History Characters / KillLaKillRyukoMatoi

[[Characters/KillLaKillMainCharacters Main Characters]] ('''Ryuko Matoi''' - [[Characters/KillLaKillSatsukiKiryuin Satsuki Kiryuin]]) | [[Characters/KillLaKillEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/KillLaKillMankanshokuFamily Mankanshoku Family]] | [[Characters/KillLaKillClubPresidentsAndOtherStudents Club Presidents and Other Students]] | [[Characters/KillLaKillNudistBeach Nudist Beach]] | [[Characters/KillLaKillKiryuinConglomerate Kiryuin Conglomerate]] ([[Characters/KillLaKillNuiHarime Nui Harime]])]]-]]]

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AmiKoshimizu ([[UsefulNotes/JapaneseLanguage Japanese]]), Creator/EricaMendez ([[UsefulNotes/AmericanEnglish English]]), Creator/LucreziaMarricchi ([[UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} Italian]])

* FatalFlaw:
** Being that her initial motivation was revenge for her father's death, wrath is a major one. This first comes to bite her during Nui Harime's introduction, when the revelation that she killed her father causes her to overexert Senketsu's power to try and fight her. This results in her being reduced to a mindless monstrosity, attacking both friend and foe, even causing Mikitsugi and Tsumugu to consider killing her until Mako manages to snap her out of it.

* GutturalGrowler: Like the mysterious and dangerous loner she is, her voice is much deeper than most females in the show and it displays how solumn and serious she is. In the first episode we know there's more than meets the eyes just by hearing her talk, even before she [[CurbStompBattle pounds the crap out of Mataro and his gang]]. Notably, when Ragyo is speaking to her in the LotusEaterMachine, her voice is a lot less scratchy.

* DualWield: In episode 22, Ryuko takes both halves of the Rending Scissors from Nui. Afterward, Ryuko [[JustForPun disarms]] Nui.

* MagicalGirlWarrior: [[WidgetSeries In the context of this series]], Ryuko counts. She has the ability to transform into what is essentially a [[{{Stripperiffic}} "pretty-clothed"]] superhero, is accompanied by a [[MentorMascot non-human adviser]], and fights bad guys using the powers granted to her by her transformation.

* OnlySaneWoman: The only character who notices the total absurdity of [[WidgetSeries everything that ever happens in Honnouji]], which is only natural, since she doesn't live there. In the beginning, when she is determined to get her revenge and uninterested in making friends, this isolates her from the hijinks-causing people around her. As the series goes on, she learns to appreciate the weirdness and grow as a person, eventually thanking the "batshit crazy" people who care about her she has around her. By the end, the annoyance she felt to it all has been replaced with a soft smile that appears whenever Mako does something wacky.

* SayMyName: Screaming/snarling Satsuki's name is practically her CatchPhrase for the first half of the series. Then, in the finale, [[TearJerker/KillLaKill "SENKETSUUUUUUUU!!!"]]

* GaggingOnYourWords: After being enemies with Satsuki for most of the show, [[spoiler:they discover that they are sisters and form an alliance against their mother Ragyo. As they are about to enter battle together, Ryuko tries to call Satsuki "nee-san" (big sister) but can only bring herself to say, "N...n..." Satsuki says that Ryuko doesn't need to force herself to act like they are sisters, because their combined blood is flowing through Junketsu and that's enough.]]

* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: Shortly after Ragyo gave birth to her second daughter, she tried to implant her with Life Fibers. When this seemingly killed her, Ragyo threw her down a garbage chute. However, her husband Soichiro secretly rescued the child and raised her. As a result, Ragyo believed her second daughter to be dead for 17 years until she ripped out Ryuko's heart during their battle at Honnouji Academy, revealing her to be made of Life Fibers on the inside.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Via the romaji of her name, one would either put a circumflex over the "u" in her given name or write it as "Ryuuko". Few English subs manage to do the latter, however. The same is true of her real last name, which is often written "Kiryuin" but with romaji indicating a circumflex or two u's.

* SmartJerkAndNiceMoron: The Smart Jerk to Mako's Nice Moron. Ryuko is a cunning, HotBlooded BloodKnight and AntiHero. Mako is quite airheaded and simple-minded but is also loyal and compassionate to a fault and serves as Ryuko's MoralityPet.

* PseudoRomanticFriendship: She and Mako share a very close relationship with many ambiguous romantic gestures. This is seen when Mako feeds her croquet, takes every chance she can to try and jump into hugging Ryuko and nosebleeding during her more... revealing fights. The ambiguity really gets stretched thin when Mako asks her out in the finale.

** Her mother is a darker example but Ragyo shows that AuthorityEqualsAsskicking by giving it to Satsuki in a matter of moments in her intro fight and proceeds to plunge the world into darkness using the Life Fibers she has sworn allegiance to.

* TheHeroine: While a good person, she starts out as an AntiHero whose goal is revenge, but finally she becomes an actual heroine who fights for the sake of humanity.

* NinetiesAntiHero: Subverted. While Ryuko is a tough talker and [[JapaneseDelinquents dresses like a delinquent]], she's a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold good person at heart]]. Throughout the series, she frequently gives warnings to anyone who pisses her off, but many times it's comical in nature, such as giving empty threats to [[ChivalrousPervert Aikuro]] and doesn't seem to enjoy violence beyond needing to fight in order to get the answers she wants. Also, while she is at first adamant about murdering her father's killer in vengeance, she ends the series with absolutely no deaths on her hands.

* AntiHero: UnscrupulousHero -> PragmaticHero. While she is a good person at heart, her goals and motivation have little to do with heroism. She is a deeply scarred, aggressive girl who will not sacrifice her own goals for the sake of others, which at the beginning, are limited to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge avenging her father]]. As she gets closer to Mako and the Mankanshokus she becomes interested in helping them but she isn't interested in helping Nudist Beach, who are trying to save the world unless their goals happen to align. Her butting heads with them even leads to her and [[HeroAntagonist Tsumugu]] trying to kill each other. The more heroic part of her character starts to show when she finally accepts her responsibility to help mankind and does everything in her power to save the world and even forgives Satsuki and Ragyo.

* BadassAdorable: She's a high schooler going up against an entire regime of empowered enemies, all of which she can take on through [[{{Determinator}} willpower]] alone. Having a SailorFuku PoweredArmor also helps.

* FreudianExcuse: While Mikisugi sums up her attitude as the result of AgeAppropriateAngst, there's no denying that Isshin's ParentalAbandonment is a major reason why she acts so prickly. Judging by her interactions with Mako and her family, Ryuko could've been a full-on NiceGirl if she was shown more familial love as a child.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's an aloof drifter with a serious vengeful streak to be sure, but she's also one of the kindest students in the school and is always willing to lend a helping hand, so long as no one tries to peep on her. In the first episode, she seems to find Mako's friendliness to be annoying, commenting that she's crazy the first time she meets her and dodging Mako's attempt at a hug on their first day of school together. Despite this, as soon as the Elite Four capture Mako and threaten her life, the first thing Ryuko does upon returning is to make sure to save her before turning to fight Fukuroda.

* ContraltoOfDanger: Ryuko is a badass who doesn't seem interested in following gender stereotypes. Accordingly, her voice is very deep and serious, which suits her as an ActionGirl who kicks ass in almost any fight she's put in.

* BareYourMidriff: Exaggerated, after losing her first uniform. Everything else she wears always exposes her stomach, except when wearing Junketsu, in episode 20 and 21. This is particularly noted with the heavily skin-exposing Senkestu and becomes part of a PlotPoint when it's revealed that minimizing the amount of skin covered by Life Fiber clothing hinders their ability to take control of their victims' minds.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: Senketsu's base form barely covers anything. This is subverted when she wears Junketsu post-FaceHeelTurn, which is the most modest Kamui transformation yet.

* InformedAttribute: Could turn into InformedAttractiveness if you believe BuxomIsBetter. Mako, while giving her a pep talk, passionately proclaimed that Ryuko's boobs were bigger than Satsuki's, and mentioning how everyone in her family thinks she has a great rack. Now although few can say that Ryuko doesn't have a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure lovely figure]] and an [[HiddenBuxom above-average chest]], that she is more endowed than Satsuki is something we can only take on Mako's word and her family (sans mother) constantly peeping on her.

-->'''Ryuko:''' That's why I chopped ‘em off, dipshit.”

** Of the MagicalGirl type. True to the form, Ryuko goes through a fanservice-laden sequence as Senktesu takes his combat (and more revealing) form. Once she gets the [[TrickedOutGloves crimson glove]] from Mikisugi, it becomes her transformation gesture as she uses it to draw blood to power Senkestu. All of this is complete with {{Gainaxing}} and some really trippy background.

Our main heroine, a wandering transfer student who comes to Honnouji Academy in search of the truth behind her father's murder. Her investigation sends her on a collision course with the academy's StudentCouncilPresident, Satsuki Kiryuin, whom she thinks has the answers she seeks. Her only clue is also her WeaponOfChoice, a giant red Scissor Blade left behind by the killer.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AmiKoshimizu ([[UsefulNotes/JapaneseLanguage Japanese]]), Creator/EricaMendez ([[UsefulNotes/AmericanEnglish English]]), Lucrezia Maricchi ([[UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} Italian]])

* ShesGotLegs: Accentuated by her skirt, which fits into the {{Stripperific}} outfit she has to accept having to wear so that she can fully activate Senketsu's powers.