Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann [Review]

Series: Gurren Lagann (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

Writer: Kazuki Nakashima

Manga Publishing Company: Bandai Entertainment

Animation Company: Aniplex

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy-Drama/Mecha

All the animes I’ve been reviewing on The Otaku World page seems to be more action genre series than anything else. But as stated in my last blog, I don’t think having to explain myself to why is really fully necessary. But those that haven’t seen my last blog, let’s put it as simple as one-two-three: I’m more action packed girl when it comes to anime and manga series. And just like those action packed series, this one is no different.

In America, viewers know this series well as Gurren Lagann, whereas the full title of it is known as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. From Japanese, “Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann” literally translates to “Pierce Through the Heavens Gurren Lagann”, and for a very good reason as well. This series has two main arcs and separated by a seven (7) years time skip, and that time skip, in the anime, is obviously separated by one episode, where the viewers are given an entire episode of flashbacks and events that have taken so far up until that point so that even those that jump in from that point for not wanting to watch the first arc will just get the basic filler on what have happened up until that point in the series.

In the first arc, it revolves around two main characters, Simon and Kamina, whom are like brothers to one another – Simon being the younger and Kamina being the older. Simon being young and having lost his parents, Kamina tries to be a good big brother to him by looking out for and after Simon by trying to bring joy and laughter into the young child’s life, but having to live underground in a village called the Jeeha (or Jiha as some people would spell it) Village, it’s not easy. Especially when there are occasional quakes that tends to take a few lives from the village. However, when Simon finds what appears to be a small drill as he’s digging tunnels with few others, Kamina sees it in the young boy’s hand and believes that Simon will be able to “pierce through the heavens”. When an attack comes, the village meets a red headed girl by the name of Yoko, who is from another underground village called the Littner Village, but that very village which Yoko comes from lives aboveground, on the solid ground like we would in our today’s society. And to the Jeeha/Jiha Village, that’s completely ludicrous. Their thought process? How can anyone live on the grounds above, where sunlight and the night time skies are available along with fresh air, where they are bound for an actual attack from the mechas that roam around along with wild animals? After all, they were given orders and instructions that they are not to come out from undergrounds.

Because of Yoko’s coming to the village to help save the people when a mecha attacks, Simon and Kamina sees this as a chance to get out. Simon, being as young as he is and not wanting to lose the one person that he feels like his only remaining family member, leaves the village willingly with Kamina when the older blue haired male decides to take leave from their village to join Yoko at the Littner Village. From there, they meet a whole group of people that they come to draw close to, such as Leeron, who is also from the Littner Village and real tech savvy, and the two Jeeha/Jiha Village “brothers” begin their travels with Yoko and Leeron.

During their travels, they encounter various obstacles to get to where they want to go with this world, but through the entire travels, not all are able to see what is to actually become of the world that they live in. And all at the same time, when it comes to one of the characters, I won’t say which for not wanting to spoil the entire thing, he or she can also be known to have the Angel of Death’s Kiss for anyone he or she manages to fall in love with and kisses on the lips in that loving/romantic manner, that other said person dies. And this Angel of Death’s Kiss occasion happens on more than one occasion.

Even though this is supposed to be action packed series, it’s also a comedy to certain degree. Kamina can defiantly be considered to be one of those comic relief characters, but this becomes even truer when another male character named Kittan comes into play. Because of how the two males butt heads with one another, the comedy duo explodes greatly into even a greater comedy than, truth be told, what I personally have expected.

Even though this is geared more towards guys with its action type of genre, because of the few shoujos (romances) that happens throughout the series here and there, it can also be safe to say that girls may like the series as well. But it does all have to do with each person’s taste to what they like and what they don’t like, so this series like any other is all based on, hypothetically speaking, a person’s cup of tea.

Because of this having to be one of those action packed series, I’ll be doing two Throw Back Thursday (TBT) blogs this Thursday – One for TriGun (as stated in my previous blog) and one for this series. However, there WILL be a difference between the two.

So far, if you’ve been following my blog and seen all my posts, you guys will have noticed for majority of the videos that I edited myself, they were all Anime Music Videos (AMV’s). For the TBT of TriGun, it’ll be an AMV as well. However, with Gurren Lagann, it’ll be a completely different case. If you go to my YouTube channel, you WILL notice that several years back, I have done AMV’s for this series. But for my TBT with this series this upcoming Thursday, it won’t be an AMV but another special treat that people tend to do a lot with anime series. One of the two that they do is known as Cosplay Music Video (CMV), and the other is movie trailer remakes using animes. Want to know which of the two I will be doing for Gurren Lagann this Thursday? Stay tuned!

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