Satsuki Kiryūin

Satsuki Kiryuin is one of the main characters of the anime series Kill la Kill.

Background[]

Millennia ago, an alien being known as the Primordial Life Fiber crash landed on Earth. From it sprung Life Fibers, parasitic beings resembling threads of clothing which infest planetary lifeforms and breed by devouring, using the electrical current of the creature's nervous system. However, because the host can’t handle the strain of wearing a Life Fiber internally, they instead decided to cover the host externally. The Life Fibers primarily attached themselves to Homo sapiens since they possessed the most well developed brains at the time, and sped up their evolutionary process. Life Fibers remained dormant as centuries went by, and so it was the duty of the Kiryūin clan to keep the Primordial Life Fiber safe, with only the current elder of the family being allowed to witness its awakening.

Enter Ragyō Kiryūin, previous head of the Kiryūin clan and contender for worst mother of the century. After awakening the Primordial Life Fiber from its slumber, she became power hungry, and plotted to take over the world using Life Fibers. She eventually met a man by the name of Sōichirō and married him, using his incredible scientific knowledge to conduct experiments on Life Fibers. Soon enough, Ragyō decided to go further and even crueler with her experiments, wanting to fuse Life Fibers with living organisms. Her first subject? Her very own first born daughter. This was Satsuki Kiryūin.

Fortunately for Satsuki, she was too old for the process to work. Unfortunately, Ragyō decided to use her second born child as a test subject right after she exited the womb. The child was deemed a failure still, and as a result was discarded by Ragyō. Sōichirō, realizing Ragyō’s true nature, secretly plotted against his wife to rebel against her and all Life Fibers. Alongside Satsuki, Sōichirō would raise the baby whose death he faked for the next 5 years. Eventually, he set his plan into motion, but knew well it would most likely result in death. As such, he told the young Satsuki the truth about Life Fibers, its research, her future wedding dress Junketsu, and her mother’s true ambitions before leaving. A lot for a 5 year old to take in if that wasn’t clear.

Despite spending most of her life being raised by Ragyō, Satsuki took her father’s words to heart and began setting the stage for her rebellion against her mother with her best friend and crush Nonon (RINAAAA-). She traveled to numerous other high schools in Japan and began recruiting other skilled students to join her cause. First was Ira Gamagōri, whom she helped save a young boy from death and tested his resolve. Next was Hōka Inumuta, whose hacking skills she found most useful. Finally, there was Uzu Sanageyama, the Northern Kanto Gang Leader Alliance Representative with impressive sword skills. She made these four her personal Elite Four and founded Honnōji Academy, becoming its student council president.

Satsuki ruled over Honnōji and the surrounding neighborhoods owned by the school with an iron fist, distributing power-granting Goku Uniforms to Student Council members and club leaders so they could fight for their school in violent but managed environments. Her rule and respect went unquestioned and unchallenged until the unexpected arrival of Ryūko Matoi, a transfer student following a lead on the murderer of her father. Although proving insignificant at first, Ryūko managed to gain possession of a Kamui known as Senketsu, rising up the challenges and proving herself a potential hindrance to Satsuki’s plans. As a result, Satsuki barged into the Kiryūin mansion and took Junketsu for herself, wearing it from then on to combat Ryūko and those who opposed her.

After several weeks of conflict and planning, Satsuki and the Elite Four organized the Great Culture and Sport Festival, a cover for Ragyō's plan to unleash Life Fibers and COVERS throughout the city. Seizing the opportunity she sought for her entire life, Satsuki literally backstabbed her mother and announced to the world her rebellion against Ragyō and REVOCS. Unfortunately, Ragyō proved too much for her, and she was promptly defeated. Not to mention the shock of Ryūko being her long lost little sister, which probably didn’t help. In the end, Satsuki was stripped of Junketsu, captured, and tortured under Ragyō for over a month. However, the fangs of rebellion never wavered, and Satsuki eventually broke free from Ragyō’s prison. When Ryūko was manipulated and turned mad by Ragyō, Satsuki had to do the unthinkable and wear Senketsu for a change. Despite losing their battle, Satsuki found the opening needed to help Ryūko break free and return to her normal self.

When all was said and done, before the final battle against Ragyō, Satsuki apologized for everything she did, and admitted that her methods were extreme and her actions villainous. She offered Ryūko the opportunity to punch her in the face to prove her sincerity, and, after a few failed attempts due to the overprotective Elite Four, Ryūko took her up on the offer. However, Ryūko couldn’t bring herself to do it, and forgave Satsuki. Ultimately, the two teamed up to take down their evil mother, and despite all the trials and tribulations it took to get that far, they both prevailed, saving the world from the threat of Life Fibers. In the end, Satsuki’s ambition was achieved, and she attended Rinne High School alongside her sister, finally able to live her life as a normal girl.

Powers & Abilities[]

Light Manipulation: On multiple occasions in the series, whenever Satsuki makes a dramatic entrance, light inexplicably shines around her and in the surrounding area. Characters are blinded by this in multiple instances, meaning it should be genuine light. There’s no real explanation for this happening.
Air Manipulation: With sheer willpower, Satsuki is capable of creating high pressure air bursts that blow away the surrounding area and several people, even when she was a child. This isn’t just limited to willpower either, as even powerful enough sword swings can generate high speed air slashes that create shockwaves and powerful air pressures
Resistances:
- Mind Manipulation: Goku Uniforms composed of 50% Life Fibers can overwhelm someone's mind to the point of becoming a berserk monster, and even weaker Life Fibers can take over the minds of people. Given Junketsu is a Kamui composed of 100% Life Fibers, he should have a similar ability, yet Satsuki was able to resist his influences and wear him properly just on her first go.
- Extreme Heat: Survived being in the middle of a large fire tornado with no noticeable burns and scales to Ryūko, who could grab her Scissor Blades despite them being caught on fire from reentering the atmosphere.
- Spatial Manipulation: Can survive attacks from the Primordial Life Fiber, which was capable of causing spatial ruptures and destroying Junketsu’s time-space.

Equipment[]

Junketsu: Translating to “purity” in Japanese, Junketsu is a living piece of clothing known as a Kamui, composed 100% of Life Fibers. Originally created by the Kiryūin family, Junketsu was intended to be worn by Satsuki when she was at the right age, her father calling it her “wedding dress.” However, Junketsu’s immense power made it uncontrollable, and thus it was sealed away in the Kiryūin Manor by Ragyō and kept under high security. Once Satsuki realized the power Ryūko had thanks to her own Kamui, she marched right into the manor to retrieve Junketsu despite her mother’s wishes. She soon gave it her blood, and through her sheer willpower, managed to tame Junketsu and keep his power under control. As a Kamui, when Junketsu is fed blood, he transforms into a scanty outfit that increases his wearer’s physical prowess, enhancing Satsuki’s already insane strength. While Ryūko couldn’t unleash her own Kamui’s full power due to her embarrassment at its “exhibitionist” getup, Satsuki held no shame at her appearance, allowing her to easily access Junketsu’s full power. Aside from enhanced physicality, Junketsu can shapeshift its body for other purposes, such as turning its shoulder pads into a grappling hook or a drill for extra piercing. Junketsu also offers multiple new forms for Satsuki to utilize depending on what suits the battle. Additionally, while Goku Uniforms can be unraveled by severing the Banshi thread connecting them, Kamui like Junketsu have several other Banshi threads, meaning it’ll take a lot of effort to unravel them. Junketsu is shown to be under heavy restraint when not in use by Satsuki. This, along with Satsuki using the "Life Fiber Override" technique, implies Junketsu's personality is more feral and demonic, in contrast to Senketsu's more caring and calm personality. As such, instead of bonding with Satsuki, Junketsu must be tamed, having its ferocious nature subdued by Satsuki's willpower.
Secret Sword Bakuzan: Satsuki’s primary weapon throughout the series. Despite its simple appearance, Bakuzan’s sharp edge is keener than Ryūko’s Scissor Blade, and it can cut through Life Fibers without issue, even from extremely durable threads from Kamui. Satsuki is extremely proficient with her blade, capable of slicing dozens of times in a second, and can swing her sword with such force that it can create shockwaves. Even after being split in two by Ragyō and becoming Bakuzan-Kouryu and Bakuzan-Gako, they’re still strong enough to slice through COVERS. It’s revealed that these two can mimic the Scissor Blade’s ability to nullify Life Fiber’s regeneration by cutting threads simultaneously, making them extremely efficient in cutting down Life Fibers and nearly any other material.
Fake Toenail: A fake toenail that Satsuki implemented. It has a sharp enough edge to cut through chains and Life Fibers, even from extremely durable beings like COVERS. No surprise there, given it’s made of the same material as Bakuzan.

Alternate Forms[]

Junketsu Senpu[]

After having Ryūko’s blood and parts of Senketsu injected to it, not only was Junketsu made easier to tame, but he gained extra abilities and forms as a result. One of them was Junketsu Senpū (which translates to Whirlwind). Similar to Senketsu’s Shippū form, Junketsu Senpu allows Satsuki to fly into the air and combat overborne enemies while flying at blinding speeds.

Junketsu Senpū Zankan[]

The other form Junketsu gains, Senpū Zankan (translating to Whirlwind Slash) allows Junketsu to protrude blades around its body, acting as a greater offensive measure. When merged with Senpū, Satsuki can spin her body fast enough to act as a buzzsaw, perfect for greater ramming and cutting power.

Junketsu Shinzui[]

After Iori added repairs and enhancements to Junketsu from leftover Goku Uniforms, Satsuki managed to tap into its latent potential and achieve its ultimate form, Junketsu Shinzui (translating to Essence). Junketsu Shinzui equips Satsuki with a dual sided blade for greater coverage with her strikes, and Satsuki merely swinging it creates air slashes that travel the battlefield. The power in this form is so great, Satsuki was able to defeat the Primordial Life Fiber all by herself.

Feats[]

Strength[]

Clashing with Ryūko’s scissor blade creates an air pressure blast that blasts away students (21:52)
Senketsu claims Satsuki is far above Ryūko’s current power (14:26)
Satsuki and Ryūko create a massive air pressure blast with just their willpower (14:34) (1.14 tons of TNT)
A sword strike forced Ryūko back and creates a powerful air pressure blast on contact with her scissor blade (14:45)
Created a burst of dust by stabbing her sword to the ground (15:16)
Tapped Ryūko with her sword hilt with enough force to send her flying (15:19)
Sent Ryūko flying with a slash (15:38)
Destroyed part of a building, launching the debris so hard that they create dust explosions upon impact with the ground
Clashed with Ryūko craters the ground beneath them and creates air pressure blasts that blows away several students
Kicked Ryūko so hard that she creates a crater on the wall without making direct contact (0.085 - 0.24 tons of TNT)
Final clash with Ryūko creates air pressure that craters the ground around them and covers the entire arena they were fighting in (231.3 megatons of TNT)
Sanageyama admitted she can kill him with just a teacup
During middle school, created a powerful airburst that knocked out 500 students
During middle school, pierced through Gamagōri’s armor with a sheathed sword
Her initial clash with Berserk Ryūko creates a huge burst of dust (5.5 - 135.3 teratons of TNT)
Clash with Berserk Ryūko launched giant pillars and created a huge column of fire
- Pillars: 1.6 teratons of TNT
- Fire: 1 gigaton of TNT
Created a large air pressure blast with her a sword swing
Toppled the Tokyo Tower with a sword slash
Sent Ryūko flying with a kick
Stabbed Ragyō, lifts her up, and throws her
Created a large shockwave that blows away surrounding students
Sends Rei flying with a swing
Decapitated Ragyō
Cut through COVERS with her toenail
Junketsu turned Satsuki’s dreams into a tangible alternate reality, which contains Earth and potentially far more
Fought on par with Kisaragi Ryūko

Speed[]

Performed multiple rapid sword swings in quick succession
Reacted to Ryūko’s counterattack without looking
Climbed up a building
Reacted to and parries Ryūko’s sword swings
Narrowly dodged a slash from Ryūko and her Decapitation Mode technique in quick succession
During middle school, reacted to Sanageyama’s counterattack
Kept pace with Berserk Ryūko
Sliced up dozens of civilians possessions in seconds
Parried Ryūko’s attacks and moves just as fast as her
Dodged Ryūko’s sword strike
Kept up with Nui in combat
Kept pace with Ragyō’s flight speed

Durability[]

Blocked Ryūko’s counterattack, which created multiple bursts of dust to erupt around them
Survived a punch from Ryūko that craters the wall behind her without direct contact
Survived being in the epicenter of a massive air burst
Blocked a sword strike from Ryūko that craters the ground behind them
Withstood a sneak attack punch from Ragyō that sent her flying
Survived a brutal beatdown from Ragyō
Got thrown by Ragyō to the edge of Ragyō Stadium, causing a large impact and crater
Withstood torture from Ragyō for over a month
Took a hit from Junketsu Ryūko that sends her flying and smacking her against a sheet of metal
Survived a beatdown from Junketsu Ryūko
Withstood a kick from Ragyō that created a sonic boom
Survived a punch from Ragyō after she absorbed Rei
Survived attacks from Kisaragi Ryūko

Skill[]

Became head of the Kiryūin conglomerate
Successfully recruited Nonon, Gamagōri, Sanageyama, and Inumuta to become her personal Elite Four
Founded Honnōji Academy
Successfully tamed and wore Junketsu
Took over all the schools in Japan
Aided in the battle against Ragyō
Saved the world from the threat of Life Fibers alongside Ryūko
Defeated Ryūko, Gamagōri, Sanageyama, Ragyō, the Primordial Life Fiber

Weaknesses[]

While Junketsu is without a doubt one of her greatest strengths, it can also be a detriment to her. Prolonged fights while wearing Junketsu drains Satsuki of her blood, and given enough time, she could get exhausted or even collapse from blood loss.
Similarly, while Kamui have more than one Banshi thread to stay attacked, should they all be severed, Junketsu will deform, leaving Satsuki vulnerable.