All the lights in the sky are stars

“I don’t want fear for a future, that may not even come, to stop me from acting today.” - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Before we get cracking into this masterpiece of fiction/ story telling. Do yourself a favor and watch the video review that "BestGuyEver" put together. It should honestly be considered episode 28 to this series.

That said. You've watched it, you've watched a good review (hopefully) and now you wish there were some sort of support group for people who have finished the series.

An anime that I at first just COULD NOT get into, became quickly one of my top anime of all time. Thank you Gurren Lagann- now, lets talk about it:

Music

Something that I've always enjoyed about anime is it's ability to incorporate storytelling, with flashy fight scenes. It's nearly impossible to do this without an amazing soundtrack.

And with Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, what we get is an amazing and full OST from Taku Iwasaki. Mans went all out in composing this - dare I say it? - absolute banger of a masterpiece.

Everyone loves the theme song. Okay. You're right. Everyone with ears, that can hear stuff. It's a hype rock anthem called "Sorairo Days" and don't get me wrong, I love it too. But that doesn't capture every essence of this anime does it? It has sad themes, and melodramatic themes in equal mix. Slower music for slower scenes, and guess what? Yeah, faster music for faster scenes.

It quickly became apparent that Mr. Iwasaki knew exactly what he was doing when composing pieces for this anime. Not everyone can write a hype-you-up-play-this-in-the-gym kind of rock hit, but it takes a special creative genius to also be able to compose the slower pieces that capture sadness. That's the word that comes to mind when I think about the music for this show. From rap, to rock, to orchestral dynamics. It's got it all, and performs them all at just the right moments to elicit emotions that are already being hit with the content of the scene. Pure, unadulterated genius.

Music 5/5

Animation

I'll admit, I prefer cleaner lines and a lighter color scheme that exist within newer anime such as "The Daily Life of the Immortal King, Sword Art Online" or "Gate" to name a few.

But man, does this animation style add something to the overall feel of this show. The animator known for this style and who made a statement with it back in 2007 with this anime is none other than Hiroyuki Imaishi.

Without giving a full animation breakdown his style uses lighting, color and a plethora of stills to capture actions shots in a way that adds to the 'cartoon' of the show while still giving a full punch of explosiveness to the 'action' of the show.

This type of animation can be seen in quite a lot of action anime since, "Kill la Kill" (by the same guy) as well as Megalobox and One Punch and Mob Psycho (they use smaller/cleaner lines but a lot of the shading is similar as well as the usage of light, background flair and posing).

The only reason that this doesn't get a perfect score is that it seems like there were budget issue in the first few episodes of the show that made the 'poses' and stills take up more of the action economy of the show. It's hard to fault the animation studio for budget stuff - yet it's something to consider when writing a review.

Animation: 4.5/5

Characters

In writing it's hard to separate characters from plot. Plot drives the characters and vice versa. In a review though? Gotta split em to give a better picture of the anime.

There are too many characters to do full synopsis of every single one of them, but there are few to focus on:

Kamina.

I'll admit, when I first started watching this anime, I hated Kamina. I thought he was full of $#!t. But... but, he grows on you. Once you accept what the anime is trying to do- once you take a bite out of the questions that it's asking and the way it's presented you realize that he's the actual man. The only person who understood what the hell was going on.

*spoilers ahead*

"Grit those teeth" - Kamina was a legend. Was he a static character? Sure. Did he get development throughout the show? No, not really. But wow does that not even matter a little bit when we talk about the impact that he had on all other characters. Even after episode 8 (where those tiny ninjas start to peel onions) he continues to be a driving force of the show.

Yoko.

She's 14. She's 14. She's 14. Same age as Simon but wow - um. I'll be right back.

*cough* Okay. It's impossible not to notice what the animators are trying to do here. Is she just a hot girl though? I'd argue that, if there are driving forces of the show she has just as much impact as Kamina.

The only person to fight a Gunmen without a gunmen. At one point she fights two at once and still kicks their asses. No, I think the series is very intentional with how it portrays Yoko. Is she hot? Sure. But she's also the pivotal crux that episode 8 lies upon (if you think about it) she represents more than just sex appeal. She represents an unbridled sense of hope. Of human effort and resilience.

She's a constant - and one of the only ones who can see the dangers that lie in not focusing efforts on the next generations. She is the nomad before Simon. And she gets punished constantly for it. She carries on with a smile as we see in that last episode near the end - but man does she lose so much. Everyone focuses on the things that Simon loses, but let's not forget that Yoko loses the same things (and by the way doesn't go on a murderous melodramatic rampage for two episodes about it). She really doesn't get the credit she deserves if you think she's "just the hot girl"

Nia.

She is the opposite of Kamina and the same in many ways. Whereas Kamina represented strength that Simon wished he had, Nia represented an innocence that Simon had to protect. If Kamina was the push, then Nia was the pull.

The only way she's not opposite Kamina is her strength. Some have said that Nia represents weakness, and I completely disagree. She has an inner strength that drives the entire last two thirds of the series. She's the whole reason the Spiral folks have freedom at the end. More than a simple love interest for Simon she is the catalyst that wakes him up from his nightmare of not being able to do anything about his situation (twice).

Rossiu.

Hard to talk about TTGL without mentioning Rossiu. Friend to villain and back to friend. He represents the struggle of intentions. He's the one to recognize that Thanos had a good point. He's the one to recognize that Ikaris had a ponit in the Eternals when the numbers just line up. He doesn't understand "spiral power" and all of that nonsense. But he understands science, and it's his personal driving force.

Yeah. We hate him, but isn't that what a good villain is supposed to do? In most ways we hate him more than the spiral king. We hate him more than the last boss. We hate him because he was one of us. We hate him because we are him. The show makes us see that, his inner turmoil is what makes him part of the core group because you do hate him - but Simon doesn't.

When we see Simon come swinging and say "Grit those teeth" - probably my favorite scene in the anime. We see things come full circle with a redemption arc and a character development of Simon into the big brother that Kamina had been for him.

Simon.

If you're like me then you sympathize with Simon - you understand his crush on Yoko. You get why he's destroyed after episode 8. You recognize the way he feels during his time as Supreme Commander. He's so damn relatable when he's jumping away from rocks that Kamina throws. Your head is just like "Bro stop throwing rocks, you can literally kill him wtf is wrong with you?!"

"You're the drill that will pierce the heavens"

In so many ways, and by so many people his relationships with others are what make Simon one of the best protagonists in anime. He grows into a man, and then into the savior of mankind. Back into a forgotten relic. Which makes him even more the savior that the needed (not gonna do a full batman thing here).

Simon the digger. Something that the show doesn't say, but something I like to imagine is this. They lost so. so. so many during the war against gunmen and the war against the anti-spirals. Who do you think dug the graves? I'm just saying there's a weight that presents itself and by carrying it Simon outgrows his doubt, and gains something far more impressive. His doubt grows into responsibility and his fear turns into courage. If that's not character development at it's finest... I don't know what is.

Characters: 5/5 *notable mentions*: Boota, Spiral King, Kittan and Viral.

Plot

The core of this show is about Spiral vs Anti-spiral. The evolution of mankind versus the de-evolution of the anti-spiral races. In BestGuyEver's review of the series he points out a lot of the evolution aspects of the show, so I'm not gonna stay there for too long.

What I do want to focus on is the tone.

In 2018, I tried to give this anime a watch, and I got one episode in and quit. Then a year later someone was like 'watch it' so I got two episodes in and I was like 'I can't.'

Because I didn't get it. Then someone told me to just enjoy it for what it is, a silly anime with silly characters who do silly things. And finally for the first 7 episodes I was like "okay this isn't so bad after all" I just had to realize that it was silly characters doing silly things.

Then episode 8 happened. And it turned into a series I had to finish. I binged the rest in one night. Why? Because I hate myself, but also because I had to know.

The reason that people love anime is not just because it's an art form. It's not because it asks big questions. It's because it shows us worlds that we couldn't begin to dream of. It shows us realities that we would have never thought possible, and it allows us to see what's possible if we, for a second, believe in the impossible.

Is it wild the things that happen in this plot? Absolutely. From the first part of the show where a group of folks rise up against an oppressive regime, to where they become the villains of an oppressive regime it becomes a good story. When they force you to look at the 'greater oppressor' which is seen as the 'anti-spiral' something else clicks.

What's often lost is that they were a spiral race. Which means they had evolved too. They are us and we are them? What if the greatest enemy posed in the entire universe are the limits that we set upon ourselves? That's the question that Gurren Lagann asks, and answers wholly and completely by Simon. "Have faith in us"

Plot 5/5

Overall

Man. I didn't like this anime at first, and then I loved this anime. What a freakin' show. We need to start a support group for those of us who have finished this anime. Take the time and watch this master piece. You won't regret it

My Final Score: 4.9/5 - Definitely Bingeworthy