Ranked #180

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie: Gurren-hen

*A failed attempt to surpass the “unsurpassable”.*

“Men put their souls into their drills when breaking through!”

Some obvious advices/facts before we dive into the review.

1.
This is NOT a standalone movie thus having knowledge from the TV series is highly recommended and also beneficial to your mind.
2.
Do NOT compare the pacing of the TV series with the movie. One is called a TV series and the other is called a movie for a reason, k? Both the TV series and the movie are by the original director and script editor so they know what they are messing with.
3.
Do NOT expect to see a lot of new footages. Does this mean this is a “recap” of the TV series? Not exactly. There are enough plot differences in the battles for this movie to be considered an adaptation instead of a complete “recap”.
4.
Is the movie rushed? To a large extent, yes it is. There is simply too much material to cover in too little time. This is probably what most people are complaining about.
5.
Is it worth your time to watch this? Only if you can distinguish what to expect between a TV series and a movie.

The problem with trying to remake a masterpiece level of work (and that applies not only to anime) is that people will only be curious to see how the new work can surpass the previous work. Often people will have a pre-set level of expectation for these works and more often people will find themselves expecting too much and ended in disappointment. For example, after rating the original TV series 10/10, viewer X eagerly awaits the movie adaptation. But what can he really expect? That the movie worth 11/10? No, that is not possible. This is all thanks to something called human prejudice. Everyone who has seen the TV series first will consciously/unconsciously be comparing them. So please be mindful when watching the movie not to compare it bit by bit with the TV series. It is not fair for the movie.

Those of us who have seen Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (TTGL) will know what it means when I say the show as a whole defies the Laws of Physics. While there are plenty of examples for that type of shows, TTGL is by far the most outrageous, thus the term “epicness” is seen wherever TTGL appears. The story of TTGL is a prime example of the “underdog” battle. The main characters began with very little fighting chance but every time they seem to turn the impossible possible. And how do they do that? With a DRILL of course!

The movie has some great new battle scenes. Animation wise it is the same as the TV series (for those who like to compare the two). Most scenes were pretty consistent but lacking in details from time to time which is to be expected from the sketchy and cartoonish-looking animation. What truly makes TTGL “epic” though is that the scenes match well with the “mood” at that particular moment of the show. This is partially due to the great soundtracks and theme songs by Shoko Nakagawa. Overall those of us who are familiar with Gainax’s previous works will not be disappointed in TTGL.

Character wise, there was a slightly heavier emphasis on Yoko in this movie which is great for all Yoko lovers. Simon and Nia also have a decent character development throughout the movie. Unfortunately, because of time constrain, there was not much character building for the secondary characters like Rossiu and Kittan who ended up being quite hollow. Thus if all you ever care about is Kamina, Nia, Simon, and Yoko, then there shouldn’t be anything wrong for you. For the rest of us … brace ourselves for some disappointment here.

The following is targeted to those who have concerns with regard to the pacing of the movie. Ask yourself this, how long as it been from the end of the TV series to the airing of the movie. Answer: 11 month and 1 week (give or take a few days). Do you honestly expect to see tremendous differences (next to what it has presented already) given the time? Do you honestly expect to see a whole new story with the same awesomeness produced in 51 weeks? Given the time, though of course we can argue that they could have delayed the movie if things didn’t work out, I think it was a fairly decent job. Hopefully you will find it a good enjoyable watch too! read more

Gainax have turned their series into movies before with Gunbuster vs Diebuster and more recently the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, and the results have been good thus far. Now they've decided to give Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann the same treatment by squashing the series into two movies. In some ways it works and in others it doesn't, but at the end of the day this should still go down in anime history as one of the most epic series-turned-movies ever made, despite the story elements and character development it has lost along the way.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's story in it's entirety, in my opinion, is fantastic. However, based on this movie alone, the story is quite weak. Gurren-hen is a re-telling of the series. It follows the series up until around episode 13 and then has it's own movie original climax that sets things up nicely for the second movie to follow. The climax is epic beyond comprehension, and the way it ended, I thought, was a nice touch. The story was enjoyable, but not at all complex, intriguing, or as interesting as in the series. Of course, the story also seemed rushed, but what do you expect when you squash 13 episodes into two hours. There are new scenes at both the beginning and the end of the movie, but the middle is just as it is in the series. No new material there. Which to be honest is a little disappointing. The middle does drag on, especially after the stupid, but necessary montage about a third of the way in. The story will probably seem a lot better once Lagann-hen has been released and both movies can be looked at as one, but in Gurren-hen the story is adequate, and nothing more.

The animation is pretty flawless from my point of view. The new scenes have exactly the same style as the old ones - you can't tell them apart. It's very consistant and extremely appealing. Nothing bad to say about it, just words of praise. It also really shows that Gainax did indeed invest some money into the new climax scenes - the action is as crazy as ever and it never stops moving! You never want to look away. If you enjoyed the animation in the series, then all I can say is you're in for one hell of a treat once you reach the end of the movie.

The Gurren Lagann soundtrack returns from heaven to supply us with it's wonders again in Gurren-hen. The amazing 'Rap is a Man's Soul! We Surpass the Impossible, and Kick Reason to the Curb! Open Your Ears Wide and Listen to the Great Team Gurren Theme!!!' (or just simply 'row row fight the power') is back and as great as ever. I mentioned earlier that there is an extra scene at the beginning of the movie, well... it gets even better than that! 'Libera Me From Hell' kicks in and makes the scene one hundred times better, as if it wasn't awesome enough already! The soundtrack fits the movie just as it did the series - brilliantly.

Every character from the series that matters appears once again in the movie. However this time around a lot of characters lack depth and development, mainly Rossiu and Kittan. This didn't matter much in the first movie, but I can see it becomming a bit of a problem in the second. Important characters with no depth is the last thing you want to see. Fans of Yoko are treated to a wonderful scene near the end of the movie, and Simon is pretty damn awesome in his new scenes, but the presence of Kamina steals your attention away from the other characters just as it did in the series, and reminds you exactly why you love the guy!

To say this movie is enjoyable is an understatement. Not only does the movie remind you how great Kamina is, it reminds you how great Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is! It starts awesome and it ends awesome. Although it's a shame the middle isn't as good. The new scenes are both longer and much better than I imagined they would be, and if you're a fan of the series you won't want to miss out. Gurren-hen is let down by an incomplete and fairly rushed story and lack of development for some of it's cast, but compared to all of the elements it excels at, the bad points are very little. One thing I missed from the series that wasn't included in the movie as much was the comedy. The comedy in Gurren Lagann is hilarious and although there was some pretty funny parts in the movie, I wish there were more. Not a bad point however, just my personal preference. So... did you enjoy the series? Yes? Well, the chances are you'll love the movie. Totally recommended. Oh, wait... you didn't like the series? If thats the case then steer clear of the movie - it won't be for you. read more