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Abridged Review For People Who Don't Like Reading:

Gurren Lagann is Getter Robo with sunglasses which makes it completely awesome even if it drags at times during the middle of the series.

Actual Review:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - a show that is wholly inconsistent, is given credit for being new and innovative when it is entirely built upon old ideas, isn't as good of a spoof of the shows which influenced it as some Gainax works, and has various other easy to pick out problems.

How does a show like this become one of the exceedingly few anime over the last decade that is genuinely worth watching? To answer that satisfactorily isn't quite as easy as it seems, but one thing is for certain: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is awesome.

Story

Nearly every episode we are reminded that Gurren Lagann is a story about a boy/man and his destiny, whether he is meeting that destiny's quota or it is biting him in the ass. More than that though, Gurren Lagann is a story about how Hiroyuki Imaishi really, really, really likes Ken Ishikawa. Not that I blame him, since I really, really like Ken Ishikawa too. Still, the parallels between Gurren Lagann and Getter Robo are exceedingly obvious from the get go. We start with a Protagonists vs. Beastman Empire story (Protagonists vs. Dinosaur Empire), we have a giant mech named Gurren Lagann (Getter Robo) that combines to fight these enemies, we end up upping the scale as the show continues on until we get to talking about Spiral Energy (Getter Rays), which allow us to use a ridiculously giant mech named Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Getter Emperor) to fight beings who control the universe called Anti-Spirals (God). Oh right, we also throw in some stuff about how Spiral Energy is the cause of evolution because we are totally DEEP (or for shits and giggles).

Don't get me wrong though. I'm not criticizing Gurren Lagann for heavily borrowing from Getter Robo. As a matter of fact I wouldn't have it any other way considering Getter Robo stuff is some of the most insane action manga/anime out there. I am, however, going to criticize it somewhat for being like Getter Robo in that the story isn't all that good, or rather at all. Instead it is basically a vehicle for mecha action, turning 0 into 100%, and other really awesome things. Considering if I wanted a good story I most likely wouldn't be watching anime though I can let this slide easily enough.

Characters

The characters in Gurren Lagann follow the super robot formula of being awesome as a hot-blooded collective while individually being pretty bad. Simon isn't this way during the first arc, where he makes his way through the typical coming of age story often found in Gainax works, but he is then largely ignored in the second arc for other characters and the "plot" which causes him to simply become the leader of the pack. None of the other focus characters are particularly good either. Yoko gets a single episode to herself in some kind of attempt to make up for the fact that she starts as a main character and ends up as another lost in the crowd minor character. Rossiu isn't a bad character so much as terribly grating since his only real purpose is to make the recklessness of the other characters seem that much more awesome over his being rational and not completely retarded. And Nia is your typical moe blob.

That being said, Kamina is a great character since he is the single funniest parody of the hot-blooded super robot pilot archetype I've ever seen. Not only is he able to spew the most preposterously lame stuff and be exceedingly badass while doing so, but unlike other characters of the sort nearly everyone takes him seriously which makes it even more hysterical. Initially Yoko and Leeron give the type of, "haha, oh wow," reactions you would expect, but even they are eventually sucked in by his shenanigans prior to his leaving for that big bowl of pineapple salad in the sky.

Art/Animation

The art in Gurren Lagann ranges from really good to really bad in a time period of not just an episode, but sometimes simply a certain sequence. The cause of this unsteady art quality is the animation which, for the most part, is really very good. Like a lot of newer Gainax series it is an acquired taste since it is very jarring as opposed to smooth, but it's that way on purpose to give the show a more energetic feel. Of course there are times when the art and animation are significantly better (ep 15 & 27) and when they're significantly worse (ep 4...), but for the most part it is very nice so long as you're watching it at normal speed as opposed to pausing and running into in-between frames of varying quality. Also, the DVD version does fix up some of the poorer looking stuff from the TV version, albeit not as much as some other shows (I'm looking at you nearly everything produced by Sunrise lately).

As for how the actual character/mech designs and stuff look...well that is debatable. Personally I like the character designs for the most part save young Nia and a handful of the minor characters, but the mechs are usually pretty ugly. Gurren Lagann and all of its forms, excluding Arc, are the exception to this of course. After all, what isn't awesome about a giant robot wearing sunglasses? The show is also famous for having the best eyecatches ever, which are actually cooler than some of the episodes. So while Gurren Lagann may not be constantly aesthetically pleasing it is unique enough looking to garner praise in that department.

Sound

While I personally don't find Taku Iwasaki's score to have a large impact on the quality of the show except for the finale of the 25th episode, I also don't have much of a problem with it. It fits reasonably well and doesn't detract from the quality of what is on the screen whatsoever. The voice acting is also very good for the most part, with a few really great moments by way of Katsuyuki Konishi, Tetsuya Kakihara, and the ever manly Nobuyuki Hiyama. Marina Inoue is kind of a disappointment as Yoko since she can be very good at times, but was only so-so here for the most part. Other than that there isn't anything too notable that I can think of other than Yukari Fukui's overly high pitched voice hurting the ears at times and Narushi Ikeda making Lordgenome even more badass than he otherwise would be.

As for the OP and EDs...well, they're not too bad actually. Minna no Peace was certainly my favorite, but surprisingly I could not just stomach all of them, but even enjoy them to some extent. Not that OPs and EDs have ever added or subtracted from a show's quality.

Soul

Of course the show has soul. You can't ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER without soul. Yet it is because of the heart and soul that is put into the series that it stands apart from many other anime despite not being amazing from a critical standpoint. Right from Kamina's goofy Tamashii no Brother, Soul no Kyoudai line it is clear that Gurren Lagann isn't only in it for the money (regarding further installments such as the movies...well, maybe not so much...). Imaishi didn't make a show heavily referencing the work of a guy he admires to sell some figures, he made it because he loves super robot anime as can be seen by looking at the stuff he has worked on over the years. As opposed to something like Evangelion's angrier take on the mecha genre, Imaishi's Gurren Lagann is a love affair with it in the same vein as GaoGaiGar. As such, instead of just another mecha show, we get a series with a good sense of adventure, some really great action and emotional moments, and something to prove. That something being that mecha anime is still an awesome an exciting cornerstone of the anime medium, even though it has had and will continue to have its ups and downs.

Final Thoughts

If the thought of a boy piloting a giant robot which is piloting another giant robot sounds swell to you I would imagine you will enjoy Gurren Lagann. If not, then I can't really say. Either way it's a show that works toward getting the viewer involved and is one best enjoyed without too much scrutiny as a result. If you're looking for a show that takes itself seriously then you would do best to move on, but if you want a series that fully embraces both the good and bad aspects of super robot shows then Gurren Lagann is for you.

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Abridged Review For People Who Don't Like Reading:

Getter Robo Armageddon is a show about giant robots thrashing the shit out of everything with glorious high quality animation. It could also totally kick Jupiter's ass.

Actual Review:

Getter Robo Armageddon - You have to be insane to enjoy this show.

Story

I'm not going to lie to you, the story is awful. It consists of all the typical BS you expect to find in anime and then some. There is incoherent babbling about evolution, a massive explosion that wipes out a good chunk of humanity, the "good guys" saving the Earth from the forces of evil despite the fact that almost all the Getter pilots are chaotic and insane (which according to the manga is practically a requirement to pilot Getter), some tidbits of SCIENCE which nobody actually cares about, and of course the solution to all of life's problems, which is to have a giant robot and be more awesome. Fortunately the story being so awful is what helps to make it entertaining. How am I supposed to enjoy characters being able to pull guns out of thin air, giant robots duking it out with other giant robots, aliens, or Jupiter, YELLING WHICH IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE FORM OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEN BESIDES THEIR FISTS, and explosions when there has to be a good reason for them? Exactly.

Characters

There are four types of characters in this show. The first is ordinary people. They are rare and should be kept away from the action unless you want to have to deal with zombies. The second is awesome people. These are most of the people involved in combat, which means most of the cast. The third is evil people. These are people who are easy to distinguish because of their ridiculous laugh and the fact that they won't freakin' die when they're killed. The fourth and final type is Ryoma. When you see Ryoma you know that someone is about to enter a world of pain. In summary, if you're looking for a show where you can't describe basically everyone with the word "badass" and the character development consists of more than a character going from "awesome" to "more awesome" this is not the show you're looking for.

Art/Animation

The art in this show is very gritty and '80s anime-ish, except pulled off a lot better than most '80s anime. For the most part it does a great job of staying true to the look of the various installments of the Getter Robo manga done by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, meaning that the robot and character designs range from goofy and childish to tough looking and cool and that there are huge grins and crazy eyes galore. The animation is also surprisingly good. The range of motion is lacking compared to the best of stuff today, but there still tends to be a good amount of motion without the art quality being sacrificed in the progress. Thus it goes without saying that the high quality of the art and animation combined with the crazy mecha action elements makes for one of the best looking mecha shows available, despite the series being over a decade old now.

Sound

The soundtrack leaves me with few complaints. Both the opening themes are likable and hot-blooded and the typically rock/metal oriented tracks within the show fit the action well. I wouldn't actually listen to the soundtrack on its own, but the same goes for 99% of soundtracks out there. The voice acting is mostly very good, with everyone clearly knowing that if you aren't going way over the top in a super robot show you aren't doing it right. Dr. Saotome sounds a little too comically evil for my tastes, but then again the show basically turned him into Dr. Hell so I can't really fault his voice actor for that. Other than that I can't think of any problems I had with the voice cast considering everyone fit their roles well as opposed to sounding like they were picked due to their popularity like a lot of stuff nowadays.

Directing

According to the credits there were three different directors for this show over the course of the 13 episodes, but the main one was Yasuhiro Geshi who did the 2nd episode and episodes 6-13. Since doing this show he has directed a couple of episodes of GitS:SAC, New Getter Robo episode 8 (one of the best episodes in that great series), and Gurren Lagann episode 20 (Yoko/Yamako-sensei episode). While I wouldn't say his directing in this series was great necessarily, I can say that the guy knows how to direct some exciting action sequences. It certainly didn't hurt that he had a bunch of great animators to work with, but there clearly is a love for the material here that gives the show the type of soul and value that would've been lost had the directors not cared and simply phoned it in.

Of course then the question is raised, did he really direct the 2nd episode and did one of the other credited directors do episodes 1 and 3? This doesn't seem to be the case, or if they did they were solely the episode directors, as initially super robot enthusiast Yasuhiro Imagawa was the main director of the project. Due to some sort of undisclosed disagreement he was taken off the project after episode 3 however, which infuriates some of his fans. While I can agree that Imagawa probably would've helped the story make a lick of sense, I don't think the show would have been any better/worse had he stuck around as the insane action and high quality animation are really the driving force behind the quality of the series.

Final Thoughts

It really does take a special kind of crazy to be a fan of Getter Robo Armageddon. There is even a screenshot from the series floating around of Ryoma pondering, "What the hell is going on? It doesn't make sense at all!" If you can manage to fit into that mold of insanity even a little however, there is a ton to enjoy here as GRA is one of the most nonsensical, brimming with action, mind blowingly awesome anime series out there. Don't think, feel.

Peace read more