Satsuki Kiryuin

Satsuki Kiryūin is one of the main characters in Kill la Kill anime.

Satsuki is the president of Honnōji Academy's Student Council, and rules over the surrounding land. She has absolute authority over the academy and is regarded with reverence by many of its residents.

Although she was the main antagonist for the first half of the series with an anti-villain motive, she becomes a deuteragonist in episode 17 as her mother Ragyō Kiryūin takes the role of the antagonist for the remainder of the series.

Satsuki is also Ryuuko Matoi's older sister.

In the AWA fics, Satsuki is a student at the AWA Academy.

Appearance
Satsuki is a tall slim woman with an angular face similar to her mother's. She has long dark blue tinted hair that goes past her thighs and blue eyes. She has rather thick eyebrows and a rather large bust (although Mako stated in her first head-to-head encounter with Ryūko that the latter had "bigger boobs"). Satsuki had long hair as a child, and while it was cut slightly shorter during her teen years, she grew it out later on. In Episode 25, she cuts her formerly long hair to page boy shoulder length style.

Similar to her mother, Satsuki's presence is often accompanied by a glow of light that has been described by Sanageyama Uzu as "dazzling."

Personality
Prideful to say the least, Satsuki is extremely intelligent, calculating, patient, while simultaneously unwavering and iron-fisted. Unlike with Ryūko Matoi and Senketsu, she had no shame in wearing the Kamui Junketsu in its most revealing form; she claims that her actions in donning Junketsu are, like the Kamui's name implies, "utterly pure". Satsuki refers to people as "pigs in human clothing", and justifies that the weak and foolish must be ruled. Due to her steadfast convictions, she also possesses a natural charisma and ability to lead others. In spite of her pride, Satsuki is shown to be pragmatic and determined, willing to cast aside pride and using whatever means necessary in order to secure victory, even if it threatens her life. When fighting Ragyō, Satsuki noted that her willingness to fight her mother and the Life Fibers was due to revenge, noting that great causes are born from personal desires.

In spite of her behavior at school, Satsuki is not heartless. While very harsh and not very willing to tolerate failures, she does care a great deal for the Elite Four; and is as protective of them (in her own hidden ways) as they are to her. As a child, she would always drink Mitsuzō Soroi's tea, in order to protect his feelings; despite disliking its bitterness for a long time, she eventually found it delicious. When she reminisces about this to Soroi, Satsuki, herself, notes that she must have been a kind-hearted girl if she'd gone that far to protect her butler's feelings.

Satsuki genuinely loved her father and her sister, enough to avenge them by attacking the mother who disposed of them. Likewise, despite a bitter, almost hatred-fueled rivalry with Ryūko for most of the series, Satsuki noticeably softens up to her when she learns that Ryūko is the sister she'd long believed to be dead.

Following the final battle with Ragyō, Satsuki accompanied her younger sister on her date with Mako, and it is shown that she has a hidden side to her personality that, up to that point, was previously unrevealed: She can be somewhat bashful and coy, as shown in the pictures that were taken during the date.

Abilities
Natural Capabilities
 * Physical Prowess - Satsuki is accepted as the most powerful fighter of the Academy with almost superhuman physical strength, speed, endurance and reflexes. Her middle-school self was able to emit a fighting spirit capable of downing 500 men, and she was able to incapacitate Ira Gamagōridespite his superior size, age and with him wearing steel armor. Even when stark naked, and with her hands restrained, she still had enough skill and power to kill multiple COVERS using nothing more than her two altered toenails.
 * High Intelligence - She is also highly intelligent and manipulative as seen by her plan to take down her mother and the various people she deceived and manipulated in the process. Likewise she demonstrated a strong sense of patience and willpower, to endure the capture and torture at the hands of her mother, while slowly planning an escape route and having the forethought to alter two of her toenails using the same material as her sword Bakuzan.


 * False Toenails
 * Satsuki also has two toenails made of the same material as the Bakuzan, which she can use just as effectively.


 * Kamui Junketsu
 * Life Fiber Override
 * After her first clash with Ryūko, Satsuki donned the Kamui Junketsu and was able to force the blood-thirsty uniform to bow to her will. Her utter lack of shame at her appearance also allowed her to immediately attain Junketsu's Life Fiber Override and true form. Under Junketsu's power, Satsuki is granted incredible power, and even the smallest of attacks are capable of causing exceptional devastation. She is also capable of altering her Kamui's shape, as seen when she altered one of her shoulder guards into a drill to attack Ryūko. However, due to her inability to overcome the human race's resistance to the Life Fibers, she is unable to fully synchronize with her Junketsu, thus being shy of its full power and capabilities, while exerting greater pressure and fatigue on her body.
 * After Ryūko rips off Junketsu and being freed of Ragyō's mind control, Satsuki has Junketsu modified, such that it is infused with the blood of Ryūko and Mako, as well as the fibers of Senketsu, to tailor it to her needs. As a result, Junketsu now gains access to Senketsu's alternate forms while placing much less stress on her body.

Kamui Senketsu
 * Life Fiber Synchronize – After Ryūko is brainwashed by Ragyō and forced to don Junketsu, Satsuki wears Senketsu to combat Ryūko. She states that even though Senketsu may dislike her, only she and him can stop Ryūko. While transformed, Satsuki is shown to be able to use all of Senketsu's alternate forms such as Senketsu Senjin and Senketsu Shippu, although not at their full power.
 * Ryūko has stated that Satsuki and Senketsu are not truly synchronized, and Satsuki is merely commanding Senketsu to do as she says. Despite this, Senketsu acknowledges that Satsuki and its heart are one with the desire to bring Ryūko back to her senses. Senketsu is eventually shredded apart by Ryūko, but reforms itself in time to protect Mako.


 * Secret Sword Bakuzan - Satsuki is a master swordsman who wields the Bakuzan, a black-bladed katana in a white sheath with an edge that is claimed to be keener than Ryūko's Scissor Blade. Its strength is so great that one slash is enough to damage a transformed Kamui. While durable enough to clash with Ryūko's Scissor Blade on their multiple battles, the Bakuzan was eventually broken when clashing against Ragyō's fist.
 * Bakuzan Gako and Bakuzan Kōryu
 * Swordsmaster - Bakuzan was a special sword capable of severing Life Fibers, that was noted by Satsuki to have a sharper edge than that of a Scissor blade. It was eventually broken in half in the battle against Ragyō. The shards are eventually reforged into Bakuzan Gako and Bakuzan Kōryu, a long blade and short blade respectively, which are given to Nonon and Ira Gamagōrirespectively. Bakuzan Kōryu is then passed onto Uzu, as Gamagōri claims that he is more proficient with blades. Both blades are returned to her by Sanageyama and Jakuzure. Now holding two blades, their effect is the same as the twin Scissor Blades, being capable of damaging Life Fibers beyond their regenerative powers. Satsuki's skill with these blades is extensive and adaptable, as she has gone toe-to-toe against various other sword wielding opponents.

Trivia

 * Satsuki's "facts of this world" are heavily inspired by George Orwell's most famous novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, the Party's slogans—"War is Peace", "Freedom is Slavery", and "Ignorance is Strength"—were paradoxical statements that held hidden truths about the world in the novel. Satsuki's "facts of this world" speech, coupled with Ira's execution of the Goku Uniform thief, were intentionally chosen to introduce her as a ruthless dictator.