspection. The same stuff were said for comics and much earlier for cinematography in general. Just because the mainstream caters to the mass that wants simple entertainment (and that isn’t necessarily bad per se- it’s just another need) that doesn’t mean a medium has only that to offer. Therefore it’s the ones superficially looking at the medium who are at fault of dismissing it and not what creators make (people are allowed to make what they like and not what will establish a medium as academic-look-worthy) or what the media promote (which pick the issues which will give them popularity).
Forgot to mention that the title of the post is imho misleading as we see men getting powers through costumes, too, and Satsuki is formidable from a young age in just her sailor fuku. Mako though a side character sure, is a strong female and this isn’t judged just by combat abilities.
@Ayame, I twisted the gender of the expression for the title because I thought it fit an anime with a female protagonist. But yes, you have a great point – Gamagori’s costume is also pretty outrageous in an uncomfortably sexual way!
I know that several people in my Twitter feed watch and enjoy Kill la Kill, but I hadn’t done much research on it, except perhaps to read a summary. When described here (and in that link from ChaosLink), I can see its merits. I love the comic you included, but I think this particular anime fan will be getting her entertainment elsewhere. My annoyance with the lack of clothing would distract me from the story.
I nodded at your note of fan service as a barrier to anime being seen as an art form. Same goes for live action films and TV series. Not every title is a masterpiece, but they’re still dynamic art forms with a lot of potential. That’s something that can be difficult to get across to people, especially if all they see is an unfortunate screenshot from Kill la Kill (or any of a number of others). When I come across doubters, I like to make comparisons to Hollywood films, since most people watch movies, even though they dislike the morals presented in many of them.
I feel the show is something that older otaku who love fanservice would appreciate. Even if you get past the fanservice, Kill la Kill has a ton of references to various pop culture elements, both Western and Eastern.
It can be a bit much for the viewer.
My perspective of Matoi Ryuuko is that she’s *not* tough.
That’s what makes her a hero.
Satsuki is tough – she’s ambitious, a born leader, suitable to conquer Japan. When Satsuki wins a fight, it’s what we ought to expect.
Ryuuko is NOT tough. Ryuuko is a teenaged girl. She has no desire to fight; her back is to the wall because she saw her father bleed out in front of her, and no human is going to take care of her.
Her only reliable ally is a sentient garment and her sidekick is too stupid to live without plot armor.
Ryuuko fights because she’s in a difficult situation. She has a choice between taking revenge for her father’s death, or laying down to die. She chose revenge.
But she’s not tough. She’s very, very weak and vulnerable. If she were tough I wouldn’t bother to watch her. Because she’s weak, she is brave, because courage is attacking even though you know you’re weak. If she were tough, she would just be another bully.
I am so confused by your definition of “weak.” A weak character would simply run away, forget about vengeance and choose to save herself. Remember that Satsuki isn’t after Ryuko, Ryuko actively came after Satsuki, BEFORE she even had any super powers. She leapt into battle the very first time she met Satsuki and was thoroughly beaten, only to come back again and again. She could have given up at any time, but she faced each new obstacle without a second thought because she’s tough. She may be vulnerable at times but she is anything but weak.
It is also quite possible to be tough and still have compassion. It’s her kindness that prevents her from being a “bully” and abusing her power, not weakness.
I love the show but the constant rape themes (with the exeption of what happened with Satsooki and her mother because that’s important to her character) and fetishizing shame with Ryuuko was unforgivable and I’m SO glad that it’s toned down since the earlier episodes.
The problem here is, partly, western culture. Sexuality and sensuality are neurotic, paranoid topics. It says a lot that the closer to America you get, the more OK it is to show gratuitous gore and violence, but it becomes more forbidden to highlight bare female skin. While in other countries the opposite is true – the sensuality of the human body is less taboo, but violence is seen as grotesque.
For Kill La Kill, it suffers a special place in the hierarchy. It’s a bit like dealing with that kind of person who will call you a racist if you talk -about- racism itself. To see or hear about the taboo item is to be “infected” by it. To run with the analogy, Kill La Kill must cope with deconstructing fan-service and manipulation of sexuality in a world where a story that bluntly explores anti-semitism is accused of encouraging the same thing it criticizes -merely by displaying examples of that thing within the story’s context-.
Because people are so uptight then, about seeing the boobies and watching insinuations of rape when Ragyo feels someone up, they are incapable of thinking about why such images are being displayed. They fall back on the quickest explanation that justifies their discomfort and reassures them their avoidant reaction is correct: this must be sleeze! Get it away!
The funny thing is, I have never once felt that KIK is actually trying to pander to heavy-breathing male otaku when watching Ragyo act ridiculous in the nude. The show is -trying- to make people uncomfortable, almost trying to offend as it were (and in that sense, it is succeeding at least).
Hell dude, im An Otaku and im asking “Why Does’t She have pants more or less clothes on!?
jus a bunch perverts jerking off at half naked young school girls immortalized in manga, over use of it throws me wayyyy off. seriously i really want ot enjoy the show but just can’t
I know this is kinda old but…
You made a pretty glaring error there. The cosplayer was *not* arrested and was *not* in violation of any Singapore laws. The older woman who called the police was attending a religious convention being held in the exact same venue, and was apparently offended by her attire, a.k.a. slut-shaming.
Seriously, who schedules an anime con and a religious con in the same building?
@ipatrol:disqus I never said the cosplayer was arrested. This is mega old, but I went ahead and massaged the wording.
“Ryuko’s clothes say, “She may be tough, but the viewer is the one who’s really in charge.””
THIS.
I have no problem with fan service whatsoever. I’m an adult, straight male, and like all adults, female or male, I am turned on on some level by the sight of attractive people – yes, even the animated ones. It may be objectification, but objectifying someone is the first law of attraction. We don’t look at someone attractive and wonder how intellectual they are, because we couldn’t possibly know that. We instantly objectify the individual – any adult individual – we meet, because that is the natural first step of attraction, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
And women constantly, openly, do this, all the time. I’ve worked in environments where women constantly talk to one another about how attractive or ugly a male coworker is, and laugh about it, even when that coworker is in earshot of the conversation. Men, of course, do it too, but, from my experience, less openly. And of course it happens all the time on television. Women shamelessly, constantly talk about how “Hot” or “Steamy” a male entertainer is, while men are too afraid of getting chastised if they were to call a woman just that, and so try to be as PC as they can. It’s a double standard.
If women can get turned on by male fantasy flicks, like Magic Mike, men should have the right to at least comment on how hot and sexy an animated character, like Saysuki is in her near naked Kamui.
What’s good for the gander, should be good for the goose.