This anime season’s cute killers
With intense fighting anime like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Attack on Titan gaining popularity, it’s not a surprise that the fall’s most popular anime both feature kick-butt female protagonists. Madoka Magica set the standard by being one of the first magical-girl themed anime with death, blood and overwhelming grief. Attack on Titan followed the same theme, with extreme gore and sad backstories, though it (unfortunately) was not a magical-girl anime.
Two shows have risen above the rest this season: Kill la Kill and Kyoukai no Kanata. Both were highly anticipated because the studios that are working on the shows are well known for phenomenal and seamless animation. Kill la Kill is animated by Studio Trigger (Little Witch Academia) and written by Kazuki Nakashima (Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann), whereas Kyoukai no Kanata is made by Kyoto Animation (Free!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).
The two protagonists may be cute, but their methods are far from the usual magical-girl wands and bells. Both wield unique blades that they actually hack and stab people with. Kyoukai no Kanata features a cutesy klutz who’s trying to fight off spirits using a sword made from her own blood. While this story stays cute along with the animation, Kill la Kill has a different grunge vibe. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic Japan, where our heroine is trying to avenge her father’s death and take down the evil student council using a magical school uniform and a red scissor blade (it’s exactly what it sounds like).
Why create anime like this? What’s the appeal? It’s the moe (moh-ay) factor, or how cute the main character is. Though Ryuko Matoi of Kill la Kill isn’t the cookie cutter definition of cute, many fans still use the word moe to describe her. Seeing cute girls take on the world in the same brutal ways we watch the boys in shows like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z is one small step for feminism in anime and one large step for (wo)mankind.
You can watch Kyoukai no Kanata and Kill la Kill via Crunchyroll on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Hate both of those shows? Maybe you have a better anime you want me to talk about? Leave a comment below or e-mail me at dahrae@terpmail.umd.edu!
