Deus ex mechanica justified, this is what best sums up Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. You probably won't watch another anime that uses the "main character in tough situations, overcomes it with will power" device as often as TTGL does. This is an often hated device but what makes it unique here is that will power, or what the show calls spiral power, is what the story revolves around. The Ganmen, the animes unique talking mechas, is powered by spiral power and can serve to repair damaged parts or create new ones. It is very unique in the sense that it takes a cliche and builds a story around it but it falls short compared to another highly regarded mecha this season in Code Geass due to a plot that didn't welcome its stay for too long.
The main character Simon is a pilot of a unique mecha called Lagann that can take over other Ganmen and ships. The world is being suppressed by the Helix King who has trapped humanity in underground territory while a race called beastmen roam around in their Ganmen making sure that humans remain underground. Simon, along with Kamina and a bunch of other unique individuals, march towards Teppelin where the capital of the Beastmen resides in. While that sums up the story, there is a completely different story in the second half, though revealing an ounce of it would ruin everything. While it seems kind of like a bad anime that it has two different plot lines, the first half actually does a wonderful job of building up towards the second half, where the problem lies is that for a show with two plots, it is kind of lacking in episodes.
And this is an odd situation for any anime to be in, most of the time animes are way too long. The characters are great and hilarious, the fights are juicy and awesome that deliver in every single episode, and the story is pretty unique and original, but the problem is time. Pacing in the first story felt like there was a lot more potential for character development but rushed it a little bit. Second story hit the twelve gear and just zoomed past the finish line. Other than the relationship between Kamina and Simon, while there is a lot of great and developed characters, you wish they spent more time on the characters. TTGL often primarily feels action and story driven.
The other major problem is that it got way too big for its own good, you will know what I mean by the last episode. It went from battling averaged size mechas to battleships to larger battleships the size of the moon to battling mechas the size of galaxies! It was epic, got more epic, then the epic barometer scale just blew off the roof to the point is felt anti-climatic. There is nothing wrong with getting too big, but it didn't give us very much time to appreciate everything and instead gave us a tease of just about everything.
If there was more time for the story to scatter things out, no doubt TTGL would have been one of the most epic and blood gushing animes ever. Its main goal was to be epic beyond just being epic, and it accomplished that, though something like that can't really be enjoyed on an entertainment value. It does a lot of essential things good, awesome and badass characters who are just hilarious and great to watch, though fitting in what feels like a fifty episode anime into twenty seven (one which is a flashback) just proved too much for itself to handle.moreless
Gurren Lagann
Syfy (ended 2007)
- 5 TOTAL REVIEWS Write A Review
- 27 EPISODES ONLINE Watch Online
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SrRui User Score: 84EDITOR
EDIT
Two young men, Kamina and Simon rail against the limits imposed by the village elder in their closed-off underground community. But Simon stumbles across a fantastic device - just as the village's peace is broken when a robot crashes through the planet's crust and into the village.''____________________''Opening Theme:''"Sorairo Days" by Shoko Nakagawa''Ending Theme:''#1: "Underground" by High Voltage (eps 1-15)''#2: "Happily Ever After" by Shoko Nakagawa (eps 16)''#3: "Minna no Peace" by Afromania (eps 17-27)moreless
Show Summary
- New Series
Two young men, Kamina and Simon rail against the limits imposed by the village elder in their closed-off underground community. But Simon stumbles across a fantastic device - just as the village's peace is broken when a robot crashes through the planet's crust and into the village.''____________________''Opening Theme:''"Sorairo Days" by Shoko Nakagawa''Ending Theme:''#1: "Underground" by High Voltage (eps 1-15)''#2: "Happily Ever After" by Shoko Nakagawa (eps 16)''#3: "Minna no Peace" by Afromania (eps 17-27)moreless
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All The Lights In The Sky Are Stars
S 1 : Ep 27
Aired 11/10/08
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Let`s Go, Comrades!
S 1 : Ep 26
Aired 11/10/08
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I Accept Your Dying Wish!
S 1 : Ep 25
Aired 11/10/08
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We Will Never Forget, This Minute and Second
S 1 : Ep 24
Aired 11/3/08
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Yukari Fukui
Nia
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Marina Inoue
Yoko
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Katsuyuki Konishi
Kamina
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Favorite Character?!
05/02/1132Reply
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Bust Through The Heavens With Your Drill! The TTGL English Dub Discussion
10/26/099Reply
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Now on Sci-Fi channel
06/30/0910Reply
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Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann(General Discussion)
11/28/0811Reply
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Yoko's kiss of death
11/22/083Reply
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Categories
Action & Adventure, Animation
Themes
Epic Battles, Extraordinary Situations, Facing Danger, Fate Of The Galaxy, Fight For Survival
