"The story of a man who fights to forge his own destiny."
Pretty much we can resume those words onto this story. To be honest i would have never thought that i would enjoy a show where you can find excesive and overadrenaline fights. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann called my atention just because of the very commotion of being such a overrated anime, or people calling it trash. Turned out that i was wrong to think that this anime would be a waste.
From unexpected shouts of wars to supergalactic fights that our imagination never would manage to have, we have Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a plot
...
that brings the story of a man who tries to forge his own destiny with the company of his friends. Sounds very simple isn't? It is indeed, but just because it is simple it doesn't mean it lacks of complexity and it still will be of easy understanding. The plot revolves in a very simple way, we can see the two main characters standing in a world they don't quite feel comfortable with. What would you do if you were on their shoes? On the surface this seems like a fairly straightforward plot and you may be wondering what's so special about it. And that's part of it, the story is a straightforward tale of two dreamers and the path they take.
With zero weapons, zero plans and a lot of guts, our main heroes try to grasp this first dream; reach the surface.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann wasn’t really about being deep or carrying serious issues -although the themes dearest to Gainax, such as the adolescent growing and the contrast between reality and dreamworld, make an appearance; I think it nevertheless was a compelling story, and also not too much predictable -Sure, it is a Super Robot anime, the hero has to win every time no matter how it is unrealistic and predictable; but if its predictable moments are compelling and carried with style, they just succeed- no matter if you like it or not.
One of gurren lagann's advantage is a story that could be told in 27 episodes without something like fillers or other annoying things. Why advantage? Because Gurren Lagann didn't have enough time to pause and remind everyone their past and showing weaknesses and long ass monologues every episode.
I wouldn't say that Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a masterpiece on terms of artwork and animation, The Cartoony yet ambitious style is why it fits so well. This is because even though it doesn't look serious, it takes it self seriously. Yet in the other hand, the 'draw' efect that some episodes has is just incredible on itself, you will be really pleased with the changes that the time-skip this series had. Also when things get hectic and packed with alot of action the art changes to being very epic looking. Especially the scenes where they take a break half way through the anime.
It is indeed very stylish and artistic. I didn't seem -in my opinion- perfect, because it didn't seem to go above and beyond. It was very well done, but still seemed within the realms of 'safe'.
The sound in itself fits so well, from the long battles scenes to even the dramatic moments, the music is just, is just incredible in all the sense of the word, you won't be disappointed and therefore pleased you will be. The opening is inspiring in all ways, from the very first AMV to the last one, Sorairo Days will be on my mind always as one of the soundtracks most enjoyable ever and of course without leaving behind the ending,"Minna no Peace", wich suits perfectly for such fantastic season. The hardcore songs in the middle of the battle will make you scream! Even to the point that it will give you the chills of how epic the music is! Believe me that the soundtracks of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is the very embodiment of exitement.
Well setup and mechas are two important ingredients of a good Giant Robot show, but any anime ultimately lives or dies based on its characters, and on this count, Gurren Lagann doesn't disappoint.
Yoko almost has no purpose other than to fulfill the requirement for X amount of boobs in an anime. People may hate me for saying this, but she's only there to balance the testosterone with estrogen. She saved Simon and Kamina countless of times, yes, but she didn't moved too much the plot. (Hurts me to say this because i love her). Kamina in a lot of ways is the living embodiment of the series its spirit and he's loudly outspoken, supremely confident in his and Simon's abilities and believes so much in his dream, his friends and his own ability that he comes up with some crazy ideas. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling the surprise, but Kamina, with his boundless 'machismo' and optimism, is an energetic and charismatic enough character that soon he has inspired humans all across the surface to join his banner and fight against their mysterious oppressors, the beastmen. And although Simon comes close to the whining protagonist archetype that bugs me so much, Kamina's presence and his own inner reserves force him to come through in the clinch and ultimately make him a much more likeable character.
Other than Simon's growth and development, though, the characters just aren't that interesting. You may argue that they're a perfect balance of different character personalities, but they really do nothing other than one thing (ugly button pushing nerd, grunting twins, dumb three useless sisters, conveniently placed old man, mindless battalion leaders, etc, etc).
Enjoyment? Do I need words to express this? To be honest, my first impression was really bad, thought that really changed as i saw every episode. This is, in my opinion, one of the most enjoyable series out there. All the explosions keep you at the edge of your seat wanting more and more. The story flows smoothly without an episode wasting its time on petty things. You will love each one of the elements on this series, his action, his drama, his comedy and even romance.
Emotionally, Gurren Lagann is all about self-belief, confidence and optimism; after all, that is 'spiral energy', an unrelenting, blood boiling ambition to succeed; even when all seems lost, dare to have hope and god dammit, believe in yourself.
"Who the hell do you think i am?".
Indeed, without a doubt such words will stay on our memories forever as one of the war shouts more surprisings that an enemy could have.
Overall no other anime has ever crossed the line to make itself this predictable. Don’t you guys see? It’s this stupendous mash up of predictable and generic plot elements that also make this anime one of the most original animes I’ve ever seen.
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Apr 12, 2009
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
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"The story of a man who fights to forge his own destiny."
Pretty much we can resume those words onto this story. To be honest i would have never thought that i would enjoy a show where you can find excesive and overadrenaline fights. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann called my atention just because of the very commotion of being such a overrated anime, or people calling it trash. Turned out that i was wrong to think that this anime would be a waste. From unexpected shouts of wars to supergalactic fights that our imagination never would manage to have, we have Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a plot ... |
