A plot summary has already been given in the detail section of the information page so I won't be doing one - it's literally one click away.
Let's split up this review into the five categories as usual:
Story (6/10):
Coming from a studio which participated in the making of the well-known Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and taking a look at the plot synopsis you should've already guessed that you are in for an over-the-top-action feast with almost no brakes on the hype train.
That's only partly true. Kill la Kill does start of at an incredible speed introducing the large cast of characters while not refraining from leaving certain topics untouched such as the meaning of "being human" or even incest.
In comparison to this you have kind of a choring couple of episodes which more or less feel like real filler. Good thing is there is only a couple, like two or three. Also towards the end it tends to drag itself until the end where they can finally reveal the huge cliffhanger leading to the expected climax.
Overall the story is nothing which stands out very much but I doubt it was expected from Kill la Kill in the first place. It's entertaining and suspenseful enough to keep you hooked throughout the ride but is too shallow for anything worthwhile. The plot twists in the middle arc definetly made up for the rather lame beginning.
Art (6/10):
The art in Kill la Kill is heavily double-edged. On the one hand it does fit the shows unrealistic themes and high-octane action quite well but on the other hand it's just ugly with quality being thrown around everywhere, the moving characters just becoming some blurred lines throughout the action scenes or just being animated horribly deformed. At this point I think Trigger just overdid their selves while planning the whole thing, not spreading the budget well enough.
It's certainly not horrible per say but it would have been nice to see Trigger trying to bring it down to a common denominator or at least trying to make use out of the saved budget as they did with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann where the end was unquestionable the best thing the show had to offer in terms of as good as everything.
Sound (8/10):
While Kill la Kill does its best not to be a complete failure regarding art it does excel at sounding absolutely gorgeous. Sawano Hiroyuki (Attack on Titan) did his best to provide fitting bombastic themes (KIRYU HA KILL), slow and sad (Until I die) ones and even attempts in German songwriting with industrial sounds mixed underneath it (Blumenkranz) to set the mood perfectly and to get your blood boiling.
Only towards the end you realized that they were using the same tracks over and over again. This didn't stop me from downloading the whole Original Soundtrack though.
While we are at Kill la Kills best part we also have the outstanding voice acting. The characters have been hit right on the spot with their respective voice actors.
In terms of sound Kill la Kill does as good as everything right. It's a feast for the ears to put it that way.
Character (7/10):
Kill la Kill does offer every kind of character archetype you could imagine. The cast is incredibly huge and it doesn't feel like anyone is left behind in the development. Ryuko is the hot-blooded revenge seeking tomboy, then we have her comedy relief best friend Mako, the weirdo teacher Mikisugi and the evil tyrannical leader of the academy Satsuki who is ruling the school along with the Elite Four; the best trained students with the most powerful armors and the closest relationship to Satsuki.
All in all the cast was very likeable with a few exceptions in my case which only happened to be supporting characters with no big influence.
Enjoyment (8/10):
I would be lying if I said I didn't love watching Kill la Kill.
I got on hyped really, really quickly and found myself even streaming the lastest translated episodes because I couldn't bear waiting any longer - especially in the middle arc, which was fantastic. The action was great, the music was awesome and the characters were likeable as well. The only thing I didn't like that much was the immense fan service. Don't get me wrong: I could tell which way Kill la Kill was aiming for from just a few episodes but come on... Looking back at it, it could have done equally well if not better without nudity flashing everywhere you look. This is just opinion based though. If you have no problem with ecchi-like approaches then you are set and won't mind but there surely are people (like me) who find it rather annoying. It's just supposed to be a "warning" of some sort to this kind of people.
Verdict (7/10*):
Kill la Kill was an action-filled and entertaining watch definitely worth checking out if an absurd level of over-the-topness does not scare you away. Be warned that this show is mostly freaking stupid but equally freaking awesome.
For action-fans Kill la Kill should be a must. If you are looking for a deep storyline with thought-provoking themes you are wrong here. This anime is just made for entertainment. You are better of turning off your brain while seeing Trigger playing around with almost every basic rule of how the world is supposed to work.
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*) Score is not an average
