Anime / Kill la Kill

Kill, or be killed!

"Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! Those are the facts of this world, and you will all surrender to them, you pigs in human clothing!"

— Satsuki Kiryuin, "If Only I Had Thorns Like a Thistle"

Kill la Kill (キルラキル)^note A pun based off several readings of the word "kiru", which can mean 'to wear (clothes)' (着る), 'to cut' (切る), 'to kill a person' (斬る), and the English word 'kill' (キル). Loosely translated, the title could be read as Dressed to Kill. is a 2013 anime produced by Studio TRIGGER. A relatively new studio's first television production wouldn't normally raise too many eyebrows when announced... unless said studio happened to be made up of ex-Studio Gainax and Studio 4°C members, and the production's director, writer, and lead character designer also worked together on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and a composer who did the music for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Attack on Titan.

Kill la Kill was also heavily influenced by the 1980s comedy/battle seinen anime film Project A-Ko, which featured almost identical character dynamics and types amongst its main female protagonists, and a similar main conflict. It was also heavily influenced by Go Nagai works like Cutey Honey and Kekko Kamen, with Ryuko having a similar origin story to Honey. Kill la Kill was originally conceived as a manga focused entirely on battle scenes, but it shifted during production to become more character-focused.

Ryuko Matoi is a New Transfer Student at Honnouji Academy, a high school ruled with an iron fist by president Satsuki Kiryuin and her Absurdly Powerful Student Council, which in turn has power over the city it is located in. Satsuki maintains absolute control over the school using Goku Uniforms, which grant supernatural strength to their wearer and are distributed only to her most loyal students.

When Ryuko shows up in search of her father's murderer, she immediately suspects that Satsuki knows something and declares war on her. With the aid of a sentient uniform called Senketsu and a red half-scissor blade that can destroy Goku Uniforms, Ryuko fights to avenge her father and take down Honnouji Academy in the process while learning more about the mysterious Life Fibers woven into the Goku Uniforms that lend such power to the people who wear them, and their origins.

Part of the Fall 2013 season, the series premiered on October 3, 2013 and ended on March 27, 2014, with an OVA released on September 3, 2014. It was simulcast with English subs on Daisuki,^note also with German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese subs, available for all users an hour after Japan broadcast, Crunchyroll, Wakanim,^note In the UK and France, Hulu, and Aniplex Channel. It was one of the most requested shows for Toonami on [adult swim], which aired the series from February 7, 2015 to August 1, 2015, before being replaced by a similarly-named-but-not-related show.

All tropes related to individual characters belong on the character sheets, references to other works can be found in the Shout Out page. And, since the show is just that good, its Trivia and Meme pages have been made. Also check out the Recap page, which is in need of more work.

On June 16, 2018, Arc System Works announced a video game adaptation of the series, titled Kill la Kill-If, for a 2019 release on the PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Other similar anime shows include Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, this show's spiritual predecessor, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, which similarly has women being powered up by their clothing and was also made by the same people, Promare, its Spiritual Successor, Puella Magi Madoka Magica its Spiritual Antithesis and Keijo!!!!!!!!, a similar Affectionate Parody of the Ecchi genre only done with the concept of sports anime rather than Magical Girls.

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Late-Arrival Spoiler Warning: Kill la Kill was very popular on the Internet during its original broadcast in Japan. It appeared on sites like 4chan's anime boards, much like its spiritual predecessor, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which this warning is borrowed from. Most of the spoilers below are marked, but a number of them are not, and in a show where plot twists come right out of nowhere, this is very dangerous. As shown above, the anime is able to be viewed legally in North America, both subbed and dubbed in English. It is highly recommended that you view this show at least halfway through before venturing into the folders. Please self-advise.

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EXAMPLE INDEX, MASTER LIST OF TROPES!

A

• Ability Mixing: During her battle with Junketsu Ryuko, Satsuki combines Senketsu Senjin and Senketsu Shippu to try and turn the battle in her favor. Later, Ryuko and Satsuki combine the forms against their mother, Ragyo.
• Abnormal Ammo: Taken to its extreme. Name it, and it's almost certain that it will be weaponized at some point:
  • Tsumugu's weapons of choice are sewing machine guns. They fire acupuncture needles that can disrupt Life Fibers, or cure the ills of people.
  • Being a Merchant City, the Osakan students use money as their ammunition.
  • There's the Disciplinary Committee's iron clad rulebook, capable of destroying a tank when thrown at it.
• Absurdly Divided School: In Honnouji Academy, the students are not divided by cliques or clubs, but by star level, from the President of the Absurdly Powerful Student Council and her four 3-star generals to the pathetic no stars that make up the general population. A student's star level dictates what resources they and their families have access to. Upward mobility is possible, but grueling and, unless you can come up with an unique and new school club of your own, requires replacing someone else to get past 1-star.
• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Exaggerated. They rule over the school literally like a totalitarian regime. They expect total obedience from the normal students and routinely execute rule breakers. They also appear to be capable of annexing other schools. What's more is that they have full control of the city surrounding the school; a student and their family's quality of life depends on how well they fare in school, and if they're expelled, they lose their home as well. And because Satsuki's mother owns the school, the faculty can't really do much about it. During the Tri-City Schools Raid Battlefield Trip, it turns out that many high schools in Kansai are militarized.
• Academy of Adventure: Honnouji Academy. In the "everyone's trying to kill you" kinda way.
• Achievements in Ignorance: Satsuki first puts on her kamui in order to counter Ryuko, reasoning that she can control it if Ryuko can. In fact, both Ryuko and Senketsu are unusual and have a special ability to work together. Not knowing this, Satsuki succeeds in dominating Junketsu through force of will.
• Achilles' Heel: Goku uniforms have banshi, a thread inside that holds it all together, and cutting this banshi immediately unravels the uniform. As Senketsu demonstrates however, it is possible for a uniform to possess multiple banshis, so cutting just one won't cut it.
• Act of True Love:
  • Mako does several of these for Ryuko, usually in the form of a Cooldown Hug.
  • Senketsu sacrifices himself to protect Ryuko.
  • Gamagoori takes a sword in the gut for Mako.
  • The Elite Four would do anything for Satsuki.
  • Satsuki defies the most powerful woman in the world to avenge her father and sister, but, much more touchingly, runs to catch her little sister falling from space, screaming her name with no restraint or shame.
• Action Mom:
  • This mom here is relaying military intelligence via a field radio and firing a submachine gun, all while breastfeeding her baby.
  • Ragyo Kiryuin, who establishes herself as the most powerful character in the series after Episode 18 when she brutalizes both of her daughters, Satsuki and Ryuko, without breaking a sweat. She manages to rip Junketsu off of Satsuki, and Ryuko's still-beating heart out of her chest.
• Actor Allusion:
  • Uzu Sanageyama is essentially a tribute to his voice actor, who previously played Viral:
    • Sanageyama's middle school shounen-haired scrawny physicality and fashion sense in episode 6 is heavily based on Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho. ...And that goes with their Finishing Move panel shots as well. The growth of Sanageyama from his scrawny Pint-Sized Powerhouse to the tall, handsome, and badass Ace of the Elite Four is pretty much Trigger's way of acknowledging Hiyama's accomplishment as the voice actor risen to represent the Hotblooded Hero characters of their industry.
    • Episode 19 features a scene where Sanageyama faces flying enemies with a damaged Goku uniform, pleading for it to "hold on just a bit longer", in a similar matter to when Viral faced flying enemies with his damaged Gunmen. Additionally, the two scenes featured a near identical shot from above.
    • An ironic backlash was made known when Nui shreds his Goku Uniform:
      Nui: "Go back to being a naked ape!"
  • Even though this was not a direct allusion, Director Imaishi was more than happy to slip in a hidden mirror featuring one of Hiyama's old protagonists through a girl name Ryuko. Which further confirms Sanageyama's Distaff Counterpart stats with Ryuko.
• Adapted Out: The manga adaptation skips over a large portion of the "No Tardies Day" episode by having Ryuko fall asleep on school grounds after her fight with Satsuki. All that's kept in is Gamagoori and Mako's conversation about pajamas.
• Adults Are Useless: Honnouji Academy does have a proper staff, but they're little more than puppets to Satsuki and the Student Council. The principal even acknowledges this.
• Aerith and Bob: First names like Ragyo, Barazo, Satsuki and just about every other character, major or minor have their names written in kanji. Then we have Mako, which is written in katakana. Then there is club president Jack Naito, whose name is also written in Western order.
• Antagonist Title: In bloody spades if you think about it. Space Patrol Luluco reveals a villain named Kill ** Killian, which means that the name of the anime is of the name of a villain from another anime.
• Affectionate Parody: Of the Magical Girl genre and of fighting anime in general. Later in the show it starts moving into Deconstructive Parody and finally into Reconstruction.
• All Cloth Unravels:
  • Nui demonstrates the ability to pull apart whole Goku Uniforms by tugging on the banshi, a uniform's core Life Fiber that keeps the whole thing together.
  • Subverted when she tries it on Senketsu, as he has accumulated several extra Banshi into his design by that point. So Nui cuts him the old-fashioned way.
• All Men Are Perverts:
  • Apparently, all of Honnouji Academy's No-Star male students are this for Ryuko. Whenever male nudity is shown, it's treated either as comedy and/or the other characters are visibly uncomfortable with it. Well, almost.◊
  • Mako's father, brother, and their dog Guts, who constantly spy on Ryuko every time she is on the bathroom and are seen nosebleeding whenever she is naked.
  • When Satsuki first tries Junketsu, a bunch of One-Star male students blush and clap.
• All There in the Manual: A good deal of detail regarding the personal lives of the Elite Four of Honnouji Academy is barely touched upon in the anime itself, and can only be found in the notes accompanying the light novel written for the series, such as the following:
  • Sanageyama's family are well-known konjac producers, him being the second son, and he uses the Honnouji-provided allowance he gets (for being a Three-Star student) to support his old gang back in North Kanto.
  • Gamagoori has a foreign father — possibly an American G.I. stationed at Yokosuka — and his mother is a nurse. He sends the monetary stipend he gets from Honnouji back home to support his mom.
  • Inumuta's father is a policeman, and what's more, deputy director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which is currently investigating the activities of the Kiryuin Conglomerate. Oh, and he apparently framed his father to put a stop to the older Inumuta's investigations, and forced him to resign.^note The alternative was letting the man get assassinated for nosing into Kiryuin secrets.
  • Jakuzure actually found Satsuki boring and uninteresting back when they were kindergartners, but when Satsuki's personality suddenly changed later that year, she decided that she wanted to be close to her. She was also supposed to attend a prestigious middle school for the rich, but passed on this to instead follow Satsuki.
• Alpha Bitch:
  • Honnouji Academy is a whole school of alpha bitches. In an ironic twist, while they are genuinely alpha bitches, they're working for the greater good of stopping Satsuki's Evil Matriarch from literally destroying the world. They get much better after revealing their intentions to save the world, which allows them to talk about their serious issues.
  • Mako has her own episode where she slowly turns into one but stops herself near the end.
  • Nui is a lone-wolf alpha bitch, constantly insulting/degrading the cast while blocking their Power Armor augmented attacks without wearing any power armor herself.
• Always a Bigger Fish:
  • Satsuki acts as Bigger Fish to the thugs in Gamagoori's backstory, using her vastly richer parents' power to nullify theirs.
  • Nui is this to Uzu. Just when Sanageyama, the most grueling opponent Ryuko has faced yet, is about to face off against Ryuko in the King of the Hill Final Battle, she appears and defeats him in seconds.
• Amusing Injuries: All over the place. Exaggerated in Mako's case; by all accounts, she should have died within the first two episodes from the sheer amount of slapstick heaped upon her.
• Ancient Astronauts: The Primordial Life Fiber is an extraterrestrial entity that is responsible for mankind's evolution.
• And Show It to You:
  • Possibly the only variant that's combined with Luke, I Am Your Father. Who does this, you ask? Ragyo to Ryuko.
  • There is also an interesting variation to this when Nui pulls her own heart out, showing Ryuko that she is made out of Life Fibers.
  • In Episode 24, Ragyo pulls her own heart out and commits suicide rather than surrender.
• Animal Motifs:
  • The Elite Four's surnames contain characters meaning "toad", "monkey", "dog", and "snake". They even shout these during the scene where they curbstomp a bunch of COVERS after receiving their final Three-Star Goku Uniforms. A minor one is Mako being associated with bunnies, like on the third BD cover.
  • Satsuki herself tends to be more subtly associated with eagle imagery (see character page for details), while Ryuko is compared occasionally to a dragon or a lone wolf.
• Animated Outtakes: The mistakes made by the English voice actors were turn into animated video, and was shown at Anime Expo.
• Animation Bump: Episode 3's fight scene of Ryuko vs. a Kamui-sporting Satsuki, as well as the transformation scenes in that same episode. Later, when Satsuki makes the final sword-strikes to decapitate her mother in episode 18, the animation is much smoother than anywhere else in the series.
• Anti-School Uniforms Plot: The series prominently features super-powered school uniforms that are used to keep students in line on the punishment of death in order to support the tyrannical rule of Satsuki Kiryuin, the Student Council President. The larger themes of the show are about how clothing is used to enforce conformity. Also exaggerated in that the opponents of the uniforms, mainly Ryuko Matoi and Nudist Beach, protest by fighting fully nude or in barely there uniforms. In addition, the uniforms themselves are the alien Life Fibers looking to assimilate humanity.
• Antimagical Faction: Nudist Beach is an anti-uniform organization of which Aikuro and Tsumugu are members.
• Applied Phlebotinum:
  • The Goku Uniforms are made using a certain percentage of "Life Fibers" that determines their Power Level: One-Star uniforms are 10% Life Fiber, Two-Star uniforms are 20% Life Fiber, Three-Star uniforms are 30% Life Fiber, and so on. Kamui such as the ones worn by Ryuko and Satsuki are made out of 100% Life Fibers.
  • Kamui need to drink the blood of their wearers to function. Being embarrassed due to their Stripperiffic forms or otherwise rejecting them not only makes them less powerful, but also requires them to drink more blood to keep functioning.
• Area of Effect: Ryuko defeats Inumuta when he uses his optical camouflage by turning Senketsu's eye gigantic enough to swat the entire platform ring they are on.
• Armor-Piercing Question: In Episode 21, Satsuki asks one of these to Nui:
  Satsuki: If Ryuko Matoi has truly gone over to your side, body and soul... why haven't you given her your Scissor Blade?
  Nui: *[Speechless for perhaps the first time in the entire series thus far]
• Art Shift:
  • Much like Simon and Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Ryuko is drawn in a much rougher and sketchier style when she gets both really passionate and really powerful (after absorbing Shinra-Koketsu) in the final episode. Closer examination of that scene shows it was drawn using markers and colored pencils instead of digital animation.
  • Barazo's staredown with Gamagoori in Episode 17 has him shift from his normally simplistic design into an extremely detailed and rugged one. It's for less serious reasons.
  • Just about the only sequence in the entire series completely devoid of Deranged Animation is the end credits.
  • A minor example: flashbacks are shown in a 4:3 letterbox style and generally use a uniform color palette.
• Aside Glance: Ryuko throws one at the camera in Episode 1, after Mako makes a scene attempting to get to school on time.
• Assimilation Academy: It's pretty noticeable that all One-Star students look the same and even seem to act like a hive mind. Meanwhile, all No-Star students are different-looking even in crowd scenes. This is even reflected by the city where the slums the No-Star students and their families live in being highly individualistic looking, while the upper city the One-Stars live in being all identical mass family buildings. Interestingly enough, everyone else above the rank of One-Star looks individualistic.
• Assimilation Backfire: Ryuko manages to get inside Ira Gamagoori's Shackle Regalia's first form, to which he responds by strangling her with it. Ryuko then counters by turning Senketsu into a chainsaw to tear and break out.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Invoked in Episode 8. Satsuki makes the students fight for the spots in the student council, calling it "naturals election."
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Mrs. Mankanshoku keeps getting distracted by Mikisugi's shiny purple crotch glow, on several occasions. Her daughter Mako is much worse, getting mostly distracted by food, or falling asleep in the middle of a conversation.
• Atop a Mountain of Corpses: Inverted, then subverted in the second opening. Ryuko, and then Satsuki, explode from a pile of bodies, and then clash on top of a third, much bigger pile. Which then is also blown apart.
• Author Avatar: The DVD special documentary revealed that a few Studio TRIGGER staff members made themselves appear as students within the Honnouji Academy. Special mention goes to the student with those Iron Man and Hulk figurines; he's the avatar of lead character designer, Sushio.
• Awesomeness Is Volatile: When Two-Stars, Three-Stars or Kamui fight, expect things to blow up. Lots and lots of things. Heck, Ryuko's and Satsuki's first major fight in Episode 3 caused a massive explosion simply by glaring at each other. This is lampshaded by the Elite Four (Satsuki's second-in-commands).

B

• Badass Family: The Kiryuiuns, Ragyo and Satsuki. The family more or less rules the entire world and they have more than enough power to maintain it. In Episode 18, Ryuko is revealed to also be a part of the family.
• Badass Normal:
  • Tsumugu, who is able to easily take down Goku Uniform users without wearing any ability-enhancing clothing himself. Even Ryuko wearing Senketsu proved to be no match for him at the time.
  • While nowhere near Nui's level, Sanageyama is able to stand up against attacks that effortlessly destroy One-Star, and likely a few Two-Star, uniform students with just a wooden sword, without his own uniform.
  • In Episode 18, Satsuki's elderly butler Mitsuzo Soroi rescues his wounded nephew and half a dozen other full grown men, carrying them ALL AT ONCE on his back and RUNNING them to safety.
  • In Episode 19, after the Student Council's Goku Uniforms are destroyed, we see that Gamagoori, Jakuzure, and Sanageyama can still hold their own against the Life Fibers even without their regalia enhancements.
  • Further expanded on in Episode 21 where the Elite Four stand up to Ryuko to protect Satsuki. Particularly, Sanageyama goes toe to toe with Ryuko using only knives and Gamagoori manages to immobilize her. Also, Satsuki manages to fight Nui to a standstill without a Kamui.
  • Mako is a very weird example. Although she has zero combat ability and is hyperactive and ditzy, when push comes to shove she will never hesitate to throw herself in the middle of battle just to be by Ryuko's side and support her, and this Undying Loyalty earns her a lot of badass points. She also has the apparent superpower of never being attacked or otherwise interrupted while making her long and bizarre pep talks. Becomes an Empowered Badass Normal while wearing her Two-Star Goku Uniform.
  • In the OVA, Gamagoori, Inumuta, Jakuzure, and Sanageyama, without wearing any enhancing regalia (hell, barely wearing anything at all), are able to easily destroy Life Fiber clones of their younger selves, all of which were using Goku Uniforms in addition to their enhanced abilities as Life Fiber creatures.
• Bait-and-Switch Suicide: After Maiko Ogure's plans are foiled by Ryuko, she attempts to get the last laugh by sending Ryuko and Mako back to the starting point to ensure they are late for school. When Ryuko threatens her, she jumps off the platform as she says death is worth seeing them fail. As she falls though, she reveals she has a parachute along with saying "Just kidding."
• Barbie Doll Anatomy:
  • Every time Ryuko, Satsuki, and the Elite Four transform their uniforms, their nipples and privates are missing.
  • Averted in Episode 17, you can actually see Mataro's private parts (though they're covered in Body Paint).
  • Also averted in that Aikuro has very visible nipples, as do most male members of Nudist Beach. The pink glowing that they do is probably meant to censor them since their groins glow in the exact same way, but it does absolutely nothing and very likely isn't supposed to do anything anyway.
  • The last episode where every character is naked, and only Mataro and Guts have visible privates. Every other character is missing them. It's all smooth, like an orb.
  • Partially averted in the Blu-ray volumes, where male nipples are shown normally, especially in the case of Aikuro, but all female nipples are still MIA.
• Bathos: The makers of the series knew exactly what they were doing when they made a world out of ham and Serious Business. A student is brutally-yet-comically killed for stealing a school uniform, and Mako yells at the top of her lungs about how Ryuko will fail to navigate a gauntlet of deadly traps in time and will have a tardy on her permanent record! There's no Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness here, because the most ridiculous things are taken completely seriously and the most serious things are full of Black Comedy.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Apparently, this is another ability of the Life Fibers. In the final episode, Ryuko and Ragyo's final battle takes place in low-earth-orbit. They both have Life Fibers incorporated into their body, and Life Fibers, being alien beings hurled to earth, probably can survive without oxygen.
• Batman Cold Open: After the OP plays in Episode 5, we cut to the end of a fight Ryuko is having with a school club.
• Beam-O-War: Between Ryuko and Jakuzure, using sound waves. Notably, whenever one of them gets an edge, their Leitmotif's volume swells.
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Jakuzure gets constantly hit with it in her fight against Ryuko. First Senketsu learns how to fly and easily outmaneuvers Jakuzure's flying tank, then Ryuko uses Jakuzure's own flute missile to destroy her tank and finally she hijacks Jakuzure's sound waves and sends them back at her.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished:
  • Averted with extreme prejudice. Ryuko is the most frequent victim, especially in Episode 7 when her whole face gets covered in bruises, but by no means the only one.
  • Part of what makes Episode 18 such a Wham Episode. Satsuki, who at worse got her face dirtied during a fight up until now, gets completely demolished. She gets reduced into a bloodied, battered husk of her former pride and glory.
  • Nui, on the other hand, plays it straight most of the time. It serves effect of emphasizing how powerful she is in comparison to most other characters, and also goes hand in hand with that whole "cutesy" theme she has going on with herself. Notably, when it is averted, it means that she just got taken down a major notch (for example, getting her arms chopped off).
• Best Served Cold: Satsuki took thirteen years to enact her revenge for her father and sister's murder at the hands of Ragyo.
• Beyond the Impossible: When Ryuko wore Junketsu, it was stitched directly into her personal Life Fibers, so ripping it off by force would kill her. Whoops, looks like she just ripped it off, rained an ocean of blood and went back to normal, because she's just that immortal.
• BFS: An oversized half-scissor which can transform into an even bigger sword, and then extend to three times its length. That's "Big Freaking Scissors".
• Big Badass Battle Sequence:
  • Almost the entirety of Episodes 14 and 15.
  • Also the final two episodes, which practically every named character is participating in some way, whether against fighting Ragyo, Nui, the COVERS or just supporting the fighters.
• The Big Bad Shuffle: The series starts off with Student Council President Satsuki Kiryuin as the Big Bad. Halfway through, it's revealed that Satsuki actually been working to fight the real Big Bad, her mother, Ragyo Kiryuin, who is also The Dragon to the Primordial Life Fiber.
• Big Fancy House:
  • The Kiryuin manor, which is shown to be a large facility located separate from Honnou Town that is usually accessed by helicopter. It's staffed by an army of bodyguards and maids.
  • Club presidents are permitted to live in mansions, as shown in Episode 7 when Mako makes a name for herself as Fight Club President.
  • Ryuko's old house is shown to have been a pretty decent sized mansion as well. It's big enough that Mako ask if Ryuko was The Ojou when she first sees it.
• Big Red Button: The SS Naked Sun has one, which Inumuta gets to press in Episode 21. It fires guns the size of rocket boosters.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Kiryuins. There is Ragyo Kiryuin, an abusive Evil Matriarch plotting Take Over the World. Soichiro Kiryuin, a Mad Scientist who experimented on his daughters and encouraged the eldest to kill Ragyo since she was five. Satsuki Kiryuin, who is an Evil Overlord Social Darwinist and has been plotting her mother's death since she was five. And finally the most normal one, Ryuko Matoi, who is just a neglected, friendless and aggressive delinquent, but gets ''better'' as the series progresses. As of Episode 20, it appears that Nui Harime was genetically engineered by Ragyo with Life Fibers making her a "soul sister" of Ryuko. Plus there's the whole "screwed" bit when it comes to Ragyo and Nui. While never directly referred to as such, Senketsu could be considered among the family as well, being the second human Life Fiber hybrid created by Soichirou.
• Bio Punk: Variably sentient and living clothing is used as a means of oppression.
• Bishounen Line: Happens to the Elite Four (minus Inumuta, who's kind of the odd man out) and their Goku Uniforms. At the beginning of the series, Gamagoori's Shackle Regalia and Sanageyama's Blade Regalia transform into large, bulky suits of armor, while Jakuzure's Symphony Regalia in its basic form transforms into a massive flying tank. After the Naturals Election, they are given new, more powerful uniforms that are noticeably smaller and more streamlined than the originals when transformed. And finally, in Episode 23, they are given a THIRD set of further-upgraded Goku Uniforms that are more like skintight bodysuits than armor and are a lot more Stripperific given their time in Nudist Beach, and also leave their faces uncovered, which at least in the case of Gamagoori and Sanageyama is new, as well as most of their torsos.
• Bittersweet Ending: Ragyo is defeated and the world is saved (temporarily) from the Life Fibers, but Senketsu sacrifices himself to save Ryuko from burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: The Life Fibers coming from the Primordial Life Fiber that transform into clothing. Ideally, the Life Fibers would have integrated totally into their host's body, but the majority of lifeforms didn't survive such a symbiosis. The plan to cover them as clothes followed from there.
• Black-and-Gray Morality:
  • Very much so, with morally grey Nudist Beach and Ryuko being unafraid to force students into poverty to get to Satsuki, as well as the mysterious Ragyo.
  • In the last few episodes, the shades become more pronounced, with Ragyo and Nui essentially aiming to destroy all life on the planet with the Life Fibers and COVERS, against the newly reformed Nudist Beach coming to stop them, for the sake of everyone.
  • Ryuko, while she's always been a good person, started out as a Anti-Hero whose goal was Revenge, and this made her Gray, but when she evolves into an actual hero and understands what kind of person she really is, she fights for the greater good and turns White.
• Black Comedy: About to be fried in front of the powerless masses purely for guilt by association? Worry about your uniform turning see-through Sexy Soaked Shirt! Your classmate brutally and publicly killed by Disciplinary Committee? That happens on a regular basis, nothing to be too concerned about. Don't have power? No problem, there is this powerful magical uniform who will gleefully force himself upon you! Are you a doctor but accidentally killed a patient? At least they won't sue!
• Bland-Name Product: There's "Cadiva" chocolate (which sounds like a portmanteau of "Cadbury" and "Godiva", both popular brands of chocolate).
• Blood Magic: Kamui literally consume their wearer's blood, so this is to be expected. Ryuko runs facefirst into this during the first few episodes when still figuring out how, exactly Senketsu works. She loses consciousness (or comes close to losing it) more than once.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Compared to its predecessor Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, the show has far more blood and gore.
• Bloody Hilarious: When a certain someone gets their arms cut off, the blood Just. Keeps. Flowing, to the point where their assistant is trying to speak through a faceful of blood spraying from the stumps.
• Body Horror:
  • One case of when Ryuko's rage completely dominates her mindset in Episode 12. Senketsu transforms into a much more repulsive looking form including bared breasts, but Ryuko's left arm becomes massive, her Scissor Blade merging into her right arm and her head coming out of Senketsu's eye (her left shoulder) with a stump where it should be normally. Not to mention the massive fangs that also cut through her face, the spikes that pierce through her legs, the green skin and her massive vacant eyes save for the right one with a cross-hair in it. Throughout the whole fight, blood is literally spraying out of Ryuko's body by the gallons.
  • Then later, Nui sews Junketsu and Ryuko together so tightly that separating them would kill her. Ryuko does eventually manage to take Junketsu off without dying, but it still hurt like hell and she would probably indeed have died if it weren't for her healing factor from being fused with Life Fibers, when she was a baby.
• Bold Inflation: Big, loud, bright red block capital text introducing everything and everyone.
• Book Ends:
  • Used in the first episode which starts with Gamagoori shrugging off a hit from someone wearing a One-Star uniform before delivering an epic beatdown, followed by Satsuki making a declaration from the top of the school down to the students. The same episode ends with Ryuko no-selling a hit from Takaharu who wears a Two-Star uniform before delivering her own epic beatdown ending with her making a declaration to Satsuki who's in the same place as she was earlier.
  • The beginning of Ryuko and Sanageyama's first and third matches create parallels of their Character Development inbetween their meetings. Sanageyama looking forward to facing Ryuko, Ryuko saying she won't run away from a match with him, Sanageyama saying he admires her fighting spirit in the first and her evolution as a fighter in the third. Their matches also introduce Ragyo beforehand in the first meeting and Nui after the third meeting.
  • In the final episode, Gamagoori wakes up from his coma and comes flying down out of the sky laughing in the same way as he did in Episode 1.
• Boss Rush: The Naturals Election becomes one when the Elite Four propose that they all get to fight Ryuko.
• Boss Subtitles: A particularly ludicrous example; whenever a character is introduced, they have their name displayed on the screen in huge, incredibly dramatic red letters. A character can even be introduced multiple times during the same episode!
• Brainwashed and Crazy:
  • Ragyo's "Mental Refitting" forces special Life Fibres called Marionette Threads into her victim's brain, turning them into mindless drones that do her bidding without question. In Episode 18, we first see this used to enslave the entire One-Star student body of Honnouji Academy. Made even worse when she used it on Ryuko. She managed to fight it off, though, and physically pull the Marionette Threads out of her own brain with her bare hands!
  • This also happens when somebody is "worn by their clothes", and the Life Fibres in their garments forcibly bend the wearer's will to their own. This happens to Ryuko when she's forced to don Junketsu in Episode 20. This instance in particular, however, is nothing short of Mind Rape.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs:
  • Senketsu has two notable alternate forms, "Senketsu Blade" and "Senketsu Gale". In Episode 21, both are used in quick succession, followed by the new form "Blade Gale", with both bladed armor and flight capability. Later, Satsuki adapts these forms for use with Junketsu, resulting in "Junketsu Edge", "Junketsu Whirlwind", and their combination, "Whirlwind Edge".
  • In Episode 8, Gamagoori explains that the punks they're facing are members of the Automotive and Airsoft clubs who joined forces to become the Automotive Airsoft Club.
  • In Episode 4, after Maiko tries on Senketsu:
    "Oh, I can feel it rushing into me! The strength! The power! The strepower!"
• Breather Episode:
  • Episode 8. While everyone else is fighting for election candidacy, Ryuko, the Elite Four, and Mako take time off for their personal business, Ryuko visiting her ruined home and Gamagoori practicing his driving. Each of them also have their share of Flashbacks.
  • After a few brutal, tragic episodes, Episode 14 lightens the mood considerably with a light-hearted class trip, albeit one with massive amounts of explosions.
  • Episode 22 follows a handful of intense, dark episodes, and mostly deals with Satsuki and her allies adjusting to the Naked Sun, hanging out with Ryuko and co.
• Brick Joke: In Episode 23, Sanageyama still cannot drink tea without being hurt by the heat.
• Brought Down to Badass:
  • The Elite Four after their defeat at the hands of Ryuko. Even after losing their Three-Star uniforms, they're able to sit comfortably through all the mayhem in the stands while they crumble around them.
  • Even after their MKII (or in Sanageyama's case, MKIII) Three-Star uniforms break down, the Elite Four still manage to hold their own against COVERS and save the remaining parts of humanity that haven't been consumed by them.
• The Bus Came Back: Mako's Two-Star Uniform makes a comeback for Episode 22. Relatively minor, but every single club president Ryuko fought in Arc 1 returns when they are all saved by the Elite Four ejecting them from the COVERS after they were absorbed offscreen.

C

• Cable-Car Action Sequence: Briefly in episode 4. After being sent back to a point even further back than the beginning of the deadly obstacle course, Ryuko and Mako discover that they conveniently landed next to the cable-car lift that the super-elite students can take directly to school. They still need to kick it into overdrive and off the rails in order to make it to class on time.
• Caged Inside a Monster: The COVERS pull people inside them trapping them leaving only a small face visible.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: Satsuki refers to her mother by her name, several times even on a Full-Name Basis. Her mother is physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive, along with being the Big Bad of the series. They have no familial bond and Satsuki literally backstabs her.
• Calling Your Attacks: Plenty, from Ryuko's Finishing Move to Sanageyama's Spam Attack.
• Cannon Fodder: The One-Stars.
• Cassandra Truth: When Mikisugi honestly tells Ryuko the name of the guerilla organization he works for, she refuses to believe it at first because he and the name "Nudist Beach" are just too ridiculous.
• Cast from Money: How Takarada the Osakan's power works. Everything he does relies on his Takarada Bucks, bonds issued by his conglomerate. This proves to be devastatingly effective against Sanageyama's Raid Trip division, not in the least because Takarada's force just keep getting bigger as people are lured by so much money laying around. Their guns even fire money, which doesn't work on Mako, who merely catches the ammunition and spends it.
• Casting Gag:
  • Japanese version:
    • Satsuki physically she bears a striking resemblance to Arashi from X1999, one of Ryōka Yuzuki's famous earlier roles.
    • Mayumi Shintani provides the voice for Nonon Jakuzure, a Rose-Haired Sweetie with a vicious streak who uses instrument-themed weaponry. In her concept art, she was even going to use a guitar as a weapon. Sound familiar?
    • Shiro Iori: A feminine-looking, long-haired bespeckled man in a lab coat in charge of developing battle gear? Sounds a lot like Billy Katagiri.
    • Aikuro Mikisugi:
    • When Ryuko goes on a berserk rampage after Nui reveals herself as her father's killer, he is tasked with taking her down with a sniper rifle.
    • He's also a goofy, disheveled mentor figure that knows more than he's letting on, kinda like Kisuke Urahara.
    • Nui Harime is voiced by Yukari Tamura, who also voiced Magical Girl Nanoha Takamachi. Why is this an example, you ask? When she pulls out the other half of Ryuko's scissor blade, she twirls and spins it around the same way a Magical Girl would.
    • Yukari Tamura is also the voice actor of Bernkastel, who has a reputation as a troll.
    • Mitsuo Iwata, who plays here boxing expert Takaharu Fukuroda, played another great fighter in Shootfighter Tekken.
  • English version:
    • Sarah Anne Williams provides the voice of a girl with music-themed power-ups? Must be Sayaka Miki.
    • Stephanie Sheh also voiced another cheerful blonde with twin tails and blue eyes.^note In the Viz dub, anyway.
    • This isn't the first time Cristina Valenzuela voiced a character named "Rei".
• Censor Steam: During the scene in Episode 16 with Satsuki and Ragyo in the Kiryuin Manor's Grand Bath, they are both naked with steam moderately covering their breasts and genitalia.
• Central Theme: What ties the world together is not conformity, but diversity.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The series was pretty dark to begin with, but when Nui Harime and Ragyo Kiryuin show up, things start to become Serious Business.
• Chainsaw Good: One of the kids in Mataro's gang from Episode 1 wields a chainsaw.
• Character Development: By the end of the series, Satsuki has developed from a hypocritical Alpha Bitch to a Cool Big Sis for Ryuko and the Team Mom.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Whenever Ryuko destroys a Goku Uniform, a Life Fiber thread is shown getting absorbed into Senketsu. In the final episode, Senketsu absorbs Junketsu and all the Goku Uniforms to achieve his final form, and then absorbs Shinra Koketsu so Ryuko can use its Absolute Submission power to undo the Life Fiber cocoon.
  • Subverted in the case of Nudist Beach's Anti-Life Fiber Bullet, seemingly important but never used or even mentioned again.
  • Isshin putting out Nui's eye with the combined Scissor Blades in a flashback. Later on, it turns out that Nui is a Life-Fiber Half-Human Hybrid and immune to Ryuko's single Scissor Blade until she steals back the other blade and Dual Wields them, finally managing to dismember Nui.
  • In a flashback in Episode 9, Gamagoori wears steel armor made by his family's ironworks under his uniform when he tries to stop Satsuki from taking over his school. He wears it again in Episode 24, which saves his life when he protects Mako from Nui.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: Much like its spiritual predecessor, Kill la Kill has no throwaway characters. For instance, Fight Club Mako is a funny and poignant episode, highlighting the emotional ties between Mako and Ryuko, ultimately having her give up the role. She makes a big comeback at the end of episode 22 when she fights the COVERS Eldritch Abomination.
• Cherry Blossoms: During Episode 9, a flashback of Satsuki and Gamagoori has them fighting with the blossoms around them, signifying the transition of Satsuki's rise to power and influence over the schools and signifying the start of Gamagoori's worship of Satsuki.
• The Chessmaster: Satsuki Kiryuin, to the certain degree.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Ryuko is red and Satsuki is blue. Episode 12's Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame assigns yellow to Nui Harime.
• Clingy Costume: When Junketsu is put on Ryuko it is sewn to her. It takes a huge amount of effort and Ryuko nearly dying to get the Junketsu off of her.
• Clothes Make the Superman:
  • It's both the main point of the plot and it refers to actual clothes, as opposed to Powered Armor or other military hardware. If you don't have special uniform, then you're powerless. The uniforms contain fibers that enhance human abilities, with higher ranked ones containing a higher percentage of fibers. The Kamui are composed entirely of said fibers. However, the series is also an aesop about the inverse being true: it's all the more shocking when people who have no uniforms are capable of not only keeping up but even beating someone wearing a uniform, especially a Kamui.
  • This series is so obsessed with clothing that the base of the school looks like the collar and frontpiece of a sailor uniform◊.
  • Inverted with COVERS, whose power level depends on who they eat. When Mako is eaten her COVERS becomes significantly larger than the other COVERS who ate normal people.
• Clothing Damage:
  • How almost every fight ends. The loser has his or her uniform ripped off, leaving him or her naked and unable to fight back due to the loss of the Goku uniform. Depending on the circumstance, this is either played for fanservice or the opposite. This show turns this into an art form.
  • It happens to Nonon in her fight against Ryuko before she uses Seni So-Shistsu due to how powerful Ryuko's attack is when she counters Nonon's energy beams made with music.
• Clothing Reflects Personality:
  • Ryuko's black Sailor Fuku and red gloves are sexier versions of sukeban uniforms. Sukeban was a tough, delinquent girl subculture in Japan during the '70s that inspired its own movie genre during those days. Also, Ryuko's gray and white jacket from first episode is a reference to Black, a delinquent student from Majisuka Gakuen.
  • An underlying theme of the show also seems to be about how much people hide behind their clothes. The Goku Uniforms are able to alter a person's appearance into something much more appealing, as seen by the unfortunate thief in the first episode. In contrast, both Satsuki and Ryuko have their bodies exposed in their uniforms' super forms, which give them no chance to hide behind them.
  • Pushed even further in Episode 13, when Satsuki's mother, Ragyo, gives a lecture to her henchmen about how clothing is sin, wherein she references the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that by controlling the world's clothing, they control humanity's sin and by extension, their lives.
• Combining Mecha:
  • Parodied. Senketsu breaks apart to avoid an attack from Nui and then 'combines' with Ryuko reminiscent of many Gundam core fighter combinations.
  • Played straight when Tsumugu and Aikuro combine their DTR to form the Ultimate Double Naked DTR.
• Coming of Age Story: Not only is the show a uniquely female coming of age story (which tend to be more rare), but it's cranked up until the knob pops off. Blood as a metaphor for menstruation, as well as other body image issues? Senketsu is a living Sailor Fuku that drinks Ryuko's blood to transform into a Embarrassing but Empowering Chainmail Bikini. Bullies that the adults never do anything about? Satsuki, the Student Council President, runs the school like a dictatorship, and everyone—including the teachers—are under her control. Feel like the entire school is against you? At Honnouji Academy, literally the entire school is actually trying to kill Ryuko. Worried about living up to your parents' expectations? Ryuko and Satsuki, who are sisters, were designed by their parents to be weapons in various ways, and the high and mighty Satsuki is the failed version. Feel out of place among your peers? Ryuko is a Half-Human Hybrid, infused by her parents with Life Fibers as a baby. And of course, The Power of Friendship saves the day at the end, and everybody learns that not only does everybody have their own reasons, but they have their own crazy friends.
• Conducting the Carnage: Nonon Jakuzure conducts the Tritsch Tratsch Polka by Johann Straus II with a group of subordinates while her underlings battle Ryuko and Tsumugu Kinagase at her behest. She gleefully coordinates the music in accordance to the destruction that occurs from the battle.
• Conveniently Empty Roads: In episode 8, after Ryuko and Mako are forced to get a ride with Gamagoori (who has learned to drive), their ride is attacked by the "auto-airsoft club", taking a chance at a potential promotion by taking down Gamagoori. The roads are surprisingly clear for the ensuing battle.
• Cool Bike:
  • Tsumugu's motorcycle.
  • Aikuro loans one to Ryuko when Senketsu gets cut up. Also, the Awesome, but Impractical purple chopper Ryuko, er, "borrows" from a dealership in Episode 20.
• Cool Car: Gamagoori's 1959 Cadillac convertible (it's pink). Unfortunately, it quickly becomes The Alleged Car when Gamagoori is attacked during "Naturals Election" week (Episode 8).
• Cooldown Hug: Mako give Ryuko a big one in Episode 12, despite that her skin is being burned. It hilariously descends into a LOT of cooldown slaps.
• Corporate Conspiracy: The Kiryuin Conglomerate, parent of the REVOCS clothing company, is secretly selling clothing containing Life Fibers to its customers.
• Cosmic Horror Reveal: The anime starts off with Ryuko fighting the Absurdly Powerful Student Council, let by the dictatorial Satsuki. It turns out that Satsuki was trying to rebel against her mother Ragyo. The Life Fibers that make up the clothing that give people superpowers are actually aliens, and Ragyo wants to use them to become powerful.
• Crazy-Prepared:
  • Satsuki had her real toenails surgically removed and replaced with fake ones made of hardened Life Fibers. Y'know, just in case she didn't have any other weapons handy.
  • Maiko's "fake school" that she uses to thwart Ryuko and Mako in Episode 4, which she says she built on the off-chance that it might be useful.
  • In Episode 24, Nui tries to kill Mako by stabbing her, but Gamagoori gets in the way at the last second, taking a blow that seems to kill him moments after. However, he is revealed to be okay later due to having worn a titanium-metal plate that severely diminished the stab's effects.
• Creation Sequence: As Senketsu understands why he was created, memories of his creation returns to him. It involves carefully layering one Life Fiber over another, very different from normal clothes.
• Creator Provincialism: When in the second half of the series, the Big Bad's threat becomes global, all of the action is still happening in Honnouji and the immediate surroundings. The rest of the world is mentioned a couple times (REVOCS' acquisition of the clothing market in China and India, for instance) and is not even seen until the last episode, and even then it's just a few scenes with the Eiffel Tower Effect in full force. Oh, and during Ryuko and Ragyo's final battle in low Earth orbit Japan is still the only country that can be viewed from space.
• Credits Gag: In episode 23, the second ending theme is interrupted by Nui, seen here.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Both of Ryuko's fights with Fukuroda, with him easily winning the first, and her complete dominating him in the second. Ira's battle with a hapless mook in the first scene is also this.
  • Ryuko ends up on the receiving end of quite a few of these as well with her two fights against Tsumugu, and her rematch with Sanageyama is less of a fight and more of a massacre.
  • Nui Harime is the living, breathing incarnation of this, always standing out on top without a scratch in every fight. With the exception of her fight with Isshin Matoi, who injured her several times, even managing to put out one of her eyes. In more recent episodes, Ryuko has proven to be an increasingly difficult foe for Nui to fight.
  • In Episode 18, Satsuki defeats Rei in literally two seconds, the "battle" ending with Rei being sent flying and slammed into a faraway wall.
  • Ragyo gives a devastatingly one-sided beat down to Satsuki, her own daughter.
  • In Episode 22, Ryuko defeats Nui when the former slices the latter's arms off. It takes Nui a moment to realize what just happened.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: During Nui's fight with Isshin, she completely mops the floor with him, and the most he can retaliate with is two solid blows to her stomach that only wind her momentarily, and she strikes a mortal blow anyway. Then Ryuko shows up and distracts Nui for the moment needed for her father to pick up his weapon again and slash her eye out. This does little more than royally piss her off, and he still dies, but the injury is enough to make her abandon the mission without fully completing her objective, and she's still smarting about it long afterwards.
• Cutting the Knot:
  • Ryuko's battle with Inumuta during the Naturals Election ends as Ryuko defeats an invisible Inumuta not by sussing out his location but by transforming part of her suit into a giant flyswatter and hitting the whole arena at once, flattening him.
  • In her next battle, with Jakuzure, Ryuko uses miniature grappling hooks from Senketsu to anchor her on the platform so Jakuzure's sound blasts can't move her. Jakuzure can't damage Senketsu, so she simply destroys the ground Ryuko is standing on.

D

• Dark Is Not Evil:
  • Honnouji enforcers wear white. Our heroine and Nudist Beach wear black.
  • Most of the Goku Uniforms upgraded for the final battle are black.
  • Ragyo, whose main color scheme is white, especially with her Shinra Koketsu. Adding to this, Ragyo's hair and backlighting are rainbow colored, meaning she can conceivably represent any color besides black.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, due to how the setting can be at times, and the fact that it got a TV-MA rating instead of a TV-14 since there's far more violence and profanity with a much more brutal and insane villain and Ryuko isn't really that much of a hero.
• Darkest Hour:
  • The end of Episode 13. Satsuki's invasion begins, Mako is forced to take part of it, Nui completely defeats Ryuko and destroys Senketsu, and the shredded pieces are used to further her invasion.
  • At the end of Episode 18. Satsuki is completely crushed by her mother, her Bakuzan is broken and Junketsu is taken from her and her entire army sans Elite Four are put under Ragyo's control. The Elite Four are up against Nui's clones and Hououmaru while Ryuko gets her heart torn out by Ragyo in an even more twisted version than normal of Luke, I Am Your Father. Oh and COVERS have awakened and are apparently about to start eating people.
• Dead Guy on Display: The fate of the uniform thief at the beginning of Episode 1.
• Death Course: On the annual No-Late Day, the No-Star students are put through a gauntlet starting at the 4 AM siren, and must make it to school before the bell rings at 8:30. Any who arrive late are expelled on the spot.
• Defeat by Modesty: Subverted. When a character is defeated by having their clothes destroyed, it's not so much that they won't fight without their clothes so much as that they can't. Satsuki in particular during her first fight with Ryuko goes as far as to say that she'll bare all if it means victory. This is also subverted in the first episodes when it's revealed that Ryuko was ashamed of the amount of skin that was being shown when she wore Senketsu; once she overcomes her shame and shows her will to fight despite showing enough skin to violate many real-life dress codes, Senketsu becomes a lot stronger.
• Defeat Means Friendship: How Satsuki recruited Gamagoori and Sanageyama into the Elite Four. Inumuta was a borderline case, and Jakuzure was with Satsuki since kindergarten.
• Defeat Means Menial Labor: As punishment for losing to Ryuko, a ton of characters are demoted to no-stars, which also varies directly with socioeconomic status. No star, no service.
• Defiant Strip: Invoked in the first few episodes. The show's premise is that people can gain superpowers from clothing, but the two most powerful costumes are Stripperiffic. Ryuko has to work up the nerve to wear hers in public, while Satsuki loudly proclaims that she will "gladly bare my breasts for the sake of my AMBITION!"
• Deliberate Injury Gambit:
  • Ryuko and Senketsu defeat Sanageyama in Episode 6 this way by cutting off a piece of Senketsu and using the scraps of cloth to blind Sanageyama. It doesn't work in their rematch, since Sanageyama doesn't use his eyes any more.
  • It happens again in Episode 23, with Ryuko letting herself get cut in half by Ragyo, putting up just enough defense so her Life Fibers aren't completely severed, as part of a ploy to get to the core of the Primordial Life Fiber.
  • And again in Episode 24. Ragyo stabs Ryuko with a large spike in an attempt to fatally wound her. However, due to Senketsu's absorption ability, they ends up absorbing the entirety of the Shinra Koketsu along with the Absolute Domination ability which Ryuko uses to send a signal that frees humanity from the consumption of Life Fibers, putting a stop to the Primordial Life Fiber's plan.
• Department of Redundancy Department: The members of the Nudist Beach really like to clarify that they are naked Nudists.
• Deranged Animation:
  • It's a juxtaposition that makes each new scene even more jarring. One minute people are talking and moving on swiveling limbs that explodes into liquid animation the next.
  • Nui Harime really takes Limited Animation to another level, like in Episode 21, when she's being shot at in full fluid motion, but is floating around like a beginner's Flash animation.
• Determinator:
  • Ryuko, the protagonist, is a determinator but she knows when she is outmatched and withdraws from combat on the first opportunity. Satsuki, the antagonist, is also a determinator but she actually never backs off no matter how hard the fight becomes for her.
  • Both Ryuko and Satsuki are determined enough to wear 100% life fiber kamui uniforms even though it's been shown that anything over 40% life fiber will overwhelm the wearer. Ryuko has a secret advantage that helps but Satsuki pulls it off through sheer willpower.
• Diagonal Cut: The Scissor Blade can do this to pretty much anything, at almost any distance, up to and including skyscrapers.
• Dismantled MacGuffin:
  • The Scissor Blade, half of which is in Ryuko's possession, and the other in Nui's.
  • After Nui Harime cuts Senketsu into dozens of pieces, Satsuki takes them and gives them to the Elite Mooks sent to invade Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka. Ryuko only has one piece left, and travels to all three cities to cut the pieces off the Goku uniforms and get them back.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The Student Council are fond of using torture and execution as the solution for any crime. It's implied to happen on a regular basis.
• Distracted by the Sexy:
  • Takaharu accuses Ryuko of invoking this when she fights him wearing an activated Senketsu.
  • No less than three times in Episode 4, where Mako's father, little brother, and dog all get distracted by the sight of Ryuko's panties and then crash whatever vehicle they were driving.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • When Ryuko first finds Senketsu, he tries to undress her and force her to wear him. Then the camera pulls back and we can see him ripping off her clothes while she protests, and then she explodes with power:
    Ryuko: Stop! Ahhh!
    Senketsu: That's better! I'm a perfect fit!
    Ryuko: Ahhh! Stop it!
  • Satsuki putting Junketsu on for the first time. Considering Satsuki's father described it as her "wedding dress"... The undertones become much, much creepier when Ragyo Mind Rapes Ryuko and she has a vision where she's standing beside a faceless groom at a chapel while in a wedding dress. Did we mention that Junketsu is being sewed to her skin while this is happening? Yeah...
  • Tsumugu standing over Ryuko with one foot between her thighs and ordering her to strip in Episode 5.
  • In Episode 8, Gamagoori uses his Combat Sadomasochist powered-uniform, and remarks that the "punishment makes it bigger and harder." He may not have just been talking about his uniform. Mako even calls him a "pervert" in response. He even states that once he absorbs a certain amount of damage, he'll "climax". Aaaaand the resulting explosion rather fits this description. Even during the damage absorption process Gamagoori sounds rather......excited by the damage inflicted upon him, screaming to "punish" him more.
  • The members of Nudist Beach holster their guns in front of their crotches, with the barrel facing down. At one point, Aikuro is holding a giant Tailor's Dagger at crotch height and offers it to Tsumugu, who takes hold of it very deliberately, and pulls it out of its sheath.
  • In Episode 18, Ragyo beats the hell out of Satsuki and takes Junketsu from her by stroking her crotch, followed by an explosion which leaves Satsuki unconscious. In other words, she stole her "purity".
  • Nudist Beach's already decidedly phallic battleship turning into a "naked blade" form and penetrating the Primordial Life Fibre's cocoon.
  • In Episode 24, Ragyo powers up Shinra-Koketsu using a dress made of a merged Nui and the Primordial Life Fiber, and the noise she makes whilst taking off sounds very much like she's having an orgasm. Her speech at the time — "You feel amazing to wear, Nui!" — lends credence to this.
  • And then there's the giant Life Fiber transmission tower that is, ahem, "disciplined" by Gamagoori, and proceeds to shoot liquid out the top. And was protected by a "big rubber barrier".
  • The ending scene of the episode where the whole of Honnouji Academy are lying naked in a pile has Satsuki and Jakuzure lying next to each other, with Jakuzure's hand in a...suspicious position, to say the least.
• Double-Meaning Title:
  • It's everywhere. To start, the "kill" in Kill la Kill is "kiru", which can mean kill, sever, cut, and wear depending on the kanji used and the "la" portion comes from "sera fuku" ("sailor uniform", the actual root of the modern school Japanese uniforms since they were based on the sailor suit).
  • The Dub Name Change of the Naked Sun into the Naked Sol adds an additional meaning; the way it's pronounced can be seen as Naked Soul, which could refer to the strong wills of the protagonists.
• Double Standard: Rape, Female on Female: Averted with the sexual abuse of Satsuki by Ragyo, since it's not portrayed as titillating and instead comes off as deeply disturbing, largely since Ragyo is Satsuki's mother and it's implied the abuse may have been going on for years.
• Drinking Game: Has its own page.
• Dual Wielding: Since the premise involves a pair of half-scissor blades, it's a given that someone eventually uses both at the same time. In the later episodes, Satsuki also wields a pair of short swords made from the broken halves of her original sword.
• Dub Name Change: The Naked Sun is known as the Naked Sol in the dub. Played with in that the word "Sol" is "Sun" in Latin, making this more translating half the name into English and the other half into Latin.
• Dynamic Entry: There are plenty to be had. To name a few:
  • Gamagoori kicks down a reinforced metal door within the first minute of Episode 1.
  • During their second fight, Tsumugu's boot (with him attached) flies through a window and straight into Ryuko, sending her crashing into the next room.
  • Ryuko even pulls one on a motorbike. Unfortunately for Gamagoori, his face happened to be in the way.
  • When Ryuko is goaded into attacking Ragyo and Nui, she uses Honnou Town's rail system to launch a cable car onto the academy grounds... and then launches her motorbike through a crowd of COVERS from said cable car.
  • Ragyo is this trope. The amount of times that she DOESN'T make some kind of ludicrously over-the-top entrance are few and far between. Satsuki lampshades this when Ragyo shows up at the Sports and Culture Festival.

E

• Early-Bird Boss: The first two club captains Ryuko fights, Takaharu Fukuroda (boxing) and Omiko Hakodate (tennis) have an entire episode in which they are a threat before being defeated, and give her a very tough time at that. After embracing Senketsu in Episode 3, later club presidents are lucky to last one minute against her, and many don't even get a line in beforehand.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Almost no one dies throughout most of the series, but a student was executed in the first episode.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After fighting to prevent a plot to Take Over the World, and then an alien invasion. The series ends with all of the heroes alive save for Senketsu and finally living a peaceful and normal life.
• Easily Forgiven: The Mankanshoku family cheerfully break bread with the people responsible not only for Mako's kidnapping and assault, but for imposing a social order on the city that led to the Mankanshokus living below the poverty line. However, Ryuko did make sure they gave a proper apology for their actions in general.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Almost always involving Aikuro. For example:
  • Despite being annoyed by his antics, Ryuko generally can't help but blush when Aikuro shows off his manly physique.
  • In Episode 16, Mako gawps at Aikuro and can later be seen blatantly checking out the male members of Nudist Beach.
  • Sukuyo spends almost all of her screen time in Episode 19 staring intently at Aikuro's "equipment".
• Eldritch Abomination: The Primordial Life Fiber, a cosmical monstrosity that requires the destruction of entire planets for its reproductive cycle.
• Elite Four: Who oversee the organization of all of the clubs (Ira Gamagoori, Nonon Jakuzure, Uzu Sanageyama and Houka Inumuta). These four have the highest ranked Goku Uniforms after Ryuko and Satsuki herself, and are quite powerful in combat as a result.
• Embarrassing but Empowering Outfit:
  • Ryuko needs Senketsu's power to stand a chance against the student council. However, his transformed state is very skimpy and in her first couple of fights wearing it, Ryuko's blushing the entire time. She soon decides to get over this, which allows her to use Senketsu's power for much longer.
  • Subverted with Satsuki, when Ryuko asks how she can wear Junketsu transformed without being embarrassed. She tells Ryuko that if it will help accomplish her ambitions, she simply doesn't care.
• Embarrassment Plot: In the first three episodes, Ryuko is too embarrassed by the battle form that Senketsu turns into to use it properly and without using up her energy quickly. This goes away at the end of the third episode, where her goofy friend Mako gives her a Rousing Speech.
• Empathic Weapon: Kamui are made less powerful by being embarrassed to be seen in them, or otherwise rejecting them. It also causes them to drink far more blood than they normally would.
• Epic Fail: Gamagoori tries to shake off pursuing drivers by spinning. It ends badly:
  Gamagoori: "We're out of control!"
  Ryuko: "NO SHIT WE'RE OUT OF CONTROL YOU ASS!"
• Establishing Series Moment: A teacher is in the middle of a rather boring lecture on the rise of Hitler when an enormous foot breaks down the door, which explodes. Gamagoori enters, a student drops a tear-gas bomb, Gamagoori jumps out a window to intercept him, the student dons his power-enhancing school uniform, and several mind-boggling camera angles later an epic Whip-im To Groundpork punishment ensues. After said student is hung on display as a warning to future would-be thieves, we get Satsuki's Establishing Character Moment. All within the first four minutes of the show.
• Everybody Lives: All of the human characters in the show (and Ryuko, who might as well be one) survive. This is made possible due to most combat focusing on tearing off the opponent's Goku uniforms rather than trying to actually kill them.
• Everything Trying to Kill You: Good luck surviving at the academy with its Darwinist code. Even the title means kill or be killed.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: Life Fiber-infused clothes and weapons sometimes emit rainbow sparkles while doing something awesome. Ragyo has rainbows around her (especially in her hair) at all times, and they get more prominent as she becomes more powerful.
• Evil Costume Switch: Inverted as a matter of course:
  • When Satsuki and the Elite Four join Nudist Beach, they go from wearing modest white uniforms to strategically-placed black belts and little else.
  • Brain Washed And Crazy Ryuko dons the white Junketsu, resulting in a far more modest appearance than when she wears the Stripperiffic black-and-red Senketsu.
• Evil Gloating: Ragyo loves to just keep talking on and on about how pathetic humanity is and how everything they're doing is pointless. Satsuki takes advantage of this to buy Ryuko time to save the day.
• Evil Knockoff:
  • Every star-ranked Goku Uniform is powered by a single thread of the same material Senketsu is made of. Senketsu absorbs the threads after destroying the uniform it was powering.
  • Turned about in Episode 16. It turns out Senketsu is the "evil" knock-off of the alien Life Fibers.
  • In the OVA, Rei creates evil versions of the Elite Four and Satsuki via Life Fibers.
• Evil Versus Evil: It's difficult to say whether you should root for Takarada or Honnouji Academy in Episodes 14 and 15, given that they're both pretty villainous, but for different reasons. And then, as it turns out, both of them were Good All Along.
• Evolving Credits:
  • After Satsuki first dons Junketsu in Episode 3, the opening in the following episode gets tweaked to show an aerial battle between Ryuko and Satsuki in their Kamui, replacing stock footage of Ryuko's debut from the first episode.
  • Before Episode 9, the red sky during this battle breaks away to reveal a blue one. Afterwards, the colors are switched, matching the red sky that looms over the King of the Hill final battle.
  • The second opening shows the main characters in fixed poses wearing a rapid sequence of outfits paper-doll or model sheet style. The sequence is updated with a new outfit for each character every episode, with the new outfit serving as a commentary on the events of the previous episode.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Anything and everything that Isshin gets to name winds up with a blunt description of what it is meant to do. Giant blades meant to cut Life Fibers apart? Rending Scissors. Secret organization meant to oppose a giant, tyrannical, clothing-based business empire? Nudist Beach. Newborn baby girl used in an experimental Transhuman operation that seems to fail and gets literally thrown away? One possible translation of Ryuko Matoi is "child abandoned by the collective".
• Expressive Uvula: At the beginning of the episode "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", Barazo's uvula screams with him as he takes a look inside one of the COVERS.
• Expy:
  • The designs of the main protagonist and antagonist are reminiscent of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann characters Simon and Rossiu, respectively. The entire show could even be considered as TTGL's Spiritual Successor. For that matter, Ryuko fills in the role of Simon but has Kamina's personality, Satsuki fills in the role of Lordgenome, the Elite Four fill in the role of the Four Generals, and Ragyo fills in the role of the Anti-Spiral.
  • Gamagoori is more or less a teenage, subservient Raoh (with a character design closer to Souther, though) and a reincarnated Hentai Kamen.
  • Ryuko and Satsuki are pretty much like Dante and Vergil and Ragna and Jin. Red vs. Blue, BFS vs. Katanas Are Just Better, and Siblings? Yup.
  • Tsumugu is Yoko genderbent. He's got a shock of red hair and excellent sniper skills, and he's extremely attractive, especially in his revealing battle uniform. Yoko could also be his mother, with Kittan as his father. Plus he's voiced by Kamina himself, even if he is more of a reserved stoic who prefers sneaky tactics, though it's not like he hasn't voiced one of those either.
  • Nui Harime is heavily based off of Nia Teppelin, albeit an extremely dark take on her. Both are blonde Genki Girl Artificial Humans created by the true Big Bads of their respective stories and from the same materials (Anti-Spiral DNA for Nia and Life Fibers for Nui), share similar designs (including unusual eye features^note Nui has the eyepath whilst Nia has Exotic Eye Designs), have three-letter names that start with "N", are introduced with/after a massive turn of events that change the protagonist dramatically, and they both die on their own terms (Nia dies so that Simon can defeat the villains, and Nui kills herself so that Ragyo defeat the heroes).
  • Ryuko and Mako are comparable to Sonya and Yasuna, though Ryuko never abuses Mako and Mako can handle much more nasty beatings.
  • The Tennis Club Captain, Omiko Hakodate, looks and acts like a female version of Viral from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
  • Takaharu Fukuroda is very similar to Ziria from the Tengai Makyou series, up to sharing the same voice actor.
  • Senketsu and Isshin Matoi seem like expies of Mazinger Z and Dr. Juzo Kabuto. Isshin created a super powerful uniform then was killed by the antagonist which propelled Ryuko into her Roaring Rampage of Revenge. She also uses her father's creation to exact her revenge similarly to Kouji Kabuto.
  • Ryuko's situation is also similar to that of another Go Nagai creation, Cutey Honey. Honey, like Ryuko, is also out for revenge after her father was killed. Said father was also responsible in some way for her powers. Both also wear highly Stripperiffic outfits in battle.
  • Ryuko's situation and personality also bares a striking resemblance to that of Ragna the Bloodedge. Both of them are mean, but good-natured loners who wield really large swords that can transform into an even bigger sword. They're primarily motivated by revenge for the death of a loved one and go against an established government to do so, and end in up a conflict with a Katana user Who later is revealed to be their sibling. Bonus points for the actual culprits of their messed up lives being revealed later, and taunt them over their weakness which massively pisses them off. The Big Bad of each respective series is also revealed to be a relative of theirs as well, who is also under the control of an otherworldly menace.^note The main difference here is, unlike what happened so far in Blaz Blue Chrono Phantasma Both Ragyo and Nui worked and died together at the end compared with what happened with Terumi (Nui's counterpart), who was betrayed by Izanami (Ragyo's counterpart) and killed by Hakumen at the end. They also both have a Cloudcuckoolander Morality Pet as a best friend (Mako and Taokaka).
  • Ryuko's situation also bares a striking resemblance to that of Scorpion. Both of them use otherwordly powers. They're primarily motivated by revenge for the death of a loved one and go against an established government to do so, and end up in a conflict with a member of the organization who later is revealed not to be one responsible for the death of their loved one.^note The main difference here is, unlike what happened so far in Mortal Kombat 9, Ryuko does not kill Satsuki compared with what happened with Sub-Zero/Bi-Han (Satsuki's counterpart), who was killed by Scorpion (Ryuko's counterpart) after the latter was manipulated by Quan Chi (Nui's counterpart). Bonus points for the actual culprits of their messed up lives being revealed later, and taunt them over their weakness which massively pisses them off. The actual culprit of each respective series is also revealed to be working with the Greater-Scope Villain who seeks to conquer and rule the world in their image.
  • Character design-wise, Ryuko looks a helluva lot like Seija Kijin, enough for many Japanese fan artists to create lots of crossover art featuring both Ryuko and Seija switching clothes and/or situations. In less degree, many artists love to depict Mako as Shinmyomaru Sukuna, also from Double Dealing Character.^note It does help both Double Dealing Character and this series debuted in the same year, with few months of difference.
  • Maiko Ogure looks like she could be the sibling of Rue from Princess Tutu.
  • Houka Inumuta is like a more cynical version of Miki Kaoru. Several people have noted he also bears a physical resemblance to Ishida Mitsunari from another Hot-Blooded series.
  • If Ryuko is Simon and Satsuki is Rossiu, then Mako is the Kamina of the three. There are many similarities, both are rather crazy, have weird perception of the world, has no real power when compared to the protagonist, are utterly fearless and will charge into any situation without much thinking. What is the most important however is that both serve as enormous moral support to the protagonist in their moments of need.
  • The Original Life Fiber is basically Lavos right down to its entire modus operandi. For bonus points, Ragyo assumes a role very similar to Queen Zeal.
  • Some fans point out the similarities to S Cryed. Both are conflicts between a chaotic Anti-Hero and an Anti-Villain working for the established order, who end up working together when a larger threat comes around. Kazuma and Ryuhou even have similar personalities and a similar dynamic between them to Ryuko and Satsuki.
  • Sanageyama's character and development is a condensed version of Sun Wukong's.
  • Doesn't Mako look exactly like Chie?
• Extreme Mêlée Revenge: In Episode 22, Ryuko uppercuts, headbutts, knees, and finally dropkicks Nui through several meter-thick pieces of metal, having finally had it with her shit. To say nothing of the beatdown that follows.
• Extreme Speculative Stratification: Honnouji Academy has harshly separate, but socially mobile castes as part of its extreme approach to meritocracy. Most students are "no-stars", who live in a shantytown around the base of the academy. If they distinguish themselves in some way, they're given one-star uniforms and live in conditions comparable to the upper middle class. Two-stars, club captains and other members of the Absurdly Powerful Student Council, have Big Fancy Houses near the top of the facility, while the handful of Three-stars and the student council president live in the massive complex on top of the Academy.
• Eye Scream: Two examples: the first being when Sanageyama gets his eyelids sewn together in order to advance his powers, the second being when Ryuko's father catches Nui Harime off guard during their battle and cuts her left eye out. Blood is shown literally gushing out of the socket. Nui's horrified scream doesn't help, either.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There:
  • Both Ryuko◊ and Satsuki's◊ Kamui have eyes right under their collars.
  • Sanageyama's Blade Regalia has eyes in every opening, greatly enhancing his ability to see everything with precise detail. The second model ditches these eyes once Sanageyama gets rid of his own, essentially becoming his eyes.

F

• Face Framed in Shadow: Satsuki's parents during their first appearances.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: It says something about how horrible a beatdown Ragyo gave Satsuki when, in a series with such over the top violence as Kill la Kill, many fans claim it was too much to bear.
• Fan Disservice:
  • Egregiously occurs in Episode 12 after Ryuko suffers from◊ Body Horror.
  • Ragyo massaging Satsuki in the bath in Episode 16. What would normally be a case of Girl on Girl Is Hot fanservice is seriously offset by the undertones of Parental Incest and the visible discomfort from the latter as she seems to have a Modest Orgasm against her will.
  • You can see Mataro's penis several times in Episode 17, as his suit is painted on. There are also a few instances where you can see it with his Nudist Beach uniform.
  • The scene of Satsuki naked and chained up in a cage being physically, psychologically, and sexually abused by Ragyo in Episode 19. It really amplifies the implied Parental Incest and even ends with the disturbing image of Satsuki giving a Death Glare to the camera as Ragyo spanks her.
  • Even worse than the Episode 16 incident is a similar scene with Ragyo, Nui, and Brainwashed and Crazy Ryuko in the beginning of Episode 21. Ryuko even kisses Nui near the end of it.
  • There's actually a nipple slip on Ryuko's part in Episode 22. Of course, any arousal that this would have inspired is instantly void because she just ripped Junketsu off of her body, leaving her soaked in gallons upon gallons of her own blood.
• Fanservice:
  • Using clothing as a source or symbol of power is a recurring motif in the series, and the concept of being (metaphorically, but also literally) naked is used as a sign of resolve. But at the end of the day, there's no shortage of scenes that are probably there for the sake of the fans as well.
  • Due to the nature of the series, Ryuko and Satsuki's Transformation Sequences are full of this. When they run or there is a power wind blowing (i.e. all the time in every fight), there is a lot of jiggling. This is to be expected, considering most of Studio Trigger used to work for Gainax.
• Faux Affably Evil: Nui Harime. The only real moments when she isn't acting sweet and bubbly is when her Berserk Button is pressed and she has to actually get serious.
• Fighting Series: The main focus of Kill la Kill is the furious fighting scenes involving the main cast and whatever opponents get thrown their way.
• Flintstone Theming: The basic idea of empowering clothing is expanded as a motif that pervades the entire series: fashion-based visuals are everywhere. To begin with, there's the series' iconic weapon, a giant pair of scissors. Aikuro uses sewing pins as both weapons and acupuncture needles; Tsumugu fires sewing needles from weaponized sewing machines, and smoke grenades shaped like bobbins; Nui makes clones of herself from scraps of cloth; the Original Life Fiber looks like a ball of yarn; Ragyo's comms satellite is shaped like a pair of lips, and both of its transmitters are shaped like tubes of lipstick; the facade of Honnoji Academy resembles a sailor fuku!
• Flynning:
  • If any combination of Ryuko, Satsuki, Nui, or Ragyo are fighting one another, expect this to be the order of the day, with sword-on-sword strikes occurring numerous times each second, with nobody really scoring so much as a glancing hit. Bonus points for numerous Blade Locks.
  • However, if the fight is any of those four vs. anyone else, it's usually over pretty quickly. Its also averted in the second opening sequence when Ryuko & Satsuki cross blades where they are very clearly drawing blood from one another with every strike.
• A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: In Episode 7, the Fight Club brings the Mankanshoku family into Two-Star lodgings, that is, until Satsuki pits Mako against Ryuko with a Three-Star uniform on the line, and Mako intentionally loses.
• Foregone Conclusion: A surprisingly subtle one, but the end credits show Ryuko wandering around a normal town in regular clothing. At first, it just seems like an alternate universe where things were different, especially since we see her standing next to a poster with her wearing Senketsu. Implying the Kill la Kill-verse seen in the show is fictional in that world. But it's later revealed this is after the end of the series, after Ragyo and the Life Fibers are defeated and Honoji has sunk into the ocean, with Ryuko now living a normal life. The 24th episode even changes the credits so that Mako and Satsuki are with her and hanging out. This likewise leads to a bit of Call-Forward too as that ending showed the island where Honoji was is now gone, to which the special 25th and final episode showed how that happened.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The series opens with Aikuro giving a lecture on the rise of Adolf Hitler. The villains of the series, the Honnouji Academy staff and REVOCS, are heavily styled after the Nazis, with white Reich-esque uniforms, bombastic speeches, and preaching about how the strong must rule over the weak and survival of the fittest is the way of the world- just replace “Aryan Master Race” with “Life Fibers”.
  • In the first episode, Gamagoori kicks in the door of Aikurō's classroom. It bounces off the window frame and crashes back into the room, which knocks everyone for a loop. Everyone except Aikurō, who dodges the impact without even dropping his book. Because he's not a sleepy, lazy teacher; he's actually a physically capable Nudist Beach operative.
  • In the beginning of Episode 4, Ryuko has a nightmare where Senketsu gets cut into pieces. In Episode 13, this actually happens. And then they really hammer it in your head in the Cold Open in the subsequent episode, where Ryuko has the same dream.
  • Episode 12 has Ryuko's Scissor Blade fusing into her enraged form, while Episode 15 has Bakuzan giving off Life Fiber sparkles when tapped by Satsuki, both of which reveal that they are made from hardened Life Fibers, something not revealed until Episode 23.
  • Two cases from the second opening:
    • What are implied to be Junketsu's "eyes" are shown to be far more alien in appearance compared to Senketsu, implying the true nature of Life Fibers.
    • In the same sequence, Senketsu is shown with both of his eyes open. This later happens in Episode 24 when Senketsu turns into Senketsu Kisaragi.
  • Early on, there is a brief discussion of the origin of Japanese school uniforms being derived from actual military uniforms. Appropriately enough, Satsuki has been building a student army to fight against Ragyo.
  • Also discussed is that, at the height of his power, Oda Nobunaga, a charismatic and ruthless leader, is struck down by one of his subordinates, Akechi Mitsuhida, leading an army against him in a place where he brought no guards and was celebrating his victory. Much like how Satsuki betrays Ragyo.
  • There were several cases concerning Ryuko:
    • Isshin Matoi gave things names which were accurate but not necessarily pretty, and Ryuko's name can be read as "abandoned child". This foreshadows the fact that she is the daughter Ragyo abandoned.
    • Ryuko starts out with a red lock of hair. After a fashion, it looks somewhat like a life fiber. This suggests that Ryuko is infused with life fibers.
    • The underside of Ryuko's hair changes color when she uses Senketsu. One could think it is one of the effects of the transformation, but there is another character whose hair does the same thing, namely her mother, Ragyo Kiryuin. This detail foreshadows their connection and the fact that both Ragyo and Ryuko are half-human hybrids due to having some Life Fibers inside of them.
    • In Episode 1, right as Ryuko's cloak is torn off by Fukuroda, "Blumenkranz"^note Ragyo Kiryuin's leitmotif starts playing. In Episode 18, it's revealed that Ryuko is Ragyo's daughter.
    • In the first opening, Ryuko is shown to appear at the center of a rainbow-colored light not unlike Ragyo.
    • In the first ending, the wedding dress which Ryuko stares at through a shop window is the same one she wears in her mental world after being brainwashed by Ragyo.
  • Satsuki's Evil Overlord speech from the very first episode contains quotes like "Fear is freedom" and "Subjugation is liberation". This is just propaganda in the vein of Nineteen Eighty-Four to establish Satsuki as a ruthless dictator, right? Nope, it actually foreshadows Satsuki's use of dictatorship to create an army intended to topple Ragyo and the Life Fibers. She uses fear and subjugation with an eventual goal of freedom and liberation.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In Episode 23, Nui interrupts the end credits.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: The show stuffs Funny Background Events and Shout Outs whenever and wherever possible.
  • The first episode alone is overflowing with this:
    • Random items, including a gun, are thrown up during the scene when Gamagoori kicks the door of the classroom open.
    • Yatterman-1's weapon can be seen under the table of one of the students.
    • A student playing with action figures for the Hulk and Iron Man with a third figure for Sentinel inside his desk during the scene where Ryuko is being introduced to the class.
    • Mako is briefly backlit by the Ide Gauge.
    • A male student groping the butt of an oblivious female classmate during the scene where Ryuko calls out Satsuki.
    • A student with giant boobs for eyes staring at Ryuko when she shocks everyone by shrugging off Takaharu's punch.
    • Senketsu's and Ryuko's transformation as seen from the outside can reveal some rather creepy looking bits.
  • Nekomusume from Gegege No Kitaro appears as a No-Star student at Honnouji Academy in Episode 4. She also looks like the version of the character from the 1980s, which fits with the overall style of the series.
  • Also in Episode 4, the cast of Pulp Fiction appears in the background during the Senketsu delivery scene.
  • In Episode 4, you can also see a thumb sticking◊ out as a reference to The Terminator.
  • In Episode 7, the head of the Table Tennis Club uses balls that are marked like the seven Dragon Balls. It could be also a reference to Dragon Ball GT since the stars on them are black.
  • In the same episode, Mako's mother uses a dishwasher that is similar to the Famicom pad.
• Freeze-Frame Introduction: Nearly every character with a speaking role gets introduced with their name and their description in large red characters that practically fill the whole screen.
• Friendly Enemy: Mako and Gamagoori seem to have a somewhat amicable relationship; such as when Gamagoori tries to take the Scissor Blade from Mako by threatening to give her no mercy, yet doesn't attack her.
• From Bad to Worse: Episode 12 has Ryuko having just recovered from her berserker rage getting beaten up by her father's killer, Nui, and ends with Satsuki revealing that she had used all the information from Ryuko's fights to create an advanced army for her to conquer Kansai. In Episode 13, we have Ryuko having a BSOD over the events of the last episode, a student she inspired to fight turns out to be Nui just trying to mess with her and Senketsu gets ripped apart by Nui.
• Full-Frontal Assault:
  • Sanageyama has attempted to keep fighting naked no less than twice.
  • This is also standard procedure for Nudist Beach combatants since they're, ya know, nudists.
  • Both Ryuko and Satsuki do this in Episode 20; Ryuko slaughtering numerous COVERS, storming the academy on motorcycle and getting in another fight with Nui wearing nothing but a sheet cape, and a completely-nude Satsuki breaking out of her cell in the same academy and fighting her way outside with her hands bound and wielding nothing but sharpened fake toenails.
• Fun with Subtitles: Huge red blocks of text appear to complement practically everything that happens. Sometimes these are treated as diegetic: At one point, Ryuko is shown fighting on TV and one of her attack names appears on the television screen; also, Nui Harime likes to lean on her own name while talking to someone.

G

• Gondor Calls for Aid: Literally every Two-Star Uniform wearer from Honnouji, from the Tennis Team Captain, to the Boxing Team Captain, to the Garden Club Captain, join Ryuko, Satsuki, Nudist Beach, and the Elite Four against the final battle against Ragyo and her skyscraper-sized Life-Fiber construct, Shinra Koketsu.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language:
  • "Nudist Beach" is Gratuitous English.
  • Ragyo's theme, "Blumenkranz", is sung entirely in Gratuitous German, albeit a "Blind Idiot" Translation with incorrect pronunciation. Also, her Character Catchphrase, "La vie est drôle!" Not to mention that several other tracks from the OST feature Gratuitous English, or are sung purely in it.
  • The Mankanshoku family has engaged in some Gratuitous English a few times. Barazo has addressed the others as "my family", and Mako as "my daughter". Mako herself has let out a shout of "Let's goooooo!" twice in one episode. Another has Sukuyo respond to a demand by Barazo with "Aye aye, sir!" while they all run out of the house.
  • One of Harime Nui's attacks is named "Mon mignon prêt-à-porter"^note "My cute ready-to-wear" in which she massively clones herself.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Primordial Life Fiber fills this role, given that the existence of Life Fibers is because it came crashing down to earth, and Ragyo Kiryuin serves it loyally. Said Big Bad later flies it around like a giant ship. Ragyo can be seen as this during the period of time when Satsuki is the primary antagonist, though her spot as big bad is made clear after the Naturals Election finishes.
• Groin Attack:
  • Almost. When Tsumugu slides on his knees to avoid one of Berserk Ryuko's attacks, Nui is waiting to plant her scissor blade between his legs.
  • From Sanageyama's position after the attack, it's implied that he also got hit with one of these courtesy of Nui.
• Ground-Shattering Landing: In Episode 6, Ryuko slams into the ground head first after Sanageyama (after being intentionally blinded) does a number on her. A zoom-out shows that the ground fractured for quite a distance.

H

• Halfway Plot Switch: The first 11 episodes are a quirky little tale about trying to take on an oppressive school council while searching for the killer of Ryuko's father. However, once Nui and later Ragyo show up, more of the plot is revealed and it essentially becomes an Alien Invasion story.
• Hamster-Wheel Power: Turns out this is the Naked Sun's power source. When two of the three wheels are shot to pieces, Naked Sun has barely enough energy to move forward... until Mako, in her special Fight Club Two-Star Uniform, kick-starts it and is then promptly joined by every Two-Star seen in the series, all the way to the Tennis Captain and the Boxing Captain Ryuko defeated way back in Episodes 1 and 2.
• Hand-or-Object Underwear: When Ragyo joins her bath, Satsuki is notably covering her chest with her hands, a hint of how uncomfortable she is in Ragyo's presence since Satsuki is usually a Shameless Fanservice Girl.
• Hate Sink: Ragyo is a disgusting megalomaniac who seeks to guide the end of humanity. With a slew of crimes in all of her scenes, Ragyo goes from treating her daughters as science experiments, to outright molesting them, to killing anyone who stands in her way including her own husband. Subverting the draw to the grandiose nature of her scheme and her campy style with her horrific personal crimes, Ragyo solidifies herself as one of the most repulsive characters in anime history.
• Heart Trauma: Ryuko watches in pure horror as Ragyo holds up her heart in front of her face after she removed it from her body, infused with Life Fibers and revealing that she's her long-lost daughter.
• Heel–Face Turn: Satsuki goes up against Ragyo, her mother and CEO of REVOCS and the Kiryuin Conglomerate, revealing that her purpose for making the academy in the first place was to defeat her mother and rise up against the Life Fibers. Proving she needed Ryuko's help. Similarly, the Elite Four and the rest of the remnants of Satsuki's forces join Nudist Beach, their former enemies, to fight the Life Fibers and save the world.
• Henshin Hero: Every single major character has a Transformation Sequence to awaken the powers their clothes give them.
• Heroic RRoD: Senketsu, after absorbing Shinra Koketsu's power, finds out post-battle that it was too much for him to handle, and has caused him fatal, irreparable damage.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Immediately following his realization of the Heroic RRoD (see above), Senketsu makes it his final action to ensure Ryuko reaches Earth safely, using himself to shield her from the heat and friction of atmospheric re-entry, but burning up himself in the process.
• Hero Stole My Bike: Ryuko forcefully appropriates a scooter from a soba-delivery man to get away from Honnouji quickly. At least she has the decency to not appropriate the soba itself. Later, the scooter is brought back to the school with a note of apology.
• He's Back!:
  • Mako’s Fight Club transformation is only used in Episode 7 and then disappears for the rest of the series, until the finale when she uses it again to fight against Nui and her forces.
  • After having lost her way for several episodes, Ryuko tears off Junketsu and resynchronizes with Senketsu in awesome fashion.
• High-Heel Power: There are several close-ups on Satsuki Kiryuin's heels clicking before she makes a speech or does something badass. Same goes for her mother, Ragyo.
• High-Pressure Blood: Characters do not bleed often, but if they do, it will fountain out in the most exaggerated way possible.
• Homing Lasers: Nonon Jakuzure's transformed Symphony Regalia Mk. II fires ones made out of music.
• Homoerotic Subtext:
  • Ryuko and Mako's relationship has some clear romantic undertones to it, though nothing ever really happens between them. Ryuko does agree to go on a date with Mako if she survives the final battle, but it's ambiguous whether that has any romantic implications. On the one hand, not only is it common in Japan for girls to go on platonic "dates" with each other, but the end credits of the final episode also show Satsuki joining in on the date. Although, when Mako pictures their date, they're shown holding hands and kissing, but that, of course, may just be Mako being Mako.
  • In the OVA, when Satsuki's evil clone made from her dark side tells Ryuko that Satsuki is a woman who "had her heart broken"!
  • Jakuzure's relationship with Satsuki has hints of this. She's the first one to refer to Satsuki affectionately, swore to always hold her hand while in kindergarten, and hasn't left her side since. She's also the only person Satsuki calls by their first name. Jakuzure's story in the light novel all but outright states that she is in love with Satsuki, with all those references to Jakuzure's "feelings" and how she wants to make Satsuki's beauty hers alone.
• Horrible Housing: The Mankanshoku family, as well as their houseguest protagonist Ryuko, live in a squalid, one bedroom apartment in a section of town that would have to undergo massive renovation to be considered rundown because their eldest daughter Mako is a "No-Star" student at Honnouji Academy. Played with in that they're shown to be very happy there and, in an episode where they experience upward mobility due to Mako climbing the ranks of the school's hierarchy, they become much more distant and snobbish as their housing situation improves.
• Hostage Situation: The club presidents quite commonly use this tactic with Mako to lure Ryuko into a fight.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Mako and Gamagoori, who are surprisingly friendly enemies and seem to receive more and more Ship Tease as the episodes go on.
• Humanoid Abomination:
  • Ragyo Kiryuin, who can survive having her head cut off, save for one Life Fiber connecting the two severed ends of her neck. And this is after being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice and crucified! She even admits that she isn't fully human anymore, due to being symbiotically fused with Life Fibers. By her own admission, Ryuko is the same as them.
  • Nui Harime, due in part to her unnatural strength and speed, Psychopathic Manchild tendencies, and sheer demonic presence, which is so terrifying that so much as a touch from them even scares the crap out of Senketsu. Also her ability to survive being engulfed in multiple C-4 blasts unscathed! All without the apparent help of Life Fibers. Confirmed by the lady herself in Episode 20.
• Humans Are Bastards: There's a good reason why Satsuki refers to people as "pigs". Her system prevents people from becoming truly virtuous revolutionaries by offering all the pleasures in the world to those who have the power to challenge her- and in Episode 7, Mako and her family take the bait, becoming greedy snobs.
• Humans Are Flawed: On the other hand, Mako (yes) believes that humans are not pigs. She and her family turn their back from the pleasures the system can afford them because that system ground their friend Ryuko to dust.
• Humongous Mecha: The OVA reveals that Honnouji Academy is a faint robot, but Satsuki never got to use it because Ragyo wrested control of the school from her. Rei, however, hijacks it for the final battle.
• Hybrid All Along: Ryuko learns that she's part Life Fiber after Ragyo non-fatally tears her heart out during the Sports and Culture Festival, also revealing her as Ragyo's daughter.
• Hypocrite: The series calls to attention the fundamental hypocrisies in Satsuki and her subordinates' philosophies and actions as it progresses, though the series reveals later that the underlying intent of all of them is firstly to deceive Ragyo to believe they are building her an army and secondly to build that army in such a way as to oppose her:
  • This is clear as early as Episode 1. "Contradiction is truth!"
  • During Ryuko's confrontation with Omiko, Sanageyama declares that Ryuko loses their match because she broke the rules of tennis by slashing up the tennis balls. Yes, balls, because Omiko was backed by a dozen or more of her club members, all of whom were hitting balls at Ryuko. This is, of course, also against the rules of tennis.
  • During middle school, Satsuki looks down upon some bullies who rely on their parents' social standing for their impunity; when she is called out for doing the exact same thing, Satsuki yells with her usual bravado that she's different because unlike the bullies who mainly leech off their power to get their way she uses it as a means to further her goal to Take Over the World. This may also count as an exaggerated version of Values Dissonance; some areas of Japanese culture consider someone with lofty ambitions to be morally superior to someone who does the same thing for pettier ambitions. This attitude also exists outside of Japan, but Japan folded it into their own cultural beast.
  • Gamagoori despises Ryuko's school-inappropriate Senketsu, but when she points out that Satsuki's Junketsu is just as skimpy, Gamagoori simply yells that Satsuki is an exception to the rules. Unlike the incident with Satsuki above, he doesn't even offer an argument, weak or not, for this.
  • During the Naturals Election, which is all about putting your position on the line to see if you're worthy of holding it, Satsuki spends the entire time camped out behind an impenetrable wall of Life Fibers. It's pretty hard to be tested for your position if you never allow anyone to reach you so you can be tested in the exact same way you are testing everyone else.
  • Though Satsuki states that the Elite Four would be removed from their positions if they lose and a new Elite Four will be formed out of the most worthy students, after the Naturals Election, Satsuki reinstates the Elite Four despite them being defeated by Ryuko and Nui, and it's doubtful she removed any of her favorites from their positions.

I

• I Am a Monster: Ryuko doesn't take the truth of Life Fibers being in her body very well.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Downplayed and then subverted. Midway through Episode 1, Ryuko learns that the boxer's gloves are made of steel. She then says she has no reason to hold back, flips her blade to the sharp side and...proceeds to have the crap beaten out of her.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Two contrasting examples appear in Episode 15. Takarada controls his people with money, but Kiryuin shows him that fear is a much more controlling force by striking his people's hearts and making them scatter.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episodes' titles are all taken from J-pop oldies. See the Shout Out page.
• The Idiot from Osaka: Inverted with Takarada. He's all the stereotypes of Osakan rolled into one character and he turns all those traits into his forte, allowing Osaka to effectively resist Satsuki's Raid Trip. Until Satsuki herself appears.
• I Lied:
  Aikuro Mikisugi: A man's word is only good on the day it's made.
  Nui Harime: When a lady changes her underwear, she leaves the past behind her!
• Image Song: Part of Hiroyuki Sawano's style is to write lyrics that has some contextual significance to the series they feature in, even if only in a vague premise. Kill la Kill is no exception:
  • "Before My Body Is Dry" is a duet between Ryuko trying to become stronger and find who killed her father, and Senketsu explaining that they can both benefit from the symbiotic bond of her wearing him.
  • "Suck Your Blood" is from the viewpoint of Senketsu begging to be worn, because by sucking Ryuko's blood, he can give her power in return.
  • "Light Your Heart Up" is Mako's theme song. The lyrics describe how being a teenager going to school and always carrying a sword around can be emotionally draining, so she'll always be there to cheer up her best friend.
• Imagine Spot: When Ryuko learns that her father founded Nudist Beach, Mako then has one of these with the character in question on a beach with naked women surrounding him.
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: Due to the low-detailed art style, a large number of female characters are given this when nude. A prominent example of this is Ryuko, whose waist is tiny compare to the rest of her already lithe body, even when the series gives her a more detailed appearance◊.
• Improbable Infant Survival: Subverted when it's revealed that Satsuki's younger sister was experimented on with Life Fibers and then disposed of when the experiment failed. It's one of, if not the most, gut-wrenching scenes in the entire series. Not five minutes later, it's Double Subverted when Ragyo reveals that, not only did the baby survive, Ryuko is that baby.
• In the Back: Satsuki impales her mother Ragyo from behind with her sword, then picks her up and throws her onto a protruding roof spike. Satsuki's real motive was to eliminate the Life Fibers and take down COVERS.
• Individuality Is Illegal: Satsuki seems to be keen on turning every qualified student into a drone with her One-Star uniforms while only those who excel them being allowed to have individuality again.
• Inexplicably Identical Individuals: All the One-Star Goku Uniform wearers are identical carbon copies of each other, either the male model or female. Similarly, every one of Ragyo's managers looks exactly alike. At first, it just seems to be an artistic (and humorous) choice to indicate "large amount of generic antagonists". However, the "inexplicable" part is eventually subverted as it's shown they stylistically and sometimes literally mold individuals into those forms as part of a progression of "mindless sheep". Only those with enough physical strength AND individuality to surpass that conformity rise to Two or Three-Star ranks.
• Insistent Terminology: Aikuro will have you know that it's a DTR, not a Dotonbori Robo. And don't you dare tell him it doesn't matter. It does and he will gladly spell it out for you.
• Intentionally Awkward Title: The name of the anti-Life Fiber rebel group is "Nudist Beach", much to the consternation of Ryuko.
  Ryuko: "You mean that stupid title was for real?"
• Intentional Engrish for Funny: These tend to come up occasionally. Two examples are "No-Chikoku Day" (No Late-to-School Day) and "Chikara-Power" (Power-Power).
• Interclass Friendship: Downplayed with Ryuko Matoi and Mako Mankanshoku. The latter's family are so poor that they use very questionable meat for their croquettes and the former was implied to be rich since her former house was a giant mansion. Though, by the time the two became friends, Ryuko is a orphan vagabond. Then it's revealed that Ryuko is a Kiryuin and the daughter of Ragyo and sister of Satsuki.
• Ironic Echo: Episode 18 is full of echoes to Episode 1:
  • Satsuki delivers a speech on Double Speak in Episode 1, using it to belittle and oppress her subjects. She repeats the speech in Episode 18 when she finally springs her trap at the Festival, but in the context of hiding her true motives from Ragyo and how her iron-fisted rule over her students is the only way to create an army capable of successfully rebelling against the Life Fibers.
  • When Ryuko and Satsuki first fight, Satsuki comments that Ryuko's goal of revenge is pathetic. Fast forward to episode 18. Ragyo says the same thing when Satsuki reveals she's rebelling to avenge her father and sister.
  • At the start of Episode 1, Satsuki has a student who stole a One-Star uniform beaten, told he's not worthy of it, and then smashed into a wall after having the uniform removed. Ragyo does the same to Satsuki at the end of Episode 18.
  • In Episode 19, Satsuki is imprisoned inside a metal cage in a large, boxy room. That is probably the Time Out Chamber which Mako would have been thrown into for a month for distribution of anti-Satsuki newspapers. Now it's Satsuki herself who got thrown in there for a month for going against Ragyo.
  • In Episode 10, during Nonon's flashback, Satsuki tells Nonon "a castle that is blown away with the first gust of wind is worthless" when talking to her about sandcastles. In episode 21, Ryuko, after beating Satsuki & Senketsu down, calls Satsuki "a pathetic princess standing atop a mere sandcastle" and remarks "one wave is all it takes to wash her kingdom away".
  • In Episode 24, Ragyo dismisses Ryuko and Senketsu's affirmation of being both and neither human or clothing as utter nonsense. Ryuko screams back "Nonsense is how we roll!" while absorbing Shinra-Koketsu and freeing mankind from the Life Fibers. Later in the OVA, Rei shocked at Satsuki's offer to join her at the post-Ragyo REVOCS in making a better world and welcoming Rei to kill her if she disagrees, asks Satsuki how can she spout such nonsense. Satsuki calmly replies "Nonsense is how we roll." It serves double as Satsuki initially dismissed Ryuko and Mako's logic in Episode 3 as nonsense.
• Irony: By the last episode, Aikuro and Tsumugu are two of, if not the only people on Earth that are wearing anything at all.
• I Take Offense to That Last One: In the second episode, Ryuko is yet again accused of being an exhibitionist AND a masochist. She says she's not an exhibitionist.
• It Makes Sense in Context: The entire series is about the relationship between humans and clothing. It's actually really awesome.
• I Will Only Slow You Down: Invoked by Maiko Ogure (who has a broken arm) during the No-Late Day Death Course. After Ryuko takes her word for it, Maiko plays up the pain in the hopes of tagging along, and succeeds.

J-K

• Japanese Delinquents:
  • More than a few characters seem to have them as part of their backstories, either by being delinquents themselves (Ryuko, Sanageyama) or by fighting them (Gamagoori).
  • Even Satsuki herself is shown wearing a typical uniform of a sukeban, or female delinquent, in flashbacks. This serves to foreshadow and Ryuko's relationship, involving tropes like Long-Lost Relative and Not Quite Dead.
• Japanese School Club: A large number of them serve as the minions of Satsuki. They range from the common such as the Tennis Club, to the absurd such as the Tightrope Walking Club (it's stated that the number of them has significantly increased since Ryuko's arrival, since Satsuki's standing challenge means that more of them have the chance to apply for Two-Star Uniforms and a chance to win a Three-Star).
• Japanese Spirit:
  • Ryuko Matoi is unbelievably determined, even at the start of the show. She's driven by a desire to find the person who killed her father and believes that Satsuki Kiryuin is either that person or knows who is. However, in the beginning, she is no match at all for Goku Uniforms, even with the enchanted scissor she wields and winds up retreating or needing to be saved multiple times in the beginning. But when Ryuko gains access to Senketsu, her superpowered sailor uniform, her true hidden powers, and talents come to light. At that point, she is more than a match for Two-Star Uniforms, and she even gains new abilities/skills as she fights the Three-Star Uniforms and stronger opponents. Satsuki herself expresses admiration for Ryuko's spirit. Much later in the show, it turns out that Ryuko is a Born Winner, with a body that is infused with Life Fibers that allow her to handle a Kamui (essentially the equivalent of a Ten-Star Uniform), where 50% is enough to drive most people insane. However, finding this out sends her into a massive Heroic BSoD.
  • Satsuki Kiryuin is not only willing to take risks but believes that the power of sheer badassery will allow her to overcome any challenge (and it does). This is despite the fact that she is not as infused with Life Fibers as Ryuko is because she was too old to accept them at the time of the experiment while Ryuuko was experimented on from the moment she left the womb. She also fits the archetype of the Japanese Spirit villain/Rival like a glove. She generally believes in a very cynical and harsh worldview and looks down on anyone who doesn't fit her ideals. However, it's revealed that her Long Game involves waiting for the perfect moment to betray her mother, the true Big Bad. Further, her worldview isn't completely unjustified; she needs soldiers with enough spirit and resolve to resist being controlled by Life Fibers, and doesn't have time to waste on "half-baked allies".
• Joshikousei: The two main leads, plus Mako, all with very distinctive Sailor Fuku.
• Kick the Morality Pet: Following Ryuko entering a downward spiral caused by Ragyo's revelations about her past and true nature, and Ragyo Mind Raping her with Junketsu and brainwashing her into serving her, Mako and Senketsu enter her mind to try and bring her back to her senses. Mako eventually tells her to kill her if she refuses to put Senketsu back on and return to their side, and while Ryuko does, this allows her to break free of Ragyo's brainwashing and get over her depression.
• Kirk Summation: When they meet in Osaka during the Tri-City School Raid Trip, Ryuko tells Satsuki to look at the destroyed city and asks her if she considers all of this a necessary sacrifice to fulfill her ambitions.
• Kung-Fu Sonic Boom: Several large ones occur during the confrontation between Ryuko and Satsuki. The final sonic boom was powerful enough to blow away all the nearby air, creating a vacuum strong enough to pull everything back in towards the point of impact with such speed that the colliding air and dust particles cause a secondary sonic boom. Considering that this happened in the third episode, this will probably be topped later down the road.

L

• A Lady on Each Arm: When it's revealed that Isshin Matoi founded Nudist Beach (which is full of almost-nude individuals), Mako imagines an old man on a beach with nubile ladies fawning over him. Ryuko quickly dismisses such imagination.
• Large Ham:
  • Most characters qualify, though Ira easily takes the cake with his fierce and undying loyalty to the rules and the president.
  • Ragyo. Even without hearing her talk, the mere fact that the kinds of clothes she wears makes her this.
• Last Episode Theme Reprise: The last episode plays not one but both opening themes during the final battle. And then the original closing theme over the ending sequence.
• Layered Metropolis: The entire city is built like this, with the school on top, nice looking houses beneath, followed by identical concrete apartment buildings and ending in a giant slum. The star ranking of a student also decides which layer they and their families live.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • Most noticeable during the final episodes where Ryuko repeatedly states that "Nonsensical is what we do!" Now consider the previous works of the people behind this...
  • Nui has a knack for this, whether it's interrupting the credits by force, or simply leaning on the giant letters that introduce her.
• Leave the Camera Running:
  • Near the end of Episode 16, we're treated to a minute of watching Ryuko and Mako just sitting. Mako is (failing) to stay awake, while Ryuko spends the whole time wrapping her head around The Reveal before speaking up.
  • Done to horrible effect in Episode 18 when we get a first person view of Ragyo beating the tar out of Satsuki, immediately preceded by a first person view of Satsuki receiving said beatdown.
• Leitmotif: Most major characters have one, but the soundtrack is notable that some tracks are two characters' theme songs fitted together to play back-to-back (such as Aikuro's theme playing for the first half of one track while the second half is Sanageyama's.)
  • Mako gets the hallelujah chorus from Handel's "Messiah" every time she makes a dramatic speech. Her official leitmotif is "Light Your Heart Up".
  • Ragyo Kiryuin has "Blumenkranz."
  • Part of "鬼龍G@キLL"^note Read "Kiryu ga Kill" serves as Satsuki's theme.
  • "犬Kあ3L"^note Read "Inu ka Saru" (often called "Ping Pong Circulate") pulls triple duty as Inumuta, Mikisugi and Sanageyama's leifmotifs, in that order.
  • "goriLLA蛇L"^note Read "Gorilla Jaru" covers Gamagoori and Jakuzure.
  • "Kiる厭KiLL" ^note Read "Kiru Akiru" is Nui Harime's theme.
  • Doubles as Theme Music Power-Up; the "don't lose your way" portion of "Before My Body Is Dry" (in its normal version or some form of Triumphant Reprise) usually starts playing when Ryuko is about to kick some serious ass.
• Letterbox: Flashbacks are presented in 4:3 ratio with black bars on the sides.
• Letting the Air out of the Band: In episode 4, when Senketsu is being ironed by Mako's mom, the music starts sputtering out once Senketsu gets used to the feel and starts enjoying it.
• Limited Animation:
  • Gamagoori is literally tweened past a window in Episode 1 with no animation whatsoever.
  • Episode 4. It's not too far from being a glorified, poorly done Newgrounds animation.
  • This was also applied to Nui Harime when she fights Uzu Sanageyama, sliding when she finds the Banshi and again when she defeats him a few seconds later.
  • Mako seems to be given this treatment in almost all of her scenes. Same applies with Nui.
  • Episode 22 is hit pretty hard with this, too.
• Living Clothes: While Life Fibers ensure all Goku Uniforms are this to a degree, Kamuis like Senketsu and Junketsu have full personalities.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Ryuko spends the first half of the show just trying to figure out what's going on. She isn't even necessarily seeking to avenge her father so much as to understand why he was killed. She finally gets an Info Dump in episode 16.
• Long Game: Several, to the point of Gambit Pileup.
  • The Kiryuin family have been building their base of power at Honnouji Academy ever since the school was founded.
  • Satsuki has been waiting to rebel against her mother ever since she was a child.
  • Isshin Matoi has been planning against the Kiryuin family ever since he became disgusted with the way Ragyo discarded their daughter when she was just a baby. He even died before the plan was finished.
  • The Primordial Life Fiber has waited since before mankind evolved to execute its plan, and actually helped humans evolve to make it happen.
• Long-Lost Relative: Satsuki and Ryuko are sisters and Ragyo is Ryuko's mom.
• Losing Your Head: In episode 18, Satsuki beheads Ragyo, which doesn't kill her due to the Life Fibers inside her.
• Lost in Translation:
  • The series' title is based on the fact that the English word "kill" and the Japanese word for "wear" are homonyms in Japanese (pronounced "kiru"), something that is lost in the translated title.
  • Mako's rants are full of kanji-based visual puns and references to Japanese folklore that the official dub couldn't translate in a meaningful way.
  • In Japanese, REVOCS is referred to as the "Kiryuin Zaibatsu" where "zaibatsu" roughly translates to "conglomerate" in English, but implies a specific sort of monopolistic business empire (linked to a powerful family) found in pre-WWII Japan. It carries connotations of a "large, sinister corporation" and is actually the first hint to anyone Japanese that REVOCS and Ragyo are very important to the plot, something which can't really be communicated to non-Japanese viewers.
  • The dub and official subtitles fail to translate certain terms. Such as the "Goku" (極制服) Uniforms being translated into English as "Goku" (which conjures up the image of something else), but the term "Goku Uniform" (極制服) roughly translates to 'Uniform of Ultimate-Oppression'. Since that doesn't really sound right in English, some fansubbers instead substituted the term "Ultima".
  • Senketsu's final form, Kisaragi, is named after an old Japanese word for February, which was traditionally the time when one would start wearing spring clothes. Naturally, this is a hard concept to get across to non-Japanese, so some fansubbers instead settled for "Fashion Week", which is held in New York in February.
  • In Japanese, certain concepts are conveyed through homophones. The pronunciation of "fashion" is similar to "Fascism", for instance, and "school uniform" sounds the same as "conquest". These puns can't be translated.
  • In Episode 22, Inumuta makes an untranslatable pun when Sanageyama picks a fight with Jakuzure: he uses the term "konnyaku mondou", which roughly means "useless chatter", but also contains the word for "konjac", since Sanageyama's family owns a konjac shop.
  • The official translations (both sub and dub) don't bother much with localization or Woolseyism, terms like "Goku" and "Kisaragi" are simply left untranslated.
  • The Kyu Kyu Kyumei Kyuin Gu ("Emergency Rescue Suction Device") got translated by some fansubs as the "Super Suction Saver".
    • Similarly, when Gamagoori equips nine of them, he calls it the "Kyuren Kyu Kyu Kyumei Kyuin Gu", and the translation calls it the "Seven Plus Two Strong Super Suction Saver". When Mankanshoku equips 999 of them, she calls it the "Kyuhyaku Kyuju Kyuren Kyu Kyu Kyumei Kyuin Gu", and the fansub calls it the "Seven Hundred Plus 299 Super Suction Saver".
• Lovecraft Lite: It is revealed that the Life Fibres incorporated into REVOCS' clothing and the Goku Uniforms are actually part of an ancient extraterrestrial entity that has been guiding human evolution, and intends to devour all of humanity before blowing up the earth to scatter its progeny throughout the cosmos. The protagonists' response: impale it with a battleship.
• Lower-Deck Episode: Episode 19 focuses on Nudist Beach and the Elite Four right up until the last couple minutes.
• Lucky Charms Title: Not of the anime itself, but of many of the tracks from the OST contain numbers and symbols such as "=", "@", "◎" and "♪".
• Lyrical Dissonance: During Episode 8, Mako sings a road song about going on a drive to hell in a cheery tone.

M

• The Mafiya: The Kami-Kobe High School American Football team has the Russian mafia smuggle in a (probably) Russian tank and improve its armor. The tank is defeated, but it still looked cool.
• Madness Mantra: Nui, after her arms are sliced and stay sliced off: YOU PISS ME OFF! PISS ME OFF! PISS ME OFF! (sub) / I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! (dub)
• Magical Girl Warrior: The series borrows a lot from the prototypical example of the trope, Go Nagai's Cutey Honey, from Ryuko's revealing costume to her murdered father starting her quest as well as also being responsible for the source of her powers (in this case, her uniform, a keepsake from her father). Interestingly enough, one of the original Cutey Honey manga was written by Getter Robo's Ken Ishikawa, someone who Kill la Kill writer Kazushi Nakajima is a big fan of. Ishikawa also influenced the team's previous work, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
  • The series is particularly heavy on the Warrior part of this trope, as there are very few wand- or blaster-type weapons, and the only "magic" is the Life Fibers that create the Kamui. That, and beauty is MOST definitely tarnished, as Ryuko (and several other characters) are realistically beaten bloody and bruised.
• Magical Security Cam: The TV showing the Naturals Election.
• Magic Pants: Given that this is a "magical clothes" anime, no amount of shape-shifting from Gamagoori can destroy whatever he's wearing.
• Makes Sense In Context: The Kamui are deliberately made stripperific in order to decrease direct skin-contact with Life Fibers, thereby reducing the risk of losing one's mind to a sentient piece of clothing.
• Makeup Weapon: The transmitting satellites that control the Life Fibers on Earth are shaped like tubes of lipstick, keeping with the show's fashion-based visual theme.
• Martial Arts and Crafts: Overlaps with I Know Madden Kombat. Apparently, just about every school club activity, including but not limited to sports, can become a deadly fighting style - assuming you wear the right uniform for the task. However, actual fighting techniques are more effective. Lampshaded by Ryuko, when she is challenged by the tennis club president to a tennis duel and wonders why she can't just beat her up without any regard for sport rules, like she did with her previous opponent, the boxer. Eventually, she decides that beating the enemy at their own game would be more humiliating and decides to roll with it.
• Matricide: A subverted example. In episode 18, Satsuki decapitates her mother Ragyo. However, it's revealed that she survived it due to the Life Fibers inside her.
• Meaningful Echo: When Satsuki reveals that the entire series she's been planning to fight against the Life Fibers to her mom, her "Fear is Freedom" speech takes on a whole new meaning.
• Mêlée à Trois:
  • Episode 5 can be summarized as Ryuko vs. Tsumugu with Nonon's cultural clubs in the crossfire.
  • Episode 12 can be summarized as Berserk Ryuko vs. Nui Harime vs. Tsumugu vs. Junketsu Satsuki.
• Metafictional Device: When Nui Harime confronts Ryuko for the second time, she leans against the big red Boss Subtitles that appear during major character moments.
• Metaphorically True: Aikuro eventually reveals that Ryuko's father told him that he created Nudist Beach as a resistance group against Ragyo and REVOCS, after having worked for her to research Life Fibres before turning against her. While this is true, he leaves out several pertinent details, namely, that he was Ragyo's husband and Satsuki's father Soichirou, that Ryuko is his and Ragyo's child who was infused with Life Fibres, and that he faked their deaths and took up the false identity of Isshin Matoi in order to plot against Ragyo.
• Mexican Standoff: How the fight between Ryuko and Satsuki in Episode 15 ends. They both accept the draw.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: The Elite Four get an improved set of uniforms in Episode 15.
• Might Makes Right: In a city ruled by a hierarchical system based on the strength of their uniforms, this is to be expected.
• Mini Dress Of Power: Omiko (a tennis dress with a skirt made of balls), Nonon (a feminine drum major's outfit), and Nui (a sweet lolita-style gown).
• Modest Orgasm: When Ragyo performs a "purification ritual" on Satsuki while they're bathing together, Satsuki is seen writhing and gasping suggestively under Ragyo's touch and as it comes to an end, Satsuki moves her head in a silent scream before slumping down into the water.
• The Mole: Episode 17 reveals that Satsuki, the head of the Sewing Club, and the Elite Four have all been working against the Kiryuin agenda for years.
• Money Mauling: There are machine guns that shoot paper bills during the invasion of Osaka. Mako takes advantage of this to sample the local cuisine.
• Monster and the Maiden: Senketsu is a living Sailor Fuku uniform called a Kamui, who bonds with the lead character Ryuko Matoi, giving her fantastic abilities, though at the cost of some of her blood to use.
• Monochrome Past: Typically, majority of the flashback sequences are shown in some sort of sepia, as shown here and here.
• Mood Whiplash: The second ED — which is incredibly cute, sweet and adorable — plays when the show gets Darker and Edgier, and can really offset moments like Ragyo revealing herself to be Ryuko's mother. On the other hand, given the much darker nature of the second half of the anime — as well as the anime's tendency to leave off on hard-hitting cliffhangers — it can serve as a well-needed pick-me-up afterwards. While Episode 23 ends on a high enough note for the ending to not count as one, there's one mid-credits once Nui shows up and Ragyo reveals her master plan.
• Mook: One-Stars; Ryuko can beat whole gangs of them into a pulp even without her Kamui.
• Moral Disambiguation: This series had shades of it from the beginning, with its Anti-Hero protagonist and her rebellious allies fighting an Evil Overlord, but the best example of it is when Satsuki fights Ragyo. The former is the aforementioned Evil Overlord, who trapped hundreds of innocents in Life Fiber traps to fulfill her goal of revenge, being well aware that all of them could die, and the latter is her abusive and incestuous mother, who plans to kill every single human and blow up the Earth in the name of the Life Fibers. The only reason it doesn't count as Evil Versus Evil is because Satsuki was revealed to have been Good All Along. After that, the series shifts to Black-and-White Morality.
• Morality Pet: Mako towards Ryuko, being the one who brings Ryuko back to her senses the couple of times she goes off the deep end.
• More Deadly Than the Male: The most powerful men in the series aren't even close to the level of 3 of the 4 main female characters.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Ryuko's monstrous form not only has a mouth full of fangs so long they impale her skull, she has a second mouth where her hips should be. When the Primordial Life Fiber attempts to eat the Naked Sun, it opens a huge four-sided maw lined with thousands of pointy teeth and dripping with red drool.
• Moses in the Bulrushes: As revealed in Episode 18, Ryuko was coldly discarded by Ragyo, thinking her Life Fiber experiments on the infant Ryuko were a failure, but she had her death faked by her father, Soichirou, who assumed the cover Isshin Matoi and raised her in secrecy.
• Mundane Made Awesome:
  • It's about a transfer student going to a school kept in line by an Absurdly Powerful Student Council. The school seems to look more like a city state, the council form a totalitarian government, and the tone is exactly that of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
  • Much of the early series runs on this, as Ryuko's opponents are club presidents. When Clothes Make the Superman, everyone from the Gardening Club to the Folk Dance Club fight with appropriately themed superpowers. Most, however, don't get much further than their introductions before they are defeated.
  • This is taken to absurd lengths in Episode 14, where the Kansai region schools defend themselves with any and all clichés associated with the area, from Kobe beef to gossiping Osakan grannies.
• Mystery Meat: Mrs. Mankanshoku's croquettes are made of unidentified substances, but nevertheless delicious.
• Mysterious Parent: Both Ryuko and Satsuki have them: Ryuko's father designed a Kamui that was apparently intended for her and was later killed; Satsuki's father had one prepared for her, and her mother is head of the academic board. When you put them all together, the mystery vanishes: Ryuko and Satsuki are full-blooded sisters; Isshin Matoi is Soichiro Kiryuin after faking his death and changing his appearance, making Isshin/Soichiro Satsuki's father and Ragyo Ryuko's mother.

N-O

• Naked Freak-Out: Ryuko has quite a few of these early own whenever she's seen naked, in her underwear or in her Stripperific costume. They stop as she goes from a Reluctant Fanservice Girl to a Shameless Fanservice Girl.
• Naked People Are Funny: Nudity is played for laughs just about as often as it's played for titillation. And sometimes it's played for both.
• Nemesis Weapon:
  • Ryuko's weapon is one half of a giant pair of scissors created by her father to cut Life Fibers. The other half is wielded by the insane Nui Harime, the woman who murdered her father while stealing said weapon.
  • Ryuko's Kamui is a black school uniform named Senketsu, and her main rival, Satsuki, wears a Kamui named Junketsu, which is a more militaristic white school uniform. These two are the only ones capable of wearing Kamui apart from their mother Ragyo. And toward the end of the series, Ryuko and Satsuki are forced to battle while wearing the other's Kamui.
• Never Trust a Title: Despite the series's name and giant, blood-spattered logo, there are only a handful of character deaths at the end. The only actual killing is in a flashback (Isshin Matoi's murder, which kicks off the show), and all the rest are suicides of some variety.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: At the end of Episode 21. Ryuko throws her scissor blade into Nui, impaling her and flinging her across the ship and into a wall. All this accomplishes is giving Nui both halves of the scissor. Subverted, as Nui is swiftly disarmed, in both senses of the term, early in the next episode.
• No, I Am Behind You: Ryuko does this to Nui in Episode 22 in order to show-off her newly acquired powers as an awakened Life Fiber hybrid wearing a perfectly synchronized Kamui.
• No Ending: The manga ends after Ryuko's first confrontation with Nui.
• Nosebleed: In Episode 4, Maiko accidentally pulling down Ryuko's pants and invoking a Panty Shot is used as a Running Gag that triggers this for the men of the Mankanshoku family.
• No-Sell: Takaharu's attacks on Ryuko, after she acquires her super-uniform, are about as effective as spitwads fired at a tank. This generally happens when someone strikes an opponent with a higher-level uniform.
• Not Me This Time: Inverted. Ryuko tends to blame everything on Satsuki, from her father's death, which Nui and Ragyo are responsible for, to destruction of Osaka which was actually caused by Takarada's reckless army. Instead of claiming innocence, Satsuki usually takes the blame in order to further manipulate Ryuko and keep the vengeful girl focused on her.
• The Nudifier:
  • Battles against Goku Uniform-clad combatants almost always end with the loser butt-naked. It is sometimes either Played for Laughs and/or Fanservice. Ryuko's finisher can even be translated as "Stripped of the will to fight".
  • Episode 19 introduces a weapon that literally sucks a person out of their clothes that have been imprisoning people and using them as a power source. It doesn't do anything besides immobilize Ryuko when she wears Junketsu though, because Nui sewed them together.
• Offhand Backhand: The Elite Four, sans Jakuzure, do this repeatedly while walking through a crowd of No-Stars in Episode 8.
• Old Retainer: Soroi, and old butler who seems to have been in the Kiryuin family for a long time and is staunchly loyal to Lady Satsuki. He's also a badass, as seen in Episode 18.
• Ominous Fog: Always seems to be drifting around Honnou Town, particularly the academy.
• Once per Episode: Mako interrupting whatever conversation Ryuko is having with one of the villains, or whatever exposition is taking place, and giving a speech, prefaced with her crossed wrists in a Pillar of Light and the Hallelujah Chorus. They're usually only tangentially related to the current situation and always accompanied by excessive gesturing. They're also extremely effective at baffling villains into silence and dropping whatever subject they were currently on.
• One Last Smoke: Before Satsuki and the Elite Four start their rebellion against Ragyo, they drink sake and smash the cups, as they don't expect to survive this battle.
• Only the Chosen May Wield:
  • In a sense, anyway: Kamui can only be worn by certain individuals (see Power Level below). Even a Five-Star uniform made with 50% Life Fiber turns its user into a mindless berserker. Kamui (made entirely out of Life Fibers) require a truly exceptional (or at least shameless) person to wear them properly.
  • It's eventually revealed that Satsuki isn't actually "properly wearing" Junketsu, so much as forcing it to let her wear it. This is evidenced by how drained it leaves Satsuki, how it has to be forcibly removed from her, subdued, then restrained and trapped behind reinforced glass. And it still thrashes wildly even then.
  • It's even more specific with Senketsu who will allow only Ryuko to wear him and will resist anyone else, due to her inborn resistance to the effects of Life Fibers. That said, Senketsu allows Satsuki to wear him in Episodes 20 and 21 in order to try to subdue the brainwashed Ryuko.
  • Only Ryuko can truly use Senketsu to full effect anyway, since Ryuko's DNA was used in Senketsu's creation.
  • If you pay close attention, you'll notice that Ryuko's Activation Phrase for Senketsu is "Life Fiber Synchronize" but Satsuki's Activation Phrase for Junketsu is "Life Fiber Override": Ryuko synchronizes with her Kamui while Satsuki dominates hers through sheer force of will.
• Overdrawn at the Blood Bank:
  • Whenever characters bleed High-Pressure Blood, this is usually the case. It's particularly egregious in Episode 12, when Ryuko mutates into a twisted berserker form, spurting blood all over the place like a leaky fire hose, in volumes that simply could not exist in a human body.
  • Even the credits take this to its Logical Extreme, with Ryuko and Satsuki literally painting the title logo red with the blood they spill while fighting.

P

• Panty Fighter: Skimpy costumes for the protagonist and major antagonist, usually with acrobatics and upskirts. And the loser ends up stark naked.
• Parental Abandonment: Ryuko's parents are dead. Her mother died when she was young, while her father died on the hands of the one carrying the other half of the Scissor Blade. It turns out her mother is still alive. She's Ragyo, and she really did abandon her for dead as a failed experiment.
• Parental Incest: Ragyo, who molests both of her daughters almost every chance she gets.
• Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame:
  • Happens at least Once an Episode.
  • Aikuro once uses his acupuncturist skills on Mako and turns her into a living one.
• The Peeping Tom: Barazo and Mataro can't help but peek in whenever Ryuko is changing or bathing. Seems to be a case of Poor Man's Porn.
• Pie in the Face: One of the many traps in Episode 4, hidden under a Box-and-Stick Trap baited with cheese. Mako is easily suckered into it, but Ryuko pushes her away and realizes the pie's there once it's too late.
• Planet Eater: The Life Fiber's ultimate form of reproduction.
• Please Put Some Clothes On:
  • Gamagoori would prefer that Sanageyama not engage in Full Frontal Assaults.
  • He does the same later with Mako, this time giving her his back.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Mako provides this role to relieve tense moments.
• Post-Kiss Catatonia: A Brainwashed and Crazy Ryuko passionately kisses Nui before heading off to kill Satsuki, leaving Nui rather dazed.
• Powered Armor: Goku Uniforms don't have to resemble this to augment the wearer's abilities, but the Scourge◊ and Blade◊ Regalia are very much your standard bulky mechanized suits. Until the final version that is.
• Power Glows:
  • Satsuki's mother is constantly emitting a bright, rainbow-colored glow from the underside of her hair.
  • The red lines on Senketsu start glowing pink after he and Ryuko achieve their highest level of synchronization. The same happens to Junketsu once it's donned by Ragyo.
• Power Level:
  • The power of a particular uniform is signified by the percentage of Life Fiber sewn into it, which in turn is denoted by the number of stars it has: One-Star uniforms are 10%, Two-Star uniforms are 20%, and so on. Kamui such as Senketsu and Junketsu, which are made entirely out of Life Fiber (making them Ten-Star uniforms!), are the most powerful kind of uniform.
  • An even more literal version in Episode 23 when we're shown a simulation of Mako without her uniform and then with it, showing the power levels of her various body parts to go from 0000 to 9999! Except her head.
• Power Nullifier:
  • The Scissor Blade, half of which is possessed by Ryuko. They exist to cut Goku Uniforms to bits. The Blade also has a very important secondary application. Life Fibers cannot regenerate when both are being used by one person. This is why Nui couldn't regenerate the eye that Isshin cut, and Ryuko later slices off her arms permanently once she recovers both blades.
  • Tsumugu's ammunition is designed to sever the connection between a Goku Uniform and its wearer. They are much less effective at the job than the Scissor Blade though, requiring a substantial amount of needles to take effect. In their second fight, he spends the entire fight nailing Ryuko with enough needles to make a hedgehog jealous before he finally brings her down. To his credit, if it had been anything other than a Kamui, it would have fallen a lot earlier.
• The Power of Rock: During her fight with Nonon Jakuzure, Ryuko uses Senketsu and her scissor blade to change the frequency of the music blast Jakuzure is sending towards her from Beethoven's 5th to rock and roll, and turn it back against her.
• Privately Owned Society: Honnou Town is this as every aspect of life is controlled by the Student Council. It's mentioned that "If the Kiryuins approve it, anything is allowed".
• The Psycho Rangers: In the OVA, Rei creates evil copies of Satsuki and the Elite Four.
• Public Domain Soundtrack: A lot of classical music is used in the show.
  • The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah" is used frequently as Mako's leitmotif.
  • Episode 4 also uses "The Blue Danube Waltz" and Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor".
  • Ryuko's battle with Jakuzure in Episode 10 uses a number of orchestral songs (see Soundtrack Dissonance below for more info).
• Pun:
  • "SEN'I SOUSHITSU!" "Sen'i" can either be "fiber" or "fighting spirit". As such, the attack can be interpreted as not only destroying the opponent's fiber, but their will to fight as well.
  • The name of the "Naturals Election" sounds almost exactly like "Natural Selection."
• Pun-Based Title:
  • The "kiru" in the title can be rendered as Engrish for "kill", or as Japanese which means "to cut" or "to wear (put on)". One could render the title as Dressed to Kill.
  • And "la", or "ra", is a homophone for "naked" (most commonly as "zenra", "completely naked").
  • The series in general is filled with puns and double meanings of words related to clothing and oppression, the two major themes.
  • The show's Chinese name translates to both "The Girl Who Cuts Cloth" and "The Girl Who Cuts by Dual-Wielding".
  • Episode 17 reveals that Satsuki and Nudist Beach take the title literally: Kill the Wearables.
• Punishment Box: Gamagoori claims that Mako's actions in episode 13 would normally merit one month in the academy's Time-Out Chamber.
• Pyrrhic Victory: The defense of Osaka. Honnouji Academy forces are successfully beaten back by the combined forces of Takarada, Nudist Beach, and Ryuko, but all the parties involved have suffered devastating losses, not to mention that Osaka itself is a smouldering ruin.

R

• Rage Breaking Point: Ryuko was never the calmest person, but when Nui Harime reveals herself to be Ryuko's father's killer at the end of Episode 11, all hell breaks loose.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Student Council members, club presidents, and select students get special uniforms that power them up according to their rank.
• Rated M for Manly: It's called the Spiritual Successor to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and for good reason: even though the main characters are female, it oozes testosterone, blood and raw fighting spirit from every episode. It doesn't have Kill for nothing.
• Recap Episode: Parodied in Episode 16 where Senketsu Motor Mouths the summary of the series up to that point in about 90 seconds.
• Reconstruction:
  • Much like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann rebuilt the Super Robot genre after Neon Genesis Evangelion, this is essentially the antithesis to shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Rather than focusing on the negative consequences of being a Magical Girl Warrior, it instead draws attention to the fun of it all.
  • The Panty Fighter genre as a whole. It has all of the over the top Fanservice but without the Excuse Plot this usually entails.
• Red Herring:
  • Meta-example. A shot from an early episode displayed some numbers reflected off of sunglasses that Mako was wearing. If flipped over, these numbers could be read as the phrase "21 I DIE". Come Episode 21, Mako comes extremely close to being killed by Nui and Ryuko at different points, but she survives the episode, albeit sans clothes.
  • It's also hinted that Ryuko may be related to Kinue and Tsumugu Kinagase due to their physical resemblance, specifically the red streaks in their hair. This is Jossed, however, when we find out that Ryuko is actually a Kiryuin meaning that the resemblance was quite literally a red hairing!
  • The REVOCS building looks like The Very Definitely Final Dungeon or something like that, but our protagonists never visit it and the final confrontation turns out to happen at Honnouji Academy.
  • When the murder of Ryuko and Satsuki's father is shown in a flashback, the fleeing killer's silhouette is shown. In the original TV version, it is in the shape of Satsuki. In the DVD/Blu-ray version, it is in the shape of the true killer, Nui.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ryuko and Satsuki, respectively.
• Red Shirt: The One-Star students all appear to be this: not only do they absorb the brunt of this series' massive amounts of collateral damage, but they appear practically identical, and even live in identical, featureless homes.
• Reforged Blade: A surprisingly realistic example: after Satsuki's sword is broken, it's reforged into two smaller blades.
• Refuge in Audacity: All over the place, but the scene where Senketsu forces Ryuko to wear him definitely qualifies. It's filled with molsety overtones, but the concept of a sentient set of clothing forcing someone to wear it, coupled with Senketu's hilarious expression, giant eyebrows, big yellow eyes and hilariously ineffective attempts at reassuring Ryuko make the scene too absurd to really be creepy.
• Refusal of the Call:
  • Episode 3 sees Ryuko unable to unlock Senketsu's full power due to embarrassment over her stripperific uniform. After she has resolved this, the series' conflict gets a formal declaration.
  • The end of Episode 16 has Ryuko refusing to cooperate with Nudist Beach because she no longer sees Senketsu as a weapon simply to be used for their cause.
• The Remnant: Rei comes back during the Graduation Ceremony bonus episode to put up one hell of a last stand against Honnouji Academy - IN THE WORLD'S FIRST GUNMEN!
• La Résistance:
  • The Anti-Kiryuin group, Nudist Beach. They stand against the Kiryuin regime by "not becoming their pigs in clothing", therefore deliberately code themselves as "Stripperiffic People." Currently, we have Mikisugi and Tsumugu who are part of this group, which explains why they act the way they do, seriously.
  • Episode 17 reveals that Satsuki and the Elite Four have been working as an entirely separate resistance group this entire time. Episode 18 has them all except Satsuki, who's been captured joining Nudist Beach. Eventually, Satsuki joins as well.
• Retraux: It emulates the visual style of anime of the '80s.
• Revenge:
  • The murder of Ryuko's father is her main motivation for going up against Satsuki. Her main theme as described by Trigger as "UNIFORM X REVENGE".
  • And in Episode 18, it's revealed that this is Satsuki's motivation for going against her mother, extending to all the way back when she was five years old.
• Rewatch Bonus:
  • After the reveal from episodes 17 and 18, the craziness of Honnouji Academy in the earlier episode makes sense given its actual goal of raising an army to destroy Life Fibers. With this reveal, it becomes pretty obvious that Satsuki was training Ryuko to help in her rebellion against Ragyo. This is confirmed in episode 22.
  • If one were to rewatch the second fight between Fukuroda and Ryuko from the first episode, they'd notice that "Blumenkranz",Ragyo's theme, starts playing once Ryuko's cloak comes off. Considering the revelation in episode 18, this may have been intentional.
  • The wedding dress from the first ED makes a reappearance in episode 20, in Ryuko's implanted fake memories.
• The Right Hand of Doom: Ryuko's berserker form has one of these, approximately the same size as her body. In this case, it's a left one.
• Rocket Jump: How Ryuko, Mako, and Maiko clear the Two-Star district. In a bus.
• Running Gag:
  • Ryuko is an exhibitionist, which she vehemently denies. Also counts as Lampshade Hanging over her ridiculous uniform.
  • Mako being picked up, and then put down again in a standing position without her even so much as flinching.
  • Mako's melodramatic explanations for things. They come off as stupefying even for people living in a World of Ham.
  • Whenever Aikuro explains something, he's bound to do it while stripping and sparkling.
  • Sanageyama has a habit of being beaten by women the first time he challenges them; Satsuki in middle school, Ryuko when he issues a challenge, and Nui Harime when she interrupted his second rematch with Ryuko.
  • Mikisugi hates the name "Dotonbori Robo" and will insistently correct anyone who uses it.

S

• Saved From Their Own Honor:
  • Ira Gamagori is defeated by the protagonist Ryuko and prepares to commit seppuku. However, his master Satsuki appears and tells him that his sacrifice isn't necessary.
  • Later on in the same series, Satsuki asks Ryuko what she can do as an apology for the way she acted earlier, and Ryuko says that she wants to punch Satsuki in the face at full strength (which would kill her). Satsuki agrees, but when Ryuko tries to punch her, Gamagori and the rest of the Elite Four each decide that they will take Ryuko's punches on Satsuki's behalf, and are actually pissed when the punch isn't fatal. After seeing their display of loyalty, Ryuko suddenly decides that she doesn't feel angry anymore.
• Save the Villain: Upon defeating Ragyo, Ryuko tries to convince her to come back to humanity and try to live a normal life. However, in one last act of defiance, Ragyo crushes her own heart, refusing to allow anyone to control her fate.
• Schizo Tech: Despite severe technological advances in the clothing industry, even the most advanced of computers (including portables and handhelds) still use monochrome LCDs. Furthermore, these devices resemble contemporary smartphones.
• Scenery Censor: In episode 6, Sanageyama suffers from complete Clothing Damage and stands naked in front of Ryuko and Mako. While Ryuko's left Shoulder of Doom conceals his crotch from the viewer, but not from the girls and from the way Mako stares while holding her index finger and thumb very close together◊ implies Sanageyama has a Teeny Weenie.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!:
  • The Absurdly Powerful Student Council exists as such because its president's mother is head of the academic board.
  • A pair of thugs in Gamagoori's old school overrule his authority as Student Council President because one of their fathers owns an important company, and the other's father is the chief of police.
• Sdrawkcab Name: REVOCS, the corporation that controls 90% of the world's clothing distribution, is a shell for Ragyo's ulterior plot, COVERS.
• Self-Harm–Induced Superpower: Downplayed with the Kamui, which are advanced clothes that give superpowers to their wearers but drink their blood to sustain the transformation. The blood consumption is handled through a proboscis-like needle in the outfit itself, but the user triggers when it is used.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains:
  • Ryuko spends the first three episodes complaining how skimpy Senketsu's combat form is. Satsuki expects a level of chivalry from her subjects, but otherwise doesn't care how skimpy her outfit is if it means more power.
  • Inverted in the long run, as clothes are fascist. The trope actually gets an explanation in Episode 21, where Satsuki reveals that minimizing direct skin contact reduces the Life Fibers' mind control, also explaining the brainwashed Ryuko's much more conservative version of Junketsu.
  • When Satsuki puts on Junketsu for the first time, the fabric of its skirt is seen stretching towards her feet while she struggles with it for dominance. When Ryuko is later forced to wear the same outfit, her skirt extends into ankle-length hakama as well.
• Sequel Hook: Episode 24 has a couple of loose ends that raise the possibility of a sequel.
  • Just before committing suicide, Ragyo says there are plenty more Life Fibers left in the universe and that one day, they will return to haunt the earth.
  • There's also Rei whose ultimate fate is unclear at the end of the series, but that gets fixed in the bonus episode.
• Serious Business:
  • Literally everything related to school life is considered serious business. Students can be executed for breaking rules. Tennis matches against rival schools are referred to as "armed suppression" and considered part of a larger pattern of conquest. Even the sewing club is less of a school club and more of an R&D laboratory for creating and further developing the weaponized uniforms.
  • Nothing in the world is more Serious Business to REVOCS than clothing.
    Ragyo Kiryuin: "What is clothing?!"
    Managers: "Clothing is sin! Mankind's original sin!"
• Set Bonus: Both halves of the Rending Scissors, used together, can cut Life Fibers completely so that they don't regenerate.
• Shameful Strip: Inverted. Satsuki lectures Ryuko about being ashamed of being seen in her Kamui in Episode 3, saying "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! If it means fulfilling my ambitions, I will show neither shame nor hesitation, even if I must bare my breasts for all the world to see!"
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Nui is an extremely twisted example, as she squees with delight commenting how Ryuko and Satsuki are in your own little world! There is no room for anyone else! in Episode 12, as Satsuki and berserk Ryuko fight to the death.
  • The series' ending shows the rest of the Elite Four being this for Mako/Gamagoori.
• Ship Tease:
  • A small but growing amount between Mako and Gamagoori, kicking off from their first meeting in Episode 4. By Episode 19, the rest of the cast has started commenting on it, resulting in a rather flustered Suspiciously Specific Denial from the latter.
  • Rather more blatant with Mako and Ryuko, who quickly become the best of friends by the end of the first episode. Senketsu remarks how Mako's antics make Ryuko at ease, Ryuko confides in her more then anyone else, and Mako twice breaks Ryuko out of a mad rampage at great risk to herself. They even agree to go on an date in the last episode, though it's ambiguous how romantic it's supposed to be.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Surprisingly averted. Despite the plot getting progressively darker and serious in the second half of the series, Mako continues to be a relevant character and never loses too much focus, and that includes the finale and her comic relief tendencies are kept in tact. Even her family, whom have a far less active role, aren't kept out of the loop completely.
• Shoulders of Doom: Both Kamui Senketsu and Junketsu provide their owners with huge shoulder pauldrons. Though, Satsuki's are bigger and point up, while Ryuko's are thinner and point to the sides.
• Shout-Out: Has its own page.
• Shown Their Work: This show touches upon how ordinary Japanese school uniforms were originally based on military uniforms, and also contains myriad references to the fashion world and sewing in general.
• Single-Stroke Battle: Episode 7 sees Ryuko dishing this out quite a few times, as she takes on the many club presidents who attempt to rise to Three-Star by defeating her.
• Slapstick: In addition to the Fanservice and Clothing Damage, several characters get brutalized via this.
• Sleeps in the Nude: When Mako asks what kind of pajama Gamagori uses, he tells her that he sleeps in the nude, which shocks one female student in the background who blushes and puts her hand to her mouth and causes Mako to scold him for it as he might get a cold for sleeping naked.
• Sleepyhead: Mako appears to suffer from Narcolepsy, & will fall asleep at the drop of a hat, even if you're talking to her.
• Sorting Algorithm of Evil:
  • Invoked, then subverted; the Student Council is forbidden from attacking Ryuko until she has defeated all club presidents, and Satsuki herself will only fight herself when the council has also been defeated. Defied by Sanageyama, who wants to (and gets to) fight early on. In addition, during the Naturals Election, the supposed strongest of the Elite Four is first due to not having participated before then. Satsuki deliberately holds back to ensure Ryuko survives and grows in experience so Ryuko can be incorporated into Satsuki's revenge plan. Her manipulation keeps Ryuko away from the far more dangerous REVOCS, but eventually ensures Ryuko rebels against her allies and falls into Ragyo and Nui's hands.
    • Subverted again in the OVA to wrap up the series. The last enemies fought chronologically are Quirky Miniboss Squad and Satsuki as they were in the beginning of the show. They only put up a fight because everyone lost the series finale gear.
  • Defied again in Ryuko's fight with Nui. Ryuko jumped straight from fighting the 1st Season's Quirky Miniboss Squad to fighting the 2nd Season's Dragon.
• Soundtrack Dissonance:
  • Episode 4 has Mako, Ryuko, and Maiko being blown through the air after the bus they hijacked is hit by two RPGs...while "The Blue Danube Waltz" plays in the background.
  • Part of Episode 5 is set to upbeat classical music conducted by Jakuzure, while Ryuko stumbles upon traps and hordes of slaughtered Mooks Tsumugu has scattered about.
  • In Episode 10, Ryuko and Jakuzure's battle is set to several other Standard Snippet classical pieces, specifically Josef Wagner's "Under the Double Eagle," Franz von Suppe's "Light Cavalry Overture", Rossini's "William Tell Overture", Jacques Offenbach's "Infernal Galop" (a.k.a. "The Cancan Song"), and Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony", the last of which averting the dissonance of the previous pieces.
  • Nui Harime's introduction is set to ominous-sounding music, despite being a cute Elegant Gothic Lolita who always wears a big goofy smile.
  • Compared to how Hot-Blooded and hammy the series can get, the second ED easily fits, being a fluffy, rainbow-infested romp through Mako's dream world.
• Space Is Noisy: During Ryuko's final battle with Ragyo, the two manage to converse outside of the ozone layer with no difficulty shown. Given that this is the climactic fight against the antagonist, it is done to allow all the characters' thoughts and feelings to be verbalized.
• Special Edition Title: In episode 23, as described above.
• Spelling for Emphasis: Aikuro Mikisugi takes the naming of DTR seriously and insists on referring it by acronym instead of its full name Dotonbori Robo. In episode 19, he types "DTR" on Inumuta's screen to get the point across.
• Spikes of Villainy: All over the place, particularly on high-tier Goku Uniforms like those of Gamagoori and Sanageyama.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff: Ryuko spins the Scissor Blade at high speed to deflect Gamagoori's whip attacks in Episode 9.
• Spiritual Antithesis: To Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
• Spiritual Successor: To Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's also very likely consciously one to a much older Fanservice-laden comedy-action anime from The '80s that involves three teen female protagonists (a rambunctious fighter, a stoic popular student, and a Womanchild) who get caught up in a bizarrely comic alien invasion plot... namely, Project A-Ko.
• Spiteful Suicide: Ragyo takes her own life rather then surrendering to the humans she looked down on after Ryuko defeats her. Pulling out her own Life-Fiber infused heart and crushing it while promising that the Life Fibers will return someday.
• Split-Screen Reaction: Used very...artfully during Satsuki, Senketsu and Ryuko's conversation in Episode 21.
• Spoiler Opening:
  • Averted with the second OP, which shows just enough hints about the fact that Satsuki and Ryuko are both gunning for Ragyo without outright spoiling it. The fact that Ryuko and Satsuki's rivalry is heavily emphasized helps a lot.
  • Of course, only later does one realize that it has Ryuko's and Satsuki's groups walking parallel-yet-different paths heading towards Ragyo, which is telling in that it symbolizes different methods towards the same end goal.
  • It was, however, played straight in a meta sense, since Trigger didn't want to show it until after Episode 16 (instead of the traditional switching of the opening at the halfway point in a two-cour series), when the Elite Four get some upgraded outfits.
• Spoof Aesop: Greedily going for instant short-term rewards is bad. Instead, wait until everybody else is worn out and pickpocket them afterwards.
• Squish the Cheeks: After Ragyo brain washes Ryuko and turns her to her side, Ryuko grabs Nui and to her shock, squishes her face, causing her to pucker, then kisses her.
• Starfish Aliens: Life Fibers arrived on Earth back when homo sapiens first began to walk, and have been uplifting humans to be their ideal food source ever since.
• States of Phlebotinum: Life Fibers come in normal and hardened varieties, the latter is what is able to cut the former.
• Status Quo Is God: Episode 7 is pretty much about this.
• Stealth Pun:
  • During Ryuko's Unstoppable Rage in Episode 12, where Nui literally makes her blood boil (and don't forget how Hot-Blooded she is).
  • At the end of Episode 17, Ragyo Kiryuin is impaled in the back by Satsuki with Bakuzan and thrown onto a crucifix-like platform. Satsuki then reveals that she actually led Honnouji Academy as a way to stop the Life Fibers from controlling humanity. Satsuki backstabbed her mother both figuratively and literally.
• The Stinger:
  • In episode 12. Ryuko confronts Satsuki about Harime Nui, but Satsuki reveal's that she was the one who sent Nui after Dr. Matoi.^note Though this is later revealed to be a lie in order to prevent Ryuko from going after Nui on her own. She also reveal's that the Naturals Election and the King of the Hill Battle was all to improve her army and upgrade the Goku uniforms for her final invasion of the Kansai region.
  • In Episode 19. It reveals that Satsuki has false toenails made of the same material as her sword Bakuzan, and was thus indeed prepared to escape her confinement.
  • Episode 23 has one hell of a long stinger, which starts with Nui Breaking the Fourth Wall and interrupting the credits to deliver it. You can see it in its entirety here.
• Stranger Behind the Mask: The driving motivation of Ryuko is to find the person who killed her father. The person in question appears about midway through the series, and it's no one that has been seen before. It also took some time to confirm that the person who ordered it was, at that time, someone who hadn't made a full appearance yet.
• Stripperiffic:
  • Ryuko in Senketsu and Satsuki in Junketsu bare a lot of skin. This turns out to be an important design point: Life Fibers better control their host by covering more skin. As such, Junketsu on a Brainwashed and Crazy Ryuko is a much more modest outfit.
  • Nudist Beach completely take the cake by going to war wearing only gloves, boots, and utility belts.
  • The Elite Four's Ultimate Configuration Three-Star Uniforms are much more skimpy than their usual getup, looking much more like a Kamui.
• Super-Power Meltdown: Using too much Life Fiber in a uniform eventually will make the user lose all control, becoming a raging hulk. Conversely, Kamui are too powerful for most people to be able to use.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • Ryuko charges at Satsuki, while she is surrounded by hundreds of students loyal to her, and immediately gets pounded flat by Fukuroda.
  • Newbie driver Gamagoori tries to evade pursuers by spinning his car. He promptly loses control and crashes.
  • Ryuko gets the idea to start a club to exploit Satsuki's system, only to be buried under the mountain of paperwork and forms she needs to fill out in order to start it.
  • Senketsu gains the ability to fly during Ryuko's fight with Jakuzure. Ryuko immediately decides to just skip the boss gauntlet and just make a beeline for Satsuki. Might as well go for her real target, right? It doesn't work though, since Jakuzure isn't having anyone attack Satsuki on her watch (or ignore her, for that matter).
  • Ryuko charges into Ragyo's stronghold after being taunted into coming by her and Nui. She is surrounded, overpowered, and converted to their side via Mind Rape.
  • More or less happens when Satsuki catches Ryuko after she fell all the way from space. Instead of instantly stopping, the motion just changes horizontally. It takes everyone such as Elite Four, the Mankanshoku family, and all the other students to slow them down safely.
• Suspender Snag: During Ryuko's battle with Gamagoori, she is nearly knocked off the stage, but manages to catch herself when her blade snags in the suspender-like part of her outfit.
• The Symbiote: The nature of Life Fibers is revealed to be alien lifeforms that feed on the neural impulses of living organisms. To survive through centuries, they cover the skin of humans and feed on their energy without overwhelming their host.

T

• Take Me to Your Leader: The first time she sets foot inside Honnouji Academy, Ryuko demands an audience with whoever is running the place. Well, it doesn't take long for that to happen.
• Takes One to Kill One: Only Life Fibers can combat fellow Life Fibers. To this end, Nudist Beach experimented with them and developed Senketsu, to the point that the Rending Scissors and all other anti-Life Fiber blades are made of compacted Life Fibers themselves.
• A Tale Told by an Idiot: Mako has a habit of trying to summarize a situation in such a way that it seldom matches what's actually happening. She is a huge Cloudcuckoolander.
• Talking Is a Free Action:
  • Milked for all its worth in Episode 18, when Satsuki seems to run on the spot for about a minute while exchanging threats with Ragyo.
  • Invoked and averted near the end when Satsuki intentionally distracts Ragyo by getting her to start gloating so that Ryuko can attack the Primordial Life Fiber. Satsuki then mocks Ragyo for wasting time to brag.
• Tastes Better Than It Looks: Even though the croquettes made by Mako's mom contain some weird stuff, some of it is still moving when served, they are considered to be tasty.
• Teenage Wasteland: The principal and teachers of Honnouji Academy are painfully aware that they are merely slaves to the Student Council President. In this case, however, it's said president's connection to her mother, the chair of the academic board, that gives her such authority.
• Tender Tomboyishness, Foul Femininity: The heroine Ryuko Matoi is a tough Japanese Delinquent with a soft spot for Mako, Senketsu, and Mako's family. Nui Harime, on the other hand, is by far the girliest character in the series, the more villainous of the true Big Bad's Co-Dragons, and gleefully gloats about killing Ryuko's father once she meets Ryuko for the first time.
• Theme Music Power-Up: Whenever Ryuko is about to deliver an epic beatdown, the "Don't Lose Your Way!" portion of her theme, "Before My Body is Dry", fires up. The epic orchestral version of the music in question also gets played, especially during later episodes.
• Theme Naming:
  • The Kamui have names that end in "-ketsu" (although their meanings are different). This includes Senketsu, Junketsu, and the gigantic "Ultimate Kamui" Nui made for Ragyo, Shinra-Koketsu.
  • Appropriately, many characters also have names related to clothes or the making of them.
• There Was a Door: In Episode 4, Ryuko and Mako narrowly escape the No-Late Day Death Course by crashing through their homeroom class's wall on a hijacked monorail just as Ryuko is being called for attendance.
• This Cannot Be!: A common reaction among people that are being defeated throughout the series is to cry out "Impossible!" or some variant.
• Time Skip: Between the end of Episode 24 and the credits scene - there is an establishing shot of Honnouji at the beginning of the credits sequence, followed by a shot of the same location, but with the school and town completely gone; this indicates that the scene in the credits likely takes place several months after the events of the series (and definitely after the OVA).
• Toplessness from the Back: Used in a lot of the female character, but most notably on Ragyo since it shows off the many scars she has on her bare back.
• Too Awesome to Use: The infamous Anti-Life Fiber Bullet, mentioned halfway through the series by Aikuro and Tsumugu, and never once put to test or even shown again. It's possible that this was an aborted plot point, rather than an intentional choice by the characters.
• Tournament Arc: The Naturals Election has shades of this, except that only the Elite Four are fighting Ryuko and not anyone else.
• Training from Hell: Living and studying at Honnouji Academy is a real exercise in survival, what with iron-fisted disciplinarians, navigating Death Courses, and dealing with abusive club presidents. It all starts to make sense, though, when Satsuki reveals that the academy is actually a huge boot camp where she has been preparing herself an army to fight Ragyo and Life Fibers.
• Transformation Sequence: Played with: Ryuko's transformation isn't shown the first time it happens, as it is forcibly caused by Senketsu. It's first shown in the second episode opening, and doesn't appear within that episode either- when Ryuko activates Senketsu, he just sort of goes "poof" and changes. It's only after she recognizes the value of her Kamui as an ally that she transforms properly and uses its real power. Satsuki's transformation is almost identical. This is also played with in that the transformation sequence itself is used as a weapon: when fighting Gamagoori, Ryuko uses it twice to break out of his restraints.
  • Transformation Is a Free Action: Played straight for most of the series, although subverted in Episode 24 when Ragyo smashes the Ultimate Double Naked DTR during its transformation sequence.
  • Somewhat justified as we see what transforming looks like from someone elses perspective at one point and it implies it takes around a second in real-time to actually happen.
  • Transformation Name Announcement:
    • Anyone that owns a high-rank Goku uniform would give a shout after transformation in the hammiest way possible.
  • There's also an utterly terrifying one for Ryuko's berserker form.
  • The Elite Four all have one of their own, too.
  • There's even one for Ragyo, after she takes Junketsu from Satsuki.
  • As of Episode 22, we not only get one for Gadgeteer Genius Shiro Iori's Three-Star uniform but also a side-by-side dual transformation sequence for sisters Ryuko and Satsuki.
  • And finally, there's one for Ryuko and Senketsu's transformation into Senketsu Kisaragi.
• Trash the Set:
  • Happens every time there's a big battle, but most notably with Episode 12, which has a berserk Ryuko trash Honnouji Academy to the extent that construction crews are seen working to repair it several in-universe days after.
  • Then, there's Osaka, which is not only mostly destroyed by the School Raid Trip, but is completely razed when Ryuko and Satsuki fight using the full extent of their powers. Scenery Gorn included as standard.
  • By the end of Episode 24, the academy is completely and utterly demolished after the fight finishes. Although, it doesn't pose a problem anyway, seeing as it's torn down later due to having already served its purpose as a base camp for Satsuki.
  • Exaggerated in the OVA epilogue, in which the Honnouji Academy Last Resort System, and its subsequent defeat by Ryuko, destroys what's left of Honnouji Academy, Hounnou Town and even the island it's built on.
• Troperiffic: Like you wouldn't believe. A Hot-Blooded loner who fights against an established rule to avenge her father along with her wacky best friend, and gains a rival who's her complete opposite in every way. And that's just the beginning of the series; as it continues, it pours on even more tropes on top of the ones already established. Considering the works the directors have previously worked on, this was more than likely intentional.
• True Companions:
  • Ryuko and Mako quickly become this.
  • More importantly, a good amount of the plot is seemingly devoted to showing how Ryuko and Senketsu become this, in contrast to Satsuki who has to dominate Junketsu and is exhausted after every time she uses it.
  • Later on, it's pretty obvious that Satsuki and the Elite Four are this as well.
  • And by the finale, all of the aforementioned groups are this to each other.
• Tsurime Eyes: The two main leads. Mako contrasts them both with her Tareme Eyes.
• Twitchy Eye: Uzu has one in Episode 2 while warning Ryuko not to get too uppity about beating Omiko, and Ryuko herself gets one in Episode 6 when she learns how much paperwork is involved for her new Fight Club.
• Twinkle in the Sky: In Episode 7, Barazo, Mataro, and Guts get punched out like this by Ryuko when they peek in on her bathing.
• Two Halves Make a Plot: Ryuko Matoi transfers to Honnouji Academy armed with one half of a sword-sized pair of scissors, and is in search for the one who stole the other half of the blade from her father, his killer.
• Tyke Bomb: Both Ryuko and Satsuki. Their father motivated Satsuki to rebel against Ragyo, which fueled her desire and vendetta for thirteen years (meaning since she was five), while he raised Ryuko and created garments (Senketsu) and weapons (the Scissor Blade) for her to use against Ragyo when the time was right.
• Tyop on the Cover: According to the back of the first manga volume, the protagonist of the series is Ryuki Matoi.

U-V

• Übermensch: Satsuki's worldview draws a strong distinction between the masses, little better than 'pigs in clothing' constrained by the unthinking norms of conventional morality, and the few such as her who have liberated themselves from those constraints and possess the will to achieve their ambitions through whatever means necessary - including nudity. In line with this philosophy, Ryuko is only able to fully harness Senketsu's power once she discards her shame at her own appearance. This particularly contrasts with their mother, who - for all that the three have in common an incredible strength of will - has subordinated herself to the Life Fibers in the hopes of otherwordly reward.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Barazo Mankanshoku and his wife, Sukuyo.
• Undressing the Unconscious: In episode 2, when Ryuko regain consciousness from her "fight" with Omiko Hakodate, she notices Senketsu is hanging by a wire. Aikuro actually removed Senketsu from her when he found her unconscious.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • The Elite Four to Satsuki (Gamagoori especially).
  • Senketsu to Ryuko and vice-versa.
• Unflinching Walk: Satsuki and her Elite Four casually stroll along as chaos and mayhem rage around them in Episodes 8 and 12.
• Unmoving Plaid: Whenever Life Fibers temporarily form a three-dimensional object, it's animated with Tron Lines arranged like this. Most commonly seen with Two-Star Goku Uniforms, but Episode 18 reveals that Ryuko's heart has the same pattern, absolutely proving to Ragyo that Ryuko is her Life Fiber-spliced daughter. It also manifests during injuries to likewise augmented Nui and Ragyo herself.
• Unpleasant Parent Reveal: When Ryuko meets her mother, the latter rips her heart out of her chest.
• Vagina Dentata: A rather disturbing example appears in Episode 12, when Ryuko transforms into her berserker form, effectively turning her entire pelvis into a huge, toothy mouth. Just look at this!◊ Beware of spoilers in the link.
• The Virus: It turns out that Life Fibers are actually an extra-terrestrial organism that acts much like a biological virus. It floats in space until it finds a planet, which it then infects. When total infection is achieved, it covers the planet and causes it to explode, spreading more Life Fibers, much like how a virus infects a cell and forces it to produce more viruses until the cell explodes, spreading more viruses.
• Villain Episode:
  • Sanageyama is effectively the protagonist of Episode 6 instead of Ryuko. In fact, when he's defeated halfway through the episode, it focuses less on Ryuko's victory and more on the radical Character Development Sanageyama undergoes in order to defeat her.
  • Also Episode 14, which focuses much more on the actions of Satsuki's army during their Battlefield Trip than on Ryuko running around Kansai collecting pieces of Senketsu.
• Villain Protagonist: The show focuses on Satsuki and the Elite Four about as much as Ryuko, which makes sense after it turns out they're not exactly villains.
• Villainous Breakdown: Nui finally loses it when Ryuko cuts off her arms and destroys them causing her to flip out while saying everyone pisses her off.
• Villainous Friendship: Satsuki and Jakuzure are shown to be Childhood Friends. Later it turns out they're not villains.
• Villainous Incest: Ragyo molests Satsuki on several occasions, once in order to open her chakra gates and increase her attunement to Junketsu, and seemingly has a threesome with Nui and a brainwashed Ryuko while attaching Junketsu to the latter.
• Villainous Rescue: In Episode 13 Satsuki steps in right when Nui tears Senketsu to pieces and is about to finish Ryuko off. She's even considerate enough to provide her a blanket to keep warm, afterwards!
• Visual Pun:
  • The seemingly irrelevant poses that Mako makes during her inspirational speeches are actually clever, fast-paced word puns. Naturally, they make no sense in English.
  • In Episode 14, Takarada calls Sanageyama "green", in the sense of being naive/inexperienced, several times. Sanageyama and his army happen to be wearing head-to-toe green.
  • Also in episode 14: The Takoyaki that Mako imagines in her Hallelujah moment shows the dish vaguely resembling her face and hairstyle. In other words, Makoyaki.
  • Takarada's forces use literal clips to hold their money together.

W

• Wake-Up Call Boss: So many. In the first episode, Takaharu Fukuroda is able to defeat Ryuko initially, after she blows through the One-Star Mooks with ease, which is also an Early-Bird Boss. Episode 3 marks her first "real" fight against Satsuki, where she must embrace Senketsu in order to not suffer a Curb-Stomp Battle. In Episode 6, she has to fight Sanageyama, and after he Took a Level in Badass after sewing his eyes shut, gets her ass kicked, only barely surviving. Then Nui Harime shows up and gives Sanageyama a massive dose of The Worf Effect, proceeding to spend the next few episodes making Ryuko miserable and causing a Heroic BSoD. Later still, Ragyo Kiryuin begins to take to the battlefield, and being Nigh-Invulnerable isn't even the worst of her abilities.
• War Is Hell: Invoked when Ryuko calls Satsuki out on her ambition, as it results in Osaka going up in flames.
• Weeding Out Imperfections: "Blumenkranz", the theme for Ragyo Kiryuin, has a line in the chorus about throwing away dead flowers and wondering why the listener would have any problem with it. It alludes to how she dumped a then-newborn Ryuko down a garbage chute when she seemingly died from Ragyo's Life Fiber experiments.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: One change that alerts Ryuko to how much the Mankanshoku family has grown apart from their newfound wealth is that the men don't have the time or interest in peeping on her baths anymore.
• Wham Episode: Episodes 16 - 18 may as well be called a Wham Arc.
  • Episode 16: It's revealed that Life Fibers are extraterrestrial life forms that accelerated human evolution so that humans would start wearing clothes, allowing Life Fibers to be worn by, and subsequently feed on, humans. Ragyo is actively working with the Primordial Life Fiber by using REVOCS to spread clothes containing Life Fibers to every person on the globe. It is also revealed that Ryuko's father used to work for Ragyo before finding out the truth and founding Nudist Beach to combat her. He also created Senketsu specifically to destroy other Life Fibers.
  • The end of Episode 17 through Episode 18: Satsuki finally rebels against Ragyo, literally backstabbing her before announcing her intent to take down COVERS. She also reveals that everything she's done, founding Honnouji Academy, setting up the Elite Four and the Goku Uniform system, was all part of her plan to stop Ragyo and the Primordial Life Fiber's plot. Then not only is Satsuki savagely beaten by her own mother (who proves herself nigh-immortal, then steals Junketsu for herself), but Ragyo goes on to subdue Ryuko by tearing her heart out...revealing that Ryuko is both fused with Life Fibers and is also Ragyo's daughter. The fact that the Primordial Life Fiber is now entering the fray with an entire army of COVERS almost seems like an afterthought compared to everything else that happened!
  • As if that wasn't enough, Episode 20 aired. We also find out that Nui is born out of the Primordial Life Fiber's womb, making her a Humanoid Abomination. We also see Ragyo brainwashing Ryuko into believing that she has a normal, happy life with her, resulting in the latter donning Junketsu with the intent of finishing Nudist Beach on their ship. That's right. After being one of the series' main protagonists for 20 episodes, Ryuko, of all characters, turns heel. Finally, we find out that Satsuki escaped and is now wearing Senketsu in order to defeat her younger sister.
• Wham Line:
  • Episode 11:
    Nui Harime: "I'm the one who killed your father!"
  • Episode 17:
    Satsuki: "I, Satsuki Kiryuin, am rising up to overthrow the Life Fibers! Honnouji Academy is the fortress I created in order to defeat you! Remember that, Ragyo Kiryuin!"
  • Episode 18:
    Ragyo (speaking to Ryuko): "And here I thought you were dead, my daughter."
  • Episode 19:
    Ryuko (speaking to Senketsu): "Get away from me! I'm done with you! I'm never putting you on again!"
• Wham Shot:
  • Episode 11 ends with Nui Harime pulling out the other half of Ryuko's scissor blade, revealing that she was the one that killed Ryuko's father.
  • The end of Episode 13, where Ryuko saves Shinjiro Nagita, only to reveal that his predicament was a ploy. As he laughs at her being predictable, the wind shifts the hair on his left side, revealing Nui Harime's eyepatch.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Quite literally; we never find out what happened to Isshin Matoi's pet mouse.
  • After she's ejected from Shinra Koketsu in the final episode, Rei kind of just disappears. In a last minute subversion, she returns as the Big Bad of the OVA. Similarly, after the final fight in the same episode, Ryuko's Scissor Blades just disappear... only for the OVA to reveal that they were still in space the whole time, and Senketsu's spirit sends them back down to Earth to help Ryuko.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • In Episode 6, Ryuko has finally had enough of Aikuro's aloofness, and demands straight answers about what is going on, especially because she knows that the guy who just beat the living crap out of her was seen meeting him earlier.
  • In Episode 7, Mako calls out her own family for not trying to make her stop fighting Ryuko.
  • In Episode 12 and with a combination of Get A Hold Of Yourself Man and Cooldown Hug, Mako does this to snap Ryuko out of her Heroic RRoD and cool her down.
• Where It All Began: It comes to pass that Honnouji Academy is the theater of the final confrontation between the heroes and Life Fibers, since the Primordial Life Fiber needed to combine with the transmitter located there to broadcast the signal that will activate COVERS all around the world.
• Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: When Ragyo orders Nui to sacrifice herself to power up the Original Life Fiber, the latter responds by decapitating herself. This is pretty much the (understandable) reaction of the entire main cast.
• "With Our Swords" Scene: In episode 24, after she and the rest of the cast can no longer fight Ragyo, as she has just taken off to space to broadcast Absolute Submission across the world, everyone present, from the Elite Four to Mako's family, loan their clothing's power to Ryuko (getting naked in the process) to power Senkestu up for the final battle.
• Whole-Plot Reference: To the director, writer, and lead character designer's previos work, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The main protagonist finds a powerful artifact and stands up against a powerful dictator who keeps the people subservient and oppressed, with the help of four elite generals. However, by the midpoint, it turns out that the dictator is actually a Well-Intentioned Extremist who stands opposed to an evil alien race, the leader of which seems to think that humanity is too chaotic. The former dictator joins forces with the main character, and eventually the alien leader is painstakingly defeated in an epic battle that takes place in space. Both shows also introduce a new female character midway through the series, with an extremely girly personality and a name that starts with "N". They play completely different roles in the story, though.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: The soundtrack version of "Before My Body is Dry" features David Whitaker rapping the lines of the viewpoint of Senketsu as he explains that bonding with Ryuko will make them both stronger and allow her to seek out her father's killer.
• The Worf Effect:
  • Sanageyama tends to suffer from this after Episode 6, in which his status as the strongest of the Elite Four is all but confirmed by him utterly curb-stomping Ryuko and Satsuki declaring his Shingantsu unrivalled. Then, in the Naturals Election, he defeats the greatest number of students and is slated for a dramatic rematch with Ryuko, only for Nui Harime to drop in and defeat him in all of two hits.
  • Played horrifyingly straight in Episode 18. Until then, Satsuki never lost a fight against any opponent. And then Episode 18 aired, where Ragyo mercilessly beat the living shit out of her, before ultimately finishing her by stripping Junketsu from her body and tossing her into a wall.
  • Nui also seems to be hit hard with this in the same episode, where Ryuko, having finally reached total synchronization with Senketsu, outperforms her on such a scale that she completely drops her usual overly cheerful and smug expression for one of pure shock. However, this just sets up another example, where a Junketsu-wearing Ragyo can easily flash step behind Ryuko and effortlessly pluck out her heart without Ryuko having time to react.
• Workout Fanservice: There's official artwork◊ of Gamagoori, Sanageyama and Inumuta working up a nice sweat. Gamagoori is shirtless, Sanageyama gets to show off his arms, and Inumuta...has unzipped his jacket halfway (revealing a t-shirt).
• World of Action Girls: Every single named female character in the series is a certified badass capable of kicking ass. You've got the female protagonist Ryuko Matoi, her female best friend Mako Mankanshoku, her female rival and Big Bad Satsuki Kiryuin, the female member of the Elite Four Nonon Jakuzure, the female Greater-Scope Villain/true Big Bad Ragyo Kiryuin, and her female Co-Dragons Nui Harime and Rei Hououmaru. The former two and latter two are the most powerful characters in the series, and the others are just as strong as their male counterparts. The only notable male fighters are the two main members of Nudist Beach and two of the Elite Four. The least action-oriented female is Mako's mom. However, to balance this, she's completely unfazed by even the most blatant and bizarre uses of otherworldly power throughout the series.
• World of Badass: Just how badass are these characters? The uniforms that the low-level Mooks wear boost their strength and reflexes to a superhuman level. Said mooks are sent flying in droves by the simplest of attacks from the named members of the cast.
• World of Buxom: Downplayed. In general the female characters are rather busty but there's a few exceptions in Nonon and Nui Harime. Nonon is rather petite and has a relatively similar chest size while Nui is somewhat childlike in appearance and as shown at the start of Episode 21 has a small bust size.
• World of Ham: Dear lord. EVERY! SINGLE! LINE! Is delivered with CONFIDENCE! AND BRAVADO! AND HOT-BLOODED FURY! And GIANT RED BLOCK CAPITALS ALL OVER THE SCREEN!
• World of Technicolor Hair: In keeping with its ridiculously over-the-top nature, the series has several hair colors that fall outside of the realm of reality, like the grey-blue-haired Mikisugi, pink-haired Jakuzure, tealish-haired Inumuta, lilac-haired Hououmaru, green-haired Sanageyama, and possibly Ryuko and Tsumugu, who both have red stripes in their hair, though the latter of two's could conceivably be a dye-job but, in Ryuko's case, it's actually a strand of Life Fibers that sprang from her being half-fused with them shortly after birth. Then there's Ragyo, whose hair is not only rainbow colored, but also shines its own light in a way reminiscent of a neon sign.
• Worthy Opponent: After their battle in Episode 3, Satsuki considers Ryuko one. Sanageyama also feels this way about her.
• Wretched Hive: The slums of Honnou Town. Its citizens are well aware of this fact, even the kids.

X-Y

• Xanatos Gambit:
  • In Episode 7, Satsuki tells the school that any club president who defeats Ryuko will be promoted to Three-Star, with all the privileges there-in. This causes most of the clubs to splinter, and dozens of newly minted presidents to throw themselves at Ryuko. If it had worked, Satsuki would have gotten rid of Ryuko and found a sixth student worthy of a Three-Star status. Instead, she is able to weed out dozens of weaklings and gain an excuse to call for a "Naturals Election".
  • Another example from Episode 7: Satsuki uses Mako's greed to set up a fight between Mako and Ryuko, and then rubs Mako and Ryuko's nose in it when she says that humans are greedy pigs who have to be kept in line by force. If Mako wins, she proves the greed part, Ryuko's off the board and Mako is the newest Three-Star. If Ryuko wins, then she still proves Satsuki's point by destroying Mako. In this case, though, Ryuko manages to Take a Third Option and bring things back to normal by refusing to fight, proving that humans aren't all as weak as Satsuki thinks.
  • She then allows each of the Elite Four to fight Ryuko one-on one so she can better pinpoint the weaknesses in their uniforms and fix them before her impending invasion.
  • Every fight Satsuki sets up is either improving Ryuko or the students' capabilities.
• Xtreme Kool Letterz: The OST track names are written with a mix of kanji, kana, Roman letters, and/or numbers. This is a signature style of the composer, Hiroyuki Sawano.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: In Episode 3, Ryuko actually fights against Satsuki twice. The first time is because she wasn't really focused, still embarrassed of her battle outfit. She overcomes it in the rematch and puts up a much better fight, but Satsuki handily defeats her again. Not that this rattles Ryuko's determination any.
• You Have Failed Me:
  • Any student with a Goku Uniform who's defeated in combat is immediately stripped of his or her uniform (most of the time literally) and demoted to a No-Star.
  • Averted in Episode 6 when Sanageyama figures out what he did wrong, and has his eyes sewn shut in order to hone his other senses. That is enough to earn him a second chance.
  • Inverted in Episode 9 when Satsuki stops Gamagoori from killing himself after losing to Ryuko. He still ends up demoted, though. In addition, later on, Satsuki declares that despite the Elite Four's failures in the Naturals Election, she's not disappointed in them, feeling that they've grown stronger by learning from their mistakes. For that, she restores their ranks and eventually returns their uniforms, new and improved, to them.
• You Killed My Father:
  • Part of the series involves Ryuko finding out just who to tell this to. She finds out it was Nui Harime, and Ragyo Kiryuin was the one to send Nui.
  • And then in Episode 18, we have Satsuki saying this to Ragyo, after she explains her motivations for what she did in the previous episode.
  • It gets kind of funny when it's revealed that both girls are fighting to avenge the same person. Isshin Matoi was the alternate identity of Soichiro Kiryuin that he assumed after he faked his death to raise Ryuko in secret from his former wife, and the girls' mother, Ragyo.

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"SEN-I-SOSHITSU (FIBER LOST ("STRIPPED" OF THE WILL TO FIGHT))!
DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAYYYY!

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