List of Kill la Kill characters

The anime series Kill la Kill, produced by Trigger, features a cast of characters with a variety of designs and abilities. Honnouji Academy (本能字学園, Honnōji Gakuen) is a fictional high school situated in Tokyo Bay, Japan. The characters consist mainly of students who wear Goku Uniforms (極制服, Gokuseifuku; lit. "high quality uniform", from gokusei (極製) + seifuku (制服)), which give their wearers superhuman abilities. The protagonist Ryuko Matoi is a transfer student who searches for her father's killer, teaming up with one of her new classmates, Mako Mankanshoku, as they fight against the iron-fisted and hot-tempered student council president, Satsuki Kiryuin, and her mother, Ragyo Kiryuin's, fashion empire.

Main characters

Ryuko Matoi

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese); Erica Mendez (English)

Ryuko Matoi (纏 流子, Matoi Ryūko) is a 17-year-old schoolgirl and the protagonist of the series, who transfers to Honnouji Academy to find the one who murdered her father, Isshin Matoi. She possesses the Scissor Blade, one half of the Rending Scissors (断ち斬りバサミ, Tachikiri Basami) that Isshin created to destroy uniforms empowered by Life Fibers.[ep 1] At the start of the series, she acquires a special "kamui" uniform named Senketsu,[ep 3] which grants her special abilities.[ep 1] She lives with the Mankanshoku family.[ep 2]

After arriving at Honnouji Academy, Ryuko vows to fight her way up Honnouji Academy and eventually reach Satsuki Kiryuin, as she speculates she knows who killed her father.[ep 1] Despite having a strong temper, she forms a friendship with Honnouji student Mako Mankanshoku, who supports her emotionally and calms her down when necessary.[ep 1][ep 7][ep 20] [ep 10] She is initially used by Satsuki and the Final Four, as her fights with them and fellow students help Satsuki improve and perfect the Goku Uniforms.[ep 13] Ryuko is later revealed to be Satsuki's younger sister, who was presumed dead during the battle at the Honnouji Academy Cultural & Sports Grand Festival, and became a human infused with Life Fibers as a result of being experimented on as a newborn baby by their mother Ragyo.[ep 18][ep 19] She was saved by her father, Soichiro Kiryuin, who assumed the identity of Isshin to raise her protected from Ragyo's reach.[ep 19]

Upon learning of Satsuki's true intentions to overthrow their mother and save humanity, Ryuko allies with her and the Final Four, ultimately managing to save the world from the Life Fiber threat.[ep 21][ep 22][ep 23][ep 24] With the world free to wear normal clothing again, Ryuko starts a new chapter in her life alongside Mako, Satsuki, and her newfound friends in the Elite Four and Nudist Beach.[ep 24]

Satsuki Kiryuin

Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese); Carrie Keranen (English)

Satsuki Kiryuin (鬼龍院 皐月, Kiryūin Satsuki) is an 18-year-old schoolgirl and the president of Honnouji Academy's student council. Her signature weapon is the Life Fiber severing katana Bakuzan (縛斬; lit. 'bind/cut'), administering Goku Uniforms to students using various hierarchical schemes such as a no-late day event and battle royale-esque tournaments such as the Naturals Election.[ep 1]

When Ryuko arrives to Honnouji Academy, Satsuki decides to don the Kiryuin Family's kamui Junketsu (純潔; lit. "purity"[ep 3]) and manages to take command of it through force of will. But unlike Ryuko, who established a symbiosis with Senketsu, Satsuki is unable to use Junketsu's full power and can only use it effectively for short periods of time.[ep 16]

Satsuki serves as a major opponent to Ryuko for most of the series, utilizing Honnouji Academy as a means to eliminate her mother and the Life Fiber threat.