Ranked #43

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

To write a spoiler-free review of lagann-hen is difficult, especially since there is quite some variation from the show. However, I will write this review on the basis that I don't want to spoil TTGL or Lagann-hen.

First things to say would be, Lagann-hen is a must watch.

To review Lagann-hen I think I should sum up some of the premonitions I had before watching it. I had seen Gurren-hen, and although I enjoyed it, I actually didn't like it as much as the series. Gurren-hen seemed a bit rushed to cover the first part of the series, and was chopped and changed here and there.

So coming into Lagann-hen, I was expecting this to be Gurren-hen for the second half of the show... Boy was I wrong.

Like Gurren-hen it does re-use a lot of images from the anime, however at most points they are in a different order, or given new narration. Large sections were redone completely.

The story is much the same as TTGL, however some minor differences persist. I won't say them in detail, lest I plague this review with spoilers, but I will say that I think the main cast is better represented in this movie. Each character is shown thinking or doing things that may have happened off screen in the TTGL anime. This sheds new light on some characters, while giving others more of a noticeable role. There was not one change I disliked about Lagann-hen. All the good bits were there, and all the bad bits were polished into good bits. Never once did the story feel rushed.

The actual ending of the show is nudged off course from the anime, but not in a way that breaks any of the continuity. It seems like every opportunity Ginax had to make the show better, they took it. Some places it seems almost unnecessary to alter the little things, but the overall effect is an amazing addition of depth to the plot.

As far as art goes, there are only improvements from the anime. The anime itself had great art, but the movie shook that up, turned it around and increased it to something that was a totally new, and increased it to a quality suitable to the big screen. Some of the movie is straight the same as the show, much of it is different. But not once did the animation look out of place. (Unlike Gurren-hen, where some of the new animations seemed a little too noticeable.)

Sound, was brilliant. If I can make a recommendation, listen to this in surround sound. It's not just the sound effects that have been given extra "omph", the entire voice acting matched perfectly, new lines flowed into old ones, narration covered some points and none of it had even the slightest flaw. I was surprised to hear the TTGL anime theme music kick in at the right place, I don't think any other piece of music could have fit there, sure enoguh, Ginax kept it for the movie. Full points here, it's been a long time since any show has had this much music that just screams, raps and wails ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH!

Character development was something I enjoyed very, VERY much. This was probably the biggest change to the show. Each character, no matter how minor, was given full attention and detail. Their roles never waned from their original, and only expanded the Dai-Gurren Dan feel. There are some surprising things that the characters go through in the moive, that is not present in the anime, it'll be obvious what I mean when you watch it. The characters are surprisingly human, if you cut them, they bleed, is one of the things the movie makes obvious. But it also shows, you cut a lion and you'll be faced with the claws. Dodge the claws and the fangs are next. The characters prove an unrelenting injection of determination and awesome, that the series did so well.


Enjoyment is next. Woah, did I ever enjoy it! Personally, this movie had me hooked. Having seen Gurren-hen, I was a bit inclined to think "skip" for the first bit and then just watch the end. But no, it had me on the edge of my seat all the way, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen! One of the things that made this movie more enjoyable, was the inclusion of a few jokes here and there. Even at the most serious of times, they put in a little one liner that really brought it down to earth. This is TTGL, after all, was the feeling I got from these kind of moments.


Overall:
Lagann-hen has to be THE crowning moment of awesome for Gainax, if not all anime. I've seen a lot of mecha shows, I've seen a lot of hot-blooded pilots, cool super attacks and climatic battles, but none scratch the level of awesome exuded by Lagann-hen. Strangely, I'm not over-exaggerating here. But I will admit, Lagann-hen doesn't stand on its own. I don't think Gurren-hen supports it well enough to just watch those two on their own. And if you didn't like the series, then re-watching the ending may not cut it for you. Even though the ending to the movie covers far more plot and detail than the series did (and it did it in less time to). My overall conclusion would be, Lagann-hen is TTGL at its best. I don't think it could be perfected by even 1% more. If you even enjoyed 1/2 episode from the latter half of TTGL, you will enjoy this movie. read more

This movie was INCREDIBLE. It was definitely worth spending 1500 yen at Akihabara's sunshine theatre.
The movie included much more different scenes than the first movie Gurren-hen, and the last battle was so intense, one couldn't blink to miss anything. The background music for this movie was as well different than from the series, and very fitting with each scene of the movie.

Very enjoyable and brilliant.

*I'm writing this review for people mainly who have already seen Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and will hopefully be worded in such a way that there aren't spoilers for the show for those who haven't seen TTGL. I HIGHLY encourage those who haven't seen TTGL, to see it FIRST.*


This is a companion movie, a sequel to the previous Gurren-hen. Both are movie adaptations to the TV series, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. This movie picks up at the end of the first, (wow, really?) somewhere between episode 13 and 15 of the TV show. Since this is an adaptation, some of the story elements have been tweaked, leading to some difficulty matching them up. The beginning finishes out the Battle of Teppelin, and then we move on to the second half of the series, where the movie continues and concludes.

Story: 7
The story, in movie form, is lackluster, and while it is still the same basic principles as TTGL, loses much in the translation. The story in TTGL is superb, and the plot and pacing are excellent, but when condensed into an over 2 hour movie, way too many things are lost. Initially, the sub-plot about population increase is removed entirely, replaced with a decent fill-in about reaching spaceflight. Additionally, most of the political subterfuge and wrangling that Dai-Gurren does, in responding to the Anti-Spiral threat is also only mentioned in passing. There are many issues with the interpersonal relationships that are altered or ignored, but to list them would be to just add to the length of this segment. After reaching space, the story stays close, but only parallels TTGL's story, since after the divergence earlier, they are similar in only in basic plot and direction. As Dai-Gurren progresses towards the end, the real reason for the movie is revealed, elaborated on later in the Art section. The conclusion is, again, similar, but there are small things changed that do make a difference in the feel of the ending.

Art: 9
This is one of the highlights of the movie, and where the whole movie hangs its hat. The art is gorgeous, and the last 45 minutes or so are spectacular, evoking all of the feelings from TTGL, and more. The true reason for the movie was really to draw more awesome mecha, and this is clearly shown in the movie. Already TTGL had sweet mecha, but they apparently had ideas they never used, and needed a medium with which to express them. Unfortunately, they had to sully the good story of TTGL to get these mecha into a movie.
The other reason for making the movie, one that was in their minds more important I believe, was one specific scene around 4/5ths of the way through. Everyone who's seen TTGL knows that they have stayed away from visible nudity in general (for an anime), relying on almost-hints and some humorous situations to keep from showing it. However, when the gang appears before the Anti-Spirals, and Simon covers Nia with his cloak (a very respectful and tasteful scene in the show) this work is undone soon after in the movie. Through some series of circumstances which I can't remember right now, the characters fight, and you see Simon missing his traditional Awesome Glasses and wrappings. However, when they shift to Nia, separate in her own mecha, there is ALSO no clothing around, and you see pretty much everything from the bellybutton up, for no less than 5-6 seconds as she talks. The animators lavished time and thought on this animation, and you can tell. Unfortunately, it is a cheap way to get views, and I was extremely disappointed that they put such nudity in the movie.

Sound: 7
Decent, but not excellent. The sound was reminiscent of TTGL the show, and many of the feelings one got from the show are still present, but the volume level was much too low, and the emotional resonance not the same in the movie.

Character: 6
As I elaborated earlier, the character development lost the most between the show and the movie, and made certain scenes fall flat. Namely when Rossiu must grit his teeth before being walloped by Simon, the movie's rendition honestly was pathetic. There was no reminiscence, no empathy, and the blow, not a punch, isn't even thrown by Simon.
Additionally, the epilogue doesn't bring any of the character development to a fitting conclusion except for Simon's, and it can be debated whether he ends on a better note than in the show.

Enjoyment: 8
It looks good, and its very fun to watch, evoking most of the same enjoyment the original series had. Not as good, due to the flaws, but still enjoyable.

Overall: 7
Not the greatest movie, but its still TTGL, and if you really want to get a cool look at an alternate reality rendition of the story, check it out.

Me? I'm going to rewatch the last 4 episodes of TTGL to refresh the true story, the one with a fitting conclusion, the one with no nudity, the one with awesome mecha that are still awesome. read more

I'm not the type of person to watch anime films that re-cap an already completed series. However, being the huge Gurren Lagann fan that I am, I had to make an exception for this. By the time I finished these two films, I thought it was well worth it.


Both films are very well done. They hold true to the traditional storyline and yet change a fair amount of material as well as add some to give it a slightly different taste while still holding the same energized Gurren Lagann atmosphere. There were a few sequences that were greatly condensed or even removed from the original series to fit the four hour, two-part film. Thus I would strongly suggest watching the show before seeing this movie if you've never seen the show and are interested in seeing this film. Its good stuff.


Overall, I would say that this movie is the movie that will pierce the heavens! read more

As much as I absolutely ADORE TTGL, I must say, I think episode 27 was a lot better than the movie. Even through the major cool parts, SPOILER: ie: the new mechs, were really cool, I don't think it can compare at all to the series. I'm not complaining about physics or whatnot because hey, that's not what TTGL is about. It's about guts, spiral power, and awesomeness.

I'm not saying I didn't LIKE it. It was GREAT. But I think it would be a minor setback to the people who've already watched the series. The differences are too great. This is not bad in the sense that it makes the story worse, but again, for the people who've watched it, the additions may seem to deviate too much from the plot. I'm pretty sure that the deaths of the Gurren brigade were way way way too important to be completely dropped.

You see Nia and Yoko naked from the waist up, but really? That was completely unnecessary.

The music score was awesome as usual, though it may be a repeat if you've watched the series ;P. You know the drill, Libra for the epic parts, and Sorairo for the more epic parts. I noticed that they had some lapses in the sound track, which was a minor setback.

Character development was awesome. 'Nuff said.

If you DON'T enjoy TTGL, something is wrong with you. Just sayin'. I enjoyed it tons, though there were many parts I didn't agree with putting in. read more

In order to watch this film one must first complete the series. As the movie would become very confusing.

For those of you who have already seen the series, then you know how many people were extremely disappointed with the 2nd season. Throw common sense out the window. The movie, much like the 2nd season in the series, is over the top with its action.

The movie stays true to the series with a few changes and added bonuses. Overall, the movie kept me entertained and was a fun watch. Nothing special.

My rating: 7/10

This movie wasn't that great at some parts but I must say the ending was more epic then it needed to be then in the anime. They went over epically insane that I thought it would never end. The story wasn't that bad unlike the 1st movie and the music was still great and I wasn't as disappointed as I was the first.

Lagann hen was a huge dissapointment for me.
They simply couldn't blend the new and old footage, for example, why Nia's hair is short again?
In Gurren-hen she didn't get her hair shot out by Yoko.
The pace was a mess too, everything felt so rushed and some favorite scenes were gone(I'm looking to you Rossiu) and the final battle was a fucking joke, too stupid(yes, even for TTGL standards), I remember when the tengen toppa gurren lagann showed up in the TV series i was like "fuck yeah row row fight the powah!" in lagann-hen every mecha felt so bland and didn't last more than 5 minutes.
Also whats up with the OST? most of time I didn't hear shit.
And what was wrong with Kittans voice?
He sounded too weird all the movie.

Shame on you Gainax this movie could be something great, I'll better stick with the TV anime because it was and still is fucking awesome read more