Recap: Dawn of a Miserable Morning

Hello again. Since I started branching out into other anime that I might not be familiar with in college; I have noticed a trend in terms of seasonal anime. There are ones that cater to all sorts of interests and age groups; but like many fans, I only have so much time, money, and bandwidths to spend on series in a given timeframe.

That's where seasonal anime comes in. While 12 to 26 episodes is a fairly standard
amount for most given anime these days, this allows many people to determine whether or not a series is for them in between school or work. They are so named because they are able to be planned for the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. While there are many in each given season; it's a highly competitive market,
as it is with most TV shows.

While the fall 2013 season had many new series as well as continuations from beloved long-runners; one in particular arrived to considerable fanfare given the
pedigree of its animation studio's talent. I am referring to Studio Trigger's surprise smash; Kill la Kill!


Helmed by many former writers and animators of Studio Gainax; including the gifted minds behind Gurren Lagann, I finished the series not long ago; and as I am in the process of my second viewing, it proved to be the ideal successor to my favorite anime. Containing many parallels in terms of writing, animation, and characterization; it effectively managed to do for the magical girl series what Gurren Lagann did for mecha series. I have heartily enjoyed the journey of Ryoko Matoi and her friend/surrogate sister Mako Mankanshou as they weaponize the hot-blooded heroine in a manner worthy of Yoko Littner.

I will not spoil too many of the parallels, least of which the explosive finale (if you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a show). However, I believe I can indulge myself by making a parallel with my favorite episode of Gurren Lagann, which I recapped last year. So let's open up "Dawn of a Miserable Morning" to start off some very lovely spring weather for a normally gloomy Oregon this time of year.

We open on Ryoko being jostled from her sleep from the sound of an alarm klaxon. Now she knows how I feel when the firehouse klaxon goes off in the middle of the night.

Naturally, Mako is in a hurry to get ready. This isn't just my bad screencap: the episode parallel is something you'll notice with my favorite episode of Gurren Lagann, right down to the episode number. Even so, Mako has a habit of violating the already loose grasp of reality either way.

Don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan? SAKUE!

Naturally, the one thing Ryuko needs to get dressed is in the wash: this is Senketsu, one of a special set of clothes known as a "Kamui," which can use the wearer's blood to amplify their fighting prowess as well as reflect their personality.

You fool! My instructions said dry clean only!

Of course, Mrs. Mankanshou is in charge of the wash. She does her best; much like any shonen mom, or any shonen parent for that matter. They may not always get things right; but they do genuinely care for their kin, warts and all. Ryuko's expression is one any foster child would make in her position.

Ryuko offers to help; but Mrs. Mankanshou insists she hurry off to school while she fulfills the wife's duty of the laundry. Oh, casual Japanese gender dynamics. Still, as I'm about to show you; Ryuko and Mako incredibly progressive in terms of female leads in anime, which proved to be a considerable factor in how the series caught on much more in the US. It happens from time to time; as it has with the creator's other works. Apart from Gurren Lagann; Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt was also much more successful in the US due to similar themes and artwork.

Ryuko then points out the obvious fact that she can't leave without the uniform, but Mako then points out the big day is today. She then pushes Ryuko out in her PJs, hastily putting on their shoes and grabbing the guitar case with a special scissor the size of a sword. More on that later; but for now, I imagine you may be noticing something about the screencaps I'm posting. I'll explain once our heroines are out in the open.

For now, Senketsu is getting massaged with a steam iron. FLCL is another parallel I noticed a lot in this anime. This next song will demonstrate further, and the lyrics and plays on my iTunes counter should make sense even without the seiyuu's enthusiasm of Robert Plant proportions. (

Now, there is a mass migration in town as I know point out the reason this episode is my favorite. As the animation staff worked on Gurren Lagann; the fourth episode had memetic off-model animation, as previously noted. So, for their first major TV production at their new studio; they decided to invoke a similar reaction. A large part of why I got into the medium is because how expressive the characters can get. When off-model work is done well; it becomes a great way for the animators to relax in between episodes with bigger production values, as well as show what they can do when they deliberately make the characters break model. Of course, the bulk of the series spoiled me in terms of theatrical-quality animation; but this is one of many series where the official animation can have an episode that looks like a doodle in the margins of my notebook and still have it fit the situation from a storytelling perspective. 

Mako points out this is the day that all of Honnoji Academy gives it their all for school. This is "No-late day!"

We then get our very loud title card, with massive Japanese characters on a black background. Adding yet another Gurren Lagann parallel-very distinctive title card art that's every bit as interesting to look at as the episode itself.

Then, we get our theme song that is a very good theme to show off Ryuko as a badass, as well as the colorful group of side characters that attend Honnoji Academy. 

Look at that face. You know she's going to tear it up. It's a face that says, "If I have to watch any more anime with SOS Brigades and Host Clubs, I'm gonna hurl."

It also does a good job of showing off how peppy Mako can be as a girl. Her energetic status is perfect to play off of Ryuko's more determined nature.

Put down that chainsaw and listen to me! It's time for us to join in the fight!

The last shot we have is Ryuko in a mirrored shot against the main villain of the first  2/3 of the show, Lady Satsuki. She has already turned the school and the surrounding areas within her jurisdiction into a totalitarian state; and has plans to do the same to the rest of Japan, and the world. As for the obvious parallels with that goal: I don't have a problem with it in anime, as it's quite common that the group they're alluding to is used in fantastic context. They're already the closest things we've had to real-life supervillains; so it's also quite common in western works as well. Many live-action productions in the past have outright used old costumes from WWII movies for villain groups, and it's never bothered me before.

We see the head of the disciplinary committee looking over the students as they make their pilgrimage to the main gate. Who is this boisterous bully?


This is Ira Gamagori, one of the Elite Four of Honnoji Academy. I really think that the writers knew what they were talking about when they called them that. I sure did as I paired the first run of this anime with Pokémon XY The Series on Thursdays. 

Gamagori explains No-Late day as a physical challenge for students to get to school. If they don't reach their respective homeroom by the first bell at 8:30, they will be expelled. On top of that, there is a series of traps they must evade. This effectively turns the city into a huge game of Sasuke, which was brought to the US as Ninja Warrior. That's one of the many things I miss about G4 now that it's a division of Esquire. Sadly, there are no Kamui on display on the network's fashions.

He then spots Ryuko in her bunny PJs, and is astounded at this. One of the key reasons this anime became so popular in the US is because of Ryuko expressing such an individualistic attitude; and much of Japanese society is based on conformity. It also helps that she is an active female character that seldom needs rescuing; which tends to be favored more in the West. It definitely helped that the simulcast came hot on the heels on the massive success of The Hunger Games books and films, as well as the positive reception to Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Ryuko simply says her Kamui is being laundered, and will be dropped off soon. As the recap goes on, you will see another reason why this is my favorite episode.

Of course, Mako tells off Gamagoori, which she is fantastic at doing. Yet, in her own way, she actually ends up making more sense defying the laws of physics than many other people do on most given days.

She is also great at pointing out the student council's own bizarre traits; since Gamagori admits to sleeping naked.

I love it when the anime makes the jokes for me.

Gamagori shall remember her name. Everyone tends to with a character that distinctive in personality.

Mako then observes the city is a big amusement park. So is Deadman Wonderland; but I don't think I'd survive there either.

 So, the race has begun to get to class on time.

Yeah, I like bunnies. Anyone who has a problem with that gets my foot so far up their sphincter that any thought otherwise will have to answer to my running shoes.

Ryuko is so determined that she declares her aim to through all the traps.

Gamagori kicks off the festivities.


 Ryuko and Mako barely make it to the first checkpoint of many.

Wait, it seems that one more classmate has made it through the first trap, Maiko Ogure!

Villain. She's a villain.

She decides to come with them; despite all the madness. You know, I just came off recapping an anime that had obvious villains just short of a top hat and Snidely Whiplash mustache. Thankfully, the pedigree of the writers give it a sense of tongue-in-cheek playfulness that make it work.

Even if she's just a red R on her chest away from being more blatant.

Despite her own objections, Ryuko agrees to take Maiko with them. Don't worry; Maiko's hubris will do her in even without Ryuko's help. 

It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game!

Ryuko even remarks she doesn't hate girls that push themselves to be strong. Neither do I. In fact, I adore them; as I pointed out with my choices for my top 13 anime women.

 The back-alley doctor, Barazo; is driving through traffic with Senketsu in tow. He's gunning his truck as if he was speeding through the streets of Liberty City.

Take a ride on the wild side!

They hit a loop-de-loop, and Maiko hangs on the best she can. I have pointed out I usually don't go for this kind of humor, but I am more receptive to the female variant. It's the least revealing thing when the anime seems to be built on Theiss' Titillation Theory. Plus, striped undergarments are good luck in so many ways.

Don't want none unless you got buns, hon!

Of course, this causes Barazo to crash through the windshield.

Barazo got caught. Who fights next?

Mataro, the little street punk, then takes the burden of delivering Senketsu. He's another character I love, especially how with Ryuko mocked his routine as anachronistic in the very first episode. While the "two decades behind" ideology is a major TV cliché; it does have some truth to it as that is a fairly standard amount of time for something to come back into fashion in the public eye. I am typing this rocking the Kurt Cobain look while living in an area that helped it break out. It's also quite common to see torn jeans and leather jackets as street fashions in my town.

HEIGH-HO! LET'S GO!

 The girls continue to run and jump through the city as it increasingly turns into a video game.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWrtrK1Q2EQ

Everything from rolling logs to lava pits to giant boulders are being thrown at our heroes.

Even delicious cheese is used to trap Mako! This is a similar way to get Wallace into a trap.

Ryuko then gets a standard gag prop, a pie in the face.

A white, viscous substance all over a teenage girl's face. That's not suspect at all!

 Even a crocodile pit can't stop her! Even though Ryoko has some difficulty without Senketsu; she's still proving to be athletic and persistent throughout this ordeal. One of the key reasons that this is my favorite episode is how Ryoko is essentially brought down to badass; only accepting Senketsu early on when she realized she needed his help.

 They progress further, and Maiko once again finds herself holding on for dear life. Mataro is seeing just enough of Ryuko's shorts to skirt Google's rather arbitrary content rules (no pun intended). If I ever get a job in the entertainment industry, I would use the method that Bruce Timm and Paul Dini used: if I made a sequence that got banned, I would take it and replace with something worse. The censors never noticed throughout 14 years of their work on the DC animated universe. Given how my new phone's voice search comes up with risqué results when I don't intend to look for them, I actually have to regularly wipe my Droid's history and cache to protect myself from the filthy imagination of Google's bots. I even have to tell my brother and his friends not to fap to my phone in the same manner as QT.

Lovely shorts, Ryuko! Does the top piece match?

 Mataro's pubescent hormones get the better of him as he crashes.


The last hope is the dog, Guts. Given this pattern, I imagine he'll react the way most pugs do. They can't all be like Frank from Men in Black.



He starts running like any good dog would to their master; clenching Senketsu in his teeth.

Your breath smells like cigarette butts and hamburger meat!

The 30-minute warning has come at 8 o'clock. That means they better get to it, or they'll have to pay in more ways than one!

The message coming from my eyes says leave it alone!

It even gets so bad that some students who can't make it set up a makeshift classroom on the rooftop. 

So, they decide to hijack an armored bus to help make the bell in time. It's even armored against the citizens packing heat. Sounds like a typical commute in  Los Santos.

I do this all the time on my PS3.

Just about everyone has a weapon as the girls exclaim, "what the hell is going on?" That's a standard reaction to this anime to those who aren't used to it. Or with the medium itself, for that matter.

When will it end?

Mako then takes the turret; and she loves doing so.

Some of those work forces are the same that burn crosses!

The bus then starts barreling through the front gates of the school as if it were a roller coaster.

YEAH! YOU GOT SATIN SHOES! YEAH! YOU GOT NASTY BOOTS!

Guts has arrived with Senketsu on his back. It's clear that he has chosen Guts as his steed.

Yet, even a dog cannot resist the allure of striped panties.

Maiko then reveals her true colors; even though she is a narcissist that couldn't be more obvious, short of wearing a green suit with question marks on it.

Yet, her ambitions don't end there. She wants to overthrow Lady Satsuki and take over the conquest of the world herself. Her backstabbing is worthy of iconic Decepticon Air Commander Starscream.

You couldn't lead androids to a picnic.

 Mako, not amused, demands Maiko unhand Senketsu, I think she'd better do it. Her pimp hand is every bit as strong as Kamina's fist.

Maiko refuses, and tries to use Senketsu herself. Ryuko then decides to turn Maiko's own ego against her; which is one of my favorite ways of letting a villain meet their downfall.

If you try to pants me again, I will kick you in your windpipe and watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic while you drool on the pavement.

Her method of trying to wield Senketsu results in it being upside down and inside out. I bet she even has the matching boots on the wrong feet.

I call this Bizarro Senketsu.

Her attempts to crush Ryuko result in her being unable to move.

With utility belt, Bizarro shall crush the Superfriends!

Ryuko then decides to let the little hoochie have it.

I've heard people like you say that since kindergarten. Save it.

She even mocks the combination of words she made when she had Senketsu on her back.

Go ahead, toots. I killed a girl like you for a copy of Pokémon Platinum in '09.

To top it all off, she credits the laundry job on Senketsu in Maiko's undoing.

I keep fabric softener sheets in my underwear for that reason. I can kick your ass all while smelling like clean linens.

Senketsu is freed, and hates the taste of Maiko's blood.

She had enough iron in her to kill a whale!

Maiko, however, has one more trick up her sleeve. A phony school matte painting right out of an ACME catalog!

Not only that, it's on a platform headed for the ocean! Ryuko dons Senketsu to make her way in on time!

The only thing keeping that uniform on is the collective will of all the viewers!

Ryuko then commandeers a cable car to get to homeroom on time.

She's...tenacious.

Ryuko then guns the cable car to class, with Mako cooing in agreement. As well as showing strains of Yoko (and being a sort of distaff counterpart to Kamina and Simon alike); it's been pointed out there are many similarities to the classic Project A-Ko in Ryuko and Mako's character dynamic; as well as the series being a genre-savvy sendup of beloved shonen clichés. 

If not a rocking shonen homage itself.

Gamagori has found out Maiko, and promptly has her expelled on the spot. Typical for a Dick Dastardly cheater to get this outcome. It's also a good cause for the Starscream to get thrown out on their ass in the vein of Animated Megatron and Prime Megatron; who are far less tolerant of insubordination than their G1 namesake.

Ryuko then crashes into her seat on time. The perfect way to end my favorite episode.

"Dawn of a Miserable Morning" is an ideal way to show why I love this anime in a single episode; and why I find it to be a satisfying anime in itself, as well as the ideal successor to my favorite anime, Gurren Lagann. Even with the animation in its off-model style, Trigger still manages to provide good animation and make the style visually interesting; as befitting their pedigree. It also proved to be great from a storytelling standpoint; by having a story its target audience can relate to in a fantastic context. With all this in mind; I am very eager to see what Trigger can do as a studio. I would be willing to see their first theatrical production, Little Witch Academy; but first, I have some projects I want to do for my next couple recaps, given how next week will turn out. See you space cowboy!