Gurren Lagann (Review)
Gurren Lagann is What You Would Get if You Injected a Mecha Series Full of Cheese.
If there is one word I could use to describe Gurren Lagann (or, as it’s known in Japan, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann), it would be “shameless.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing anime. But it goes over the top in every possible way. Still, if you’re going to go over the top, this is the way you want to do it.
Gurren Lagann takes place in the distant future, where humans have been forced to live underground for centuries. No one knows why, and some don’t even believe that there is a surface. Among these underground humans is Simon (voiced by Josh Grelle/ Yuri Lowenthal )depending on the dub you get), a young boy who works as a digger in one of these villages. He’s a pretty pathetic kid but looks up to Kamina (Brett Weaver/ Kyle Hebert), a young man who specializes in trouble-making. Simon spends his days drilling new tunnels for the village (the drill becomes a huge motif in the series), where he stumbles upon a small mecha buried deep underground. This is where the whole thing kicks into high gear because almost immediately two monstrous machines, known as Gunman, break through the ceiling of Simon’s village and begin attacking it. Following in the Gunman’s footsteps is Yoko Littner (Tiffany Grant/ Michelle Ruff), fan service at it’s finest from a neighboring village who is currently battling the massive mechas. Simon and Kamina join forces with Yoko in order to take down the attackers and escape to the surface. Thanks to Simon’s newfound mecha this is a lot easier than one might think, but on the surface, they learn that the Gunmen are driven by terrible Beast Men, who terrorize the humans who have escaped their underground prisons. So, Kamina organizes a resistance force to rebel against the Beast Men and take back the Earth from them. Luckily, it seems like Simon’s Mecha is some sort of secret weapon and can join with other Gunmen to create an incredibly powerful mechas. With their team in place they set off to defeat the leader of the Beast Men, Lordgenome.
Gurren Lagann really is one of the weirdest anime I’ve ever seen, not so much in its subject matter, but in its execution. The mechas in this series are insanely weird-looking for the most part, because a lot of them don’t have heads, but instead have faces making up their torsos. At first it feels really awkward, probably because we as humans expect a certain type of anatomical construction in humanoid creatures. Still, it quickly becomes less and less important, and after a few episodes you can just go with the flow. This is probably because of the epic fight scenes this series has. Director Hiroyuki Imaishi really lets us have it in these sequences. In fact, he gives us the full-blown treatment, mixing extravagance and clichés in the best possible way. The animation really is amazing in this series, though at certain times it seems to slip into slightly different styles. Still, it’s a lot of fun.
Now, I only watched the subtitled version of this anime, and I’m of the firm belief that subtitles always make dialogue seem better. But Gurren Lagann features some spectacular dialogue that borders right between brilliant and absurd. With such lines as, “believe in the me that believes in you,” and, “You’re a man who spouts a bunch of crap. But this is crap I can get behind,” you can’t help but stop and think, “Why the hell not?” Indeed, this is a series that it’s best to just go limp and let it wash over you. The less you fight it the better it gets. Now, I’m a sentimental old fool, so I can get behind some sappy dialogue, but even I found Gurren Lagann ridiculous at times. The writer, Kazuki Nakashima, is either certifiably insane or a complete genius. I haven’t made up my mind yet. In the end, though it doesn’t really matter, because if you’re going to draw attention to yourself, you might as well do it by juggling flaming chainsaws and Nakashima does exactly that with the concepts he tackles in this anime.
The true success behind Gurren Lagann is that it’s an amazing satire series. Like One Punch Man or Kill La Kill (which is from the same creators), it firmly targets a genre of anime and lets loose on it. This series is one that mocks such series like Gundam or the ever so serious Neon Genesis Evangelion. All the little tropes and cliches that fans of giant mech series love are here, but twisted to reflect just how absurd all of them are. From the idea that only kids can pilot these giant machines to the melding of destiny and high science. Gurren Lagann is as much a series for people who love the genre as much as it is for the people that absolutely detest it. That being said, I’m sure both sides of the fence will enjoy this anime with the help of some mind-altering substances.
What I like about this series is how bold it is. It’s not afraid to pump as much cheese as it can into its dialogue, for one thing. But the coolest thing is that it’s not afraid to kill off major characters with little to no warning, something I’m sure that Game of Thrones fans will certainly appreciate. I’m not going to spoil anything, but the kill count in this anime gets pretty damn high. It borders on the goofy sometimes and can take things too far, but I’m a firm believer that fortune favors the bold. Because of this, Gurren Lagann definitely claims and conquers its own niche in the world of anime. Though toward the end of the series it starts getting really bizarre (piloting mechas that sit inside of bigger mechas and pilot them, and so on). If you’re looking for something crazy and unique to take a break from reality with, I would say you should take a look at Gurren Lagann. Though it does take itself too far at times, give it a chance and pretty soon you won’t even notice it. In the end, this series is all popcorn.
