Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

[superplough]

...That was a joke. Nobuyuki Hiyama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuyuki_Hiyama) plays both Viral and Shishio Gai (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwLg4tYvg0k&fmt=18). Viral also sounds a lot like Gai (As others have already noticed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvceTO3scI&feature=related)). I combined their names Gai + Viral to make a joke.

Dont worry, when talking to people on this forum it's best to be subtle as a brick wall

[Arnold]

Just watched the last four episodes.

"Holy Crap" sums it up nicely, as that's what I was saying to myself repeatedly throughout:

1) Goddamn it, Kittan's dead

2) They're using the energy of the BIG BANG as a weapon and throwing galaxies at each other. (Gotta wonder who would win in a fight between Tengenn Toppa Gurren Lagann and Goku).

Seriously, people throw around the word "epic" a lot these days, but that final battle truly earned it. That was insane.

Gotta love the epilogue too

[ryushe]

You thought I was joking about the universe thing, didn't you? =P

[Leader Desslock]

I'm just about to watch the last two discs.

Wow. I had low expectations for the show, but it pretty much kicks ***, takes names, and remembers to send birthday cards afterwards. It's kinda like "the show that mecha fans who were sick of Shinji whining would have written, in order to one-up Ideon", from what I can see.

There's a screenshot that I remembered way back when - a mecha standing alone with a sky full of enemy mecha and something really ginormous in the background. Silly me, I thought it was a shot from the final series confrontation. Nope, turns out that it was probably the battle of Teppelin. Christ, that was big. There's really nothing small about the show at all. I get the idea that if they'd dedicated an episode to Kamina taking a dump, it somehow would have been the biggest dump in the history of humanity, as sung about by bards for generations to come.

Lots of memorable scenes so far, but my favorite would be Yoko's flashback, triggered when everyone's in the brig, but she sees Simon digging through the prison wall one millimeter at a time with his Core Drill. That's when she remembers Kamina talking to her about Simon in the moonlight, telling her that Simon's the one who always saves his ***, and the anecdote of how his perseverance is what allowed him to continue to act brave when all hope was lost, etc. That's a very nicely done bit of character development for both Simon and Kamina, and I was quite impressed. Yoko's response was, "So that's what he meant."

That was a good scene. I'm looking forward to finishing the series quite soon.

EDIT: See?! And you people thought I hated mecha! It's not true at all. I just hate all things Gundam.

[Soluzar]

Everything people say about how good this series is just makes me think that you people need to watch more good super robot anime. I don't deny that TTGL may be good, but everything that you're saying gives it the "wow factor", I'm thinking "Yeah, I remember the first anime I saw that kind of scene in."

To clarify, I'm not saying that I don't believe Gurren-Lagann is good; I'm not even saying that I believe other series are better. I'm just saying that there's plenty more where this came from, with the same kind of qualities that you apparently find so appealing.

[KT Kore]

Really, the main attraction in Gurren Lagann for me was the over-the-top insane action and some of the more ridiculous concepts toward the very end (the stuff that didn't make a lick of sense but you didn't care because people were throwing galaxies around). Not even in Gunbuster, Diebuster, GaoGaiGar or Ideon have I seen anything quite as crazy.

While I certainly don't think the show is some masterpiece like most others, I believe the insane factor is the main thing that people find so appealing. If the show had the same characters and story, but everything was toned down to "normal" standards, then it'd just be another mecha anime. It was full of cliches in the fact that it was a parody. But the grand scale of everything makes even non-mecha fans take notice. Sure it's shallow, but the series is fun.

[Leader Desslock]

Sure it's shallow, but the series is fun.
And that's my opinion as well. I know it's not a great series in the critical sense, but it's just ridiculous enough to be a fun watch. The characters are all pretty likeable.

And for people who really believe in their mecha having giant drills (didn't Lucky Star have fun with that in the end segments?) then TTGL is THE definitive Giant Drill Mecha series. Seriously.

[ryushe]

Everything people say about how good this series is just makes me think that you people need to watch more good super robot anime.Give me a Super Robot Anime where Galaxy's (emphasis on the "S") gets thrown and I'll buy the complete series right now! :P

[Soluzar]

Give me a Super Robot Anime where Galaxy's (emphasis on the "S") gets thrown and I'll buy the complete series right now! :P
How do you throw a galaxy exactly? I mean, I keep putting off watching this series so I have no idea. Unless... the Gurren Lagann somehow gets to be bigger than a galaxy, which I don't exactly doubt based on the way the series sounds...

Even so... obviously you won't get anything exactly the same, but you wouldn't want that. You'll get things on a similar scale of awesomeness though, in almost any good super robot anime. Picking up large objects and throwing them/using them as weapons/moving them out of danger is pretty standard fare. It's just that Gurren-Lagann went to the next level in terms of physical scale from the sounds of things.

If only there were ever a decent anime based on the later chapters of Getter Robo I could at least recommend that since the Getter Emperor I seem to recall is also freakishly huge. If not the size of a galaxy, then the size of a few star systems...

[KT Kore]

How do you throw a galaxy exactly? I mean, I keep putting off watching this series so I have no idea. Unless... the Gurren Lagann somehow gets to be bigger than a galaxy, which I don't exactly doubt based on the way the series sounds...

They were bigger than 15 galaxies. By the end the mecha were so huge that they were tossing galaxies around at each other like small shuriken. :lol:

[Soluzar]

They were bigger than 15 galaxies. By the end the mecha were so huge that they were tossing galaxies around at each other like small shuriken. :lol:
Uhuh. Why am I not surprised. -_-;

I don't know if I'll ever watch this series... it's far more fun being the one guy who doesn't buy into the cult. Since it seems like you can't possibly watch it without loving it... :P

[KT Kore]

I like the show, not sure if I love it. It seems most people seem to hold it in the highest regard and say how it ruined how they watch anime because nothing can be better or whatever. I'm far from that, but I do like it a lot. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. To what extent? Well, you won't know until you try it out. :P

[old hat]

It was a fun show but it wasn't that damn good.

Nothing is that damn good.

[ryushe]

Uhuh. Why am I not surprised. -_-;

I don't know if I'll ever watch this series... it's far more fun being the one guy who doesn't buy into the cult. Since it seems like you can't possibly watch it without loving it... :PNah, that won't work. You should be the guy that watches it and absolutly hates it, but seeing how that wont happen, I can't wait for the day when you do watch it so I can archive all your post about TTGL and see the evolution from the Soluzar that didn't watch GL to the new and more improved Soluzar during and after he watches GL :lol:


It seems most people seem to hold it in the highest regard and say how it ruined how they watch anime because nothing can be better or whatever.What it ruined for me was that it made me relalize how much time and episodes a lot of anime series waste. Look at what happens in the 27 episodes of Gurren Lagann. Most anime (that I've seen) of the same length just waste to much time for absolutly nothing. Every episode in TTGL (even episode 4 and 6) too me always had that old idiom "Live today as if you'll die tommorow" feel to it. So whenever I watch a anime now and it's not using it's time constructivly, it honestly irks me, and I can thank that all to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. :)

[Arnold]

To clarify, I'm not saying that I don't believe Gurren-Lagann is good; I'm not even saying that I believe other series are better. I'm just saying that there's plenty more where this came from, with the same kind of qualities that you apparently find so appealing.

I'm wondering how you could make this judgment without ever having seen the series for yourself.

[Soluzar]

I'm wondering how you could make this judgment without ever having seen the series for yourself.
I can't make an accurate judgement, but based on a lot of the things people talk about, I can form a certain picture of what they find appealing about the series.

[Leader Desslock]

They were bigger than 15 galaxies. By the end the mecha were so huge that they were tossing galaxies around at each other like small shuriken. :lol:
I just finished the series. There was a part of me that thought you were joking about the whole galaxy thing, but no, the series really does go that far over the top.

Granted, they were in an alternate dimension in which thoughts were tangibly realized, so the galaxies being tossed were probably metaphoric, but still... Gurren Lagann's final form is more than big enough to beat up Unicron and take his lunch money.

When they found Lordgenome's old flagship, I imagined the Anti-Spirals saying, "That's no moon... that's a... OH SHI----



Soluzar - this is a series you'll like, one of these days when you're in the mood to watch it. Whenever that day comes, you should do a "Soluzar Takes The Plunge" thread like my Zeta Gundam thread. I want to read your reactions to the series as it transpires.

[DavenIII]

I'm just about to watch the last two discs.

Wow. I had low expectations for the show, but it pretty much kicks ***, takes names

WTF how, you read these forums didn't you see all the hype by us for months? talking about how it is the best series ever whether people wanted to believe it or not??

How did you go in with low expectations.

anyhow I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[DavenIII]

I can't make an accurate judgement, but based on a lot of the things people talk about, I can form a certain picture of what they find appealing about the series.


I don't know, I download like everything, I'm not joking, I don't watch "all" of them but I watch the first episodes of untold amounts of series every year, I've never seen anything quite like Gurren Lagan...it's just different, I know you "Think" it's like other Mecha's or Super Mecha's but its not, the Mecha portion of the show, now matter how over the top it is (and it's very over the top lol) takes a backseat to how awesome the characters are and beyond that the characters take a backseat to how awesome the "story" is...it's impossible to describe you have to watch it.

it's an experience.

[Soluzar]

I know you "think" it's like other Mecha's or Super Mecha's but its not, the Mecha portion of the show, now matter how over the top it is (and it's very over the top lol) takes a backseat to how awesome the characters are...it's impossible to describe you have to watch it soul.
Ehh. Well... I'm coming to the end of an arc in One Piece. Maybe the time has come. Hey, Desslock, how about we make a deal? I'll start Gurren-Lagann if you continue Zeta Gundam? :P

If not that, then how about a different series from the Gundaball that you haven't completed watching yet? There are many to choose from. I choose the term 'completed watching' since I suspect you've seen an odd episode or two of many series...

[Leader Desslock]

WTF how, you read these forums didn't you see all the hype by us for months? talking about how it is the best series ever whether people wanted to believe it or not??
Pretty easy for me to dismiss, since this is the same forum that gives high praise to Last Exile. Many of the same people singing praises for TTGL are the ones that thought I should give Zeta Gundam a try.

There are maybe a half dozen people on AN whose opinions I trust; the rest - not so much.

How did you go in with low expectations.
Best way to watch a series, in my opinion.

[DavenIII]

There are maybe a half dozen people on AN whose opinions I trust; the rest - not so much.

I completely understand that opinion, but the Gurren Lagan hype wasn't normal hype, because of how crazed and how wide spread it was I figured everyone who eventually watched it would be expecting something great (which as you now know wouldn't be a problem because it's greater then whatever you would have expected anyhow lol)

Best way to watch a series, in my opinion.

the problem with that for me is, if I go in with low expectations and the first episode or two doesn't catch me I might give up on it, the first episode of TTGL isn't "That" great, it's good but it doesn't really get moving till a few episodes in...it's like a boulder rolling downhill....

[Leader Desslock]

I so didn't see this when I posted this morning....

Hey, Desslock, how about we make a deal? I'll start Gurren-Lagann if you continue Zeta Gundam? :P
Oooo.... a challenge? And coming from a worthy adversary, no less?

I can't very well ignore that. That's just not the way Team Gurren Lagann rolls, after all. :P

The ideal series to do this with (on my side) would have been Death Note. It was similarly overhyped, and it was something I didn't expect to enjoy at all. I watched it back in August, and as it turns out, I really enjoyed it. That would have been exactly comparable to what I expect you to experience, now that I look back. I really should've done a "takes the plunge" thread on that, but I didn't.

A few weeks back, I contemplated running a poll so that people could pick the next series I'd watch while writing a running commentary. I had thought of a few titles like Rahxephon or Eureka Seven. But you want to go Zeta? Fine. You're on. That's a series for which I have fairly low expectations, just like your expectations of TTGL.

The remainder of Zeta Gundam has just been added to the top of my rental queue. You can expect a "Desslock Continues The Plunge" thread as soon as I receive the next disc. I've seen through Episode 19. I'll give you another 26 episodes - just what you'll be spending on TTGL.

If not that, then how about a different series from the Gundaball that you haven't completed watching yet?
Nah, the only one anyone expects me to like is Turn A Gundam, I think.

[Bradster]

It was decent enough for me to watch again someday. I'm not generally a fan of mecha or hot-blooded anime, and I'm glad it was missing the standard male tenor singing about "Protecting the Blue Earth with my Mighty Iron Fists of Justice" during said hot-blooded scenes. (And I have to admit to being quite fond of '"Libera Me" From Hell', as I'd never heard opera and rap hybridized before, IIRC)

I noticed that Gainaxreused the theme which has the antagonists of the first half end up actually doing it because they were indirectly protecting Mankind from the antagonists of the 2nd half, which they used in Gunbuster 1 & 2. Still, Kamina's cooler than Smith or Onee-sama, and the TTGL better than the Black Hole Bomb.



Granted, they were in an alternate dimension in which thoughts were tangibly realized, so the galaxies being tossed were probably metaphoric, but still... Gurren Lagann's final form is more than big enough to beat up Unicron and take his lunch money.
If you're not already aware of this amusing little video that's been mentioned here before, search YouTube with Gurren Lagann size comparison. I lol'd, then was awed at how big those stars at the end are.

[ryushe]

Watched the final few episodes again because of this thread, and the a lot of the moments, especially the final fight, still gives me goosebumps.
Notably the part when Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was created out of the abyss of the universe.

Everything is still perfect. The BGM, stunning. The voice work, amazing (subbed) and the animation, brilliant. Everything is still top notch.

My only gripe with the whole show is maybe still the ending. I understand why it had to happen like that, but it still sucks...

[DavenIII]

Kittan's scene is still my FAVORITE scene in all anime, from when he's talking to the kids to the yoko kiss to the...well you know...it's just amazing.

and of course there is no more awesome theme music then this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY06IgyN_RM&feature=related

The first giga drill breaker was pretty awesome too lol.

I'm gonna have to watch this series again, I've watched the whole thing 3 times through now lol...time for number 4.

[Soluzar]

You want to go Zeta? Fine. You're on. That's a series for which I have fairly low expectations, just like your expectations of TTGL.
True... and it will no doubt be fun to see if the climax and denoument of the story manage to exceed those expectations. I maintain that Zeta Gundam has a great story struggling to get out from under the weight of some bloody awful writing.

The pacing is all wrong, the introduction of characters and situations is all wrong, and it could be used as the basis of a class in how not to present necessary information to the audience in order that they might (or might not in this case) understand the events which are to follow, but once you reach a certain point, at least the worst of that is behind you and the situation thus far (poorly) established can resolve with a suitable dramatic flair.

The remainder of Zeta Gundam has just been added to the top of my rental queue. You can expect a "Desslock Continues The Plunge" thread as soon as I receive the next disc. I've seen through Episode 19. I'll give you another 26 episodes - just what you'll be spending on TTGL.
I just finished a One Piece story arc and I have four more episodes of a series I impulsively started watching last night, and then I shall commence watching Gurren-Lagann. I have to admit, my curiosity is piqued. I wouldn't watch it purely to satisfy those who believe I should, but at the same time, I can't ever understand what makes this series so popular without watching it. Whether I like it or not, at least I'll know all about it by the time I've watched it.

I'm not sure if I should make my own thread or post in this thread. Either way, I'll try to have something interesting to say! Don't count on me for amusing nicknames though, I dare say my style will be rather different from yours. We shall see...

[Gray_Knight]

I have to say Gurren Lagann is the most homoerotic thing I have ever seen in the mecha genre

The scenes between Char Aznable and Garma Zabi from the original is a close second.

My rating: AWESOME!

Seriously, Gurren Lagann is a fun show

[KatayokuのTenshi]

I have to say Gurren Lagann is the most homoerotic thing I have ever seen in the mecha genre

Legend of the Blue Wolves.

I don't remember any homoeroticism in TTGL. Well there was Leeron but there's nothing erotic about him.

[Sharp-kun]

How many people are using the same avatar I used 7 years ago now? o_o