Gurren Lagann

[deserteagleeye]

It's one of my favorites for sure. I watched with subs and I think I'll keep it that way. To me, the difference between Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill is like night and day. With the exception of Yoko, I loved every character and thought it was hype as fuck towards the end.

You just can't compare the 2 animes, and actually thinking Kill la Kill is better may as well be a cardinal sin. I have so much loathing for that anime and it just hits the ear wrong to hear it being praised so much over Gurenn.

 

[Radeonx]

I thought it was nothing more than an above average mecha anime, that I think definitely gets overhyped. I mean, yeah, it is good, but it isn't the greatest thing ever. To it's credit, the ending was fairly epic and hype-y, but it had a cast of forgettable characters aside from a few and overall it just seemed decent for the vast majority of the show.

I don't know, I certainly wouldn't call it bad, but it isn't by any means the best anime for me, or even the best mecha anime.

 

[Storm Dragon]

The best part of episode 26: "Now I get it. And I was having such a sappy dream, too."

You know the part I'm talking about.

and most important of all...

*heelclick*


As glorious as ever, Satsuki-sama....

Goddamn I love that song.

 

[Eliwood10]

My favorite anime of all time!

I have a very personal attachment to this series, it's helped me get through some tough times in my life. Just about every episode gets me emotional to the point of tears. I don't think there is a single piece of entertainment out there that can get me quite as pumped as that show.

I also loved Kill la Kill. Defiantly the funniest, most brilliant and exciting anime I've seen since TTGL.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

The best part of episode 26: "Now I get it. And I was having such a sappy dream, too."

You know the part I'm talking about.

and most important of all...

*heelclick*


As glorious as ever, Satsuki-sama....

Goddamn I love that song.[/quote

I felt bad for Viral. He wanted a family all along.

 

[Leemaster777]

I actually watched Gurren Lagann for the first time recently (well, it was around a year ago, but that's fairly recent compared to when it came out).

And I think it's... good. I can understand the fan following it has (and even feel the same way to a degree), but I think the unending praise it gets is a bit overexaggerated... a bit like the anime itself.

I think my biggest complaint about it comes from the second half. Specifically, how Rossiu basically frames Simon for everything that's going wrong, basically betrays him, and then we're supposed to sympathize with him later? And at the end, after the (admittedly completely amazing) ending battle, Simon basically gets completely shafted on a happy ending, while everyone else (including Rossiu), gets a great ending. It just rubs me the wrong way.

Probably doesn't help that I saw Gurren Lagann AFTER Panty and Stocking, the anime Gainax made after Gurren Lagann, which I feel is a vastly superior series.

Don't get me wrong, I like it alot, but my problems with it compounded with my higher expectations brought on by the endless fanfare and Panty and Stocking left me a bit colder than I was expecting.

EDIT: Incidentally, while I'm thinking about it, anyone who's a fan of Gurren Lagann and Persona 4 needs to see this:

Spoiler

 

[DaViller]

Watched it last year and yeah it´s pretty damn hype bordering epic, im also one of the few people who actually liked the first episodes after the timeskip. I think they build up the conclusion to the show in a way thats very thoughtfull and often overlooked(or im reading to much into this, who knows im dumb).

What realy surprised me about eh episodes after the timeskip was the way they handled the whole "warheroes in peacetime" thing realy well. The heroes of the war are now logically the leaders during peacetime but they kinda suck at it, the one actually keeping soiciety running is the dude from the Underground village. The heroes start fading into obscurity and are out of place in those times. Admittedly village dude acts a bit dickish during that time, probably cause hes going thourgh a "im the one doing all the work and running this show" phase, but he is the only who keeps a very clear head and has a plan the whole time for when worst come to worst. When that fails though and no amount of logic or reason can save anyone anymore, it´s time for the old(well relatively Simon isn´t exactly old) heroes to step onto the scene again. That was the shows most powerful moment for me, when everything else breaks it´s those past heroes who are the only ones left to pick up the fight. Then in the end I think the show displays some pretty impressive brains among all the madness. Simon, instead of going back to being the inefficient and unneeded ruler with a big party and all that, realized that it is time to finally pass the torch and step back. He has done his job and retires leaving only a legend for a new age in wich he is no longer needed, but wich will always remember him. I realy loved that ending.

Overall very good show, it´s not cowboy bepop great but I think it left the most lasting impression from all the stuff I watched last year.

Edit: funny just as I finished typing that someone had already adressed those same issues from the opposite angle, guess realy I am in a minority on that.

 

[FPLOON]

In related news, this seems like a good place for this

Spoiler: The awesome.

Scampers away into the internet.

EDIT: Incidentally, while I'm thinking about it, anyone who's a fan of Gurren Lagann and Persona 4 needs to see this:

Spoiler

...and those are two links I constantly keep going back to, in terms of Gurren Lagann...

OT: I'm kinda with Leemaster, in that the second half of the series kinda rubbed me the wrong way... I remember getting into a debate with someone in high school about it, which I rather not go into full details outside of "Are you sure the second half couldn't have had a secondary title to it's name, at least?"

Nonetheless, it was still a great show for what it was... and I'm waiting for Kill La Kill to get dubbed before I dive into that particular series...

 

[Elvis Starburst]

...and there's no total dud episodes that they had to tank in quality because of budget constraints (TTGL's infamous Episode 4)

Actually, episode 4 was apparently an episode with a guest animator. "Akai and another Gainax employee, Keiko Mimori, made disparaging remarks about comments criticizing the animation style of the fourth episode of Gurren Lagann, which was completely directed by guest and friend Osamu Kobayashi." <--- Taken from the GL Wiki. Unless, of course, the guest animator was due to budget issues. But, I never found anything that says as such.

OT: It's my second fave anime ever. Hell, the show was an inspiration for me. I take its message never giving up and to keep on trying to break through the hard walls of life to heart. I wear a core drill, and I plan on getting a tattoo of one with "Pierce the Heavens" over it. It's THAT big of a deal to me. Sure, anyone can say that's taking a liking to a show a bit too far. That's where I say that that shouldn't matter. If a message has resonated with you well enough, it doesn't matter the source.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Ah yes... one of my all time favorites right behind Baccano!
First watched the show before the end of my senior year and was expecting something good...
and yeah I was pretty awestruck at how much F***IN FUN the show was. These are the guys that worked on that crap Evangelion? GOOD LORD, we've got mechas accompanied by Kamina and his epic speeches and a beautifully colorful vibrant well animated world to just drool over as space and time are turned into weapons of mass destruction
TO A FINALE THAT LITERALLY PIERCES THE VERY HEAVENS SET OUT TO PIERCE. THIS SHOW IS FULL OF SO MUCH OOOOOOOOOOVERLOOOOOOOOAD

But yeah, it's full of flaws: the side characters barely have any development which is a shame, Viral doesn't get likable until second arc where he becomes more than a rival, and episode 4 still grinds my gears animation wise... but hey, nothing is perfect. 1st arc was great, second was slow but good, and the finale just killed it, almost completely eliminating the issues I had with the later half of the time skip.

With all that said:
When an anime is insanely quotable like Gurren is, you know it's lived up to the hype.

Also props to Kill La Kill as well. A very ok finale in comparison but makes up for it and even becomes on par with Gurren with it's colorfully standout cast alone... mostly Gamagori and Satsuki... and Satsuki's eyebrows.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Maybe it was due to the fact that I saw...

Spoiler

...Kamina's death coming from a mile away (A teen aimed anime with an adult male lead? Yeah right!).

...but nothing about this show really worked for me. The first episode where they're underground, and then break through to the surface was pretty good. And the concept of just a robot head for a mech is neat. But apart from that I can't say I found the whole thing really engaging.

There's seems to be this emerging trend of 'crazy for the sake of crazy', with anime and games like Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Red Line, and Bayonetta, and I'm not feeling it at all. Maybe I'm just getting old.

 

[AntiChri5]

I love Gurren Lagann. I sort of prefer the English dub as well, badass speeches are better in your own language as long as the voice actors don't fuck it up. Also English Kamina is great, his Episode 8 performance was amazing

Spoiler

While his Giga Drill Breaker shout wasn't quite as epic as the original dub, if you listen to it in context he portrays the spirit of a dying man's last ditch effort to secure the battle perfectly. Just listen to how he pronounces "Break" it's heartbreakingly amazing.

Manly tears.

I like Kill la Kill more I think though, just barely. It manages to pace itself better than TTGL with little to no slowing down in pace (unlike the first few post timeskip TTGL episodes) and there's no total dud episodes that they had to tank in quality because of budget constraints (TTGL's infamous Episode 4) and most important of all...

*heelclick*


As glorious as ever, Satsuki-sama....

I loved KlK but it didn't quite live up to the sheer godliness of Gurren Lagann. The final battle just kind of... ended.

I think KLK doesn't peak as high as Gurren Lagann, but it doesn't drop as low. It's a more consistent experience. They both have their ups and downs, and they are both so far past fantastic that it is hard to believe.

With TTGL, i have rewatched the final fight at least 20 times. With KLK, i have rewatched lots of different episodes. Err, not that i don't rewatch other episodes of TTGL, that is. But there is a bigger difference between my most rewatched and least rewatched.

 

[The Wykydtron]

...and there's no total dud episodes that they had to tank in quality because of budget constraints (TTGL's infamous Episode 4)

Actually, episode 4 was apparently an episode with a guest animator. "Akai and another Gainax employee, Keiko Mimori, made disparaging remarks about comments criticizing the animation style of the fourth episode of Gurren Lagann, which was completely directed by guest and friend Osamu Kobayashi." <--- Taken from the GL Wiki. Unless, of course, the guest animator was due to budget issues. But, I never found anything that says as such.

OT: It's my second fave anime ever. Hell, the show was an inspiration for me. I take its message never giving up and to keep on trying to break through the hard walls of life to heart. I wear a core drill, and I plan on getting a tattoo of one with "Pierce the Heavens" over it. It's THAT big of a deal to me. Sure, anyone can say that's taking a liking to a show a bit too far. That's where I say that that shouldn't matter. If a message has resonated with you well enough, it doesn't matter the source.

Oh I know it was made by a guest animator but the fact remains that it's a little bit odd to randomly swap animators for one episode, especially an episode that's not exactly super noteworthy in the plot, what they introduce a few new characters and Simon works on his landings? There was no reason I can think of to even give the episode to someone else aside from a measure to deal with a tight budget by outsourcing. It makes sense, you ensure you make people interested in your awesome opening episodes then dip the quality to save money for the next one or two episodes then put it on a solid footing again. I'm not saying that animator is bad, if used consistently throughout another anime it would be pretty good but it's just not Gurren Lagann enough.

If there's one thing about Gainex (and recently KLK) it's a consistent artstyle. Not consistent animation quality of course, this is "we spent almost 50% of the budget on the final episode" Gainex we're talking about here but the overall style remains the same

I always meant to buy a core drill pendant but i've never gotten around to buying it.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

It's epic & extremely humorous, especially the first part of the series. Despite all the ridiculously over the top stuff, it also managed to somehow feel fairly genuine.

The series did fall flat on its face a bit during the second half (when against the anti-spirals). It suffered from making the main character continuously more powerful and cliché situations (with Simon magically overcoming all difficulties through sudden powerups).

 

[Sean Hollyman]

...and there's no total dud episodes that they had to tank in quality because of budget constraints (TTGL's infamous Episode 4)

Actually, episode 4 was apparently an episode with a guest animator. "Akai and another Gainax employee, Keiko Mimori, made disparaging remarks about comments criticizing the animation style of the fourth episode of Gurren Lagann, which was completely directed by guest and friend Osamu Kobayashi." <--- Taken from the GL Wiki. Unless, of course, the guest animator was due to budget issues. But, I never found anything that says as such.

OT: It's my second fave anime ever. Hell, the show was an inspiration for me. I take its message never giving up and to keep on trying to break through the hard walls of life to heart. I wear a core drill, and I plan on getting a tattoo of one with "Pierce the Heavens" over it. It's THAT big of a deal to me. Sure, anyone can say that's taking a liking to a show a bit too far. That's where I say that that shouldn't matter. If a message has resonated with you well enough, it doesn't matter the source.

Oh I know it was made by a guest animator but the fact remains that it's a little bit odd to randomly swap animators for one episode, especially an episode that's not exactly super noteworthy in the plot, what they introduce a few new characters and Simon works on his landings? There was no reason I can think of to even give the episode to someone else aside from a measure to deal with a tight budget by outsourcing. It makes sense, you ensure you make people interested in your awesome opening episodes then dip the quality to save money for the next one or two episodes then put it on a solid footing again. I'm not saying that animator is bad, if used consistently throughout another anime it would be pretty good but it's just not Gurren Lagann enough.

If there's one thing about Gainex (and recently KLK) it's a consistent artstyle. Not consistent animation quality of course, this is "we spent almost 50% of the budget on the final episode" Gainex we're talking about here but the overall style remains the same

I always meant to buy a core drill pendant but i've never gotten around to buying it.

I found a Core Drill keyring, which was cheaper than the necklace, and same size. Just remove the chain and put in string, and wooo. I wear it every day!

 

[Tyrant_Valvatorez]

Man I really love Gurren-Lagann just a shining example of pure concentrated fun, you could really see how much heart was put into it. On the note of the hype as hell finale, have you guys saw Lagann-hen the second movie? Admittedly Gurenn-hen is meh aside from the finale but Lagann-hen fixes the weaker aspects of the second half and makes the finale even more epic!

Spoiler: Lagann-Hen Spoliers for those who have not saw it

The Anti-Spiral King kicking the the absolute crap out of the Tengen-Toppa and the formation of the Super Tengen-Toppa Gurenn-Lagann is awesome as hell!

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Man I really love Gurren-Lagann just a shining example of pure concentrated fun, you could really see how much heart was put into it. On the note of the hype as hell finale, have you guys saw Lagann-hen the second movie? Admittedly Gurenn-hen is meh aside from the finale but Lagann-hen fixes the weaker aspects of the second half and makes the finale even more epic!

Spoiler: Lagann-Hen Spoliers for those who have not saw it

The Anti-Spiral King kicking the the absolute crap out of the Tengen-Toppa and the formation of the Super Tengen-Toppa Gurenn-Lagann is awesome as hell!

The movie is only really worth it for the final battle. It was awesome.


IT'S 52 BILLION LIGHT YEARS TALL FFS

 

[Crispee]

Gurren Lagann is pretty cool. I might've once called it my favorite anime but not anymore, though it still holds a special place in my heart.

I like that it's idiotic in a self-aware way, and every time I watch it it's one of the few things I watch that makes me distinctly think "A lot of people must've had an absolute blast making this", and it always puts a smile on my face despite what little sense it makes.

 

[necromanzer52]

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I appreciate that they're perfectly aware of how ridiculously stupid the story is and just used it to have as much fun as they possibly could.

But I would never call it one of my favourite anime.