Ranked #28

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie: Lagann-hen

If you're being shaken by the physics in this anime and feel the need to argue with them, you're missing the point. The second recap movie that introduces loads of new mechs to the Gurren Lagann multiverse is just as stunning as the original series was. Be warned as this review contains spoilers to the original Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and the first movie. *The reason I purposely left out individual scores is because I can safely say that I was biased during watching this film, and I will thus be biased towards writing this review. Note: I am pro-Gurren Lagann and all for manly screaming, yelling, pointing, crying, dying, fighting, punching, kicking, galaxy smashing, and most importantly - heaven piercing.

The movie resumes from the point where the Spiral King has been defeated and Kamina City is being built. The spirals of Earth have lived peacefully for seven years and, surprise, the cast has aged and matured along with the planet. All is well - Yoko is a school teacher somewhere far-off, Viral the immortal Beastman has been imprisoned, Rossiu is a powerful leader in the new worlds government, and Simon is regarded as the hero of all humans in defeating the Spiral King. Peace is boring, and just as requested an enormous battle begins - no less, right as Simon proposes to Nia. The first hour of the movie is dedicated to story taking place on Earth. Albeit a little choppy, it doesn't lose it's impact. The second hour of the film is the battle for the universe against the Anti-Spirals in space, with an entire newly animated ending full of explosions, outrageous over-the-top screaming, fighting for justice and all that good stuff. If you loved the original series, you won't be disappointed.

The animation and art are as beautiful as ever. The colors are vivid and thrilling, bringing the experience of using a galaxy as a weapon right to your home computer. Not much to be said as a lot of the animation is reused, but the new scenes are just as good, if not better, than the originals. The amount of art put into faces and mechs (and mech faces) still amazes me to this day.

Do the impossible. See the invisible. Row. Row. Fight the powah. I hope that sums up the musical score. Just kidding! The music renews a fair amount if tracks including the aforementioned, but what's really nice how it's applied. When Sorario Days (the original OP) started playing, I think the back part of my brain stopped working and I submitted to the screen and the anime took over. In summary, the soundtrack enhances the quality to an extent where it can obliterate your senses.

Same characters, but this movie focuses in on Nia in its new scenes. No complaints. Some characters that did or did not survive the first series encounter different fates too, so watch out for those. Some also get new mechas, which might I add, are awesome. And of course, the effect of Kamina's manly spirit still resonates as strong in this movie as it did before, even though he plays a minor role in the story.

How much did I like this movie? I screamed at my screen for the last 15 minutes of the movie and was carried by the presentation throughout. A truly spectacular movie. There were moments of sadness, moments of joy, moments where it was hard to even blink.

I hope this quick review is enough to wet your pallet for another exciting adventure with all your friends from the Dai-Gurren Brigade. This is a good movie to just flop down on the couch with, regardless of age or gender. Taste is a different matter. If you were not a fan of the original anime, this apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, and therefore you most likely won't enjoy this movie as much as I. I gave this anime a 10 because I felt it achieved all things I wanted from it - now you, the reader, have to decide on your own whether it was a 10 or not. read more

Lagann-hen can most definitely be defined in one word - epic. However, while a lot of people may think epicness makes a perfect film, it doesn't. Lagann-hen is indeed epic, but it is also not without its flaws, which unfortunately are more apparent than in the first film. With that said however, Lagann-hen is still a thrill from start to finish and by the end of the film you'll wish there was more.

Lagann-hen starts off from where Gurren-hen ends, although the opening fight has been hugely condensed and before long the movie gets straight into the second arc of the story. In the first film the plot was very generic - there's a bad guy, lets go beat him. However, in Lagann-hen the story is a lot more interesting, with a few twists here and there. If you've seen the series you know what you're in for. However, little parts of the story have been changed, some for obvious reasons, but others for seemingly no reason at all. The whole population plot from the series has been completely removed and replaced with a rushed idea concerning the moon. It is changes like these that really drag the story down and make it seem half-arsed and rushed. Nevertheless, the story is enough to interest you, and while some plot points have been disappointingly changed, it still contains a few surprises. The story is better than in Gurren-hen, but not by a huge margin.

The art is outstanding, as usual. However, there doesn't seem to be as many new sequences in Lagann-hen as there were in the first movie. Lagann-hen really relies on the final sequence to blow you away, and while it does just that, it doesn't do much to amaze you throughout the rest of the film. Plus while Lagann-hen does include some good new scenes, it misses out a lot of the good old ones from the series, which is a little disappointing. The art, however, is still up to scratch and the new sequences that did make it in are amazing.

To be blunt, the sound was a disappointment and a noticeable drop from the first movie. For the first two thirds of the film a lot of the background music was badly timed and didn't fit with what was on screen - it seemed out of place. The music throughout was often at a very low volume when compared to the dialogue, so much so that it might as well not have been there. Even the sound effects, which could have been turned up a couple of notches to give it that extra umph, were disappointing. A lot of the dialogue also seemed forced, only being said to move the story along - it didn't flow. The film managed to redeem itself a little near the end where the sound seemed to be more emphasized and when one of the memorable tracks from the series was played, but it wasn't enough to outweigh the bad points.

Lagann-hen suffers from the same problem Gurren-hen did - lack of development for some of its cast. Rossiu and Kittan are still very much unknown characters to the audience of the movies. We don't really learn much about them. However, this isn't as bad a problem as it could have been. Gurren-hen and Lagann-hen were targeted more at people who were already fans of the series, so we are able to rely on the development from the series to understand the characters in the films. However, if you haven't seen the series and are only watching the movies, you're missing out on a great deal. A positive point though - Lagann-hen makes more use of its cast than Gurren-hen did. We get to see quite a bit of the supporting characters and of course a lot of Simon and Nia, which makes the film that litte bit more action packed and interesting.

The plot in Lagann-hen, because it was rushed and pushed for time, was always moving. It didn't have time to slow down the pace, which of course comes with its bad points (lack of development), but in turn makes the movie a bit more enjoyable. The final sequence definitely delivered and will most probably have you shouting in joy and quoting the names of the various attacks, or perhaps you'll just sit there, overwhelmingly amazed. Whatever you do, the final sequence is filled with epicness and enjoyment, near enough on par to that of the series, if not actually better. While Lagann-hen does have many disappointing elements, at the end of the day you can't help but forgive it and conlude that it is worth watching for the final sequence alone. read more