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| 99, 99A | |
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1512#1552] |
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Gurren Lagann is all about the "manliness." In other words, the series is a big homage to old-school action and sci-fi titles. The best thing about this series is that it knows that it is a homage and proves it by throwing in whatever cliche you can think of from older anime titles. You have walking fan service with guns in the form of Yoko, a reckless guy who fears nothing while throwing logic out the window in the form of Kamina, and the young timid boy who rises to become a powerful fighter and leader in the form of Simon. And that's just a small sampling of the cast. Other notable cliches you will witness in the series are the potential love interests, gaining the power within yourself to beat your foes, and reckless courage beating over the brains and superior abilities of the enemies. You'll find yourself admiring the slick animation and mecha designs as well as the utter silliness of the character's antics on and off the battlefield against enemy forces. But, Gurren Lagann isn't just a homage of cliches. It also has a plot and characters who have depth and development. In Simon and humanity's struggle to live life freely on the surface, we get a good sense of who the characters are, what they believe in, and how they develop throughout the series. The enemies are also more than just your standard baddy out to rule the world for no reason. They have their own beliefs when it comes to defending the Earth and the universe, even if it doesn't seem just from the viewpoint of Team Gurren. In the time skip that comes around for the show's second half, you get to see the personal growth of the characters from their struggles. Even with the utter silliness of the plot, Gurren Lagann also has its serious moments in the plot department. Surprising plot twists come along which will amaze and potentially shock you. Even with action and comedy, the series doesn't hold back on pushing along surprising elements of plot that test the resolve of the characters, some of it even being on the tragic side. With so much mixed into Gurren Lagann, the series makes for a fun and addicting watch. It's been four years since I got seriously excited over watching a Gainax title since seeing FLCL and Kare Kano. Thanks to Gurren Lagann, Gainax has wowed me once again with their talents. Last updated Tuesday, November 11 2008. Created Tuesday, November 11 2008. | ||||||||
| Buy | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
 Silence
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[series:1512#2939] |
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(8 epis watched) Till now loads of silliness, loads of fanservice, and loads of MANLINESS!! "Do not believe in yourself. Believe in the me that believes in you!" Kamina He is THE man... a frigging immature and recklessly stupid man, but a man nonetheless. I fell in love with that guy and his attitude, pure entertainment, pure manliness. can't wait to watch the rest. "If you fear, don't. Don't believe in yourself, but believe in the me who believes in the you! Our drills pierce the heavens, earths and tomorrow! With spirit unbroken we can bring forth the powers of the strength which lies dormant in us! Hearts intertwined with each other, nothing will be able to break us! Piercing destiny as yesterday's enemies; creating the new path towards the future with these hands! This is Gurren Lagen. WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!" (22 episodes watched) Wow... just wow. This show quickly dropped off most of the silliness after episode 8. There are a lot of emotional moments, lots of growth from Simon. He took over the leadership position after realising that he is himself, not kamina. Then, he starts to kick ass, Gurren Lagann style. Then in the third part, lots of politics came in (the politics are depicted more maturely than most of this genre, at least good enough for me), together with a new enemy (not to mention a much taller simon). Then the struggle continues. If there is an enbodiment of strength, perserverence, and beating the impossible, this is the best example that i know of. All these may seem cliche, but gurren lagann makes them seem so awesome that i do not care anymore. I do not know how they do it, but i do not care either. Up till now this is easily amongst my favorites. 4 (or 5) more episodes to go. "The two paths of man and beast intertwine to create a spiral path! Piercing destiny as yesterday's enemies and creating a new path with these hands! The Union of Fate--GURREN-LAGANN! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?" (All episodes watched) Ok. I really really wanna give everything a 10. But that would be too biased, so i gave near perfect in recognition of some flaws. But who cares about the flaws! this show is just too damn AWESOME!!! The ending lived up to my bloated expectations, despite feeling at a point that Gurren-dang is too overwhelmingly powerful. I do not know how they do this, but they managed to turn very cliche ideas ("cannot beat the enemy? focus ur energy and upgrade during battle! Beat the enemy! Go to the next one" cycle) into an absolute feast for the eyes. One point i really liked about Gurren Lagann is that all the enemies that Simon has been beating are actually trying to protect humanity, in their own ways. It is hard to really say that they are wrong; they just have different ways. Maybe they are not as courageous, but their intent was good. So that's something to leave people thinking, are there really bad guys? Character development is written all over this series: How Simon changed from the unconfident and introverted digger into one of the most inspiring leaders who achieves the impossible again and again. Nothing more to say here. The art was.... i cannot decide... There are moments when its really bad, but some that are quite good... Animation was kick ass (hell, this is mecha by Gainax), music was nice. Each episode was highly addictive, but the series as a whole has minor flaws, ie Simon just beats people the same way, no real suspense, just what sort of enemies will come next, and who, other than Simon, will die. (tho kamina's unexpected fate leaves me a little fearful at the back of my mind) The ending was a bit sad (i might have cried if it was not spoiled by my curiosity)... but very hopeful. The problems of mankind are just beginning, but Simon will no longer be involved in it. He was never a very ambitious or power hungry guy. So he chose his own path. So did Yoko, and everyone else for that matter. That is the way of Gurren Lagann. Last updated Monday, November 09 2009. Created Wednesday, July 23 2008. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:1512#628] | ||||||
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(Two episodes watched): The abundant fanservice and outrageously wild animation practically cried out "Gainax!"--they reminded me of FLCL--and indeed, the Gainax logo was among the credits. I like the unique comic weirdness of this show--like Simeon and Kamina's origins among the "mole people". Yet, while this show has turned out to be highly popular, my interest rapidly fell off. Somehow, watching this show just seemed like more trouble than the resulting entertainment was worth. Maybe it was too discordant and crazy, like an epileptic seizure. At least once I started over but the result was the same. Something about this show just turned me off. My favorite line (so far): "Forget about the impossible and throw away your reason! That's how the Gurren Brigade does things!" --Kamina Last updated Sunday, January 30 2011. Created Thursday, May 10 2007. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Forbin
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[series:1512#1573] | ||||||
Analysis : 2 Episodes Watched
Last updated Monday, April 30 2007. Created Monday, April 30 2007. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 chibi
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[series:1512#2380] | ||||||
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3 episode seen. Hey, this looks like it could be a lot of fun! Reminds me of Top wo Nerae! 2, with zany robot battles and outlandish over-the-top characters.
Last updated Saturday, April 21 2007. Created Monday, April 09 2007. | ||||||||
| Buy |
 Jan-Chan
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[series:1512#967] | ||||||
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From what I understand, having a new series shown in the morning is pretty much a kiss of death (all of the great anime series aire at midnight or late in the evening,) but this new series is pretty strange and fun. It reminds me of the wierdness of Trava - Fist Planet OVA. Adreniline driven weird anime that does not make a lick of sense, but that does not stop it from spinning a fun tale. Last updated Monday, July 05 2010. Created Wednesday, April 04 2007. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| Official Japanese Website | http://www.gurren-lagann.net/ |
