Gurren Lagann

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15
Syfy (ended 2008)

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Gurren Lagann

Show Summary

Gurren Lagann - Shounen, Science-Fiction, Action, Adventure, Comedy (May contain bloody violence & bad language) ...

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)

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Episode Guide

S 1 :  Ep 27 Aired 11/10/08
S 1 :  Ep 26 Aired 11/10/08
S 1 :  Ep 25 Aired 11/10/08
S 1 :  Ep 24 Aired 11/3/08
S 1 :  Ep 23 Aired 11/3/08
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Cast & Crew

Katsuyuki Konishi

Katsuyuki Konishi

Kamina
Marina Inoue

Marina Inoue

Yoko
Tetsuya Kakihara

Tetsuya Kakihara

Simon
Yukari Fukui

Yukari Fukui

Nia
Yuri Lowenthal

Yuri Lowenthal

Simon (Eng)
Michelle Ruff

Michelle Ruff

Yoko (Eng)
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Fan Reviews (6)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!

    10
    By BattleChili1, Dec 28, 2012
    This show is epic. It could be considered one of the greatest shows ever made. It's not without flaw, but it makes up for its flaws well. If you were ever a fan of Dragon Ball Z but never really liked anime because of how little action there is, maybe this is the one for you. This show's storyline is pretty amazing. One would not expect some of things that happened in this show to occur. The show is about some teenagers who are trying to get out of an underground cave they've been in all their lives when giant mecha fall through the ground. They use this means to escape to the surface, only to find it's filled with those mecha trying to attack any human who makes it to the surface. While on the surface, they get mecha of their own and fight back, and soon, everything evolves into a slew of epicness. The action is great. The animation is amazing. The art could be better, but it gets awesome when stylistic, and the art is a tad unique. The music is filled with great metal music and orchestral music to fit fights when needed. Overall, a wonderful series worth watching.moreless

  • It got way too big and went way too fast for its own good.

    8.0
    By ZaleIsBackAgain, Jul 22, 2010
    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

  • A very good mech animation which in its 27 episodes shows not only courage, but also romance, tragegy and much more.

    10
    By itsaka, Mar 28, 2009
    Where to start? In this animation the human race lives underground, but a boy named Simon with Kamina try to go to the surface. After an unsuccessful try, a strange happening and the appearence of a new hero (Yoko) they finally get out of the pit they live in. From there on the series get very different: mortal enemies (including my favorite Viral), a lot new friends and a lot of feelings... Personally in episode 8 I almost cried. The most interesting thing about the series is that in 27 episodes a lot is shown ... in other words how did the creators do it? They are a genius! How can there be so many different characters, happenings, etc. in just 27 series not to mention that the plot is over 50 years (approx.). There are just 2 words that can describe TTGL: - EPIC - UNIQUEmoreless

  • Humans are forced to live under ground, but not for long once Simon finds a battle mech that runs on hope. Once he breaks the surface, he'll have to fight a million mechs larger than his own, all run by fierce beast-men.moreless

    10
    By JenKristo, Nov 24, 2007
    There are a lot of Anime involving mechs, none of which come close to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. TTGL's mechs perform impossible tasks, healing themselves, fusing to each other, and growing larger and stronger than is physically possible, all the while making me laugh and cheer in my seat. The characters are colorful, and every one is interesting. Every kind of character is showcased so its easy to find one you can gravitate to, whether it's sexy Yoko with her flaming bikini, or Kamina, the hilarious and ever confident co-star. There's a flirtatious engineer and a trigger-happy weapons expert, and if you love the underdog, Viral is there for you. I'd say there are a great variety of genres in TTGL. Mainly it's an action-adventure-comedy, but there's a little bit of romance, or a lot of romance if you include bountiful innuendos. There's even a little drama and sci-fi. My only complaint is that merchandise is far and few between, and DVD availability is minimal.moreless

  • This is the best Mech show in a long time

    10
    By blindinglight16, Aug 26, 2007
    Now when you see this your like "oh gee it's gonna be another mech show, I can't wait :roll:" but this show breaks the mech mold and then remakes it. The story is there is a war between beastmen and humans, and many people have gone underground to escape the beastmen and their Ganmen. It revolves around Simon (although for awhile it would be extremely easy to mistake Kamina for the main character, just purely on his total awesomeness) who is a digger underground, but one faitful day he and Kamina's fate will be changed forever. This is a funny show and it's whole premis is totally crazy (the story is a little cliched, but hell everything else makes up for it). One last thing to say, if you haven't WATCH IT NOW!!!!

    Edited because of the newest episodes awesomeness.moreless
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Categories

Action & Adventure, Animation

Themes

epic battles, extraordinary situations, facing danger, fate of the galaxy, fight for survival

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