Explosions, Mechas, Guns, More Explosions, Sunglasses…
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!
Widely regarded as one of the greatest mecha and action anime of all time.
But is it really that great?
Time to find out…
The story of this anime is simple at its core.
It's yet another rebellion/humanity fights back kind of plot, but with a slightly more engaging premise this time.
This is quite a predictable story. Some surprises will await, but this is not that complicated as far as stories go.
But people watch this show for the sheer energy it gives off, rather than the actual events that take place.
And I don't blame them: look at all these people with their sunglasses piloting their mechas and spouting one-liners like their lives depend on it.
Unfortunately, the best part about this show is also a double edged sword.
I occasionally find it difficult to take story information in because I just feel so drained after watching all these battles.
The show is more balanced than I'm hyping it up to be - it isn't constant brainless fighting.
But it just sucks out my energy after a while, and I just can't take it.
This shouldn't put you off though. This show is all about empowerment, and it can do an excellent job with that when it wants to.
As far as art and sound go I'm pretty impressed.
The art is very stylised and distinctive. Like a perfect marriage between a western action comic and a traditional anime - it fits the show perfectly.
Again, the double edged sword strikes back. Sometimes it looks a little too stylised for my tastes and almost appears dated as a result. But that's more of a personal gripe if anything.
The music and sound are also up to scratch. The VAs are fine, the soundtrack works and the OP is catchy as ever. I knocked off some marks for constant reuse of a certain rap-opera song in the last few episodes though. It sounded great at first but the constant repetition of it eventually ruined my experience of it.
The characters are one of the best bits of the story. All the development and plottwists happen here - and they happen well.
Everybody is a badass in this story, or rather - everybody becomes a badass.
There are plenty of backstories and motivations to keep you interested without disrupting the flow of the plot.
No character is incredibly deep but they don't need to be. They're just constantly evolving people. Even the ones that don't fight do a good job of balancing out the story.
Some of them do annoy me but it's not enough to bring this down. I like these characters, they're just too cool.
So to wrap it all up, I very much enjoyed Gurren Lagann.
It's a little exhausting at times, but I'm pretty sure most others will endure that.
Perhaps it was the pacing that made me feel that way? Maybe it's just because I was out of my comfort zone.
If I had watched this show when I was much younger, I have the feeling I would've enjoyed it more.
At that time I loved this kind of stuff. Now I'm simply not energetic enough to enjoy such a show as much.
I respect Gurren Lagann a lot, and I reccomend everybody new to the mecha or action genre to watch this.
It doesn't suit me entirely, but it was a proper thrill ride.
