TTGL, the classic, hailed masterpiece by many, felt like a long journey to me.
It was an anime that has surprised me and disappointed me at the same time. I haven't seen an anime which left me conflicted in quite some time. Had I watched 10 years earlier, I would have gave nothing but praise to this anime, as it has explored concepts that were never explored by anime during this time period.
So is Gurren Lagann a "classic masterpiece"? In short answer, "No". The longer answer, "it depends on how you look at it".
But why a such low rating (6/10)?
First of all, I tend to give an average anime 6/10, so that places TTGL in the average section for me as of right now. It's has an interesting story but full of just flaws and character archetypes I couldn't stand.
It is also an anime that gets away by the phrase "cuz it's anime", which I generally don't like.
Just as a reference, I dropped this anime a few times in the early episodes then later decided to finish the anime. I finished the last three quarters of an anime in 3 days, and binge watched the second half in one sitting.
Story: 5/10
This was the hardest section for me to rate. TTGL had iconic quotes and masterpiece episodes which I would easily give 10/10 (episode 8/9), but also subpar cliches and character archetypes which I would place in the lower half.
TTGL is a story about a boy's journey to discover his existence, the universe, and all else beyond the horizon. It starts off comedic for the first quarter, delving into the adventures of a young boy Simon, and his idol Kamina. It soon turns into a battle for existence and the search for the human soul, adding on to the philosophical question behind meaning of life, something never really explored inside a shounen. However, the execution of this sagacious subject is below average.
There are just too much cliche character archetypes and stereotypical anime routines such as screaming for power or fan service plot or the classic power of friendship and on and on and on.
It's not that I wasn't a fan of quick transitions to the next battle, but how generic the transitions and the tension was.
And I just felt like that some side characters were being killed in the last battle to evoke a sense of emotion.
TL DR; Amazing concepts. Poor execution due to cliches.
Art: 8/10
I can't judge art. But solid. But was sad that my streaming service only offered 480p.
Sound: 5/10
An anime that excels in this department would be the Monogatari series. There are various theme song all evoking different emotions adding on to the layer of perfections. TTGL, however was meh in this field. I couldn't notice the soundtrack adding on to the layer of emotions (which could have been due to the story). And it had some mismatched timings for the opening theme song placement in my opinion.
Character: 7/10
Well characters in TTGL are mostly either way above average or cliche and subpar.
Kamina, despite feeling like a stereotypical careless hotshot guy, is far beyond that. He is a symbol for much more; he is definitely one of my favorite characters I have seen so far.
Simon is also a likeable character; although he may be the stereotypical "coward" character int he beginning, watching his growth was just satisfying.
And this show has a complex villain which we can relate to, which I never expected from an anime made in 2007.
And there are the cliche characters...
Kittan, is the stereotypical hotshot character in any shounen anime.
The missile launcher guy is the stereotypical anime guy who gets the main character into troubles.
Leeron, is a character that works as a plot armor.
Rossiu is the stereotypical "I can't bend the rules" guy.
Yoko felt like a fan service character to me... and was solely there to add romantic elements without depth.
And these cliche characters archetypes just wasn't an element of masterpiece.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I found myself skipping some section near the end due to cliche plot elements. But there were just scenes in which I could not take my eyes off from. The episodes are mix of 10/10 and 2/10s and kinda kept me alert to watch more. But I was kind of disappointed by the hype the name TTGL had in the anime community.
TL DR; TTGL is full of complex thematic elements with a mix of masterpiece and cliche archetypes.
It is not "classic masterpiece like Cowboy Bebop" due to inconsistent execution.
