Ryūko Matoi

Ryūko Matoi (纏 流子) is the main protagonist of the Kill la Kill anime and its manga adaptation. She is a nomadic transfer student who transfers to Honnōji Academy in search of the other half of a red Scissor Blade she carries, and the one who murdered her father, Isshin Matoi.

Appearance
Ryūko is a teenage girl of medium height. She has mid-length, black, feathery hair and a single red streak on her bangs. Her blue eyes have peculiar gear-shaped pupils with eight grooves around the edges. Her outfit at the beginning of the series is a simple white shirt with a red ribbon tie, a black miniskirt, white sneakers, and a black jacket with white and black-striped, rolled up sleeves.

Her clothes are later replaced by Senketsu, a living, navy blue sailor uniform. Her shirt (Senketsu's upper jaw) is a crop top that bares her midriff. Her sleeves are rolled up and have two red stripes near the rims. She wears a sailor-style collar with red lines tied by a red ribbon. The ribbon also serves as Senketsu's "eye", folding into a triangular shape striped with red and yellow just above her left breast; her right breast is covered by a black "eyepatch" with an X-shaped scratch on it. Her skirt (Senketsu's lower jaw) is held up by three belts attached to her shirt. Aikurō Mikisugi later provides her with a Seki Tekkō (赤手甲), a red, fingerless, left-handed glove with a built-in syringe designed for Ryūko to conveniently draw blood and feed it to Senketsu.

Ryūko's appearance changes when using Senketsu's powers. Her hair becomes more feathery and is accented with red undertones. Ryūko's outfit also transforms into a black, scanty suit of armor with red stripes: her top covers her neck, arms, and upper chest, and is connected to her skirt by three red bands, leaving everything between her breasts and waist exposed. Her legs are covered with thigh-high boots. Senketsu's "eyes" extend into a wing-shaped crest on her chest; his left eye becomes yellow with an orange and red iris, while his right eye appears closed with a red stripe. On Ryūko's upper back is a red, triangular ventilation grill.

Personality
Ryūko displays herself to be a fierce school girl. She is not afraid of anything seemingly, shown in how she easily stands up to Satsuki Kiryūin and demands her questions be answered. She also shows no fear when she fights with the Boxing Club head who clearly overpowers her. Later on, she is shown to be quite embarrassed when she is forced to fight in her very revealing outfit, showing that while she is not afraid of fighting to her death, she is quite conscious of her body. She also shows fierce determination in finding her father's killer.

History
Ryūko lived alone with her father Isshin Matoi since an early age. One day she found him dead with a red Scissor Blade sticking from his chest, and spotted a long-haired woman running off with a blue Scissor Blade. Vowing revenge, Ryūko became a vagrant looking for clues behind the woman's identity and whereabouts.

Episode 1
Ryūko's search for her father's killer brings her to the city of Honnōji, where she enrolls in its academy as a transfer student. On her way to the school she encounters Mako Mankanshoku, who she ends up sitting next to in class. Mako informs Ryūko of the Student Council that rules the academy under its president, Satsuki Kiryūin. She immediately confronts Satsuki, showing her the red Scissor Blade used to kill her father, and is convinced by Satsuki's surprised reaction that she knows something about it. Ryūko is intercepted by council member Takaharu Fukuroda, who overwhelms her with the power of his Two-Star Goku Uniform.

Beaten and faced with the confiscation of her Scissor Blade, Ryūko flees to her old home near the city. As she laments her weakness, Ryūko is dropped down a trapdoor by her homeroom teacher Aikurō Mikisugi, who had followed her against her knowledge. She lands in a large basement atop a massive pile of clothes, the blood from her reopened wound seeping into it and awakening a Kamui—a living sailor uniform—created by her father. The Kamui springs to life and forcefully puts itself on her, craving more of her blood. Ryūko discovers that the uniform possesses immense power, and names it Senketsu.

Imbued with Senketsu's power, Ryūko returns to Honnōji Academy and battles Takaharu again in a boxing match, this time overcoming his Goku Uniform powers with Senketsu's indestructible armored form, and destroying his uniform with her Scissor Blade. She reveals to Satsuki that both her outfit and weapon are keepsakes from her father, and once more demands Satsuki to reveal what she knows. However, she is fatigued from her battle and retreats.

Episode 2
Ryūko retreated and collapsed when she stepped off the tram heading down the tall mountain. When she awoke, she found herself in the house of the Mankanshoku family and reluctantly had dinner with them that consisted of questionable food. Ryūko reminisced how she first met the talking Kamui uniform and partnered with it after naming it Senketsu as in “Fresh Blood”.

Ryūko came to school along with Mako, and is invited to stay with the Mankanshoku family. They both found themselves under fire by the tennis club and its newly two-star Goku Uniformed captain, Omiko. Ryūko tried to fight back but found herself in trouble when she failed to awaken Senketsu. She escapes by falling into the sewers and by clinging onto her guitar case as she drifted along the current.

Ryūko awoke to find herself in the presence of her homeroom teacher, whom does not seem to be what he appeared. He extracted some of her blood with a needle, despite her excessive refusal, and showed her that Senketsu needed to be in contact with her blood to be fully utilized. Ryūko wanted answers from him but she first had to fight Omiko in a rematch and again rescue Mako.

After Ryūko saved Mako, whom was being barraged by countless tennis balls, Ryūko somehow found herself fighting against Omiko in a tennis match, all due to some twisted logic of Satsuki’s minions, Uzu Sanageyama. She was able to win by using her scissor blade as a tennis racket, and with sheer force she blasted Omiko away, along with stripping Omiko of her Goku Uniform in the process. Afterwards, Ryūko was forced to fight Satsuki, and was nearly dominated by her skill with the blade. Ryūko was alerted by Senketsu that she was about to pass out due to blood loss, so she escapes along with Mako in an improvised cover of steam.

Episode 3
While meeting with Mako, she discovered a note that was pinned to Mako’s back, it was from Aikuro and it stated where they can meet. Aikuro told her about a term called Life Fibers, and how Isshin Matoi and the Kiryūin clan were the only two that knew of its full capability. She learned that Aikuro used to work as an assistant for Isshin and had infiltrated Honnouji Academy to learn more. She also learned that the Kamui’s awakened form was apparently the idea of Isshin, her father.

After spending another night at the Mankanshoku’s house, Ryūko went to school with Mako and found Satsuki waiting for her. Ryūko asked Mako to step aside for safety and readied herself to fight Satsuki, whom revealed that she had her own Kamui, Junketsu, and had already mastered it. The fight took place; Ryūko was absolutely overwhelmed by Satsuki. To keep Ryūko was nearly losing consciousness, Senketsu reverted back to its dormant state to stop feasting on her blood. Before the victor was decided, Mako intervened and her speech made Ryūko finally understand the true meaning of wearing Senketsu. She finally accepted the revealing form, and now had better synchronization with Senketsu. With strength anew, Ryūko was able to fight Satsuki on near equal ground.

When the fight came to an end, Ryūko declared to Satsuki that she will tear down her ambitions, utterly destroy them, and then will have Satsuki tell her about her involvement with her fathers murder. Satsuki accepted her claim and announced that from then on, Ryūko will be made the target of every club. Only when she defeats every opposing student in the school, will they once again fight one another, and if Ryūko wins that fight, only then will Satsuki reveal her involvement to the death of Isshin Matoi.

Episode 4
Ryūko had to participate in an annual school event called “No-Late Day”; where the students of “Honnouji Academy” had to go through 999 obstacles and get to class in time or risk getting expel. During the event, she and Mako encountered a girl name Maiko Ogure, whom supposedly was injured during one of the obstacle courses. They decided to take her along out of kindness; however the girl betrayed them near the end and stolen Senketsu. Maiko revealed herself to be the Head the Trap Department, and she wanted Ryūko’s Kamui so she can usurp the control of the school from Satsuki. When Maiko tried to attack them, her mobility was restricted by Senketsu and thus allowed Ryūko to beat her up and reclaimed Senketsu. Afterwards, Ryūko and Mako learned that they were tricked once again by Maiko’s “fake school” trap; they were able to make it into the school in time by crashing into the classroom after commandeering a cable cart.

Powers and Abilities

 * Scissor Blade (片太刀鋏) – Ryūko's signature weapon is one half of a giant pair of scissors, which she wields as a one-handed, single-edged longsword. The blade is capable of cutting Life Fiber, which is otherwise indestructable when sewn into Goku Uniforms. She alternatively uses it as a makeshift tennis racket during her match against Omiko Hakodate.
 * Decapitation Mode (武滾流猛怒) – While using Life Fiber Override, Ryūko can mechanically extend her Scissor Blade into a two-handed sword. Not only is the blade's length doubled in this form, but its strength increases exponentially and is able to slice far beyond its normal range.
 * Kamui Senketsu (神衣鮮血)
 * Life Fiber Synchronize (人衣一体)

Relationships
Kamui Senketsu - At first Ryūko was embarrassed to wear Senketsu due to the Kamui tranformation that shows an indecent amount of skin. However, she understands later on that the only way to be able to use Senketsu to his full potential is to wear him proudly and be open to him. Ryūko cares for Senketsu and considers him a dear friend, even to the point of saying that if Senketsu were to be taken from her they would have to pry him from her cold dead fingers. She was also very concerned when Senketsu was being washed very roughly by Mako's mother.