The story of Gurren Lagann was inspired by the giant robot shows of long ago. Despite that, the show takes concepts and themes that avid fans of the genre know well and executes them in ways that make them seem fresh and new. This almost makes it seem like you're being introduced to the mecha genre all over again. I'd also like to point out that the anime is divided up into two halves, making it seem like you're watching two different anime. The first half of the series sets everything up for the second half, which provides most of the substance for the story. Those halves eventually connect with each other through various scenes, with the second half clearing up any plotholes that may have been brought up in the first half. This excuses the thinness of the first half's plot as the story progresses. Speaking of which, the story isn't without its flaws. Since the series is based on old school mecha anime, it occasionally borrows chiches and recycled plot points from said genre (i.e. save the universe, save the hero's girlfriend, transforming robots, etc). Even with the way the story is executed, these aspects of the plot can't be avoided by those that are well-acquainted with the genre. The series also makes plenty of use of drills as symbols to help move the story along, such as going from the main character's lowly tool as a digger to an object of strength and hope as well as coupling with the series' recurring theme of history repeating itself. Gurren Lagann may not have the strongest plot, but for an anime like this with a lot more things going on, a light story is decent enough.
If Gurren Lagann's story isn't strong enough to stand on its own, then the events of the series have no other choice than to be supported on the shoulders of the characters. I don't think I've seen a more likable cast of characters in an anime. Just like the story of the series, the characters of Gurren Lagann are based on previous character archetypes seen in previous mecha and GAINAX anime: the busty female lead, the shy hero, the animal sidekick, etc. These archetypes aren't exactly played straight, proving that there is more to this anime than meets the eye. The character development doesn't really start until after a devastating turn of events in the series. It's then that these characters really start to change. The bashful hero gains the spirit of a lion, the female gunslinger acts as an older sister to the cast, and so on. Even Nia, a character who appears later on in the series' first half, has the makings of a Mary Sue character but defies that character trope by being a total airhead. Like I said earlier, the second half of the series is like a different anime, down to the characters that you come to know during the first 16 episodes. These character changes may cause you to like certain characters that you didn't like before and vice versa. The characters may not be realistic or complex, but they fit nicely in Gurren Lagann's energetic world. They're the heart of the show, the kinds of heroes you might have looked up to as children, and the ones that make the show as lively as it is. Don't be surprised if you find yourselves cheering for them until the end.
The animation in Gurren Lagann is nothing short of outstanding. GAINAX has proven once again that they are the go-to studio for producing high budget mecha anime. The epic feel of the show comes from the high production quality of the animation. The buildings and the rocky terrains don't feel like drawings done on paper, but a living, breathing world that the show takes place in. The battles that take place every few episodes or so are so well-choreographed that they all feel like the climatic battles that take place in every mecha series. The final battle, however, is an event of universal proportions. Despite this show being an animated work of fiction, the sheer scale of this battle is overwhelmingly large, and it is as epic and grandiose as everyone says it is. The series even switches art styles every now and then to set the mood for certain scenes. These shifts may seem random, but they're done for the sake of the story. The art style in general is very cartoony. With a show as ignorant to logic and reasoning as this, that kind of style might be the only way to capture the events of the series. The character designs couldn't be more representative of what the anime style is, but they're so distinct that you can describe a certain character to someone based on appearance and that person could probably guess who that character is. The robots also have interesting designs themselves and often represent the kind of people piloting them. In short, if you ignore the wart that is episode 4, the animation in Gurren Lagann is flawless.
Iwasaki Taku has to be the most overrated anime composer within the last decade. With that said, I find the Gurren Lagann soundtrack to be highly overrated and overpraised. I admire the soundtrack's variety, but the majority of the tracks featured in the show are forgettable. Whatever few gems can be found on the soundtrack truly shine, such as the triumphant "Pierce the Heavens with Your XXX". Viral's theme sounds very much like a scrapped Linkin Park song. It's interesting at first, given that the band's music is often used in AMVs, but it gets annoying very quickly. The opening and ending themes for the show also grow stale very quickly. "Sora-Iro Days" eventually reveals itself to be a dime-a-dozen mecha anime theme song and the ending themes aren't to my liking, since I'm not all that into punk rock music. Although the soundtrack is just o.k. on its own, the music succeeds in highlighting the series' more important events.
Having only viewed Gurren Lagann in Japanese with English subtitles, I found the voice acting to be generic and just passable. There were several stand-out performances scattered across the series, but nothing really worth noting. Seeing as how I'm used to women voicing shy young boys, I was a bit surprised to hear Kakihara Tetsuya voice Simon in both parts of the series. He managed to give two different performances while adding subtle details to ensure that they were both the same character. I was also expecting Nia's voice to be extremely high-pitched, but it was soft and pleasant, a nice change of pace from all the other "moe" characters I'm used to watching. One problem that I did find with the voice acting is that the constant repetition of catchphrases helped in no way to develop the characters or advance the plot. It was as if the writers had various cases of Writer's Block and decided to stick some catchphrases in if they couldn't think of ways to continue the story. The phrases made their impacts the first 3 times they were said; I really didn't need to hear the words "Who the hell do you think I am?!" 5 more times. The audio aspect of the show was passable at best.
Gurren Lagann may be one of the best anime epics to come out in recent memory, but saying that it'll stand the test of time like Evangelion and Gundam may be a bit of a stretch. It may not be as huge of a hit in 5 years as it is now, but it does have the makings of a truly memorable anime. If you're planning on jumping into this show, be prepared to throw any sort of real world logic out the window. That doesn't exist in the world of Gurren Lagann, and that's what makes the show as fun as it is. If you want to witness a large-scale anime experience, the key word being "experience", then I recommend this anime.
