Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Simon and Kamina were born and raised in a deep, underground village, hidden from the fabled surface. Kamina is a free-spirited loose cannon bent on making a name for himself, while Simon is a timid young boy with no real aspirations. One day while excavating the earth, Simon stumbles upon a mysterious object that turns out to be the ignition key to an ancient artifact of war, which the duo dubs Lagann. Using their new weapon, Simon and Kamina fend off a surprise attack from the surface with the help of Yoko Littner, a hot-blooded redhead wielding a massive gun who wanders the world above.

In the aftermath of the battle, the sky is now in plain view, prompting Simon and Kamina to set off on a journey alongside Yoko to explore the wastelands of the surface. Soon, they join the fight against the "Beastmen," humanoid creatures that terrorize the remnants of humanity in powerful robots called "Gunmen." Although they face some challenges and setbacks, the trio bravely fights these new enemies alongside other survivors to reclaim the surface, while slowly unraveling a galaxy-sized mystery.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kamina Main

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Simon Main

Kakihara, Tetsuya Japanese

Littner, Yoko Main

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Teppelin, Nia Main

Fukui, Yukari Japanese

Viral Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Bachika, Kittan Supporting

Taniyama, Kishou Japanese

Boota Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Lordgenome Supporting

Ikeda, Narushi Japanese

Littner, Leeron Supporting

Onosaka, Masaya Japanese

Adai, Rossiu Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Kamagata, Eiichi Producer

Takeda, Yasuhiro Producer

Akai, Takami Producer

Yamakawa, Norio Producer

Reviews

Jul 27, 2012

FrancAguiar

Recommended

There was a time.
When men were men. They were screaming like crazy speeches, faced the impossible, and said things that made no sense, but that even so we did say "EPIC".
There was a time.
A time of captains Harlock, a master time Asia, a time of Domons.
Logic was not important. The strategy was not important. If you believe in the impossible, impossible would be nothing in front of you.

The time is gone
A wave of animes that have to be "realistic", "philosophical", "adults" around us. Are good? Are. Meet your purpose? Meet.
However, however ... I miss something.
Characters idiots who laugh in the face of death, and not ... to be shaken by anything. Characters that I remember that, in essence, in the beginning, were not meant to be realistic.
No wonder that I am addicted to shonens: manga as One Piece, Fairy Tail remind me that there are heroes who still believe that boundaries are bullshit, and that men should talk about crazy dreams with a smile on his face.

Few original anime (non-manga based) can pass this spirit, and if I had to indicate a Studio to produce an epic-without-notion, "Gainax" probably would not be the first on my list.
But they did so. Oh, how did.
Ladies and gentlemen, forgiveness for the lengthy introduction: Let's talk of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Many have already heard things about this series of 27 episodes. Effusive praise. Discouraging reviews. And you may already have heard the following phrase: "compliments to the Gurren Lagann are exaggerated"
And let us be clear: Yes. ARE.
But it could not be otherwise.
Gurren Lagann anime is not the type that parses. Is the type of anime to which you manifested with exaggeration and passion. "Overkill" is the key word of the anime: everything is extremely Titanic, extreme, "over-the-top", "larger than life", etc.

With certain exceptions (some Gundam, some Macross, tss), never been a fan of mecha anime. Would be far from the top of my list and, being this a recurrent genre in every new season animes, I believe my dismay is understandable: it is both anime mecha clamoring arrogantly that will "revolutionize the genre", "overcome Evangelion", "be the new Gundam" and other things that many simply die on the beach, lost in own mediocrity.
Gurren Lagann will by reverse path: doesn't take itself seriously. Does not involve complex plots policies or attempts to "explore the essence of the human being". It's about guys inconsequential facing death in colorful fuses (and often ungainly) and BLOWING THINGS UP. Many things.

The series is a species of "giant parody mecha", a spoof so well done that took an undeniable brilliance. As the series develops, over the hump "70 years" (frantic action and episodic with colored robots), "80 years" (frantic action and sequential with specific enemies ... and colored robots!), "90 years" (frantic action with colorful robots ... in space!) and Century 21 (IE ... a tribute to the series, where the hype coming into the extreme).
The series features a climate extremely pure (remember One Piece in this sense) that does not match the latest productions of Gainax (with the exception of perhaps Diebuster): in Gurren the Studio tries their best to tell a story extremely positive, bright, boiling the blood-is as an antithesis of Evangelion.

-Characters-
The cast features some of the most best ever seen in recent years, with big names like Kamina ("do not believe in yourself. Believe me, I believe in you "), Kittan (" no, this is my soul! You will regret it! "), Simon (" my drill is one that PIERCES the HEAVENS! "), just to name the most unbelievable (after all, we still have Viral Genome, Dayakka-" My wife is the best of the universe-SWING! ").
Heroes who face the impossible again and again, like real men. The psychological development of some of them (Simon, to quote) is monstrous: the series managed to combine and traces of human "weaknesses" with the "iconic" of characters (courage to sacrifice himself when necessary, never retreat, and other elements worthy of legends).

-Style-
Council to watch this anime: turn off your brain. One of the best quotes of the anime is "Go beyond the impossible and kick the logic to corner" (Kamina), and this is often taken in a sense more than literal. Gurren Lagann is about ridiculously scenes with epic songs -Sung playing in the background (and I know that many of us love this type of scene, feeling rather lack thereof in the current anime), is about characters screaming attack names aloud, and gigantic explosions. If you allow "get in the mood", you will be taken to an unbelievable journey. And smile like a fool, knowing you made the right decision.

-Technical Issues-

The animation is jaw-dropping. To get an idea, 40% of the money used in the production were dedicated to the last 5 episodes, creating sequences that make many films out there go shame. The soundtrack contributes with the light/climate: epic songs sung, rap and Opera hybridizes to give a special glow to several of the best scenes of the series (many of these will be marked for those that see).
Perhaps the only factor of production that is worth being criticized is the episodes "reprise" (there are two of them, a long piece of episode 6 and episode 16 integer), but it is worth remembering that this is part of the "joke" that Gainax proposed to do, saying that "kick the logic to corner" with this series: 27 episodes rather than 26, the protagonist being voiced by a man (many of the previous, as Shinji Ikari of Eva, were dubbed by women), etc.

"you're praising too! You're exaggerating! "-
I 'M. But as I said earlier, this is an anime that does not allow cold and calculating analysis. The very premise, the first episode, it doesn't make much sense. It is a classic "love or hate". Or you enter the atmosphere of "OW MAN, WAY TOO EPICNESS" or so says "This is not my type." Despite the success that had (yielding promises of future projects), Gurren Lagann is not for everyone.

It's about courage.
Dramatic sacrifices.
Struggles that make the DBZ characters seem Wimpy
It's about heroic speeches and exaggerated.
If you are unable to watch something that cannot lead to seriously, I recommend more sober, more series "feet-in-the-ground".
If you are willing to embark with the crew of the Gurren-Dan, welcome to war.
For freedom.
By the human race.
Through The Universe.
To quote the slogan of a well-known epic film: "Prepare for glory".

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 19, 2008

slpless

Mixed Feelings

Gainax is easily one of the most well known anime studio, especially with titles like, Neon Genesis Evangelion, KareKano, and Wings of Honneamise. However, as of late many fans claim that the quality of Gainax has dropped down significantly and that their golden age is over, well that was until Gurren Lagann. Without a doubt Gurren Lagann took both Japanese and western fandom by storm. This coupled with the fact that there was very little hype before hand thus, making the extreme popularity even more impressive. For me what was more impressive was the fact that people that normally don’t like ... this sort of thing (ie prefer more serious, dramatic works) enjoy it immensely. This was what drove me to watch Gurren Lagann and write this review afterwards.

Gurren Lagann reminds me of another Gainax title, Gunbuster especially the last third. GaoGaiGar was another anime as both GaoGaiGar and Gunbuster are unabashedly over-the-top and cheesy. Not only that, it thrives in its cheesiness and over-the-top nature. Also, one cannot claim that Gurren Lagann half-asses anything, it does everything with the same vigor and intensity. At the same time this is what makes or breaks Gurren Lagann for most viewers. Its cheesiness or over-the-top nature will strike a chord in you or (as some people put it) appeal to something more primal inside else you’ll end up like me, facepalming. This is something I cannot understand for the life of me. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Gurren Lagann can be seen as a throw back to super robots/”manly” series of the seventies a direct contrast to the proliferation of so called “sissy” anime as of late. However, it fails to achieve any more than that, a mindless, over-the-top mecha/action series. Now whether or not that’s a bad thing is up to you.

The story and structure was distinctly shounen thus, suffering from a high degree of predictability. First, you have a powerful opponent yet against all odds the protagonists defeat them. Then another more powerful opponent pops up and yet again against all odds the protagonists defeat them, usually by some kind of power up. Keep on repeating till there are no more enemies left. Many of the characters are also the embodiment of your typical shounen protagonist, energetic idiots that keep running forward destroying every obstacle in their way. This was accomplished with very little thought when it comes to probability, strategy, and even logic. It keeps on this monotonous path until the time skip.

Here the cheesiness and its shounen nature are reduced significantly. The characters and setting are also different and quite interesting. However, at the same time I can see the characters mature/grow in that manner. I was pleasantly surprised by this turn of events and for a fleeting moment thought that Gurren Lagann would redeem itself in my eyes. Sadly it was nothing more than that, a fleeting moment, as it went back to its same old self, magnified 10 times, a few episodes later. It is ironic that for the overall review of Gurren Lagann, I lowered the score due to the fact that’s it was out of place. Consistency is very important in my books. If they had kept with the same seriousness until the end, then it would have rated Gurren Lagann higher.

If my favorite part was after the time skip then my least favorite part would the very beginning, the first arc (ep 1-8). This arc was easily the silliest and dumbest of Gurren Lagann. I can easily see why so many people dropped it during this arc. Not only was it stupid but slow. It took forever for me to get through these episodes as I couldn’t watch more than one episode at a time. If I had to rate this arc alone it would probably get 3 out of 10. Thankfully, after all the mandatory character introductions it starts to really move. By the 2nd arc (ep 9-16) the episodes seamlessly blended together as the overall flow/pacing was much better. Also, idiotic filler such as the onsen episode were gone and the stupidity in the name of comedy was reduced a little bit. Yes, I still find it stupid and over-the-top but at least it had a fast pace and somewhat enjoyable, because of this I could watch multiple episodes in one sitting. This arc would get a 6 or 7 out of 10 and the 3rd arc would be a 5 out of 10.

As for the characters, I mentioned that most of crew are energetic idiots and Kamina was the worst one of them all, as well as being the shallowest (character-wise) of the main characters. All he had was “guts” and confidence that was completely baseless. He said it himself, Simon was the one that saved him countless times, and it was Simon that had the ability, not Kamina. However, not all of characters are like this (shallow I mean), in fact there was a decent amount of characterization and those characters were quite interesting in their own right. Yoko was an awesome side character that was far more than a fanservice character, Simon developed quite nicely throughout the series, Viral was an incredibly sympathetic beastman, etc. I could go on but I think you get the idea. Perhaps this is why I really enjoyed the episodes after the time skip, as there was a lot of focus on the characters themselves and not on the next battle. Sadly, Gurren Lagann didn’t focus enough on the characters. This brings me to my next point, the ending and the epilogue.

The ending just didn’t feel right considering the overall tone and feel of the series. Interestingly enough, I actually thought the epilogue hurt the ending. This is considering how much I love epilogues. Spoilerish comments hidden…
In particular, Simon being a wanderer and Nia dying are two things I didn’t expect. Nia dying really didn’t make much sense to me and even if there is logic behind it, it still doesn’t feel right considering the series. While I can accept that, what Simon did feels really forced. He’s saying he’s tired/done fighting and left everything to the new generation. I can understand the idea they’re trying to get across. With him leaving everything to the new generation at such an early age, albeit forced, reinforces the idea. If it ended right there then it would be a perfectly good ending. However, with the epilogue I was forced to take his decision more literal. He’s only around 20 years old and he’s already done everything he can in his life!? While I don’t see him leading epic space battles, I don’t see him being a wanderer either. Perhaps a mentor to reinforce the idea of the child surpassing the parent.

Since this is an action series, animation is of considerable importance. Gurren Lagann thankfully delivers, and features well animated giant robot action. However, as I stated above I put a lot into consistency and quite often there was be a dip in art/animation after an explosive episode. For example, there was some noticeable weakness in the art in episode 9, which was after the huge battle in episode 8. In general, there were some fluctuations in terms of art/animation throughout the series. As for the art it was unique, but fits with its extreme shounen and silly feel. The only thing that bothers me about the art was the slight lack of detail. However, I really can’t complain too much about the art.

Gurren Lagann was over-the-top, silly, and corny mecha anime. However, it did it with so much gusto it can be seen as a plus for some. This is why I think some people that normally like serious/dramatic/intelligent anime also enjoy this. For me it was simply too silly, too corny, too much. Its blatant shounen nature didn’t help either. Thankfully, the characters fared a bit better as not all of them were overly energetic idiots. Those characters received quite a bit of characterization and are fairly likeable. This was what saved Gurren Lagann from being dropped again. Sadly they didn’t spend nearly enough time on those characters and moments like the dream sequence in ep 26 are far and few in-between. In the end it all boils down to whether or not one can accept its over-the-top and extremely corny nature.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Sep 8, 2015

Mikasa

Not Recommended

Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann! JUST WHO THE HELL THINKS THIS IS GOOD?!!
*No Helping It Soundtrack*


Guren Lagann is like an eco-friendly waste disposal facility, it's well-organized, looks clean and colorful, and gives off a cheerful vibe, but ultimately it's still garbage.

Story: Rather than going ham on this and have people "enlighten" me on how this is an "over-the-top, just-for-fun, turn-your-brain-off", I'll just explain why it fails even down that road. See, being over the top requires turning a cliché idea into a truly enjoyable one; something witty, or bizarre. TTGL does not offer that. It simply offers explosions. Then offers bigger explosions. Sadly, this only makes ... them less impactful.
Over the top is when a squirrel conjured out of a first poses a threat on your life. TTGL is so much the opposite of over-the-top, that an explosion which is supposedly of a "big bang explosion" impact seems nothing more than your every-day Ki-blast. It tries to show how grand a battle is by having people in one instant fight among galaxies, but that just makes it look like galaxies are a zoomed-out back-drop.

This show completely fails at scoping and execution of scale, achieving the opposite of what it aims for.


Will you enjoy the story if you're looking into something deep? No. The show does try to dwell on bigger ideas here and there (one scene 3 episodes apart on average), but they never follow up.

Will you enjoy it if you're looking into something over the top as in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, Hunter x Hunter, the Devil May Cry video games"? No. The show has no wit or ingenuity.

Who will enjoy this? If you like a monster-of-the-week format, and an extremely sped up version of Dragon Ball Z minus all the charging episodes, and the build up, or basically just explosions, this might be for you.




Characters, Interactions & Dialogue

The characters are one-dimensional, each one represents your typical shonen archetype. The hot-headed never-give-up main character, the nerdy, analytical, uptight buddy, the tsundere angsty nemesis, and so on.

Characters by themselves have nothing interesting to offer, and unfortunately neither do their interactions with one another. From the annoying Ted-Mosbian "Bro" exchanges that make you cringe, to the shouts of never giving up, (not even with a courtesy speech), the characters have no chemistry at all.

The dialogue, as you might find, is weak. It fails to express because its aim is to be as loud as possible. The show also suffers from the "audience" syndrome, where they feel the need to show you how awesome characters are by having some audience (random useless characters, or the entire planet) praise them endlessly. This is basically anime's version of laugh-tracks found in Sitcoms.

Art & Animation

The art is quite sweet. It's got some pretty-looking settings and the designs for some mechs are pretty original. Unfortunately, animation does not keep up. I'm not sure if the anime had a good budget or not. Because there isn't anything to animate well in the first place. For a show with so many battles, there is no "mêlee fights with sakuga choreography. Mostly it's just countless "bulbs" of explosions engulfing your screen.

Music

Not much to say here, I'll keep it short, great opening, good OST, some tracks are marred with corny Bro-rap.


In conclusion, this is one of the worst shonens in recent years, but it serves as a good reminder that pretty covers aren't all. You might fight enjoyment only if you are a die-hard shonen/Michael Bay fan.


Overall score: 3/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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