Poll: Which half of Gurren Lagann is better?

[Sean Hollyman]

I fucking love TTGL, it's my favorite anime ever. I have the Gurren Lagann and Lazengann figures, and I wear my Core Drill necklace.

Gurren Lagann fans, which half of the show did you think was better. Before or after the timeskip?

Personally I prefer it post-timeskip. The fights and characters are better. Kamina may be gone but he lives on in Simon! The final few episodes in space are amazing. The multidimensional labyrinth scene is my favorite in the whole series.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I would have to go with the post timeskip eventhought a couple episode of it did pissed me off (when they blame it all on Simon for the Antispiral). The last few episodes were beyong epic but the pre timeskipped did have some good moments in it too!

 

[CrazyBlaze]

If I had to say it would be the post time-skip. The fights just got more and more epic and even if there were some really stupid moments (like blaming Simon) it was all pure awesome sauce. However, it would not be as good if it wasn't for the first half. If we hadn't become invested in their journey and watch them come from a hole in the ground and make friends and lovers than the emotional impact of the second half would fall short. Yes the first half is kinda fillerish but its used to build the world and characters with the meat of the plot taking the second half. Its kinda Kazuki Nakashia's go to thing (Kamen Rider Fourze, and Kill la kill being other examples).

 

[William Fleming]

I prefer post timeskip. I thought the series excelled when it is being so ridiculously over the top which is what the timeskip is in a nutshell. Galaxy shurikens anyone?

Also, this:

 

[CaptainMidlands]

Both are good in there own ways, where is that option?

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Holy crap, that's a tough choice.

I'm probably going to go with post-timeskip, too, actually, but they're both great in their own rights. There are a couple moments in the pre-timeskip half that rival the best moments in the post-timeskip half, i.e. the battle for the Dai-Gunzan and the final battle in the arc, but the finale was so completely awesome and heart-rending at the same time that I'm gonna have to choose the second half. It's still pretty close, though; both halves are great in their own ways.

 

[Super Cyborg]

I'm with the majority, and have to go with the post-timeskip. That's when things start to go really crazy, and it's all for the better. The final battle is one of the greatest things ever created in fiction for me, and there are so many feels moments in that part. The final attack by the villain is so epic, that I had to watch it a number of times just to appreciate the shear awesomeness of it. Pre-time skip is good as well, but it was there so the second part could really shine.

 

[Broderick]

I prefer post timeskip. I thought the series excelled when it is being so ridiculously over the top which is what the timeskip is in a nutshell. Galaxy shurikens anyone?

Also, this:

Hard to say. I think post time skip had some pacing issues, and it was a little jaring. I would probably say pre-time skip, even though that ending scene was totally badass. Also I see your video, and I raise my own!

Spoiler

Watching all 8 minutes is worth it in my opinion. Like watching an epic countdown.

 

[EMWISE94]

Unpopular opinion coming through! well not really, but I've been told that by my other peers that I kinda have it backwards, in the sense that I preferred the first half and felt the second half kinda cheapens the entire experience of the show. Or at least the slower build up to the "this isn't even my final form" scaling of the battles felt like padding to me that didn't need to be there.

To be honest, I went into TTGL with a slightly negative attitude cause it'd been regarded as some form of gem of a show, so I donned my overrated-radiation protective glasses and dived in. The first half was a whacky ride filled with all sorts of over the top action and some okay character development that i felt was just my cup of tea (with a few annoying things, yea sure) and if it ended there I would have whole heartedly agreed that the show was awesome... but it continued, with a timeskip that I felt was kinda unnecessary length wise yadda yadda, I wrote a long justified rant about it on my blog once, not gonna rehash it here.

Lets just say, I felt like the second half would have been okay in a different show (mostly its odd meta narrative of evolution and whatnot) and attaching its rather slower paced vibe to the high octane madness that was the first half felt really jarring to me. Cut out all that odd politics malarkey that happened and just cut straight to the constant one upping in Gurren size and I feel like it would have been fine.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Both are necessary for the story Gurren Lagann is trying to tell, and indeed the first quarter of the show strongly embodies Kamina's qualities, both as someone to be admired and someone to be surpassed. Nonetheless, that vibe isn't really my cup of tea, whereas the second half basically nailed it constantly, so I would certainly say I prefer the second half.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

I'm going to be that guy who says pre-timeskip, primarily due to the beginning of the post-timeskip being so boring.

Spoiler

Things really pick back up once the fight is finally taken to the Anti-Spirals and all the political crap gets thrown out the window. However, the whole city rebellion / "blame Simon for everything" arc gives the post-timeskip era a serious black mark. While pre-timeskip also had a boring ass arc that dragged it down a bit (Simon becoming utterly useless after Kamina dies), that arc had both a better resolution, more action, and didn't drag on for as long (only 4 episodes as opposed to post-timeskip's 5).

I will admit this though - post-timeskip probably had a few more of the best scenes and episodes in the series. However, that city-uprising arc really drags that half down enough for me to rate the first half of the series higher. Still a kickass show overall, however.

 

[Malbourne]

I adored the pacing of the pre-timeskip. Obviously the second half is stellar, but before that we got to see character development for Simon, for Yoko, Kamina. They learned to relinquish the safety of the ground and gathered a crew and brought the fight to the king of beasts. It was fleshed out really well. Viral's pride served as a good foil to Kamina's bravado, and it was so cool seeing his reactions to Simon's inheritance of the group's leadership.

The second half had incredible scenes, fighting or otherwise, but we already KNEW the characters. The villain was harder to sympathize with, too, since the viewer had to take his stance in terms of ideology rather than rote survival (the Spiral King wanted to protect Earth if it meant subjugation). Regarding pre-timeskip, that scene where they first pop out of the caves and just stare at the beauty of what would otherwise be a wasteland was just fantastic. Of course it was setting up more plot later on down the line, but for what it is, it serves as a really solid self-contained story.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I actually never thought about it until now. I loved the way things were done in the first half for sure. I liked the feeling of it being a trek towards one goal: To stop the Spiral King. It felt epic. I enjoyed almost every bit of it. And contrary to what everyone else said, I didn't mind the people rising up and blaming Simon. Simon was the one who lead team Dai Gurren to victory. He was the one that paved the future after Kamina died. So, when the entirety of Earth's population is gonna be wiped out now, thanks to Simon taking charge and leading them to the future... I can get why they'd be kinda pissed. It was easy to blame the Beastmen for killing people, but now you had someone who brought ALL of this forward... Only to have it threatened later.

I think it worked, anyway. And the final scenes were just amazing. Hell, I still re-watch the last few minutes of the final battle when I feel like it. The point where Simon says "Not yet... We're not done!" and things go from there (Trying to keep it simple to not waste time with spoiler tags. Yay laziness!). Just... wow. It makes me shake, I'm not even kidding. Sooooooooooo yeah, second half gets my vote.

Also: My avatar. Gurren Lagann based. Yeah, it's somehow only my second fave show. Love it anyways <3

 

[Nouw]

The pre-time skip is a better self-contained story so I'll have to go with that. I was a bit annoyed too that Nia wasn't present for most of the time skip because I really liked her character.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Everyone should watch this AMV, it's really well done!

 

[SaberXIII]

As obvious as it is I feel this needs to be said first: it really depends on what type of show you're looking for, as the halfway mark brings about a drastic shift. The first half is a tale of oppression, rebellion and a quest for fundamental social justice focusing on a heart-warming conclusion of victory; the second half, on the other hand, whilst focusing far more of epic proportions and intense spectacle is simultaneously much more ambiguous, introducing the fickle nature of peace-time politics followed by a desperate but adrenaline pumping lash-out for survival. A lot of people have mentioned the show's epic nature, but again each half is epic for different reasons. Whilst the second half is more overt with its focus on the scale and spirit, the first is much more subtle in its depiction of a journey, both literal and metaphorical. TTGL is my favourite anime, but I prefer the first half for a number of reasons: I find it much more relaxed - even during THOSE heart wrenching episodes - it has my favourite Gunmen, I adore the battle for Teppelin and I love the parallel stories of Simon's growth and Viral's failure. Having said that, if I feel like watching something totally kickass, I sometimes just skip through and watch all of the fights in the second half, because even though they're significant I, like a number of others, struggle to watch the political episodes / Yoko's side story repeatedly. Regardless, the entire series gives me this indescribable buzz, and sometimes when I think about my favourite moments I get chills running up my spine. I'd definitely recommend the whole show to any anime fans.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Pre by a landslide, dunno, just sorta turned off by the post stuff, granted together is all smashing. Don't know why I'm not that into post timeskip, something about that just doesn't sit right with me, big-wham-whoosh fight scenes and all.

 

[MHR]

I prefer it when things aren't a huge mess of complicated things and gigantic proportions, so I like the simpler pre-skip. You meet the characters and they're on an unprecedented journey to escape, survive, and find out what the hell's going on. Post time-skip has great action scenes, but some ridiculous themes and plot points I think.

 

[FPLOON]

I've never really thought about it too much... I love the overall pacing of the pre-timeskip the same way I loved the overall action of the post-timeskip... Sure, the pre-timeskip sometimes felt like filler and the beginning of the post-timeskip, upon first viewing at the time, made me wished there was some kind of subtle title change (in the form of a subtitle after Gurren Lagann) just to make the timeskip a bit more bearable at first[footnote]I did get into a "little" argument about the post-timeskip in general, which did stern from my dislike of a lack of some indication of the timeskip via a subtitle addition to the main title... Not one of my greater moments in anime viewing history, mind you... [/footnote], but for the most part I like them both on a pretty equal level overall...

With that said, if I was forced to choose one over the other [hopefully not by the anti-spiral], I would choose the pre-timeskip on just setup, alone... Plus, unlike the post-timeskip, you can watch that from start to finish and not feel like the ending was inconclusive in the long run... (I think...)

I just realized that I'm going to re-watching this series... (Thanks Toonami!)