WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:03.150 Kill la Kill is for my money one of if not the 00:00:03.490 --> 00:00:09.360 best-looking TV anime ever made and while the series has gotten a lot of credit for its sense of visual design, 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:12.896 I nonetheless think that it has been unfairly criticized in this regard, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.560 and underappreciated for its strengths. 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:18.760 Reviewers often seem to miss the forest for the trees 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:22.680 when talking about Kill a Kill's liberal use of Stills and limited animation, 00:00:22.720 --> 00:00:25.840 without accounting for just how cleverly it utilizes those elements, 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:30.540 or talking about the incredible way that every single moment of animation flows into one another. 00:00:30.540 --> 00:00:35.280 What director Hiroyuki Imaishi and his team excel at is high impact visuals. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:40.590 If you haven't seen the video on Jackie Chan and how to direct action comedy by 'Every Frame a Painting', 00:00:40.590 --> 00:00:46.500 Then I highly recommend checking that out. In it, Tony explains how Jackie Chan manipulates a sequence of shots 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:49.480 to make every punch and kick have more of an impact. 00:00:49.480 --> 00:00:52.680 These kinds of techniques are why when you watch a great Kung Fu movie, 00:00:52.680 --> 00:00:55.140 and someone gets punched you and your friends all yell "OH!". 00:00:55.449 --> 00:00:59.660 Whereas, in a more empty, and low impact fight scene, you might not feel much of anything. 00:00:59.660 --> 00:01:07.290 But what makes Imaishi's style so compelling, is that he doesn't simply apply the ideas of weight and momentum to the individual animation cuts, 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:10.199 but also applies them to entire scenes. 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:13.920 Imaishi's work is all about a sequence of rapid build ups and payoffs 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:19.199 which flow together beautifully combined with extremely well crafted shot composition remember 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:25.890 how Jackie Chan's style was called action comedy? Well, like action, comedy is also about build up, payoff, and timing. 00:01:25.960 --> 00:01:30.580 In other words the key to both action and comedy is the feeling of catharsis 00:01:30.660 --> 00:01:38.020 It's the satisfaction that comes from being wound up, and then released, or the impact of something bending until it breaks. 00:01:38.020 --> 00:01:43.300 A lot of the action scenes in Kill la Kill, such as the one which I'm about to talk about are also funny 00:01:43.380 --> 00:01:48.340 simply by virtue of their cathartic timing. What makes the series so fun to watch is the 00:01:48.360 --> 00:01:55.360 satisfying way that all of its animation plays out, and the hilarious and kick-ass moments that constantly result from its use of momentum. 00:01:55.360 --> 00:02:00.360 Right off the bat, with Kill la Kill's opening scene, it starts to build tension using super dramatic text cards 00:02:00.360 --> 00:02:06.119 that pan towards the screen with a bass-y musical cue behind them. The camera pans back across 00:02:06.119 --> 00:02:11.160 what would be a typical classroom scene, except that we can immediately tell that something's off about it 00:02:11.160 --> 00:02:13.820 from the metallic look of the walls, the pipes running through the ceiling, 00:02:13.820 --> 00:02:19.360 and what looks like the door of a battleship. The high contrast between orange light coming in from the outside 00:02:19.420 --> 00:02:26.140 and the dark blue shadows on the walls as well as on the uniforms of the students creates a sense of heightened drama 00:02:26.140 --> 00:02:32.160 which contrasts with these silly shots of Mako's sleeping head bobbling around with a giant snot bubble, and with all of the snacks and toys on 00:02:32.160 --> 00:02:36.270 The students's desks this contrast puts us in an interesting state of mind as viewers 00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:42.630 The scene is set up equally for some kind of dramatic confrontation, as well as for irreverent slapstick comedy. 00:02:42.630 --> 00:02:45.680 And the scene which is about to come is exactly all of those things. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:52.100 After a sudden bang on the door, the camera pans towards it very slowly while the wheel turns with lots of resistance, 00:02:52.220 --> 00:02:56.440 causing the tension to rise even more with our expectations 00:02:56.440 --> 00:02:57.720 Then BAM! 00:02:57.720 --> 00:03:02.910 Giant foot through the door! As the torn off door crashes into the window we hear the classmates react with the same incredulity that we 00:03:02.910 --> 00:03:08.789 Do and then there is once again a small build-up between the door hitting the window and it breaking apart to decimate the room. 00:03:08.880 --> 00:03:12.420 Because of how the door initially leaves through the left side of the screen, 00:03:12.420 --> 00:03:17.680 passes through this shot where and everyone turns their heads to follow it, and then comes in from the right to hit the window, 00:03:17.700 --> 00:03:22.380 the impact of that action is felt across all three cuts. The build up after the door hits the wall, 00:03:22.380 --> 00:03:29.880 then gives us just enough time to process that impact before it comes crashing back through the right side of the screen and into this next cut. 00:03:29.880 --> 00:03:32.440 This way the destruction of the classroom has just as much impact 00:03:32.440 --> 00:03:36.260 as the shot at the door getting kicked in with the addition of a big visual payoff 00:03:36.260 --> 00:03:42.280 in the way that all of this detail litters the screen. What keeps us grounded in this shot is the placement of the teacher in the center 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:47.880 who is standing still in a strange pose amidst all of this chaos. If not for this, then the cut to the teacher 00:03:47.950 --> 00:03:52.200 staring into the gaping doorway would feel jarring after all the stuff going on in the last shot. 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:55.200 But because of this visual through-line, the transition feels natural 00:03:55.269 --> 00:04:01.640 In this shot the slow-moving dust and falling papers serve as a resolution to the previous payoff, 00:04:01.640 --> 00:04:06.149 which helps to transition into the next tension build-up. We still feel connected to the action 00:04:06.149 --> 00:04:10.020 which has just happened, while pensively awaiting the forthcoming drama. 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:14.120 Our anticipation for what might come from the darkness is heightened by the length of this shot, 00:04:14.130 --> 00:04:20.880 and by the teachers slow drawl when he talks. Three lights come beaming out of the darkness to signify to us that something is coming. 00:04:21.090 --> 00:04:26.970 Sort of like an enemy telegraphing its attack in a video game. Our anticipation reaches its peak at this point, and then his 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:32.649 off big-time with this utterly insane visual of Gamagori flooding the frame with his massive body. 00:04:32.950 --> 00:04:37.149 This animation cut itself has an enormous sense of elasticity as Gamagori 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:41.350 stretches his body to fit into the screen, and then slams his foot on the ground and screams 00:04:41.510 --> 00:04:47.469 generating tons of impact. If we compare this animation cut to the impact of a shotgun sound, then Gamagori 00:04:47.630 --> 00:04:51.130 squeezing through the door would be the cocking of the gun. The slamming of his foot and 00:04:51.260 --> 00:04:55.899 screaming would be the sound of the gun going off, and then the appearance of the one star students would be the sound of the gunshot 00:04:56.450 --> 00:05:03.249 reverberating through the air. the appearance of these students also draws a clear line leading out of the frame into the opposite direction which is 00:05:03.250 --> 00:05:09.489 where the camera then cuts to next. Gamagori's massive presence not only dominates the majority of the frame in this shot, 00:05:09.489 --> 00:05:13.540 but the teacher then escapes backwards across the frame until he's tiny, 00:05:13.640 --> 00:05:17.680 signifying the immense power of this giant man Gamagori's head even 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:23.440 encroaches further into the frame as the shot continues allowing him to take complete ownership of the scene. 00:05:23.690 --> 00:05:29.350 Remember that up until now the teachers presence in the center of the frame was our visual through-line for every shot. 00:05:29.390 --> 00:05:35.589 However, Gamagori has come in from the right taking up a ton of the frame, forced the teacher out of the frame, and then 00:05:35.590 --> 00:05:39.519 boldly taken over the entire frame with his face and name in the next shot. 00:05:39.760 --> 00:05:44.739 Within seconds gamma gory has run the teacher out of his scene and taken possession of it by force. 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:49.450 Gamagori remains centered in the frame as he walks around the classroom forcing even the camera, 00:05:49.450 --> 00:05:53.349 which had mostly been stationary up until this point, to follow along with him. 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:59.529 Gamagori is portrayed at his actual size now. Meaning that his size before was more representative of the size of his presence. 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:05.380 manipulates scale like this constantly using its art more to convey the feeling of a scene above its actuality. 00:06:05.380 --> 00:06:09.940 It's also worth mentioning how these cuts cleverly utilize the silhouette of a student as a 00:06:09.940 --> 00:06:13.149 wipe when transitioning between them. As Gamagori surveys the students, 00:06:13.149 --> 00:06:15.940 we are now introduced to the student whom he is obviously looking for, 00:06:15.940 --> 00:06:16.440 and whose face conveys a mixture of fear and anger. 00:06:16.440 --> 00:06:23.469 Once again we enter a period of build-up as we wonder if this kid is going to make a move. 00:06:23.470 --> 00:06:28.029 He stands up and knocks his desk out of the left side of the screen which draws our attention in that direction 00:06:28.130 --> 00:06:33.040 before this next shot, which also features right-to-left tension. In this shot, both Gamagori 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.799 and this kid are sharing the center of focus. 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:40.090 Gamagori dominates the upper left half of the screen with his massive body, but in spite of his size 00:06:40.090 --> 00:06:41.029 the kid's prescence 00:06:41.029 --> 00:06:47.160 is bolstered by all of the other students staring at him, and by the fact that Gamagori's face is shadowed while his is lit. 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:53.140 As the kid raises his arm slowly into the air while clutching a smoke bomb, and his voice goes up in pitch the tension escalates 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:59.178 all over again before the kid bursts the bomb and the screen is completely filled with smoke. Now the camera cuts out to the hallway 00:06:59.179 --> 00:07:03.949 as smoke blows the door off of several classrooms and suddenly everything starts moving very fast in 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:07.649 contrast with the tension of the previous scene, now we are greeted with pulse-pounding, 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:14.388 explosive action. Our defiant youngster has burst from the classroom and taken off attempting to flee the tension and overwhelming presence of Gamagori. 00:07:14.479 --> 00:07:16.069 however only seconds later gamma 00:07:16.069 --> 00:07:18.348 Gory shows us that he will not be forgotten so easily 00:07:18.769 --> 00:07:22.500 This brilliant multi-layered scene gives us two action sequences at once. 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.879 One of this kid who thinks he's getting away hauling ass down a revolving series of staircases, 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:30.618 and one of Gamagori's aerial pursuit as he free falls from the building. Besides being 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:38.100 visually impressive, the action has gotten so frenetic and chaotic in this sequence that the next payoff actually arrives in how it comes to a halt. 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:42.739 In one very rapid sequence - just as this kid has finally gotten the scene all to himself for a moment - 00:07:42.739 --> 00:07:45.409 he throws the doors open wide with a bang only for Gamagori 00:07:45.409 --> 00:07:48.979 to be right there, towering over him, and then Gamagori grabs him by the collar. 00:07:48.979 --> 00:07:50.839 You'll notice that the transition from 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:56.020 Gamagori standing in front of him to having him by the collar is so fast that we don't even see the action taking place. 00:07:56.020 --> 00:07:59.839 We only understand it because of a well-placed sound effect, which occurs across both cuts. 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.903 It's because of the sequential impact of the doors flying open 00:08:02.903 --> 00:08:06.980 and Gamagori grabbing the kid by the collar, that we instantly sense how completely 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:11.760 Gamagori has flattened this kids attempt to escape, and how he immediately takes back control of the scene. 00:08:11.760 --> 00:08:14.689 Whereas the previous action sequence had featured both Gamagori 00:08:14.689 --> 00:08:19.840 and the kid in contesting positions of power, the next shot after Gamagori throws him is the beginning of a beatdown. 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.400 Gamagori has, once again, forcefully expelled someone from the frame. 00:08:23.400 --> 00:08:27.220 Only this time, we follow along to see just how much damage the kid is taking. 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:28.000 This high-intensity 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:33.180 Sequence immediately smash cuts into a detailed frame of Gamagori asserting his dominance. 00:08:33.180 --> 00:08:36.939 Only this time, it's less about Gamagori and more about the school itself. 00:08:37.079 --> 00:08:41.808 Notice that the school dominates most of the screen, along with both Gamagori and his one-star lackeys. 00:08:41.809 --> 00:08:46.340 We even have this enormous burst of light, which signifies the supreme power of the school itself. 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:54.370 However, we have yet to see the actual source of this light, meaning that the school and Gamagori are merely a part of the light That the school casts over its students. 00:08:54.560 --> 00:08:57.380 Our kid is not done though. While Gamagori is still looking down at him, 00:08:57.380 --> 00:09:02.239 he once again finds himself better lit, and attempts to reclaim the scene by unveiling the one star uniform 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:08.330 which he has stolen. The uniform even gets its own on-screen text, which has already been used to establish important or powerful forces. 00:09:08.400 --> 00:09:15.540 However, the uniform only gets a text crawl which tacitly implies that it is less important than Gamagori who got an entire screen full of text before. 00:09:15.540 --> 00:09:21.200 This slow panning shot once again builds up the tension as we are posed with the question of whether or not this kid can turn 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:26.150 the tables on the opponent who was casting that shadow across his face. Once the kid dons the uniform, 00:09:26.150 --> 00:09:29.629 He gets to take center stage and even has his own star burst from behind. 00:09:30.150 --> 00:09:35.900 Immediately his presence has increased massively, and as his body transforms, he dominates the screen in his own blinding light. 00:09:35.900 --> 00:09:41.509 This is the kind of shot, which would be used to introduce a main character or a superhero in most episodes of most shows. 00:09:41.510 --> 00:09:42.230 right away 00:09:42.230 --> 00:09:48.469 We understand just how much this uniform has increased his powers as well as his importance in the eyes of the scene now in spite 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:49.200 of Gamagori's 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:55.309 Overwhelming presence the kid is able to hold his own in a longer shot and even pull the camera back to focus on himself. 00:09:56.150 --> 00:09:59.580 He slaps away Gamagori's whip, and then takes over as much of the screen as he can 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:02.059 and the wind up to one huge scenery tearing punch and 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:03.600 then BOOM 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:10.969 What should have been this kid's earth-shattering rebuttal to gamma Grey's attack is instead consumed by Gamagori's presence all over again. 00:10:11.180 --> 00:10:15.620 Not only do Gamagori, his men, and the light of the school consumed the majority of the screen, 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:20.540 but Gamagori's power radiates out of him with a demonic light. This is the turning point 00:10:20.540 --> 00:10:24.890 after which it's apparent that Gamagori is far more powerful than what any of us could have expected. 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:28.013 This kid feels small and feeble all over again. 00:10:28.020 --> 00:10:31.300 As Gamagori reclaims the frame for himself once more. 00:10:31.300 --> 00:10:32.320 In this shot even though 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.640 The kid is centered and alone in the screen, 00:10:34.640 --> 00:10:37.840 the actual focus of the shot is of Gamagori's shadow being cast 00:10:38.130 --> 00:10:45.709 over him. At this point Gamagori's presence is so all-consuming that he doesn't even have to be in the shot to have possession over it. 00:10:45.709 --> 00:10:52.489 Gamagori grows even more gigantic, brilliant, and terrifying as he continues his explanation, before finally jumping into his utter 00:10:52.680 --> 00:10:56.390 beatdown of this poor pathetic rebel. In the midst of Gamagori's scenery-chewing 00:10:56.760 --> 00:11:00.020 beatdown we are teased by brief cuts of Satsuki waiting in the wings. 00:11:00.020 --> 00:11:01.580 We don't know who this is yet, 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:05.539 but the fact that she's important enough to stand over a Gamagori's fight sets us up for the 00:11:05.670 --> 00:11:08.930 expectation of her power. By the time Gamagori's beat-down is complete, 00:11:08.930 --> 00:11:13.430 The kid has been reduced to nothing but a tiny blob in the midst of this gigantic shot 00:11:13.430 --> 00:11:19.190 Which is dominated entirely by gamma gory and the walls of the school once Gamagori has retrieved the uniform 00:11:19.190 --> 00:11:20.490 He gives it a pat-down 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:23.940 signifying that he has completed his mission and done away with his opponent. 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:28.440 When gamma gory hands the uniform back to his subordinate, the camera pans to the right which works as a 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:33.890 transition away from the kid, and on to the rest of the school behind them. Just in this one cut we have effectively 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:40.729 ended the relevance of that kids scene and moved into a new sequence as Gamagori rants to the entire student body, we see 00:11:40.800 --> 00:11:47.359 panning shots of students looking out of the windows all of which are covered by the school's radiant light filtering in from above. This shows 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:53.659 that while the camera may be focused elsewhere, the scene is still being owned by the school and those who govern it. Then finally as 00:11:53.660 --> 00:11:59.580 The teacher and Gamagori glance upwards drawing our attention towards the light source, we finally get our introduction to Satsuki. 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:02.860 Within seconds, and before even emerging onto the scene, 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:06.740 Satsuki Immediately takes complete control of the scene just in this one shot. 00:12:06.800 --> 00:12:09.760 in spite of having dominated the entire scene up until this point, 00:12:10.310 --> 00:12:14.210 Gamagori is made to look small in the face of this incredible light which consumes 00:12:14.400 --> 00:12:20.269 everything. Satsuki doesn't have to force her way into the center of the shot even from a distance her presence owns the frame. 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:24.890 Similar to how Gamagori's shadow had continued to possess the scene even when he wasn't on-screen, 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:29.599 Satsuki's light shines entirely over this cut as Gamagori pays deference to her in the center. 00:12:29.880 --> 00:12:34.700 Satsuki's proper introduction with her name card on screen requires a towering panning shot 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:39.499 which places the entirety of the school and its one-star students underneath her radiant light. 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:44.000 It's worth noting that in the consecutive upward pans while Satsuki gives her brief speech, 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:49.800 We can just barely get a glimpse of her other Elite Four members. While we don't know who these shadowy figures are just yet, 00:12:49.800 --> 00:12:54.770 we at least know that there are others who are powerful enough to be sharing a screen with Satsuki. 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:59.089 Considering all that we've seen, we can instantly recognize that these are going to be hugely 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:03.530 important characters even though they've been on screen for less than a second and never even been mentioned 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:10.489 verbally. After Satsuki's radiance wipes the screen we then cut to another shot of the school only without the light radiating from the top 00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:14.990 Signifying that we've transitioned into a new scene. The next shot is simply one long continuous 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:20.630 pan which once again serves as another huge tension build we see honno-ji academy the school 00:13:20.630 --> 00:13:24.659 which we've just been made to in its full form followed by the entirety of the 00:13:24.850 --> 00:13:28.200 Gigantic city that the school stands at the summit of. Then finally, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.770 we are introduced to our main character the transfer student, Matoi Ryuko, 00:13:31.770 --> 00:13:34.500 who gets her own screen filling shot all to herself. 00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:35.260 Matoi Ryuko is then shown at the foot of this city standing off against the overpowering light from high above. 00:13:35.260 --> 00:13:45.779 Right away we understand that this girl is going to have to fight her way to the top in opposition of the city in its entirety. 00:13:46.050 --> 00:13:50.130 And that's when we get the title card and the big payoff of the theme song 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:54.839 just within the span of this opening scene we have witnessed to the ways that Kill la Kill uses a 00:13:54.970 --> 00:14:00.660 constant sequence of tension and payoff to build satisfying high-impact action comedy scenes, as well as how it 00:14:00.910 --> 00:14:03.960 utilizes shot composition and color design to communicate the power 00:14:04.150 --> 00:14:10.109 relationships between its characters, and the flow of its action, all while introducing us to the setting and most of the important characters. 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:15.360 I hope that this breakdown can help people to appreciate why I regard Kill la Kill as such a visual masterpiece. 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:22.990 Honestly, there are not a lot of TV anime which come anywhere close to putting this level of care and thought into every single frame of animation. 00:14:22.990 --> 00:14:29.609 And to criticize Kill la Kill for not always having the most fluid animation seems like totally missing the point to me. 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:31.510 When you can tell that a series has a very satisfying visual element, 00:14:31.510 --> 00:14:37.379 even in spite of its limited animation then try and figure out what the series is doing to 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:39.348 compensate for that limited animation. 00:14:39.348 --> 00:14:46.499 Personally I think that Kill la Kill's sense a flow and composition makes it far more visually engaging than any other TV anime that I've seen, 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:48.660 regardless of the fluidity of its movement. 00:14:48.660 --> 00:14:51.750 Let me know how you feel about it in the comments, and if you enjoyed this video, 00:14:51.750 --> 00:14:53.400 then be sure and subscribe for more videos just like this 00:14:53.400 --> 00:14:58.199 and support me on Patreon if you'd like to help me continue to make this kind of content in the future.