It's anime like these that are the true masterpieces.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was awesome on so many levels, breathtaking series that you just need to watch all at once. For mecha anime it was totally something different, unique and reeeaalllyyy ridiculous. It was deep and hilarious at the same time. It made just about everything way over the edges. Almost every episode made me laugh so hard, but at the same time they made me think so hard. But Gurren Lagann wasn’t all that crazy humour.
There were serious times which brings up questions… what is the purpose of all of this? What is the purpose of life itself? Why there isn’t that kind of people in the real world? Why there isn’t that kind of power of mind, the power to never give up, power of doing just what the hell you always wanted to do. Power… that after losing your loved ones, you can continue your life stronger. That you have the power inside you, you just need to use it for yourself and for good. Well… this anime really gives a lesson about the world and human spirit without screaming it straight to the face (or, well, it screams but… I can’t explain it). Humans truly are interesting creatures.
From now on, there are SPOILERS, so this is SPOILER ALERT! Don’t read any longer if you don’t want to know some major plot twits or how this series is going to end! Because some of you may not read this to the end because of spoilers, I’m going to say here – WATCH THIS ANIME, OR EVEN TRY IT OUT. You really need to.
There was times when I cried so much that I hated this. I loved the characters from the very beginning, and the art was really nice. First it was more old fashion and cartoon like, but grown up with the story and characters. Mechas were so awesome and different, it was funny that when people inside were talking then mecha robots mouths were moving too. Those robots reflected their pilots – Simon in Lagann was the BRAINS of Gurren Lagann while Kamina in Gurren was strength. In anime, it felt everything went so crazy fast that you needed to watch very closely to know what was happening and where. There were only few times when you saw characters and their surroundings clearly. Or, this was the case on couple of first episodes, but when the series goes on, you can actually see clearly. I began to miss that “crazy fastness”, if I’m honest..
Gurren Lagann didn’t try to be smart, although there was a lots of contains that would’ve need specific explanations – but because Gurren Lagann didn’t took itself too seriously, that realistic wasn’t needed at all. For example… what kind of flying ship (it should not even be able to fly) CAN kick another flying battleship? Humour was a big part of Gurren Lagann, at least in the first part of episodes. I was sad when that crazy humour kind of disappeared... story became more serious, although people still build a city in seven years, made bio-computer, pulled the real moon out of nowhere and found out that they can even leap through time and space (thanks to that crazy spiral power energy which has no limits at all). Well, I said that it didn’t try to be smart.. and I was glad about it - it was the part that made this series so freaking EPIC. Every battle scene were so epic I couldn’t stand it, the beating in my chest went so crazy that I was laughing like a maniac because Team Gurren was just too overwhelmingly powerful (I think my family were about to send me to mental hospital).
Enemies became friends and allies in Gurren Lagann. Characters evolved rapidly, although after every hardship they went through. That was one main thing in this anime – all these sad and horrifying things just makes humans stronger, and they really used that power to move on and making world better place to live. I loved all the characters, they all have their meanings, strong points and weaknesses. All the good characters weren’t good all the time, but in the end they found their way back to light. I just had the feeling that Rossiu was one doing awful things in the second part of the series because Simon needed to stay as he was – if he would have been the one deciding to sacrifice all those people when “moon” was about to crush the Earth… it would have taken all the likes and innocence from Simon – but well, Simon also killed beastmens, we just don’t think it’s bad thing because we couldn’t see any blood when mechas were destroyed (and he also killed immortal Lord Genom). Rossius and Virals evolvement were the very best character evolvement in this anime (well, so does Simons.) This series has manly badass power more than we have in this whole wide world.
One thing I have learned after watching anime is that the best animes have the crappiest endings, and this ending is one of the crappiest. Why does Simon always get the crappiest things happen to him - it just ain't fair. Simon is so strong, but very sad things happened to him. He lost his parents when he was a kid. He loses loads of his friends. He thinks that he caused the deaths of two of his loved ones, and it really hurts. That hit me, that hit me right in the feels. Kaminas death caused Simon to evolve to a person like him. Nias death felt just sad… it’s like Gurren Lagann tried to add more naturalness in the end but it felt only frustrating and enforced.
So, to be completely honest, that was one of the crappiest endings possible... but at the same time it was the best ending this series could have had. Simon saved the whole goddamn universe. The scene where true hero goes somewhere where even his friends can't reach him anymore.... It really hurts but told that Simon just needed peace in his life and mind after all what happened. He deserved it, truly. Leeron was one of my top favorites, too. Blue haired weirdo who didn’t grow old at appearance at all.
Well, one weird thing in the end was that old Rossiu and Simon looked like the chief in Rossius birth city... ._. and sounded that too! It was just creepy. And too bad we didn't get any information about Kamina's father. But I’m sure he tried the same thing as Simon and others, when they fight Anti-Spiral to save the Earth. I think Kaminas father was the one who that anti-spiral-weird-looking- stick-figure meant by saying: “One was trying that before you.”
This anime really made me shed a lot of tears. After watching this, I feel like I can die in peace. All in all, I just really loved this show. I'll be back to watch it again someday, I'm sure of that. But first I have to get over this sorrow... it's really over. I need to take a break, because this really took every energy I possibly had.
Just who the hell do you think I a- oh, guess I’m only nobody (writing shitty review which is hard to understand because lack of studying).
