KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM (19)
By:
March 6, 2022
One in a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of a favorite sidekick — whether real-life or fictional.
SENKETSU
A good outfit can help you out a lot in daily life, but a combat-ready outfit is a hell of a lot better. In the 2013–2014 anime show Kill la Kill, Senketsu is a sentient sailor’s uniform — composed from sentient alien yarn known as “life fibers” — who can transform as needed into a mecha-suit. Worn by Ryūko, his creator’s daughter, Senketsu is the perfect sidekick.
While Ryūko embarks on her journey to avenge her father, Senketsu sticks by her — or more accurately, on her. He comforts Ryūko when she is sad, helps her organize her thoughts when she is frustrated, and offers advice in every battle she fights —always keeping her safety and progression (as her superhuman abilities keep increasing) in mind. Most importantly, he participates directly in Ryūko’s quest to defeat enemies at every level of the evil family/business whom she suspects of murdering her father.
Senketsu takes being a sidekick seriously; he is completely aligned with Ryūko’s mission. Ryūko, for her part, loves and cherishes Senketsu — whom she understands to be the last invention of her father’s. While the initial shared trauma may not have been necessary for their bond, and for Senketsu to be a good sidekick, it certainly helped.
Having a common enemy makes this tag team an unbeatable combo. In each episode, they defeat an enemy; then Senketsu absorbs their vanquished foe’s life fibers into himself. This process leaves their enemies naked and very immature, but somewhat liberated. As Ryūko and Senketsu face ever more difficult opponents, they evolve not only as individuals and as a unit.
Making your partner’s mission your own, and being there for them through thick and thin, is what it’s all about. I’m still looking for my Senketsu.
KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Josh Glenn | Annie Nocenti on RATSO | Barbara Bogaev on TRIXIE | Sara Ryan on SWIFT WIND | Carlo Rotella on BELT BEARERS | Adam McGovern on JACKIE McGEE | Josh Glenn on RAWHIDE | Gabriela Pedranti on KUILL | Douglas Wolk on VOLSTAGG | Serdar Paktin on CATO | Deirdre Day on TRAMPAS | Dean Haspiel on TIN MAN | Flourish Klink on THE APOSTLE PETER | Miranda Mellis on FAMILIAR | Peggy Nelson on COSMO | Beth Lisick on MARTHA BROOKS | Bishakh Som on CAPTAIN HADDOCK | Stephanie Burt on SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE | Greg Rowland on SPOCK | Adam Netburn on SENKETSU | Mimi Lipson on ROBIN QUIVERS | Jonathan Pinchera on GUTS | Tom Nealon on TWIKI | Mandy Keifetz on DR. EINSTEIN | Judith Zissman on IGNATZ MOUSE | Anthony Miller on DOCTOR GONZO.
JACK KIRBY PANELS | CAPTAIN KIRK SCENES | OLD-SCHOOL HIP HOP | TYPEFACES | NEW WAVE | SQUADS | PUNK | NEO-NOIR MOVIES | COMICS | SCI-FI MOVIES | SIDEKICKS | CARTOONS | TV DEATHS | COUNTRY | PROTO-PUNK | METAL | & more enthusiasms!