Honestly, this anime started off really good with its first arc (1-16), then went absolutely down hill with its second arc (17-27). Also, this review contains MILD SPOILERS DURING THE CHARACTER SECTION.
Story (6/10):
So the first arc of TTGL has a pretty awesome story. It's basically adventure as they learn new things about Gurren Lagann and defeat enemies. Enjoyable, and although it may not make you think that hard, it has few to no glaring plot holes. I'd honestly give the first arc a 9 or 10 for its story.
Now the second arc is where things begin to become a bit bad. A lot of the
...
bad aspects of it are because of the characters, but I'll discuss that in the character portion of this review. We basically get about a 5-10 minute summary of a very very different world from which you've watched in the first 16 episodes of this anime, after which all hell breaks loose. During this arc, it seems like the writers just continue to add random obstacles that make no sense, then pull solutions out of their ass. All in all it's a lot more boring than the first arc.
Art (9/10):
Not much to say here. Pretty decent art, and the fight scenes are pretty nice to watch in terms of visuals.
Sound (9/10):
The soundtrack is pretty good and I was alright with the opening song.
Character (5/10):
Simon - The main character of TTGL and extremely interesting during the first arc. He goes through a series of transformations, starting off as a wimpy little kid but progressively becoming braver and more determined. However, during the second arc, he becomes completely static as a character. He basically just becomes a guy with huge balls and never changes. I have to admit though, for the second arc, since it was only ten episodes, it would have been a lot harder to get him through decent character development.
Kamina - Not really much to say here. Although he is pretty static as a character, that's what is required since he's basically made as a martyr for the story. He's also a pretty fun character.
Yoko - Literally just loses all purpose at a certain point in the anime and is replaced with Nia. She starts off as an amazingly interesting character, and was definitely my favorite character in the beginning of the series. However, as soon as Nia appears, she practically becomes useless and a minor character who has no impact in the series. Simon's feelings for Yoko seem to vanish as soon as Nia appears (although it could be due to Simon simply honoring Yoko and Kamina's relationship since he died; not really any way to know though since Kamina dying and Nia appearing happen extremely close together). I found it extremely stupid that she got discarded as a character considering she was such a major character before. In addition, during the second arc for some reason she and Kittan seem to have feelings for each other out of nowhere. This is after them barely ever talking to each other (I think they talked to each other maybe 3-5 times previously over the course of 20ish episodes, none of which were slightly important conversations), and not seeing each other for seven years. Literally what happens is Kittan starts staring at her boobs, and somehow from that they start a relationship. I'm pretty certain that the reason they did this was so that they could make Kittan's death more meaningful, which is why I said above that they added random stuff to the story out of nowhere to create obstacles. Yoko's character practically became a joke.
Nia - Actually, a great character. She goes through mild-moderate character development, stays relevant throughout the series, and is pretty interesting.
Mole - I... don't even know. This makes zero sense whatsoever. So the mole started off as simply an animal that kept Simon company. No influence on the story whatsoever, just a comfortable animal that existed. Then, all of a sudden, he produces power nearly equal to Simon's during the second arc to save them, with the explanation that "somehow it's contact with Simon gave it power". I'll give the writer's credit for at least trying to explain this, however this is practically deus ex machina. Later on, Mole even turns into a human, for zero purpose whatsoever than to extend the series for about a minute. One of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen.
Enjoyment (7/10):
Battle scenes are pretty sweet throughout the series and there are a few laughs here and there. If it weren't for the characters I'd definitely enjoy the series a ton more.
Overall (6/10):
A decent series, with the first arc being memorable but the second arc ruining those memories. It's not that bad, but definitely something one shouldn't go out of their way to watch.
Feb 25, 2016
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
(Anime)
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Honestly, this anime started off really good with its first arc (1-16), then went absolutely down hill with its second arc (17-27). Also, this review contains MILD SPOILERS DURING THE CHARACTER SECTION.
Story (6/10): So the first arc of TTGL has a pretty awesome story. It's basically adventure as they learn new things about Gurren Lagann and defeat enemies. Enjoyable, and although it may not make you think that hard, it has few to no glaring plot holes. I'd honestly give the first arc a 9 or 10 for its story. Now the second arc is where things begin to become a bit bad. A lot of the ... |
