gurren lagann 8
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Tagged: gurren lagann
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Pantheon-class episode. I can’t think of anything to add.
Great emotional build up…
… and then the payoff.
[spoilers]Not sure what direction the series will take now that one of the greatest characters ever is gone. It’ll be Simon’s show to run for the next 17 episodes… and we’ll see if Gurren Lagann can survive. The best analogy I can think of is the Cavs losing LBJ for the rest of the playoffs. Anyway, R.I.P… and I hope you don’t get Sunrise’d.[/spoilers]
33 Responses to “gurren lagann 8”
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Kamina is a great loss.
Apparently, to make up for this, Gainax is giving us a loli in a box next episode.
I…don’t know what to say.
To spoil the whole series, gainax is famous for making mech shows that pertain largely to the coming of age of a protagonist, as seen in flcl, and eva. That’s exactly what tengen toppa is going to be.
Simon, irrefutably the main character of the show, starts off as a meek, modest, afraid, weak, and distraught youth relying on others for strength. He has his best friend kamina, the polar opposite of himself, who plays the role of his support, and his confidante.
As the story progresses we’re going to see simon change remarkably. Like tbh, I was expecting kamina to die from the start of about episode 3-4 because his sense of pride, justice, and “man can do whatever he sets his mind to” lifestyle would drive the series ahead too quickly. Good anime almost always portrays some growth in the characters, and tengen toppa gurren laggan needed the plot device to push simon forward, a breaking point; kamina, his idol and polar opposite, the kamina we love, is just that.
I can’t wait to see simon come of age and mature as the show progresses. The premise is already set, all that’s left is to sit and enjoy.
Best show I’ve seen in two years.
Jason, is it not possible for you to do one blog post without bringing up the untrue Sunrise Trainwreck thing. It’s really getting old and you know, maybe if it had any truth to it, it might have been funny the first 60 times.
a close inspection of episode 1 could have predicted something similar to this outcome, as the guy’s on that ship are clearly simon and Rossiu along with yoko, so it really wasnt suprising.
side note, kmainaXyoko, how old is kamina? their age differences are similar to simon and darry (pink haired little girl), does Kamina know she’s 14?
Kamina is 17, Yoko is 14 (same age as Simon), and the kids are 7, more or less.
[spoilers alert!]
You got to hand it to Gainax though. Only they have the guts to kill off one of their main character (and a great one at that) so early in the series. Other studio would just content of just let Kamina runs the show until last five episode or so before killing him off.
[spoilers alert off]
What remain to be see is weather the remaining episode would be as entertaining as the early one. Still, what a great ride. If Gainax can make the rest of the series as entertaining as what we have seen, then we’ll have a new classic on our hand. Go, Gainax! :)
I think they just killed him to save some budget. One character less to animate. This way they might at least avoid the final barely-animated manga episode this time. Maybe.
>>Yoko is 14 (same age as Simon)
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. That may be what the script says, but that damn well wasn’t what the animators thought.
An episode for the ages, in almost all respects. You have to give Gainax credit, it takes a lot of balls to build the core personality of a show around one character, and then kill him a third of the way through the run.
As soon as an HD, non-time stamped version of the show pops up, I’m going to cap a few of the screens as background. The scene where Kamina throws on his cape as he walks away from Yoko… That encompasses all that is manliness.
Finally, a salute and a single manly tear shed for the death of the hero of manhood and mankind. It’s the ash from the volcano and the explosions, I swear… *sniff*
anyone else see the parallel with this and Martian Successor Nadesico? i haven’t even seen the whole show, but remember Jason’s post on them killing a certain character in that show. let’s see if the parallel plays out the same…or they pull some cheap Sunrise crap and bring the dead back through some nifty (see sarcasm) plot contrivance.
I’m sure i would have enjoyed this episode, if every f*cking site on the internet wasn’t blaring it’s spoilers at me. Sometimes i wish the whole internet was just a big hoax, faking episode info to keep me suprised when actually watching them.
[Spoilers]
Yeah…unfortunately I saw this coming a few episodes ago, with the climax approaching much too quickly. Heck, there was even clues from the very beginning with the space war intro. I kept hoping that they wouldn’t kill him off, but it was inevitable. Still, he went out honorably, throwing the spotlight to Simon in an epic fashion. I can only hope now that the series will keep up the pace and not let Kamina’s death be in vain.
[\Spoilers]
You can blame Chiaki Morosawa for the bringing people back from the dead thing, not Sunrise. She’s a terrible writer.
I can only agree that this is an awesome episode. Great animation, great scenes, great lines.
I’m moderately sure that Kamina will be back… if not then we would probably be getting a new OP.
I thought the whole Simon angsting over Yoko and Kamina was kind of forced, but overall it was a fun episode.
The patterns were definitely there for Kanima’s eventual exeunt. Especially when the character is just so awesome and not the main character, I guess they can’t be allowed to live. At least we had 7.5 episodes (Ep 7’s only counts as half as a blatant recap) with him as opposed to the precious 3 with Gai. Hopefully Simon can carry the show to its conclusion.
I have pretty much the same opinion as you do. Episode 8 of TTGL was nothing short of epic. What I like most, though, is not that Kamina died (his death was inevitable) but how he died. Character death to drive the plot can feel really forced. Kamina’s death did not feel like this. Yes, it’s comparable to Gai from Nadesico… but in this case, Kamina stands up after the cheap shot and puts all his spirit into driving the fight forward to victory. Kamina is Kamina to the very end, and dies with a smile on his face.
I can’t think of any other good way for such an amazing character to go.
I’m with you in hoping the rest of the series can keep this up. Fortunately, if the Simon from the great space battle is any indication, Simon WILL be carrying that Great Gurren Brigade flag as Kamina once did.
Although I’m hoping even more that Simon becomes even greater than Kamina, rather than merely becoming like him. That’d be a truly great story.
Dropped this for a while after a particularly bad early episode but will sit down to watch the rest as I hear it gets better.
Nobody forces you to read spoilers.
Too many death flags in the episode :/
“Although I’m hoping even more that Simon becomes even greater than Kamina, rather than merely becoming like him. That’d be a truly great story.”
Exactly! Just like Kamina’s father motivated Kamina to newer and better heights (quite literally, actually), Kamina’s memory and death will set in motion the badassitude of Simon.
…holy crap. Gainax is making up for the past! They’re making a character that’s going to become manlier and more composed as the series goes on. He’s going to become the inverse-Shinji!
Cant wait for next eps. [Loli in a Box] here i come!
Sunrise’d better be in urban dictionary next time i check.
Stop making fun of Shinji, The Anti-Man.
predictions, episode 26:
Yoko gets shot, kisses Simon, then push him into his mecha, promising ‘more when he gets back’. Then she teh dies. Simon goes to sob quietly in a corner while Leeron, piloting the Gurren, gets pwned by mass-production beastmen with bigass swords.
The second half will be a brainfuck nobody understands and there will be a flame war to end all flame wars in 2chan. Ultimately, the series will be remembered mainly for that one scene in ep 25 when Simon faps over Leeron’s unconscious body.
Fuck.
I haven’t felt like this in a good while.
Thank you jason for calling attention to this great series (even if ep4 was a bit pants); here’s hoping Gainax keep up the good work…
Wow, I must be the only person on this planet that isn’t a Kamina fan. That’s an odd feeling to have.
Well now that you think about it, Kamina’s death was inevitable from another direction. “I’ll give you something 10 times better after this.” The obvious sexual connotation means that if Kamina lived, either Gurren Lagann goes H, or skip/censor it and half of us never forgive Gainax ever again.
Loved the Ashita no Joe reference at the end with the way Kanima died in Gurren, one of the best characters of any anime, up there with Cougar from S-Cry-Ed
Well, its been a fun ride so far. Lets see if it keeps up or if we get the good ol’ Gainix finger.
Also: Hating on Sunrise is a perfectly fair practice after SEED+SEED Destiny ‘ressurection’ ridiculousness.
The parallel with MSN wasn’t complete because Gai wasn’t as much of an inspirational figure. Sure he talked much but Akito ignored him, having his own problems. They barely started bonding and Akito came to recognize the G3 when it all ended. Kamina pushed Simon around very explicitly and left a significant imprint.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but it bears repeating: it totally sucks ass if Yoko isn’t expecting by this time. I suppose Simon can pick up the cape, but it’s not the same thing.
What about that Claymore ep 8? Feels very similar to this episode, except without the craziness, you know.
>> kamina is 17, Yoko/Simon are 14
from where is this info?
holy FUCKIN SHAT this is indeed pantheon class my goodness
frikin simon needs a mama
Kaminaaaaaaa!! WHY HIM !!!Damn!!!
They went and killed the most important one in the whole anime!!
These series are “Super FUN and COOL”. This is the first time I have seen a character like Kamina, and easily, in seconds they killed him. Boohooo….
if u havent picked up on it yet that all of the names of the Generals and the king have stuff to do with DNA
“will be using the official names for the Generals and Spiral king. Yes even Thymilph. Now before you get upset, know that Gainax are some clever sons of bitches to name them this way and here’s why: The Spiral King and his generals are a metaphor for DNA. Spiral in this case referring to a double helix, and each of the generals given a name that mirrors one of the four enzymes that make up DNA; Thymine, Adenine, Guanine, and Cytosine. Chances are down the line this series is going to have a lot of stuff about genetics and the makeup of life. And there’s also Viral. What is a virus but a collection of DNA coated in protein? Another thing that’s interesting is how Adiane and Thymilph apparently shared a friendship, when adenine and thymine are two enzymes in DNA that link together. Gainax is going somewhere with this, I’m looking forward to seeing what it is.” Nyoro~n Fansubs
I do not think this is the last time we see Kamina, give him 5 episodes tops till he comes back id say… just a guess
**** SPOILERS***********
If he really is dead, and he doesn’t come back, I’ve got no reason left to watch the show. Unless Yoko magically latches on to Simoun and there is still some romance left in the thing, there is nothing left for me. They beat the Gunmen, get a spaceship, whoopity doo, who cares. For me it was all about the love triangle, and now that it’s over, I’m left with….gah