Dunnoman5 said:Why do I love Gurren Lagann?
Good question, I've never thought about it. I've just always loved it. Even with a simple rebellion premise, the show has always captivated me. It never left me bored. Well, apart from episode 4 but we don't talk about episode 4. Another thing Gurren Lagann has going for it, is it's characters.
I do not think I have ever been ruined by a character's death, even though I knew them for merely 8 episodes, it took only 8 episodes for me to experience that sort of pain. Kamina's death shook me, it told me "This show is different, you'll see".
When the OP switches at episode 9, replacing Kamina with Nia. I was so, so, so angry. I felt hatred for Nia, even though I didn't know her. We're just talking about Kamina's death here, there's so much I can mention.
We then move onto how Gurren Lagann portrays depression through Simon. My heart hurt so much when I saw Simon in episode 9. A boy I saw myself in, a coward who wants to run away, no real dreams. I saw myself in him, and it hurt so much to see him go through the unbearable pain of losing his brother.
But despite Kamina's death, despite Simon's fears of dying being validated through the death of the one he loved most. He continued walking. That's something I couldn't do. I definitely couldn't. So seeing Simon move forward filled me with hope, I can keep moving too. If Simon won't stop, why the hell can I?
The deaths in this series hit hard, even with characters you barely knew. Makken, Jorgun, Balinbow, Zorthy, Kidd, Iraak. Characters we barely saw, sacrificed themselves to ensure humanity's survival. It hurts, because it was written so well.
Kamina, Kittan and Nia. Every death hurt.
But even with Simon losing so much, even though he had the power to bring them all back. He didn't, he wouldn't use his power irresponsibly and prove the Anti-Spiral right. Because Simon has grown.
I'm wrapping this short now. Gurren Lagann has messages of the human spirit, and how the next generation is incredibly important, we should create a better world for them etc. Those messages align with my own personal beliefs. People should be who they are, we should accept them, old people shouldn't be trying to make the world worse for young ones by trying to keep it the same and stopping progress.
Gurren Lagann is optimism incarnated as an anime, and I'm an optimist.
I haven't gone in depth as I can, there's SO much more to mention. But this essay has gone on long enough and has gotten my point across.