As it is information that no human could possibly know, the novel grinds to a halt mid-story to give us a history lesson where the author directly addresses the reader. While Rita’s backstory organically develops the setting, there is a section of the book that does not: the origin of the mimics. Also, learning her backstory - how the war has affected more rural areas and what life is like for normal people - does a great job of fleshing out the setting. To both of them, their meeting is the end to their isolation - and probably the happiest moment of Rita’s life. Thus, she is the one person alive able to understand Keiji’s plight on both an intellectual and emotional level.
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Like Keiji, Rita is also a time-loop veteran - though, she figured out what caused hers and how to break it. But, of course, there is much more to her than that. She is the unreachable goal to which Keiji aspires to be through his loops. She has never been injured and her small unit is responsible for the vast majority of humanity’s recent victories against the mimics.
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Good - The Full Metal Bitchīut the emotional core of the story doesn’t really center around Keiji, but rather humanity’s greatest soldier, Rita Vrataski, the “Full Metal Bitch.” On the battlefield, she is unstoppable.
It’s also interesting to see how little changes, like a frown at the wrong time can completely derail the perfect loop. Watching how this repetition and isolation affects his personality is more than a little interesting. He has the same conversations, eats the same food, and does the same basic prep work for the battle. And once he has perfected his efficiency in the loop, he lives nearly the exact same day to the second every day. Moreover, while he has a goal, there is no guarantee that surviving the battle will be enough to break the loop. Over the course of the novel, Keiji dies in many horrible ways as do those around him - sometimes it’s even his fault when they do. The other main aspect of the story is the psychological pressure of being trapped in the time loop. Thus Keiji must use his knowledge from countless loops to devise a way to get the equipment he needs as well as learn to master it. Of course, melee weapons - like a giant battle axe, for example - do not.
But soon it also becomes one of materiel - i.e., the fact that no matter how good you are, guns eventually run out of ammo. However, he is quick to figure out the rules and constraints of the loops (i.e., that he can carry over memories but nothing physical) and thus develops a way to use the loops to the best effect - which is to say get good enough at fighting that he isn’t killed.Īt first, it’s all about personal self-improvement - training his mind and reflexes through practice with his veteran sergeant and learning from the experience of numerous real battles. Keiji does not know how or why he is repeating the same day and a quarter again and again.
Like the film Groundhog Day, All You Need is Kill is a time-loop plot - and a well thought-out one at that. However, in his first battle he is killed - only to wake up 30 hours before his own death. The setup of All You Need is Kill is as follows: New recruit Keiji Kiriya has joined the exoskeleton-wearing Japanese military to fight the mimics, a frog/starfish-like alien army that has been invading the Earth for decades.
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