Tengen toppa gurren lagann

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Quite a mouthful. Anyway, I won't go on and on here, but I feel compelled to say something about this show because with its perfect blend of comedy, drama, action, and romance, (with no aspect of either feeling forced just for the sake of having it), it is quite simply one of the best animes ever made. Ask a few anime fans to list some of their favorite shows and you'll start to hear quite a few of the greats being repeated. This show easily stands shoulder to shoulder with any and all of them.

To give a little idea of the overall feel of this show for the anime fans out there. Let's say you hold, "Neon Genesis Evangelion", in one hand and, "FLCL", in the other. Now put your hands together and you've got Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Epic is probably the single best word to describe this show; epic in both scope and scale. From the technical aspects of the truly incredible, fluid and stylish animation; to the story with it's take on humanity, evolution and the potential finish lines to which we're sprinting; to the battles, ranging from underground guerrilla warfare in the early stages and ultimately culminating in a climactic finale of truly galactic proportions. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say it involves literally tossing whole planets like baseballs and even flinging entire galaxies like so many shuriken. Epic.

Nothing is perfect though, it does stumble a bit in the audio department. However, it only falls short in comparison to the rest of itself. That is to say, while the rest of the show is, "excellent", some of the audio aspects are only, "very good". The character designs are also nothing special, but that is easily countered by the spectacular animation and the personalities of the characters themselves.

It's probably not for everyone. Some may be put off by the artistic styling such as the unconventional and often bizarre angles and techniques as well as the hyperkinetic feel of the animation. I, for one, couldn't be more thrilled with all of it. I've seen a lot of anime and quite frankly most of it is mediocre at best. After wading through so many anime lately with virtually interchangeable story lines, art and characters, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is like a breath of fresh air.

Sorry, I guess I did kind of go on and on after all. Anyway...

9.5 out of 10, but since IMDb doesn't allow the .5, I'll have to round it up and give my first ever 10.

After a long time of evaluating I think I've finally admitted to myself, this has become my favorite anime (sorry, Berserk).

On the surface it's a "more power" anime with giant robots, over-the-top action and ridiculous characters. However, the show knows this and plays into it while basically saying to itself, "I'm going to be the best more power anime with giant robots, over-the-top action and ridiculous characters that anyone has ever seen, and make it so epic that no other giant robot show can compete". And for me, it basically is.

If I could only use two words to describe Gurren Lagann, it would be "pure energy". As far as entertainment value is concerned, I don't believe I've felt more entertained by any other anime. Not a single episode was boring filler (well half an episode, which is common in most anime), and along with the theme of the show, each episode is progressively bigger and better than the last. They could have easily made this a 2 season show by breaking it after a certain point, but instead kept it compact and fast-paced.

I think what makes the show special is that it never takes itself too seriously (evident by artwork and animation), but ultimately is quite serious in its message, and very thought provoking by the end. Most philosophical anime tend to bog the viewer down in loads of symbolic jargon, and in the end, often end up confusing or boring the audience. Gurren Lagann has all that symbolism that loves to pop up in anime, but basically stays in the background and plays a secondary role. If you wanted to completely ignore the philosophical undertones in the show you could do it, and it would still be very entertaining.

The story is pretty straight forward, but if you're wanting to dig deeper, I think the spiral concept used throughout the show is the most unique theme that has been done in an anime. The music is memorable and used very well throughout, with the Libera Me From Hell track from the final three episodes still occasionally being chanted by me, years after hearing it the first time. The ending is feel-good and appropriate to the series.

I know this review will probably be seen by only a few of the already converted, but to those who are on the bubble, give the show a shot and there is a good chance it might just become your favorite.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is the pinnacle of anime insanity. No Dragon Ball or super robot show can come close to the ridiculousness of TTGL. It breaks the record, then reaches a million miles further. Its so over-the-top that any anime that would try to beat it would only chase its coat tails.

But what really makes TTGL one of the best is its controlled juuuuust enough for you to take it seriously. It isn't amped to 11 every episode. Its well-paced, and gradually progresses. The characters are very likable, the animation is solid, and the music is great! The best moments of the show are perfectly executed, working on so many levels. Its more than gigantic explosions and drills.

You'd have to be a sworn enemy of fun to hate TTGL. Its awesome, but emotional too. Its easily one of my favorites.

Final note - The movies are mostly rehashes of the TV series. But the final battle...well, let's just say it managed to top itself, somehow. See the second movie's ending for the stunning conclusion to the series, skip the rest.

This show is so very stoic and awesome. The way it plays out reminds of some of the Ancient Greek epics like the Odyssey. The characters are expertly designed as well as the action and visuals. If you're looking to get into anime I recommend you start with this one, it's really a modern classic.

People usually think of Gainax for Evangelion, and its obvious because Evangelion got all the people of my generation into anime (even if they don't want to admit it...) It was a freakin crazy i-don't-understand-nothing kind of anime series i've never seen before... but nowadays, now that we've seen more and learn more, its not thaaat great, except for the fact that everything we saw after Evangelion was heavily influenced by it, even western stuff.

Why do i talk about EVA?, well after all (except for the giant robot part) its nothing nothing at all like Gurren Lagann, its not serious, its not heavy, doesn't keep any information from you, and the main concept of the series (you know, like getting better day by day in Dragon Ball, the search for your own ideals in Samurai x, or the blues in Cowboy Bebop) its completely the opposite. While the main idea in EVA is quite dark and depressive and tries to reach the heart of people through emphathizing with the main character weaknesses, the spiral concept of Gurren Lagann is a call to heroism and faith.

So why do I want to compare this two?, first of all the style Gainax made for EVA is clearly present in Gurren Lagann like in most of their series... And second, because for me this two made the same thing in their current time periods, they reminded us why giant robot are so cool!!!

Yeah, Evangelion is clearly built for the nineties's standards, being secretive and revolutionary in its way of telling the story, its what we wanted in those days, an anime series that we could call a masterpiece in front of people that didn't watched anime at all... but today we don't care anymore, and Gainax know exactly what we want, super attacks, great fights, great fun, a good story without too much unnecessary story weight, and the best relation between all those parts, if you don't know what i mean go check Gurren Lagann out. It didn't get me addicted like Death Note, Code Geass, claymore or the first Fullmetal alchemist, but later i started to realize i love each one of the episodes of Gurren more, i don't really want to repeat all those series but its been two years and i still watch a Lagann episode or the movie now and then.

I love Gurren Lagann, and yeah it has issues, i got bored in one episode (Yoko's episode), but damn its good, even though the second half gets really transformed and sometimes gets you confused you will finally make one big universe in your head for this series... also has the best first episode because it puts in line the main concept trough the chapters of the story getting you all the way to the greatest oh-my-god final episode in anime history, the best.

love it love it love it, highly recommend it!