“We evolve, beyond the person that we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance with each turn. That's how a drill works!” - Simon
Gurren Lagann is an action, adventure, comedy, mecha, and sci-fi anime originally released in April 2007 by Gainax with 27 episodes. The series also has three movies and four specials.
General Rating: 8.7/10
My Rating: 10/10
MY DRILL IS THE DRILL THAT WILL REACH THE HEAVENS! Welcome to one of the greatest mecha animes of all time that begins... underground? Yes, Simon and Kamina were born and raised in a deep, underground village, where the surface is only a fable. Simon is a timid young boy who enjoys excavating the earth in the tunnels near his home, where he one day discovers a mysterious object that turns out to be a key to a mysterious artifact of war. Kamina is a free spirit and believes in finding the world above. With their new discovery, the pair bursts through the heavens, and meets Yoko, a hot-blooded girl wielding a massive gun, and discovers what the underground world had hid them all from so long. The trio bravely fights new enemies alongside other survivors to reclaim the surface, while also unraveling a galaxy-sized mystery.
In the second half of the anime, the characters experience a time skip, where Simon and his friends have all grown up - and facing new challenges. Each half of the anime has its own focus, but towards the same goal. The anime really thrives on its sense of the unknown, so I really do not want to add much spoilers of what happens in the plot. There are plenty of new characters being introduced, amazing and colorful fight sequences, and even a bit of romance. Gurren Lagann seems to have it all, even betrayals and politics (but the interesting ones!) Heck, Gurren Lagann even gave us a beach episode? Sometimes it made me laugh, but was in no way slow or filled with useless filler material. This is no Eureka Seven. Gurren Lagann is an amazing adventure anime about growing up, and many other important things, especially for boys.
Although Gurren Lagann is "just another mecha anime," it is far from that. I have yet to see a drill being used as an extraordinary weapon as it was implemented in GL. Simon is an excellent protagonist, quite similar to the timeline progression of a Naruto type character. However in addition, I believe it is worth mentioning that Gurren Lagann does not give its main characters a lot of plot armor. In case you are not familiar with that term, it basically means just being a main character will not save them from death, or another horrible circumstance. Unless it is in the form of a parody (Saitama, One Punch Man) I am not a fan of plot armor and that it is cliche. So I was thankful not to find any of that from GL.
Gurren Lagann art has got a unique, flashy, and shounen like style which is fun, energetic, and upbeat. It also introduces the ever-famous Kamina glasses that are iconic to this anime. I am the biggest fan of 2000s style animation and art, especially for shounns, so I really enjoyed the art and animation I got with Gurren Lagann. The galactic battles were very colorful and well done. GL also has one heck of a powerful soundtrack. The first introduction I had to this anime was one of my favorite GL soundtracks playing through autoplay on youtube, and then hearing young Simon shout "MY DRILL IS THE DRILL THAT WILL BURST THE HEAVENS!" It sent chills down my spine. And it was at that moment I knew, I had to see this anime.
And Gurren Lagann did not disappoint. I can not think of anything this anime could have done to be any better than it was, a true 10/10 masterpiece. (Maybe a bit more romance, but I can't really complain since it wasn't a romance anime).
Gurren Lagann received has received many awards for its outstanding excellence as a series. The first of these was the Excellence Prize at the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival. Also in 2007, the director of GL. Hiroyuki Imaishi, also received an individual award for "Personal Best" at the 12th Animation Kobe Festival for his work on the series. During the 7th annual Tokyo Anime Awards (2008) at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, Gurren Lagann won the "Best Television Production" and "Best Character Design" award.
This anime is one that can not be missed. Fans of animes like Code Geass, Hunter x Hunter, Attack on Titan, Hero Academia, or FLCL will definitely love this anime and should give it a watch!
ROH! ROH! FIGHT DE POWER!
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