Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Simon and Kamina were born and raised in a deep, underground village, hidden from the fabled surface. Kamina is a free-spirited loose cannon bent on making a name for himself, while Simon is a timid young boy with no real aspirations. One day while excavating the earth, Simon stumbles upon a mysterious object that turns out to be the ignition key to an ancient artifact of war, which the duo dubs Lagann. Using their new weapon, Simon and Kamina fend off a surprise attack from the surface with the help of Yoko Littner, a hot-blooded redhead wielding a massive gun who wanders the world above.

In the aftermath of the battle, the sky is now in plain view, prompting Simon and Kamina to set off on a journey alongside Yoko to explore the wastelands of the surface. Soon, they join the fight against the "Beastmen," humanoid creatures that terrorize the remnants of humanity in powerful robots called "Gunmen." Although they face some challenges and setbacks, the trio bravely fights these new enemies alongside other survivors to reclaim the surface, while slowly unraveling a galaxy-sized mystery.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kamina Main

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Simon Main

Kakihara, Tetsuya Japanese

Littner, Yoko Main

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Teppelin, Nia Main

Fukui, Yukari Japanese

Viral Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Bachika, Kittan Supporting

Taniyama, Kishou Japanese

Boota Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Lordgenome Supporting

Ikeda, Narushi Japanese

Littner, Leeron Supporting

Onosaka, Masaya Japanese

Adai, Rossiu Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Kamagata, Eiichi Producer

Takeda, Yasuhiro Producer

Akai, Takami Producer

Shiraishi, Naoko Producer, Production Manager

Reviews

Oct 28, 2025

leaveb2alone

Recommended

[EN/PT-BR]

[EN]

"My drill is the drill that creates the heavens"

Epic battles, incredible animation, funny moments, memorable characters, and an excellent finale in space. Find out if I'm talking about "Kill la Kill" or "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann."

Due to the huge amount of mecha anime that exist, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find one that acts in this genre and is authentic. Gurren Lagann is a great example that it's possible to pilot a giant robot and be original about it. Whether it's its gripping story, memorable characters, or jaw-dropping transformations, the anime excels in each of these aspects and keeps you entertained with the insane ... fights.

The fights, being the main focus of the anime, are impeccable. The tension of seeing a more powerful enemy, the gratifying feeling of seeing it defeated, the epic battles between the mechas, and the robots' evolution when facing a new enemy show that the anime doesn't falter when it comes to building a confrontation. Furthermore, the conflicts between the characters and their adversaries serve as a metaphor for overcoming challenges and their evolution, an evolution that manifests itself in each battle when facing a more powerful enemy, making the characters stronger and, consequently, contributing to their development.

The characters are very charismatic, have excellent development, and represent the symbolism they carry well. A good example of this is Simon, who, even after facing an "impossible" scenario, remains determined to find a way to overcome the obstacle and save everyone. Another example is Kamina, who is a great leader and always motivates the others when necessary.

The story follows a good pace and is neither fast nor slow. Each character, conflict, battle, and development unfolds at its own pace, and nothing is rushed or too slow. You won't be left confused or overwhelmed while watching. On the contrary, the anime gives you time to breathe and feel comfortable before presenting you with the next adversity. Every event serves a purpose in the story, and nothing happens without a reason or gets lost in the plot, whether small or large, there's a reason for it.

The art and soundtrack are also impeccable. Gainax's animation style fits the anime well and even reminds me of "Kill la Kill" (which, by the way, is very similar to Gurren Lagann). And the soundtrack fits the moments well (especially "Libera me" from hell, which is a sensational song).

I can't think of a single point where the anime fails. With a good number of episodes, a pleasant pace, and an excellent story, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to watch something good. So if you have some time to spare, want to see something that will make you laugh, cry, and feel grateful for having watched it, watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. And remember:
"Just believe in yourself. Not in you that I believe in; not in me that you believe in. Have faith in you who believes in you."

[PT-BR]

"Minha broca é a broca que cria os céus"

Lutas épicas, uma animação incrível, momentos engraçados, personagens memoráveis, e um final excelente no espaço. Descubra se eu estou falando de "Kill la Kill" ou "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann".

Pela gigantesca quantidade de animes mechas que existem, se torna cada vez mais difícil encontrar um que atue nesse gênero e seja autêntico. Gurren Lagann é um ótimo exemplo de que é possível pilotar um robô gigante e ser original nisso. Seja pela sua história emocionante, personagens marcantes, ou transformações que te deixam boquiaberto, o anime consegue se sobressair em cada um desses aspectos e ainda te deixar entretido nas lutas insanas.

As lutas sendo o foco principal do anime não deixam a desejar. A tensão de ver um inimigo mais poderoso, a sensação gratificante de vê-lo sendo derrotado, as batalhas épicas entre os mechas, e a evolução dos robôs ao enfrentar um inimigo novo mostram que o anime não peca ao construir um confronto. Além disso, os conflitos entre os personagens e os adversários se veste bem como uma metáfora para a superação dos desafios e a evolução dos mesmos, evolução essa que se mostra presente em cada batalha ao enfrentar um inimigo mais poderoso, fazendo com que os personagens se tornem mais fortes, e, consequentemente, contribui para o seu desenvolvimento.

Os personagens são bem carismáticos, possuem um excelente desenvolvimento, e representam bem o simbolismo que portam. Um bom exemplo disso é Simon, que mesmo após se deparar com um cenário "impossível", ainda sim se vê determinado a encontrar uma maneira de vencer o obstáculo e salvar a todos. Outro exemplo é Kamina que é um ótimo líder e sempre motiva os demais em momentos que é necessário.

A história segue um ritmo bom e não é rápida e nem devagar. Cada personagem, conflito, batalha, e desenvolvimento tem seu próprio tempo para acontecer e nada é apressado ou lento demais. Você não se ficará sem entender algo ou se sentirá sufocado assistindo, pelo contrário, o anime te dá tempo para respirar e se sentir confortável antes de te apresentar a próxima adversidade. Cada acontecimento serve para algo na história, e nada acontece sem motivo ou se perde na trama, seja ele pequeno ou grande, terá um porquê de estar ali.

A arte e trilha sonora também não ficam para trás. O estilo de animação feito pela Gainax casa bem com o anime e até me faz lembrar "Kill la Kill" (que por sinal é bem parecido com Gurren Lagann). E a trilha sonora se encaixa bem com os momentos (Ainda mais "Libera me" from hell, que é uma música sensacional)

Não consigo pensar em nenhum ponto onde o anime falhe. Possuindo uma quantidade boa de episódios, um ritmo agradável e um história excelente, definitivamente recomendaria para alguém que quer ver algo bom. Então se você tem um tempo sobrando, quer ver algo que te fará rir, chorar e sentir grato por ter assistido, assista Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. E lembre-se:
"Apenas acredite em você. Não em você que eu acredito; não em mim que você acredita. Tenha fé em você que acredita em você"

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 25, 2024

theD00mGuy

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Damn had potential but ending sure left a sour taste. Don't watch it if you see it in any satisfying ending list etc. Plotwise it doesn't really evolve and the epilogue was .....

The artstyle and music were pretty good but the fights themselves brought the experience down. The only good parts were the transformation and the ultimate attack. The rest of the fights it was like watching a cartoon in television. I tried not neatpicking as much as possible but after some point I just accepted I am not gonna enjoy most of the fights in this show, at least not in their entirety.

The character ... cast was pretty generic and they were too gimmicky too try and associate with. On first few episodes especially I felt like they were trying different gimmicks for each of the main characters. Some of the developments were forced too quickly and some others shouldn't exist in the first place.

Main reason I am putting this on mixed feelings is that I didn't despise this. It had potential and the designs and soundtrack really created some great moments. The thing is it's more of a dumb fun anime, where you have to close your brain and just enjoy but for some reason I just couldn't and was left dissapointed with the ending and the epilogue. The ending was pretty much generic and expected and the epilogue was unnecessarily cruel, it wasn't something that bad but it was on the negative side for no reason. (insert existentialism)

Overthought a show about mechs too much and now I don't even know how to rate this (placeholder). I would suggest this for some people and for others not. This is my first review and its for this fking show ffs.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 23, 2025

Rintere

Not Recommended

Funny

Gurren Lagan is the anime that dared to ask "what if hype moments and aura also had good writing?" It seems we'll never know.

I only picked up this show because I had multiple friends insisting it was peak, only to find out after dropping it that all of them had the same experience of getting around 15 episodes in and dropping it because it was boring as shit. And yeah, I did that too! Gurren Lagann is a show that tries to be many things (character focused action, political thriller, post-apocalyptic brawls) but the only one that ends up being consistent is just cool ... fighting for the sake of cool fighting. And don't get me wrong, I'm fine with a good fun series, JoJo is my second favorite anime. The issue I have with how GL tackles this is that it also very clearly tries to go for a well-written and profound story, which it fails in every aspect.

The main power system for the show is barely explained in a way that makes sense up until about 20 something episodes in where it turns into a scapegoat for moving the plot forward whenever it feels like it. The group is losing hope as the enemy wins? Boost in spiral power saves the day! The main character can't reach his friends in time? Magic spiral powers activate! It's such a nothing power system that's only function is to make sure the MC can win in any undesirable situation he finds himself in. It's not even well rounded at least, vague concepts of emotional stability are brought up early on and abandoned even after the system is expanded on.... at least try to make your shit consistent.

The characters are awful too. Most of them have a distinct lack of personality outside of a single trait, and sometimes they don't have any discernible personality whatsoever Yoko is the hot girl, the twins are the stupid guys, Leeron is gay. Nia is kind. The only characters who end up passing (I would put a spoiler warning but I'm being discreet and you'd never care anyways) in the show end up being characters I did not know the names of. There's one standout case of someone being a legit enjoyable character and they're murked before they can have any meaningful progression and end up being little more than a vague flashback to rely on whenever morale is low in a fight. The main bad guy might have actually had a point? Only if you ignore the random slaves he kept for no reason other than a cheap gasp from the audience The main bad guys are called the goddamn "anti-spiral force". Can you imagine if the main antagonists of Naruto were called the "anti-ninja team"?

The creator has been nothing short of controversial for sexualizing minors (which GL has plenty of), but GL also brings in much-needed elements of sexism and homophobia that, while they aren't brought up nearly enough to claim the author as any true bigot, require at the very least a mention. Leeron's role early-on is reduced to the gross creep who acts strange towards the child protagonist and weirds everyone out. His deal? Being gender non-conforming. Kamina's role early-on is claiming that women don't understand the importance of a man's pride and that it's a complete disconnect between the sexes, all the while preaching to his teenage girlfriend who initially objects before falling in love with him. None of this is really that much, but am I wrong to be a little skeptical of bigotry in situations like this?

Gurren Lagann is simply a nothing anime. It tries to do so much that it fails to be much at all besides something you watch once a night while you eat dinner to watch cool robots duke it out because what else do you have to do really? Who cares that Simon wins every fight on his first try without having to endure any hardships besides a single death in the friend group, or that he wins against the omnipotent evil easily when the king who knew infinitely more about said evil and built all of the robots couldn't even stand a chance? Who cares man, you haven't seen a mecha show with action like this since the last time a mecha show came out, which was probably last night!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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