10 Second Anime - Kill la Kill - Episode 12

Kill la Kill - Episode 12

Only a Mako Moment could stop a rampaging Ryuko. Satsuki thinks she's ready for the next phase of her plan.

The flashbacks make it clear that Harime the Tailor was responsible for stabbing Ryuko's father, and taking the other half of the life fiber cutting scissors. At least the elder Matoi gave almost as good as he got by taking her eye. The flashback of Ryuko's memory of finding her father near death show a different form running from the house though. It still looks like someone with straight hair carrying a straight blade. I'm guessing that figure was Satsuki who witnessed what happened, which is why she held that prize of knowing more about Dr. Matoi's death to Ryuko earlier in the season, but it could still be red herring.

But the star of the episode is Mako. After Senketsu had warned Ryuko about keeping calm, and not getting her blood boiling, we see what happens when someone loses control of their emotions while wearing a life-fiber suit. This is presumably what happened to Aikuro and Kinigase's colleague: literally turning into a monster. But neither Nudist Beach, nor Satsuki joining the fray could pierce Ryuko's rampaging fugue state. But a Mako Moment saves the day:

It was made clear to Senketsu in his and Ryuko's earlier clashes with the inner council that Mako was her calming influence after her battle with Inumuta. So, not another life-fiber clad warrior, nor anti-life-fiber guerrillas, nor a life-fiber suit designer could unflip the berserker mode switch. Just a normal no-star high school girl. The power of friendship, and high pain threshold, or something like that.

Even though the rest of the "election" is not decided for who gets to wear starred uniforms, Satsuki is pleased with the data she collected to make better versions of the suits the inner council wore. She thinks she is ready to go on another conquering trip to put the remaining schools in her prefecture under her rule, whatever that means. We also see that she's operating semi-independently of the Revocs Corporation her mother runs. The second half of this show might be a declaration of war against the parent company, with uneasy alliances formed with Nudist Beach. We'll see how that all plays out starting in January, when the next new episode airs. This show was crazy already, seeing the Revocs minions will probably make it crazier still.

If the first Mako Moment could be titled "Ryuko, Get Naked!" then this one has to be titled "Ryuko, Wake Up!"

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