If someone had described to me what this anime was like, I probably would have never watched it, but I'm very glad that I actually did.
Gurren Lagann is full of shounen clichés and there is not much of a story to it, which at times doesn’t make much sense. I call these types of shows “escalation animes”, where the main drive seems to be to constantly grow in power and character to defeat the, also ever increasing in strength, forces of evil.
The characters start at the lowest of the low, living under constant oppression beneath the ground. They find a tiny mecha about the size of a washing machine and a tiny drill which functions as an ignition key. By the power of determination, friendship, and believing in themselves, they overcome every obstacle thrown at them. They go from underground dwellers to the Earth's surface, where they must fight increasingly bigger and more powerful enemies with even bigger mecha, all the way up to the limits of the imagination of the show's creators.
Where this show excels above the rest is in that it is actually very entertaining. There is no fat and it has an excellent pacing. It manages to use all of its cliché and simplicity to its advantage to deliver a very exciting experience from start to finish without trying to be something it’s not.
The show is all about showing you, to an exaggerated degree, what believing in yourself and never giving up actually means. Where it lacks in originality, or creativity, it makes up with a lot of heart. It will pump you up. You will buy it.... You will buy it all… Including the characters, who despite their character development consists of just growing in confidence and determination, along with cliché romances and camaraderie, I became very fond of them all.
The presentation is very good as well. Despite it being 10 years old, it looks as good as anything there is today. The artworks and sound are very well done. I know that for some it is a sacrilege to say this, but I recommend the English dub over subtitles because it is also very well made.
Overall, this show was very entertaining from start to finish. It left me very pumped up, with a feeling that I as well can grow a pair and overcome anything in my way. Most likely it won’t be the greatest show you've ever watched, but I would recommend anyone to see it and I think very few will regret it if they do.
