Kill la Kill: A World War against the Nazis (Notes I have before NYCC month is over)

In episode 1, Ryuko Matoi is revealed to be learning the history of Hitler prior to be introduced by a character in a Zeon uniform, one of many uniforms we will see on the show. In Episode 3, the Hindenberg is reviewed in school.
In Episode 7, a bit of Fight Club is introduced, the elements of Nazism, of conquering by defeating generals/leaders, analyzing God, becoming God, etc..
The show has elements of action and dark comedy, more comedy than dark. The episode almost puts Charlie Chaplin's the Great Dictator to shame.
In Episode 8 Social Status, is the a prevalent theme in the episode. An election which is really just fighting, a battlefield. Is this election really about a school or is it about a country? Not to mention, rise to power. The female parallels between automobiles and war.
Episode 16 has several ties to Stanley Kubrick films which have obvious references to the Nazis.
There are rather overt ties to pedophilia in the Kiryuin corporation/castle complex with the mother causing her daughter to masturbate in a tub.
The tub scene is similar to that of when the jump cut in the Shining, when the hag rises from the bathtub.
Also, there's no doubt fan ties to pedophilia, when it comes to the modelish, underage looks of Ryoko and the at times naked cast.
Not to mention being school children in sailor outfits.

There's a bit of a contrast between episode 16 and the beginning episodes such as 7, where audiences really establish that Ryuko is part of this really humble conservative Japanese family, where in fact she is actually part of dysfunctional royalty, of which of all things, she wishes to destroy.
Garments are a key aspect of royalty as the clothes represent power, much like the Life Fibers.
Ryuko wants to be naked, a symbol of freedom, in addition to something that opposes her life as a member of royalty.
This also sort of represents a bit of the Barry Lyndon aristocracy, where people fight each other and duel for the opportunity to rise in society.

Not to mention that in Japan, there is a possibility that your family served in World War II, whether they were for or against it.

Also, other references to Stanley Kubrick 2001, such as the ties of aliens to the evolution of man, this time through garments, opposed to bones and monoliths.
Food and consumer and war struggle of man.
The Shining like many Kubrick films also had ties to the Nazis, in addition to the American family. Can one interpret Kill la Kill as the Japanese Shining?

In Episode 18, the alien reference, is obviously an homage to Neon Genesis Evangelion. There are also ties to families, long lost family opponents royalty heart and head.

Episode 20 has dialogue, representing the lack of identity one has in the middle of a war, like that of of a war film. In battle, enemies are humans too, but you don't care whether they have friends, family, loved ones, or who they are: you just kill them to survive a economic or militaristic plot forcing sides against each other. Someone is stabbed but not kill sort of like in a Nazi experiment. Cheap mass, produced garbage. Monolith.

Lack of clothes

The father origin.

21 has a blind warrior and turning into the bad guy. Stanley Kubrick also had something for eyes.
Evangelion eye.
Nazi themes
School
Kill la Kill uses the cloth robot opposed to the conventional Japanese giant robot, that Hideaki Anno and Kazuki Nakashima were famous for with Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann had mentions of.

There are even mentions of China and India's garment factories, which can be used for:

• fashion
• power and most importantly,
• survival

In Fight Club, main protagonist Tyler Durden states,
"You are not the money you have, the clothes you wear, the things you own."
In Kill la Kill, Ryuko Matoi exclaims,
"I am not clothes. I am not a person. I both clothes and a person. I am neither clothes nor a person."

The establishment being more of a parent than a biological one.

Clothes being part of an animal or made from one, but not being alive itself.
Outgrowing a school uniform, is much like outgrowing your school, much like outgrowing work, much like growing up. What kind of paradise do you end up in later? Is this really a happy ending in the end?
Stopping the meteor that killed the dinosaurs
Girls have a date
Job for adults to cleanup.

The episode is about growing up in an establishment such as school, where there are inmmates such as troublesome students, teachers that teach propaganda, who are manipulated by higher up economic sources and systems and propaganda.

Kill la Kill: Ryuko Matoi's infamous finale lines

Also, her lines in the finale having to do with finale are just ingenious if you don't just get a laugh out of it.
"I am my clothes. I am not my clothes. I am both me and my clothes. I am neither me nor my clothes."
There's a very Buddhist element to this show, in addition to the clothes spirit Shintoism aspect of the show that works on a Matrix-like level, which writer Kazuki Nakashima might've acquired acquisitioning his part of the Kamen Rider franchise from writer Yasuko Kobayashi, who is obviously immersed in these roles as seen in her previous toku work, which in turn was inspired by the great anti-establishment anti-Nazi works of Shotaro Ishinomori.
Is it Kazuki Nakashima's work? Is it Yasuko Kobayashi's work? Or is it Shotaro Ishinomori's work that should be credited for Kill la Kill?
All of them?
None of them?

Kill la Kill: Who is Ryuko Matoi?

Ryuko Matoi, philosopher.
A tough decision that many philosophers ask are:
"Who are we?"
"Who are you?" and
"What are you?"
Ryuko Matoi is a Japanese school girl, learning topics such as Nazism and the Hindenberg, both the symbols of death associated with Germany, Japan's ally as a member of the Axis Powers in World War II. She fights the overwhelming school disciplinary committee at school, only to find a twist with them in the end.
She is also looking for the killer of her father, only to discover that her family tree is amazingly complicated leading to the destruction of the world and even the universe on a cosmic scale.

Top 8 moments in Full Metal Alchemist (First Series)

Thematically

8: Mustang defeating King: Creative: Sets up Firebender what ifs.
7: The Final Episode. I was young at the time, so I didn't see it coming. Interesting result. Innocent mature kids A bittersweet ending.

6: Izumi's pursuing of Wrath. Another parallel with the Elrics, this time with their mother.

5: King killing Chimera in Alphonse's suit. Sick, yet memorable because of how it was done. It was a memorable character that died. Wish there were more chimera protagonists.
4: Hughes vs Envy, a moment where writer Arakawa apologized for making everybody cry, for such a loved character.

3: Meeting the Butcher. Voice acting is underestimated in dubs, but he just did a pheonomenal over the top job.
2: Meeting Tucker. Really set up the theme for the rest of the show. He's hardworking, giving him empathy, but he cares little for life, even his own. Obsessed with his own work. He's a great foil for the Elrichs.
1: Alphonse pondering if he is just a feature of Edward's imagination. It's very interesting, especially if you didn't see their origin elsewhere. Why believe the Butcher opposed to your own brother? Easy, to say when you're a human being, not a suit of armor. Really gave the show a Ghost in the Shell feel.

Chronologically

• Meeting Tucker. 
• Meeting the Butcher. 
• Alphonse pondering if he is just a feature of Edward's imagination. It's very interesting, especially if you didn't see their origin elsewhere. Why believe the Butcher opposed to your own brother? Easy, to say when you're a human being, not a suit of armor.
• Hughes vs Envy, 
• King killing Chimera in Alphonse's suit. 
• Mustang defeating King.
• Izumi's pursuing of Wrath.
• The Final Episode.

A lot of philosophical things in Full Metal Alchemist. Sort of like in Ghost in the Shell. Wish the series was thoroughly like this though.

Anything else you recall?

2014 Live action Rurouni Kenshin film makes over 12 billion yen

Universal Studios Japan has announced a temporary Neon Genesis Evangelion ride for 2015

"The attraction will run from January 23 until May 10, 2015, which will feature 3D imagery, with the world of Evangelion being shown in 'overwhelming quality.'"

Taking back how I previously ranked Full Metal Alchemist in Arthouse Converter

In the best animated cartoons of all time, I didn't rank Full Metal Alchemist higher. I probably should've ranked it higher, but had only thought about its animation and style ideas.

I take all that back.

Unlike with what I still think about the time and culture mesh known as Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist has obvious philosophical implications when two young brothers are given the temptation to resurrect their mother at a cost: their own body(s) and possibly many others along the way as seen when Edward first meets the Philosopher's Stone against Gluttony and Lust. The Hominculus are physical manifestations of what humans theoretically go through according to ancient texts, in addition to possibilties that humans may actually go through still to this day. The power of resurrection, which we may see nowadays in modern day cloning experiments, may be a power at a cost, we cannot possibly comprehend in bodies broken and minds naive like the Elrics, where we may encounter some people involved in government, and biochemical power experiments, influencers and men of power throughout the world. 

The neglect and demonization of the Middle East is done in an almost David Fincher fashion, but doesn't hurt casual viewers.

To summarize it quite shortly, the themes of religion, war and many themes present in our naively thought of as future and science fiction fantasy Blade Runner's non-everyday society is present throughout this anime and cannot be ignored for its intellectual merit.

I haven't figured out where to place it exactly on the list, but it's definitely somewhere very high.

I still have to review Brotherhood prior to deciding though.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a story about the passage of time

When is too early to go on to a different life?
Is it based on actual time?
The time you spent together?
How long you felt?
The scene where Kaguya opens the scroll quick was an allegory for Takahata's tale. A tale of a girl/woman whose life ended too early.

The scroll that Kaguya opens quickly opposed to slow and lady-like as instructed by Sasami-sama indicates not real time, but the passage of time as one lives, quicker than one expects as one leaves this world. (Moon) Princess Kaguya goes away when it's revealed that her incestously referred to but unrelated Satemaru-nee-chan has gone on and married after 10 years separate thanks to forces beyond her control as represented not only by the Buddhist-like moon spirits, but also her parents, class struggles and ones attempts to keep everybody happy, in a life where really nobody is happy.

Like the moon, bamboo, bugs and beasts, we enjoy the nature-looking aspect of the film, a primal urge to procreate, even give milk (for mothers).

The tale was very Kaneto Shindo-like, incorporating tales of spirits with the plights of woman. The film had a length of that of Batman Begins/Farewell, My Concubine entirely encompassing someone's life. It has My Concubine's tale of fortune, but lacks Kaneto Shindo's mentor, Kenji Mizoguchi's use of long takes for accessibility.