Gurren Lagann – Closing thoughts

26Jun/0815

Gurren Lagann – Closing thoughts

Simon is GAR. Not because he can summon all those ridiculous amount of Spiral power almost instantaneously by willpower alone but he was man enough to live with a choice that I wouldn't have the testicular fortitude to make.

Frankly, the first 'GAR' shouldn't be unfamiliar to the Singaporean who've gone through the army or military folks. From the final 600 meters of the Standard obstacle course (SOC) to that final assault up that knoll-objective, I remember how many hot-blooded 19 yr olds give their all and more. The pain, while magnified by fatigue, was numbed by an intoxicating spirit (being intoxicated helps too) to see the end of the exercise. There was no magical manifestations of giant drills to obliterate our ~~instructors~~ our enemies. Even after overcoming our challenges with sweat, pain and sometime blood, there was the still unglamourous trek down the hill and back to the logistic nightmare that is the aftermath of every training. No, Dai Gurren Dan's bursts of GAR doesn't impress. In fact, I think it's kind of irresponsible that they propagate the idea that anything is achievable with a spurt of burning passion when really the key to most successes is enduring persistence (I admire their audacity to challenge the impossible though.) But respect I have for Simon and he's the ONLY character I would ascribe GAR to.

Simon embodies the True Gar as described in my previous post, although this was manifested only in the final episode when we realised the terrible, terrible loss he's incurred for the sake of mankind. The choice to do the right thing while sacrificing self or love ones is the kind of GAR I seldom see in RL. Surprisingly, the next GAR-est character would have been Rossiu if only he hadn't attempted to kill himself. Living with the consequence of your choices is an aspect of GARness. Rossiu was admirable in that he managed some sound decisions in impossible circumstances even though he still lacked sensibilities that needs to be balanced by the good use of both the heart and head.

GAR aside, TTGL is surely Gainax at its finest. I love the pace (although the speed did nerf the emotional impact of most deaths) and the dialogue (would be repeating some of these gems to my descendents, if any). This has also got to be the MOST EPIC series I've seen, at least in terms of scope. Okay, it's got way over the top towards the end with hurling planets and frisbee-ing galaxies. Still the tale of TTGL goes beyond GRAND. On the lighter side of things, I was derailed by Darry myself. Man, anime girls all grow up fabulous don't they? I suppose it'd be appropriate now to list my 5 reasons for watching TTGL (character version).

Reason #5 - Rossiu: The Anti-Spiral arc really filled out his character and made the show even more interesting to pursue.

Reason #4 - Darry: We need more lolicious pink hair mecha pilots!

Reason #3 - Simon: While he didn't have the showmanship of Kamina, he's definitely surpassed his Aniki in GAR, I'd say even before ep 8.

Reason #2 - Nia: She remained much loved even after she lost her lolicious form.

Reason #1 - Yoko: Sensei! One who has her priorities right. And yes, that body has to be testament to the power of evolution (spiral energy).

Overall, a great ride. Not Mai-HiME great but earned a very respectable 9 on myanimelist grading. Wouldn't be getting the DVDs though.

Posted by Stripey

Filed under: Series Review Leave a comment

Comments (15) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

double
June 26th, 2008 - 09:27

Where’s Kamina? I thought that he might make it to at least top 3.

( REPLY )
Exec
June 26th, 2008 - 10:40

Viral > Kamina ;P

Wouldn

( REPLY )
blissmo
June 26th, 2008 - 15:17

LOL, I’m STILL not passed episode 01.

( REPLY )
crimson
June 26th, 2008 - 18:25

Each “universe” has their own equation.
GAR not only works well for the TTGL universe, it’s essential becos they have miracle technology or something equivalent to the xenogears is fueled by it

( REPLY )
Myssa Rei
June 26th, 2008 - 18:30

I have to ask though, Stripey, have you seen the recent Gurren Lagann Parallel Works AMVs? Although they’re more or less promotional material building up to the first GL movie, the first iteration was pretty good. Really can’t beat Raw, raw, Fight the Powah~ for a beat.

( REPLY )
Deathy
June 27th, 2008 - 07:10

My only problem with Yoko is her space outfit, the moment I saw that I got pissed, her regular outfit is a lot better. Not to mention she has the worst luck in the galaxy. Kiss = Death. Good thing Simon found Nia.

( REPLY )
crimson
June 27th, 2008 - 08:09

oh yeah, sidetrack, one other pink hair rulz would be Arche from Tales of Phantasia, my favourite witch
http://www.dejap.com/graph/top-arche_psx.gif
http://www.tmpanime.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1841
hearts~~

( REPLY )
Mac (Kyuusai)
June 27th, 2008 - 09:35

Actually, I think that enduring persistence is one of the more important messages of the show. While the first arc was certainly solved with “spurts”, I always saw the message of the second arc as being persistence in the face of constant setbacks. There were no *real* victories in the second arc until the very end, and that was only seen by refusing to give up… over and over and over again. Sure, we didn’t see them invest years of training, but there’s only so much one can show in a short series.

As some one who loved Mai HiME, I’m appalled to see it compared to GL. One was a fun, engrossing, but ultimately unimportant fanservice show. Another was epic.

( REPLY )
Stripey
June 28th, 2008 - 20:04

double: Maybe if he had stuck around longer. I see he has great potential to be a more likeable character… during his more contemplative times at least.

Exec: The battle hymn track really struck me. Will consider the sound box. thx for the highlight

blissmo: Take your time. Try to catch the last 10 ep when you free though. It’s a wild ride

Myssa Rei: Haven’t seen but will seek it out and devour it Thanks for the highlight!

Deathy: LOL! Fortunately she didn’t go for Simon as I had secretly hoped. Yeah I preferred her former outfit too.

crimson: speaking of which, have i done a fav pink hair char post?

Mac (Kyuusai): heh, I’d have to agree the comparison with Mai HiME isn’t quite apt except that both were great series. But I’d have to disagree that MH was unimportant and fanservicey. It had themes rooted in choosing between love and life in impossible circumstances. In terms of the series composition, MH is superior to TTGL for me. It helps that MH had a LOT more emotional impact. The supposedly poignant parts in TTGL had too little dwell time for them to be felt at all

( REPLY )
holyman282
June 30th, 2008 - 12:50

From all of the gainax series i’ve watched I’ve realised something. From Evangelion, Mahoromatic, this ugly yet beautiful world and now gurren lagen, the ending of these series always has that bittersweet never completely happy ending.

( REPLY )
Myssa Rei
June 30th, 2008 - 17:14

holyman282: You’re forgetting Gunbuster and Diebuster. Yeah, it’s sort of a Gainax trademark, BUT Gurren Lagann’s ending has been one of the studio’s relatively BRIGHTER denouments.

( REPLY )
muhootsaver
July 8th, 2008 - 14:45

Hey, Stripey, I deleted my old blog today. Would you change the link to the new one? http://muhootsaver.tistory.com

( REPLY )
Stripey
July 11th, 2008 - 20:21

Changed! Sorry for not doing so earlier! XD

( REPLY )
Vexx
July 14th, 2008 - 00:40

Not dead… just busy summer and not much too say …. TTGL will probably remain one of the only ‘mecha-gar-whatever” series I care for.

( REPLY )
Stripey
July 17th, 2008 - 10:50

Heh TTGL has its moments and is certainly worth a peek. It’s old school yet refreshing. Often over the top yet captivating. Maybe balancing out all these was the genius of the series

( REPLY )