Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

jonadrian619

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Reaction score
240
TengenToppaGurrenLagann.jpg

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann


Don't believe in the you who believes in me.
Don't believe in the me who believes in you.
Believe in the you who believes in yourself.
Who the hell do you think I am?
Kick reason in the face and Do the impossible!!


Gurren Lagann is in my top 5 and it's one of the most addictive series I've ever watched!

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン, Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan or Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann) or simply Gurren Lagann, is a mecha anime series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran starting from April 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007 for 27 episodes. A manga adaptation was serialized in Dengeki Comic Gao! but switched to Dengeki Daioh due to the former being discontinued.

Introduction:
In a time where human beings are forced to live underground, they dig their own villages. They have no contact with the surface world and other villages. Frequent earthquakes rock up their shelter's infrastructure, and they must constantly dig deeper to extend their home. The humans would be confined within their subterranean homes forever, but hope shines in the spirit of one boy...

Simon, a young digger, discovers a mecha that looks like a face, and is befriended by fellow Kamina. All of a sudden, a mecha falls into the cavern while being damaged by a girl named Yoko. Simon goes to the mech he found earlier, and activates it using a drill key. Together, they break through the surface and discover a whole new world filled with ambiguity, as villainous Beastmen pilot their own mecha, Gunmen, to terrorize the surface dwellers. Hopes arise as Kamina defeats a beastman and steals his Gunman, which Kamina names as 'Gurren'.

Throughout the series, Simon, Kamina and Yoko meet a new band of humans and together form their own group called the Gurren Brigade, as they fight their way through. That won't be enough, as they need bigger machines, bigger goals, and the Spiral Power to defeat their enigmatic and colossal foes and meet their destiny.

Gurren Lagann is divided into two story arcs. The second arc deals with the characters and storyline after a 7-year timeskip. Through those years, many of them had changed their personalities and even some minor characters have taken in unique roles in the story.

The Main Characters:

Simon (シモン)
Simon_Gurren_Lagann.jpg
Old_Simon.jpg

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English)
Old Simon Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English)

Gender: Male
Species: Human
Personal Gunmen: Lagann, Gurren-Lagann
Simon is a 14-year-old boy hailing from Jeeha Village. He is the most renowned digger in his village since most of the villagers only dig for food to maintain their lives, in contrast Simon does his job with determination, despite being underdeveloped for his age as a youngster. With his peculiar habits and poor hygiene he is often ostracized by his peers. Only Kamina has true faith in him. Problem is, Simon is an almost cowardly person with little or no confidence with his abilities at all. Kamina helped him become a better person, this way Simon's ambition is to be one like him. He possesses a Core Drill which is used as an activation medium for the "big face" mecha he found in his village while digging, and eventually for his flagship Gunmen, Gurren-Lagann. He is often susceptible to intense bouts of determination that likely happens when he is in combat (which is a requirement to activate his Gunmen). Escaping from the cavern and reaching the surface means a lot of things and so much is in store for him, even if the way to the top is a murky river. After seven years since he defeated the king of the beastmen, Simon has grown up in body, mind and soul as well as being like Kamina's character, but he retains his hot headed nature.

Kamina (カミナ)
GurrenLagann__Kamina.jpg

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Personal Gunman: Gurren (Formerly 'Gunzen'), Gurren-Lagann
Kamina is a young man living in Giha Village who dreams of one day leaving the village and afterwards go to the surface. He is a very passionate and honorable man who's also hot headed or over the top. He never ceases to amaze and he doesn't give up on anything. Kamina is the founder of his Gurren Brigade which initially composed of him and Simon, but as time passes, more members join the team in his journey. When Kamina and his team were accosted by gunmen, he fought a certain gunman head-on and ejected the beastman riding it. He took that gunman and impulsively named it "Gurren". He also named Simon's newfound mecha as "Lagann". His plans are not thought-out well and he relies solely on brute strength to win, but for some reason, Simon and Kamina work together most of the time. His great confidence is a show to Simon signifying determination and the courage to succeed, often telling his "Bro" Simon the phrase "Simon, believe in yourself. Not in the me that you believe in, and not in the you that I believe in either. Believe in the Simon who believes in you." These words are long remembered by the rest of the crew, even after his death in a battle against one of the Four Supreme Generals of the Spiral King, Thymilph.


Yoko Littner (ヨーコ・リットナー)
GurrenLagann__Yoko.jpg

Voiced by: Marina Inoue (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Personal Gunman: None
Yoko is a young woman from Ritona village, one of Jeeha's neighboring villages. She had been tracking Gunmen for a long time, specifically one that fell in Jeeha village. She wields an extensive arsenal of weapons crucial in her missions and has years of experience fighting gunmen and beastmen alike. Her wise counseling and great skills as a soldier help the Gurren Brigade into advancing the war of liberation. She wears skimpy clothes; short shorts and a bikini top, and it's obvious that she is the center of attraction for most male characters, even for both Simon and Kamina. She wears this kind of clothing to avoid certain movement restrictions in combat. She loves children and she has a dream of becoming an elementary school teacher, which she finally becomes at the end part of the series.


Nia Teppelin (ニア・テッペリン)
GurrenLagann__Nia.jpg

Young Nia Voiced by: Yukari Fukui (Japanese), Hynden Walch (English)
Timeskip Nia Voiced by: Yukari Fukui (Japanese), Bridget Hoffman (English)

Gender: Female
Species: Human
Personal Gunman: None

Nia is the lead female character of the story, a mysterious girl found by Simon sleeping in a capsule in the middle of a dump site while he is still coping with the depression after Kamina's death. She is pure and innocent because she had been raised in an environment away from battles and conflicts. She has no prior contact with human beings except her father. Nia gained sentience when she came with Simon to the Gurren Brigade. During their travels, Nia discovers the harsh realities of life as well as human characteristics, at one point she starts to have a very close relationship with Simon. After seven years, this relationship manifests as Simon proposes to her. Just when it happens, it is revealed that Nia has another personality, Messenger Nia, an agent for the Anti-Spirals who will become Simon's enemy, ultimately fighting against herself.

Other Characters


The Gurren Brigade:

Dai-Gurren_Team_w_text.jpg

[From Wikipedia]

The Gurren Brigade (Team Gurren) is initially a small band of boys from Giha Village who try to escape from the village, including Simon and Kamina. When a Gunman came crashing down to the village, they fought the gunman, and with Yoko's help, they reached the surface. Along the way, they meet new comrades from other villages. With the new team, Simon and Kamina had bigger enemies to face. One of those enemies is a fortress gunman named Dai-Gunzan. The team defeated the Beastmen and stole the Dai-Gunzan, turning it into their base of operations. They later came to be known as Team Dai-Gurren which has a wide array of new members. The thing is, almost every main character or a character that has a major role in the series is a member of the Gurren Brigade.

Character guides for Team Dai-Gurren Members

Beastmen:
G-L_-_Beastmen_Kingdom.jpg

[The four Beastmen Generals; From Wikipedia]
The main antagonists against the Gurren Brigade, Beastmen are non-Spiral beings (those with no Spiral Energy inside them) created and cloned by the Spiral King Lordgenome himself. These beings pilot Gunmen solely to dispatch humans from the surface world. The animals roaming around the barren desert are previously failed experiments, thus they lack the intellect that Beastmen have. Beastmen and animals cannot reproduce and must rely on cloning to multiply their ranks.

Beastmen Main Characters


Gunmen/Ganmen (ガンメン)
Gurren_Lagann_Ganmen.jpg

Gunmen are the type of mecha being used in Gurren Lagann. Unlike most conventional mecha, Gunmen (or its Japanese term Ganmen) literally means "huge face", thus they take the form of heads/faces with appendages and arms. They possess a variety of weapons such as beam weapons or melee weapons like clubs or bare hands. Humans who pilot Gunmen exert more Spiral Energy because of their DNA, more than what the Beastmen can do.

Spiral Energy:
6657-Gurren_Lagann6.jpg


GurrenLagann-Anti-SpiralAvatar.jpg

[Up: One of Gurren Lagann's drill weapons enhanced with spiral energy Down: Anti-Spiral being]
The energy force that is prevalent throughout the series. Spiral Energy is a kind of special energy that triggers evolution, and an energy that resides in all living things, and that the universe and everything in it coordinates itself in a spiral pattern. It's used for many purposes, such as regenerating or repairing damaged parts of a gunman, or to use powerful weapons, like the Gurren Lagann's drill weapons.

More info on The Spiral Theme, Spiral Energy and The Anti-Spirals.

Complete List of Gurren Lagann Characters


Episodes List:
  1. Bust through the Heavens with Your Drill!
  2. I Said I'm Going to Pilot That Thing!!
  3. Who Do You Think You Are, Having Two Faces!?
  4. Does Having So Many Faces Make You Great?
  5. I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!
  6. My Gurren is Sparkling!!
  7. Sit in the Hot Tub 'Till You're Sick!!
  8. There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!
  9. You're Gonna Do It!!
  10. Later, Buddy
  11. What, Exactly, Is A Human?
  12. Who Is This Bro?
  13. Simon, Hands Off
  14. Yoko, Will You Do Me A Favor?
  15. Eat Up, Everyone!
  16. Well Met, Everyone
  17. I Will Head Towards Tomorrow
  18. Compilation Episode
  19. You Don't Know Anything!
  20. Tell Me The Secrets of This World.
  21. We Will Survive By Any Means Necessary
  22. How Far Will God Test Us?
  23. You Are Someone Who Ought to Survive
  24. This is My Final Duty
  25. Let's Go, This is the Final Battle
  26. I'll Never Forget This Minute, This Second
  27. I Accept Your Last Wish!
  28. Let's Go, Buddy
  29. The Lights in The Sky Are Stars


Opening and Ending Music:
(Really Cool)
Opening 1:
Sorairo Days by Shoko Nakagawa
[YOUTUBE]AgKSjUOrgQQ[/YOUTUBE]

Opening 2:
Sorairo Days by Shoko Nakagawa (Second verse and chorus, Ep 17)
[YOUTUBE]YAkAPXIJ298[/YOUTUBE]

Ending 1:
Underground by High Voltage
[YOUTUBE]5nqWibRBjIw[/YOUTUBE]

Ending 2:
Happily Ever After by Shoko Nakagawa (Episode 16, OST)
[YOUTUBE]kKssfKRI698[/YOUTUBE]

Ending 3:
Minna no Peace by Afromania
[YOUTUBE]Son2L1ATud8[/YOUTUBE]

My Comments:
This is an spectacular anime series and by far the most epic I've seen in a while, and it's also a very creative masterpiece of Gainax. The manga is an adaptation of the anime itself, but it just doesn't convey the atmosphere and the action of the anime series, but it's still a nice read. The opening and ending themes sound cool as well (by the way I was really addicted to the third ending song). This is a great series for young viewers and adults alike. EPICness (albeit overused, no other word would fit :p).

My Ratings:
Storyline - ●●●●●●●●●● 9/10
Characters - ●●●●●●●●●● 10/10
Setting - ●●●●●●●●● 10/10
Originality - ●●●●●●●●●● 10/10
Overall - ●●●●●●●●●● 10/10
 

Larcenist

REP: Respect, Envy, Prosperity?
Reaction score
211
TTGL is great, and one of those animes that one will find him/herself rewatching at least once or twice. I myself will rewatch it sometime soon since it was quite a while since I watched it, and I remember that there is a song in the middle of some episode that I really liked (forgot which episode though, so the one sollution left is rewatching :p).

When I watched it I rated it 9/10 (according to my MAL profile) which I believe was based much on the cliché ending of TTGL, as well as some parts of the actual story that probably could've been left out.

I had also planned to watch the TTGL movie, Guren-hen, this night (until my friends randomly dragged me outside and forced me to watch some really crappy horror movie instead), but I guess that's something for me to do tomorrow instead.
 

Renendaru

(Evol)ution is nothing without love.
Reaction score
309
This is the only anime that each character is truly rated on how much they grow...
 
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