First of all, this is a mecha anime but also very different to every other mecha anime ever. There are a few reasons why this is. One of them is that the robots in this don't seem to be as significant as the mechas in, let's say, Gundam. The mechas aren't the main focus of this anime. Another reason is that there is little or no explanation that goes into the mechas. You don't need to know why Kamina randomly spawned a huge ass drill out of his robot, I was wondering where he even got that drill. The last reason is that what wins fights in this anime is not because one team has better mechas but because of the pilots themselves.
Story:
The story is relatively simplistic. You know, basic rebellion type story to fight against some evil ruler. However, this simplicity fits quite will with the anime. If it was any more complicated, the story wouldn't support this boldness. It is quite fast paced and there could have been atleast 10 more episodes but if it was too fast, viewers would get disinterested. Not much to say about the story, the pre-timeskip story and post-timeskip story are fairly similar except that the atmosphere of the post-timeskip is quite different and you could say this part is more romanticised.
Art:
The art is good and slightly more cartoon like (in my opinion anyway). The animation is very fluent, especially in the fight scenes which makes them more epic. Some of the characters support the ridiculousness of the anime simply because of they way they are drawn. The art of characters like Kamina or Simon (later in the series) emphasise their manliness even further than they are portrayed.
Sound:
This anime's soundtrack has a large variety of music. Many of it supports the build up of the anime and also supports the 'epic' or 'manly' scenes. Although the pieces are amazing, like the story and art, it suites the anime well. The opening theme, once again, supports the large build up and 'epicness' of the anime. 'Sorario Days' redone to suite Gurren Lagann. Overall, the music is average but unavoidably engaging when in this context.
Characters:
This is one of the strong points of Gurren Lagann. The main character, Simon, goes under quite a lot of development and seems to become a completely different person by the end of the series. Simon is constantly pushed by his 'bro', Kamina which seems to be the most popular character in the series. Kamina is the physical embodiment of epicness, manliness and fearlessness. He acts like some unstoppable force that continues to support Simon until the very end. Yoko, at first, seems to be there as a source of fan service and is often overlooked as a character. She also develops as a character quite a bit and takes a role of responsibility. Nia is an interesting one.
Enjoyment:
Overall, I enjoyed Gurren Lagann quite a bit. The key to the enjoyment is to not be put of by its boldness and ridiculousness. At first, my friend was put of by this but I forced him to watch the series and he thoroughly enjoyed after looking deeper into it. If one just watches it solely for the ridiculous fight scenes, galaxy-sized mechas and huge ass drills they will most likely become bored of this repetitive behaviour. Luckily, after watching the first episode or two, it is easy to see the other important aspects of it. This anime appeals more to the male audience because of the male gender roles and overall boldness displayed in the series.
This series can be really enjoyable if you ignore that fact that it makes absolutely no sense. You can just laugh and cheer along as the characters whip out massive, overpowered weapons. The funny thing is, that after experiencing an unrealistic scene, another one will pop up and be even more unrealistic (this eventually leads up to the characters piloting galaxy-sized mechas).
In conclusion, many of you will check out the series solely for the bold ridiculous fight scenes and perhaps the fan service but you may accidentally become engrossed in this continuous spiral of epicness growing larger with each revolution (drills are the overused metaphor in the series). I know I did and many I know did too. Just beware of the unrealistic aspects and hype.
