Kill la Kill - Episode 8

Having inadvertently aided Satsuki in her plan to refresh the student council and Gou uniform owners with her whole Fight Club idea, Ryuuko now finds another tantalising carrot dangled in front of her in the form of a survival game-cum-general election (or General Selection, as Kiryuin would rather have it) to pick the best of the best in a free-for-all involving the entire student body.

While the minions fight amongst themselves for this rare opportunity to dine at the academy's proverbial top table, it seems like an opportunity for some of the most powerful players in the school's world to take a bit of a breather - a decision which is particularly true of Ira Gamagoori, who wants to do a little driving having just picked up his license.  For her part, Matoi also has things to do, namely hunting for any further clues about her father or his killer at her former home.

When her borrowed scooter runs out of petrol on the way back from this investigation, Mako and Matoi are both left stranded until they're offered a lift from an unexpected source... Gamagoori himself.  As it turns out, this man mountain still cares about the safety of the students (when he isn't beating them to a pulp anyhow), but this soon takes a back seat as Gamagoori finds himself challenged by the amalgamation of the Airsoft and Automobile clubs - no prizes for guessing what they've become.  The result of this is a chance to see exactly how deep this member of the Elite Four's powers run, as well as gaining some insight into both his past and that of Satsuki.  With the grand finale of Kiryuin's current plan about to bloom however, it's time for Matoi to strut her stuff once again in what will surely be her toughest set of challenges yet.

It may have had a couple of brief spells which felt almost oddly sedate for Kill la Kill, but this was actually a welcome breather before we returned to more of the bombastic insanity which has become the hallmark of the series - Mako is still hilarious every time she opens her mouth (and every time that she doesn't even have to, now I come to think about it), the style and delivery of the show's flashbacks continue to be incredibly satisfying, and the larger than life characters fit perfectly with the aesthetic and tone of whatever's going on on-screen.  Now that it's settled down fully into its rhythm, Kill la Kill is starting to feel unstoppable.