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Spotlight Character: Simon (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)



MAL Character Information Page: Simon "The Digger"


MAL Favorites: 2729

For the next week I would like to have everyone familiar with this character discuss what they think makes it an exceptional character. What attributes make it stand out in the ocean of interesting characters that exist in the realms of anime and manga.

Unlike the other two subjects I will not force this conversation to fall into any set structure. Characters that are nominated typically get here because they are adept at breaking the existing character moulds and defying definition.

Because of this freedom I encourage everyone to do their very best to stay on topic and keep any and all debate civil. Have fun and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about this character.




RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL

Simon was NOT inducted into the club Character list but may be nominated again:
3 Yes - 4.4%
65 No - 95.5%

14 Don't know this character - 15.0% of the total number polled
11 Abstained - 11.8% of the total number polled

Again: why?

Because he was lying around not being nommed for months, but we don't have anyone better right now. Don't be surprised if he gets 0%.

Seriously, I don't even know who was nomming him at the time, it has been that long since his last nomination.

Oh well, then here's a cosplay skit (guy that won the preliminars on Eurocosplay around here)

Kamina was probably more memorable as a character, but Simon's journey to adulthood was a fantastic thing to watch. He's probably one of the only adolescent anime characters that goes through the typical angst and progression without irritating the hell out of me.

This. With that having been said, though, it has been a long time since I watched Gurren Lagann, so I'm definitely going to have to watch it again. I'll probably abstain for the time being.

Whosoever awarded him a 9 must point out why, man. Too much of a bland character Simon was to me.

Kamina, as already pointed out, was much more memorable.

First of all, I think someone should vote him a 10 just for kicks so we'll have exactly 1 vote for each possible score.

Anyway, Simon's character follows a very shounen model of development. And while this in of itself isn't inherently bad, barely anything is really done throughout TTGL to differentiate him from his character mold. He starts out weak and unsure of himself, gains some self confidence from his mentor and eventually has to find the inner strength within himself to fight for things he wants to protect. He's basically the textbook definition of shounen development. But to make matters worse, his entire character in the second half of the show becomes incredibly one dimensional, removing any level of subtlety he may have otherwise had. Essentially, the final Simon we see at the end of TTGL is basically Kamina 1.1, carrying on his spirit but nothing else.

Easy no.

I guess the only redeeming factor of Simon is that he makes other characters, especially Rossiu, stand out.

I like that he grows throughout the show from being a quite kid to quite the confident adult... but the fact that he is overshadowed by a character that dies less than half-way through the show is too big a knock against him to really consider him for induction.

@judojon HOOHOOO spoilers man, but I agree with you for the most part. I think I'll have to re-read the Kamina thread to see why he didn't make it through though... I don't want to steal Simon's spotlight, but Kamina really was a fantastic character.

refer http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=166979

Yes.

And for a long time I had a very similar opinion as many others in this forum until I realized that TTGL just might be the pinnacle of shounen anime and Simoun is it's poster child. That 0% percent you just spoke of will be incorrect because I personally think that this is one of the best character noms we've had in a while. I'm just sorry I didn't think of nominating him to bring up this point about the huge misconceptions and interpretations that non Japanese people seem to miss about TTGL. It is archetypical shounen in every aspect and it does it better than all the shounen put against it. I don't have any problem with inducting Simon or TTGL these days.