Three points and a preen to the first person who can guess what I’m about to talk about. That’s right! Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann! If you are familiar with my blog you know that I attempt to review an anime series for Saturday. I fail at it miserably but I try anyway. Well this/last week was Gurren Lagann. With finals and everything I’ve found myself a bit behind so my review is still in progress. HOWEVER! I feel a small rant as a sort of teaser would be alright, if only for here. This is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!
MINE IS THE DRILL THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS! Gurren Lagann is the story of a boy who loves to dig. His name is Simon and he lives in an underground village where the surface is nothing more than a myth. Simon is an orphan whose parents died in an earthquake when he was young. Since then his adoptive brother Kamina has been looking out for him. While Simon is scared of anything dangerous Kamina lives for glory and strives to see the surface, no matter what. His wish is granted when a huge gunmen drops right into their village.
Gurren Lagann is made up of three arcs. In the first we learn about the world we’ve been dropped in. We learn about Simon and Kamina and watch as they master their gunmen, Gurren-Lagann and somehow form a small army to fight against the beastmen who have been oppressing the humans, forcing them to live under ground. In the second arc we learn it goes a little bit deeper than just the beastmen. We meet the Helix King who is behind it all and watch our hero and his friends struggle to overthrow the tyrant and liberate the humans. The third arc takes place seven years after the Helix King’s defeat and shows us that the human’s problems go beyond the Helix King into the farthest reaches of the universe itself.
This is such a guy’s anime, but I love it. It’s so packed full of manliness you can’t help but love it. Every episode gets you pumped no matter what mood you may be in when you start it. Just listen to Kamina talk for five minutes and you’ll be ready to take on the world and kick its ass. It is a mech. anime so it’s full of giant robots beating the crap out of each other. What could be manlier than that? These mechs run off of FIGHTING SPIRIT! Or Spiral Energy, whichever you prefer. Spiral Energy comes from the human soul and emotions. So the more passion you have the more Spiral Energy you give off and the more badass you can be.
The art in this anime is something to take note of. It’s a rougher drawing style than usual anime uses. When things get really intense the lines get darker and sketchier than the normal smooth, finished look. The colors too are special, mostly using bright reds and blues when possible. Anything that can be brightly colored is.
What is a world without characters? Gurren Lagann has a very colorful cast of characters but unfortunately we learn very little about them. They’re incredibly lovable and you find yourself rather attached to them by the end, but we know hardly anything about them by the end. Yoko likes her riffle, Kittan has three sisters, Rossiu’s dad is a high priest, this is about the most they tell us. But for the purposes of the story, this is enough. What’s important is the characters’ personalities and how they react to the situations they are thrown in.
Gurren Lagann is number three on my top five favorite anime list, but I’m thinking now that I’ve re-watched it maybe I should have put it at number two. I put Kuroshitsuji at number two mostly because I’m in love with the manga, but I feel that takes away from the anime a little. I may end up switching them around, but for now that’s how they stand. If you haven’t watched Gurren Lagann go watch it right now!~ If you have I hope you’ll drop by my site and check out the full review. Merry Christmas everyone!
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