Time to chime in with my thoughts on it. Not a full-blown review, however, because the series isn't complete as of yet. It is just a collection of my thoughts on the series so far. To provide some insight as to why I consider it a worth-while anime and why it shouldn't be labeled as "fanservice-y piece of ♥♥♥♥".
First off, let me ask you a question - why do you watch anime? What *should* be the main reason as to why you watch anime? "Fun". Yes, to have fun. And this series provides you exactly that – a fun ride.
Whether or not you find this anime enjoyable is entirely up to you. But to label it as just an overrated piece of junk that merely got popular because it panders to the lowest common denominator, ie, the perverted male mind, would do it a rather huge disservice. Which is why I'm writing the following. To address some of the issues and to talk about what the series does right.
-Fanservice and "2deep4u narrative layers incorporating it"-
Yes, Kill la Kill has fan fanservice. There's boobs, butts, a few shots of vaginal areas and scenes containing incest (slightly uncomfortable to watch even for me, tbh). There are even panty-shots, no, correction, 'striped panty' shots thrown in there for those that are into it. There's an extreme amount of blood in quite a few scenes too – none of the above help its case against whatever this series is being labeled as. No one can deny it. It is all there.
And those that try to justify the fanservice by saying "lol you dumbasses trigger only intended for the fanservice-y bits to serve as a narrative device to showcase a deeper layer of narration that deals with women and a bunch of other symbolism that's 2deep4u" are, in my eyes, not exactly correct. Sure, the series DOES seem to possess a few themes and it does serve as a coming-of-age story for the most part as far as the main protagonist Ryuko is concerned – but it frankly doesn't seem like Trigger intended for it to have deep psychological ♥♥♥♥ in it or something that requires deep analysis. They just went ahead and made something they had fun making – a ridiculously over-the-top series with a premise that is far from what you'd see in a regular anime. Which is what makes it fun.
Frankly speaking, the fanservice here doesn't seem all that intrusive and bothersome. This series somehow manages to escape that problem – the main girls do wear extremely skimpy clothes when they fight, yes, but the shots are almost never framed so that they concentrate excessively on the naughty bits of the female characters. Also, because there's always a lot of ♥♥♥♥ going on at any point of time, you don't really have time to concentrate on Ryuko's boobs or Satsuki's butt.
Either way, this is highly subjective. If you ABSOLUTELY can't stand fanservice – this just might not be for you. BUT, if you can bear with it and widen your horizons a bit by trying to look at the larger picture, you'll probably notice that this show does do a lot of things right.
-Art Style-
This isn't your typical anime which utilizes the same old typical 'bishounen male' and 'sexy/busty female' templates that you've probably seen a bazillion times before. It possesses an art style highly reminiscent of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (not surprising) – it is much more cartoon-ish than your average anime. But that isn't a negative. A more loose art style allows for the creators to go absolutely bonkers with whatever it is they are trying to convey with any specific scene in this show. As a result, a lot of cuts are very dramatic and creative – something that wouldn't have been possible (or effective) had they restricted it regular anime art style. It all fits in with the over-the-top vibe of the series and helps create a distinct look which makes it stand out from the crowd.
-Animation-
Decent. Trigger's first series so they're bound by budget constraints and it is visible. They try to restrict a lot of movement when the not-so-important scenes are going on to save funds for blowing on the action sequences. The low-budget scenes can look jarring at times but it is to be expected considering the budget constraints they have. They do try to hide most of it with creative cuts and pretty artwork, though, and it does work for the most part. When they do go all out with the budget, they really do a great job at it. Just goes to show the animation problems aren't due to lack of creative talent but more due to lack of finance.
-Story-
A pretty simple set-up. And a very entertaining story as of yet. There were a few ups and downs between episodes 7 and 15 but the series has managed to be consistently highly entertaining. Do not go into it expecting it to be a deep story and you'll probably have a lot of fun. It starts off with a monster of the week format, goes on with it for a few episodes, and then shifts gears. It is only after episode 12 that some revelations come to light and we come to know more about the big shots. And not before episode 15 does the series start having some serious plot progression. Before episode 15 the series did possess a very chaotic pacing as far as events-per-episode are concerned but the rate of overall plot progression was very slow. Which led some fans to say "You haven't TRULY seen Kill la Kill if you haven't seen past episode 15 yet". And I'm inclined to agree with them to a degree. The series does pick up quite a bit after that. Don't expect a ♥♥♥♥-ton of character development or earth-shattering revelations , though. It is all pretty predictable. What make the things that take place in these episodes so damn effective is the execution – Trigger does an amazing job at showing off predictable events in an unpredictable fashion. They're masters when it comes to it and it makes the recent episodes look really, really good when compared to the episodes that precede them.
-Characters-
They're all fairly good with a decent amount of backstory – a sufficient amount which is JUST right. The characters that stand out are definitely Ryuko, Satsuki and Mako. Former two are the main characters of the series and rivals. They're always at each other's throats – as if fated to be enemies. These two receive the most screen-time. Ryuko, the MC, faces problems like identity crisis and goes berserk a few times. The story is ~apparently~ supposed to be a coming-of-age story so a teenage girl having a lot of mood-swings and being very impulsive in nature probably doesn't seem out-of-character. But she can be annoying to some due to it anyway. I personally found it really annoying when she had an outburst in episode 19. Mostly because she has had similar outbursts not too long ago. But I digress.
Mako, on the other hand, is more of a comedic side-kick than a main character. She is eccentric and hyperactive. Her gags can be hit or miss for people depending on their perspective. Personally found her and her antics highly enjoyable and a breath of fresh air when compared to contemporary sidekicks. There are two more that I would love to talk about but I shall not because they're integral to the plot and disclosing information about them could be considered a spoiler. Anyway, as far as character development is concerned, it is present, yes. But not *too* much of it. Still a few episodes to go so some time left to judge it. There could be a lot of changes (wouldn't be surprised looking at the recent episodes), so yeah.
Also, this series consists of a highly female-oriented cast. The males are present, yeah, but it is the women who possess boobs of steel, strength and ambition to do things their way.
-Soundtrack-
Simply put – it is great. Every track fits. Tracks with vocals like Blumenkranz, Before My Body is Dry, Suck your blood and Till I die stand out. The character themes fit the characters nicely. The BG music does a good job of creating the required atmosphere during any particular scene. 9/10 on this front.
All in all, this is a series worth checking out. Do not expect it to be anything – just judge it for what it is rather than for what it could've been or what you wanted it to be. A series with a good art style and creative yet dramatic cuts, amazing soundtrack, a fun cast and just over-the-top action. Definitely check it out if you're into action anime. Or if you are just looking for an over-the-top series that isn't afraid of doing things that are considered very far-fetched or out-of-the-box.
Overall Rating - 8.6//10. Rounded off to a 9.
