Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

***Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann***is a 2007 actoin, adventure, drama, comedy, romance, romantic comedy, mecha,

   science fiction, post-apocalyptic Japanese Anime series in the Science Fantasy, Mecha by Studio Gainax.

## Plot

*Gurren Lagann* takes place in a future where Earth is ruled by the Spiral King, Lordgenome, who forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages. These villages have no contact with the surface world or other villages and are under constant threat of earthquakes. Selected villagers called diggers are conscripted to expand their homes deeper underground. Simon, a meek young digger ostracized by his peers, finds solace in his best friend and older brother figure, an eccentric delinquent named Kamina. Kamina encourages Simon to join his gang, Team Gurren, to help him achieve his dream of visiting the surface world. One day, Simon unearths a drill-shaped key called a Core Drill, followed by a small mecha resembling a face called a Gunmen.[11][12] Shortly thereafter, a huge Gunmen crashes through the ceiling and begins attacking the village, followed by a girl named Yoko, who attempts to repel the Gunmen. Simon uses his Core Drill to activate the smaller Gunmen (which Kamina names Lagann), and it is used to destroy the larger Gunmen and break through to the surface world.

Simon and Kamina learn from Yoko that humans on the surface are attacked each day by Gunmen piloted by beastmen, humanoid creatures who serve as Lordgenome's army. Kamina hijacks a Gunmen and names him Gurren, combining him with Lagann to form the mecha Gurren Lagann. Their actions inspire other humans to steal their own Gunmen and join Team Gurren, which makes Kamina rename it Team Dai-Gurren. Eventually Team Dai-Gurren captures an enemy Gunmen fortress to use as their base of operations, though Kamina is killed in the preceding battle by one of Lordgenome's four generals. Rossiu, a boy from another village, takes over the job of piloting Gurren, but Kamina's death causes Simon to sink into depression until he meets Nia, Lordgenome's daughter. Team Dai-Gurren is initially distrustful of her but allows her to join when it becomes apparent that she was abandoned by her father, like many who came before her. Nia helps Simon come to terms with Kamina's death, and the rest of Team Dai-Gurren prompt him to take up the role as the team's leader, leading them and other humans, who captured other Gunmen and Gunmen fortresses, to Lordgenome's palace. As the palace itself turns out to be a gigantic Gunmen called the Teppelin and launches armies of other Gunmen, the human forces hold them off while Simon, Nia, and Rossiu pilot Gurren Lagann against Lordgenome, who fights them in a similar Gunmen called Lazengann. When both Gunmen are damaged, he himself fights Simon in Lagann with his bare hands. Lordgenome emerges victorious, until Simon uses his Core Drill to defeat him once and for all.

Over the next seven years, mankind prospers on the surface world with Simon and the members of Team Dai-Gurren serving as the world's government. As soon as the world's population reaches one million people, an alien race called the Anti-Spirals emerges and uses Nia to announce the Moon's collision with Earth, which will wipe out all life on the planet and prevent them from evolving to such an extent that they will risk destroying the universe in a cataclysmic event called the Spiral Nemesis. With guidance from Lordgenome resurrected as a bio-computer, who was once part of an intergalactic group of warriors who fought the Anti-Spirals and had hidden mankind underground to protect them from the Anti-Spirals, and with help from Viral, an old enemy of Simon who pilots Gurren, Simon, Gurren Lagann and Team Dai-Gurren prevent the Moon's collision, revealing it to be Lordgenome's flagship that was reprogrammed by the Anti-Spirals. Using it, they retrieve the real Moon from the pocket dimension where the Anti-Spirals had hidden it and go to the Anti-Spiral homeworld, where after significant loss, they rescue Nia, and after a battle that spans the universe, Simon in Lagann finally destroys the Anti-Spirals. This, however, causes Nia to fade away and die as her own existence is tied to that of the Anti-Spirals. Simon, finding his life in battle over, hands his Core Drill over to Gimmy and spends the rest of his life wandering the planet as a nameless vagrant.

In the epilogue, twenty years have passed since the team’s victory over the Anti-Spirals. With many of Team Dai-Gurren retired, it is up to the new generations of pilots to prevent the Spiral Nemesis and ensure the safety of the universe. Other races across the galaxy, freed from the Anti-Spirals, contact Earth. President Rossiu of Kamina City joins forces with them and during the twenty years, has created the Galactic Spiral Peace Conference. Yoko, now as Miss Yomako, becomes the principal of the small school she was at during her seven years absence from the team. One of her students, Nakim, becomes a representative of the galaxy in the Grapearl Squadron. Gimmy and Darry use Simon’s Core Drill to become the new pilots of Gurren Lagann. Viral becomes the captain of the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren and an emissary for Earth. Nia’s grave and the wedding ring are placed next to Kamina’s grave. Simon, still living as Simon the Digger, watches over them as the squadron flies overhead through the night sky.

## Why It Rocks

1. While It is influenced by Classic Animes, particularly ones in the Mecha genre such as Gunbuster and Neon Genesis Evangelion, it tries to stand out from the others.
2. Beautiful Animation comparable to a Feature Length film.
3. Fantastic Voice Acting comparable to an AAA Video Game.
4. An excellent execution of balancing Comedy and Drama at the same time.
5. Unlike most Mecha Animes, it uses something unusual, such as the Titular Robot growing from a size of s Tank, into sizes of the Galaxies and the Multiverse.

## Reception

### Western Critical Reception

*Gurren Lagann* received widespread critical acclaim since its release. Anime News Network gave *Gurren Lagann* a full 'A' rating, with reviewer Theron Martin describing it as "one of the liveliest series of the decade" and concluding that "Gainax's paean to boisterous, macho mecha action delivers in triumphant fashion."[36] Anime News Network also gave the dubbed version of the first volume an 'A' rating.[37] IGN gave the series a score of 9.7 out of 10, with reviewer Ramsey Isler describing it as "an inspiring story" and concluding that "overall it succeeds at being a great tale of the indomitable spirit of determined people."[38] Anime World Order also gave the series a positive review, noting that it has become one of the most popular mecha anime on the internet, which reviewer Clarissa Graffeo ascribes to its crossover appeal among various audiences who do not usually watch giant robot anime, by combining aspects from a number of different anime genres, including elements of the Super Robot, Real Robot, Shōnen, Shōjo, Seinen and Josei genres.[39]

THEM Anime Reviews gave the anime a score of 4 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Tim Jones describing it as "Almost five-star material," and stating that it is "chuck full of action, comedy, drama, adventure, and sci-fi elements, managing to even entertain a person who couldn't care less about mecha in the process."[40] UK Anime Network gave the first third of the series a score of 8/10, with reviewer Ross Liversidge noting that from episode 7 onwards, "the show's newfound edge makes it far more gripping," and concludes that it is a "high quality release" and "a fun, punchy series that stands out from the crowd."[41] On the review website Mania.com, reviewer Chris Beveridge gave the first two-thirds of the series a full 'A' grade. He described the first third as "chaotic, magical and engaging,"[42] and then described the second third as captivating "with non-standard storytelling ideas for an anime series" and concluded that it was "fun, exciting, unpredictable and filled with the usual positive messages but done without any serious preaching."[43] Japanator named *Gurren Lagann* the fourth best anime of the 2000s, calling it "a flawless execution of storytelling".[44] WatchMojo.com named *Gurren Lagann* the second best anime of the 2000s[45]and the fifth best anime of all time.[46]

### Awards

The *Gurren Lagann* anime series received an Excellence Prize at the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival.[8] Its director Hiroyuki Imaishi received an individual award for "Personal Best" at the 12th Animation Kobe Festival that same year for his work on the series.[7]

In 2008, during the 7th annual Tokyo Anime Awards held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, *Gurren Lagann* won the "Best Television Production" award. In addition, the "Best Character Design" award was given to the character designer Atsushi Nishigori for his work on the anime.[6]

### Popular Culture

Influences from and references to *Gurren Lagann* can be found in several areas of recent popular culture, ranging from Japanese anime and video games, to American comics and animation, to politics in Europe. During a political debate over whether the British Union Flag should be updated by incorporating the Welsh Dragon, *The Daily Telegraph* newspaper held a contest for readers to submit their designs and have other readers vote for the winning design. On December 11, 2007, a *Gurren Lagann*-based design submitted from Norway won *The Daily Telegraph'*s contest, winning by a wide margin of 55% of the votes.[47][48] *Gurren Lagann* has had an influence on the *Transformers* franchise, with the creators of *Transformers Animated* citing it as an inspiration. The art director and lead character designer Derrick Wyatt stated that, while he "hadn't seen *Gurren Lagann* until after" they "had finished most of the first season of *TFA*," he confirmed that the creators have "definitely been inspired" by it ever since, particularly during the second and third seasons of *Transformers Animated*.[49] In *League of Legends*, Rumble's "Super Galaxy Rumble" skin, as well as many of the quotes with the skin, is based on the anime. In South Park Fractured But Whole, one of Stan Marsh's catch phrases is from the anime.