Senketsu

Senketsu (鮮血) is a main character in the anime series Kill la Kill. Appearing as a living sailor uniform, he is a Kamui created by Isshin Matoi and was found by his daughter Ryūko Matoi, becoming her ally in her battle against Satsuki Kiryūin.

Appearance
Senketsu appears to be a black and red sailor suit with the midriff shown and a lower cut skirt. When Senketsu is on his own, the section above the skirt resembles a mouth, in that he is attached to his lower jaw in the back. When he is worn, however, the skirt and the rest of him are completely separate exempting some suspenders.

Personality
In most circumstances, Senketsu is a composed and analytical individual, calmly observing and describing situations as they occur. He maintains this level-headedness even during the heat of battle, giving Ryūko advice and warning her whenever she is about to run out of energy. However, he has a strong craving for Ryūko's blood as he needs it to remain active. Whenever he tastes her blood after a period of deactivation, he becomes manic and aggressive, and demands she feed him more. During his first encounter with Ryūko, he goes so far as to violently strip her naked and put himself on her, pleading not to fall asleep again; this indicates he dreads towards being deactivated. He returns to his usual calm self soon afterward, though.

Synopsis
Senketsu was created by Isshin Matoi as a nameless Kamui for unknown reasons. Sometime after his creation, he was left in a large basement beneath Isshin's house, buried under a pile of clothes. There he remained inactive until Isshin's daughter Ryūko falls into the room, inadvertently reawakening him when blood from a reopened wound drips on him. Desperate not to fall asleep again, he forcefully puts himself on Ryūko. Once he regains his composure, he tells her he remembers little more than his powers and creator. Ryūko reasons she can use his powers in her battle against the Student Council of Honnōji Academy, and names him Senketsu after her fresh blood that awakened him.

Ryūko effectively wears Senketsu in their first battle together against council member Takaharu Fukuroda. However, she overexerts herself and is advised by Senketsu to run away before she collapses from fatigue. The next day, Senketsu fails to awaken because Ryūko was unable to feed him, resulting in her defeat against Omiko Hakodate. To rectify this, Ryūko's homeroom teacher Aikurō Mikisugi gives her a Seki Tekkō, a glove that allows her to conveniently draw her blood to keep Senketsu fed and active.

During the battle against Satsuki Kiryūin and her Kamui, Junketsu, they were outmatched at first, but Ryūko was able to perform better with Senketsu when she finally became able to wear him in public without feeling embarrassed. Together they nearly match Satsuki's power.

During the battle against Nui Harime, Ryūko's rage caused her blood temperature to elevate to the point that Senketsu was no longer able to control himself. This caused him to overwhelm Ryūko, transforming both into a berserking abomination.

Powers and Abilities
As a Kamui, when fed with blood, Senketsu has the ability to evolve into very revealing armor that grants Ryūko with immense power. Initially the extent of power was limited and the blood drain was a constant problem due to Ryūko's embarrassment at her appearance, but after she comes to terms with it, they were able to use the Life Fiber Synchronisation to achieve the full power of the Kamui while minimizing the blood drain.

Later, after witnessing Ira Gamagōri's Goku Uniform and its ability to undergo a secondary transformation, Senketsu was able to apply the idea to himself and gained the ability to change his configuration in the middle of battle to gain a better playing field. Known configurations are shown below.

Most uniquely to the Kamui, Senketsu has the ability to absorb the Life Fibers of defeated Goku Uniforms, making him grow stronger. In addition, Senketsu possesses more than one Banshi.

Senketsu Senjin (鮮血閃刃)


 * In this form, Senketsu protrudes blades from all over its body. Senjin also has retractable claws.

Senketsu Shippu (鮮血疾風)


 * Senketsu's flying form. The bottom part of the uniform becomes a jet propulsor, and it grows wings on its back.

Relationships

 * Ryūko Matoi - His friend and partner. Originally he was considered by Ryūko as just clothing or as a tool she could use to find her father's killer. In later episodes, it is shown that Senketsu cares for Ryūko in his own way, as he alerts her when she's about to faint when Ryūko was not 'wearing' him properly. In episode 3 he transforms back into his uniform form so that she would not faint in the battle with Satsuki and Junketsu. His care for Ryūko is elaborated on throughout episode 5.


 * In Episode 4, Senketsu is worn by Maiko, who then transforms. He prevents her from bringing harm to Ryūko and Mako and once he is removed off of Maiko he spits out all her blood. Ryūko states that she forgives him because he didn't 'cheat' on her by drinking Maiko's blood.


 * Episode 5 shows a big development in Ryūko and Senketsu's bond. Knowing that it was he who Tsumugu was after, he tells Ryūko not to wear him so that Tsumugu wouldn't hunt her down the next day. She refuses and wears him still, intending to challenge Tsumugu. Ryūko is nervous about fighting Tsumugu, which Senketsu comments on and she gets annoyed at him, which makes her say that she thinks of Senketsu as merely her clothing, and that he should just let himself be worn by her. Once Senketsu reaches his limit due to the jamming rounds Tsumugu made, Senketsu gives himself up to protect Ryūko from further harm, telling her to run and save herself before getting shot by Tsumugu. Mako comes in and interferes, giving a speech about how Senketsu was Ryūko's friend, and afterwards returns Senketsu to Ryūko before leaving. Ryūko protectively holds Senketsu and refuses to give him up again, saying that the only time Tsumugu would be able to get him back was if she died. Tsumugu hesitates with shooting her, and a scene of Senketsu speaking to him is played, with Senketsu threatening Tsumugu. The end of the episode has Ryūko saying that Senketsu wasn't just her clothing, but her friend, and he responds that he was indeed her friend.

Memorable quotes

 * "Don't go! Put me on! And feed me blood! I do not wish to go back to sleep! You'll have time to be surprised after you put me on!"
 * - Senketsu clings to Ryūko after waking up from his slumber, unable to contain himself.