rawr rawr fight the powa
Categories: anime, gurren lagann, responses
Tagged: gurren lagann, gurren lagann:darry, gurren lagann:nia, gurren lagann:yoko
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I’m getting the shakes already. I’m in Gurren Lagann withdrawal.
I think a lost art in storytelling and writing is the use of motifs. Maybe it has to do with people’s lack of attention span or how the web reduces everything to snippets and meme. Most writers today don’t even bother, since well, developing good motifs takes time and effort. I think it is sad because motifs are still one of the most effective writing techniques. Motifs connect people to the story on another level, beyond what dialogue and imagery can do. What Gurren Lagann did especially well was work the whole drill motif throughout the series. It was dripping. It was embedded in the DNA. It was everywhere. Drills. Spirals. Holes. The whole Spiral Plot Progression Theorem. It’s rare to find an anime that works in a strong, almost overpowering motif and make it seem so integral to the plot that taking it out would dramatic alter the remains for the worse.
But drills wasn’t the only motif. The style almost seems adaptive to the task at hand… during the initial arc, the text, the animation, all seemed a bit helter skelter and seemed to reflect the style of the dominant character of that arc, Kamina. The next arc featured flowery effects… and… well… it’s not Leeron who was the dominant character for this arc. Post time slip, everything became very industrial, almost like something from 1940’s American. Very cold. Very Rossiu. Finally, the text and the style went to something that was a bit softer than the initial style, and the text, while still very slap dash, was more round and less abrasive looking. That’s a good evolution of Kamina’s style where his confidence and impulsiveness is tempered by something soft and Nia-like.
And to tie up some loose ends…
Taltos: With the addition of Darry, enough votes have been drawn away to allow the Nia fans to push through for what seems to be the current victory.
Interesting theory except I would have guessed that Darry would have stolen votes from Nia, not Yoko, as Darry would have split the DFC crowd like how Ross Perot split the right during the 1992 elections. I think Nia grew nicely into a very likable character by the end whereas Yoko isn’t much different. I liked the semi-crazy Yoko at the beginning of the series… Yomako-sensei just didn’t have the same edge. Gainax seems to be as obsessed with teachers with glasses and Vespas as I am with symmetrical dockable meido.
PyTom: It’s the final seconds, and Gainax hasn’t screwed it up. Eleven seconds, you’ve got ten seconds. All the lights in the sky are stars, that’s right… they’re the stars where our Spiral friends are waiting. Do you believe in miracles?
YES!
Great comment. PyTom, you get a gold star. And, yes, we believe.
(The only way the final battle with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann could have been better is if Al Michaels was doing the announcing with Charles Barkley doing color commentary.)
Goshinga: Was the time warp really necessary. Old Yoko is fail. Old Simon is depressing. Old Viral is.. the same?
One thing that I didn’t understand about the second time slip is that when Gimmy and Darry first joined up with the Gurren Brigade, wasn’t Yoko and Simon like 14? So Gimmy and Darry were what? 5? 6? And suddenly after the second time slip, Yomako-obasan looks like she could be starring on Golden Girls instead of her manifest destiny of being the Greatest MILF of All Time and Space? Simon and Rossiu look like they’re AARP members while Gimmy and Darry look strappin’ young? What gives? Is spiral energy like the dark side of the Force where it ages you if you don’t get enough of it?
The funny subplot is back in episode six, one reason why Kamina and Simon tried to sneak a peak at the women’s bath is because Yoko was getting fondled, and the girls were all fawning over Darry’s potential. It’s funny considering that they were saying, “One day… they’ll explode out like Yoko’s!” (or something like that). We all know the sad (to some) or happy (to others) truth.
(And, yeah, for people who did watch the DVD version, who’d thunk that Simon and Gimmy?!? That explains why he passed the drill to him…)
Incarnadine: Hmm…Nia’s wedding dress was pink. Even Yoko had a white one.
Yeah, my bad. *thumps chest like an NFL receiver dropping a first down pass on third down* My bad.
Herrenvolk: Besides, viewership is only half the battle– Gurren Lagann is selling like hotcakes on DVD in Japan.
I think anime nowadays are just extended infomercials for the DVD release as well as the assorted merchandising. (Question: why isn’t there a Gurren Lagann model kit that rivals God Knows Haruhi out on the market yet?!? Who was asleep at the wheel for this one?) They mostly air after midnight and most people tape ’em or grab ’em off of a file sharing service. However, I do remember hearing that the DVD sales were about half as much as Haruhi‘s, which were already something like ten times more than a normal anime DVD. The thing about Gurren Lagann is that Nia nor Yoko nor Darry pulled a Lacus/Minmay and starting singing. Because of the lack of a musical emphasis, something like a Gurren Lagann Character Song CD would feel really, really awkward. Haruhi cranked out shitloads of CDs… I mean… Imouto got one! And since they used the second verse of Sora Iro Days instead of a new song, that also limits the amount of CDs that could be sold. Maybe Gurren Lagann can team up with Sears Craftsman and hawk some Gurren Lagann-themed drills.
(I think Evangelion and Gurren Lagann should switch EDs. Lyrics like “I should believe in myself more” is more fitting for Shinji while Fly Me to the Moon actually fits Gurren Lagann better.)
Xeifa: Boy, I just burst out laughing when I saw the aged Rossieu… that head is just too big for his shoulders.
He looked a lot like Barry Bonds. As someone who saw Barry Bonds this year, yes, he looks a lot like Barry Bonds. And prior to episode 22, behaved like him too.
wp: In any case, I think Nia dying was a little in excess. Was that really necessary? Did that really make the ending better? I never thought she was that great, but still, give me a break! Give Simon the happy ending he deserves!
I thought it was a logical end, and if you believe the following theory presented by Popo and Myssa Rei, even more logical. I think an ending where Nia and Simon get married and have tons of kids but then Simon cheats on her with Darry and Yoko (simultaneously as per the teachings of AoMM) would be fantastic. I do have my own theory that the real “Spiral Nemesis” isn’t the destruction of the galaxy but how you lose what is most precious to you. Your universe is destroyed. You look at the cast, and the person with the most spiral energy lost the two most important people in his life, and his own little universe is literally destroyed… but keeping with the desires of spiral energy, Simon acknowledges and accepts that he traded his life for the joy of many, many others. Most of the final Gurren Brigade went through something similar… Yoko lost Kamina, Darry and Gimmy got kicked out of their village, most of the Brigade is dead. They used spiral energy to the fullest, and they each paid a price. Though since Viral didn’t have spiral energy, he’s a pimp for the new generation.
Popo: My guess; Alternate ending where either the other Spirals supported the anti-Spiral and wanted revenge after Simon’s victory or Simon simply didn’t want to be friends with the inter galactic neighbours.
Myssa Rei: Someone posited an interesting theory about the first few moments of Episode 1, and how it contrasted with the ‘real’ ending. It’s an ending if Simon abused the spiral power he received (â€All the Stars are our enemies.â€), causing all the other spiral races to attack to prevent the Spiral Nemesis. Compare this to Simon’s parting words, where “All the Stars are our friends.†Since Simon chose not to use the spiral energy he was given as a tyrant, the ending was avoided.
Intriguing. Though I am leaning towards this theory for episode 1 more and more:
Turambar: Could it be possible that the original visions for the ending changed as the director was replaced after episode 4?
The thing that Simon was riding on at the beginning of episode 1 seems to resemble Cathedral Terra more than any other mecha, which means that if Simon could call upon Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, why would he attack with the lesser version? I think it’s a lot more plausible that was the original vision of the show but the new director changed course to where we are now. Or it could be that they kinda knew where they wanted to go but wasn’t fully committed to the plot… it happens… if you watch the Club Escaflowne features, they did admit to not knowing the end when they first began.
(But that was Sunrise, so I’m not surprised. Who’d thunk that the studio that gave us Escaflowne, Crest of the Stars, and Cowboy Bebop could also give us Code Geass, Mai Otome Zwei, and Xenoglossia… ? Now it’s a race betwen Gonzo and Sunrise to deliver a transcendent series. Ugh. It’s like picking between the Cardinals and Lions to win a Super Bowl.)
t3h Dave: However, at the same time, it was such an overly epic episode. I’ve heard rumors about a sequel or even multiple sequels. How will they do this? GAINAX always finds a way, don’t they?
I also don’t think it’s a sequel. Hopefully Gainax will let Gurren Lagann stay the way it is until they are really, really hard up for money and sell the live action movie rights to Peter Jackson. Gainax isn’t really known for sequels when compared to the other studios. Rebuild of Evangelion is mostly recap with some new interjection… Kare Kano could have supported a sequel, but after the debacle at the end of that series, I’m not sure if I would go see it… Gunbuster was more a remake than a sequel… a Konomini sequel was be dumb as hell… Mahoromatic got the closest to what I’d want for a sequel for Gurren Lagann: massive fanservice hot springs episode, but they already did that.
sixten: I wonder, what is the correct way to pronounce “Simon†in English? The American “Simon†with a long “i†sound? The Hispanic “Simon†with the accent on the second syllable? The original Japanese “Shimonâ€? The long “i†sound would work for “Viralâ€, but what about “Simonâ€?
Since ADV has the license, I’m more worried about “Shadow Warrior Simon” or “Samurai Simon” than anything else. Also, since it is ADV, I wouldn’t count on a bang up dub job… they seem to care more about having dub cast guessing games than actually improving the quality of their voice actors. Honestly, I have no clue who does a decent dub anymore. They all hurt my ears. But if they had a separate commentary track with Al Michaels and Charles Barkley? I’d listen to that.
(The worst possible dub job in history will go to whomever attempts Lucky Star. Unless, of course, they get Taniguchi to reprise his role in English.)
Cyclops: BTW, Physics called… Its .ass is sore after the galaxy-sized mecha battle…. (I think im going to hell for that combination of bad jokes)
Yep, these are my readers.
25 Responses to “rawr rawr fight the powa”
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About the whole “Nia needed to die” thing:
You might be right… but on the other hand, I was really annoyed that all the characters (especially Simoun) just took it as a given.
The enire series is all about doing the impossible and stuff… so, why just accept defeat this time?!? And I’m not talking about reviving dead comrades but about preventing her from dying in the frist place! C’mon he took on GOD (or something like that) to get to her, nothing could stop him… And when he realized that she was dying, why didn’t he even try to act? It’s kinda out of character…
Well, I might be for the better in the long run… but seeing such a moe character die for such unsatisfactory reasons… was really hard to take ;_;
>>Ugh. It’s like picking between the Cardinals and Lions to win a Super Bowl.
Umm….. Lions… yeah I definitely have to go with lions.
Every time you praise this series more and more it makes me want to watch it, I wonder if I can get past the mecha enough to enjoy it..
Much lulz and insight. Again, thanks for bringing up the Spiral Plot Progression Theory. I find it amazing that a show with such a straight-forward linear plot can also be “deep.” Not taking any credit away from Gurren Lagann or anything. It does its job, and it does it well. It entertains like hell, in very simple ways, yet this “simple show” can also inspire thoughts such as your posts. Just a thought I had that makes me appreciate the show even more.
I am personally leaning more towards ‘no sequel’ for Gurren Lagann mostly because a sequel probably won’t live up to the first. How do you top the most epic space battle ever? And you are right about GAINAX’s track record with sequels, so it’s not their thing to do so. I am maybe hoping for an OVA of some sort that would give more insight to Episode 1’s grand intro, but it could also be like what you said, the new director decided to change the direction and ending of the show. Damn, I really wanted to see that sequence too. For the longest time I thought that guy with the orange shades was going to be Rossiu, but decked Gurren-Dan-ified or something. Who knew it was going to be deep-voiced older Boota in human form?
Anyway, again, thanks for following this show. Your “Pantheon-class episode” post instantly told me to go watch the show (even before I read it!)
P.S. Holy shit Nia is owning the poll now. I thought Darry was going to take the lead, haha.
[quote post=”1167″]The thing that Simon was riding on at the beginning of episode 1 seems to resemble Cathedral Terra more than any other mecha, which means that if Simon could call upon Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, why would he attack with the lesser version? I think it’s a lot more plausible that was the original vision of the show but the new director changed course to where we are now. Or it could be that they kinda knew where they wanted to go but wasn’t fully committed to the plot… it happens… if you watch the Club Escaflowne features, they did admit to not knowing the end when they first began.[/quote]
Hmm… Looking back at the first ep, that definitely was Cathedral Terra. And that did sure as hell look like BootaMan as his XO, but we never do get a good look at “Simon’s” face, and the voice job is a bit different from late-series Simon (although I do think it is the same seiyuu). Maybe it’s not Simon? There’s suggestions going around that this guy is the next generation’s leader (or one from some time past).
Personally, I’m kind partial to the suggestion that it might be a pre-balding Genome-sama, although the Kamina-influenced flag and cape, and the fact that he calls it “Gurren Lagann” kinda shoots that one down… Unless Genome was really Kamina’s dad, and the body we thought was Kamina’s dad was Just Some Guy, and…it’s 4:30 in the morning…
And regarding those pictures, I think those first two are mid-timeslip Darry, as post-timeslip Darry’s DC wasn’t quite that F. And that third one isn’t Yomako-sensei. It looks more like (R.O.D’s) Yomiko-sensei cosplaying as Yomako-sensei. Yoko’s “endowments”, while considerable, are at least still believeable, unlike the other Y-sensei’s…
Suffering from Gurren Lagann withdrawal?
Just listen to the OST over and over again. Heck, that’s what I’m doing anyway.
[quote post=”1167″](Question: why isn’t there a Gurren Lagann model kit that rivals God Knows Haruhi out on the market yet?!? Who was asleep at the wheel for this one?) [/quote]
Check out the following link. It looks so good!
http://zenime.animeblogger.net/?p=682
(not out yet, but still… so good…)
[quote post=”1167″] [quote of myself in last thread]
Yep, these are my readers.[/quote]
It is worrying that I cheered out loud after reading that…. No question about it…
[quote post=”1167″]And suddenly after the second time slip, Yomako-obasan looks like she could be starring on Golden Girls instead of her manifest destiny of being the Greatest MILF of All Time and Space? Simon and Rossiu look like they’re AARP members while Gimmy and Darry look strappin’ young? What gives? [/quote]
SInce Lord Genome gave Viral immortality, I am assuming that a technology exist to make people immortal, yet Simon, Rossiu, and Yoko look so old. Perhaps Gainax is trying to make a point somewhere here, but I don’t see it.
There is a sequel……probably a movie Gurren Lagann the movie. This time Simon will die
You realize Jason, the entire post was derailed by Darry. You don’t post epic derailing material before you even begin the post.
Gurren Lagann wasn’t something i was interested in at the beginning of the year; I was focusing on Nanoha StrikerS and going, “Meh, a Gainax show? They’ll screw it up.” Then a friend of mine showed me episodes 8 and 11, and my reactions were “WHAT THE FUCK?! ;_;” and “OH MY GOD! ;_;” with much manly tears.
GL had a lot of things that could go wrong for it, but it manged to stay tight and focused. The drill motif is one of those; whoever thinks of a DRILL as something cool? And yet, we get this immortal line: “My drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!”
There’s a lot of great cheesiness in GL’s many speeches, and yet somehow, it manages to pull off the speeches without sounding ridiculous. (Which is also why I have my doubts on an English dub. Kamima’s speeches are pretty ridiculous and stupid written on paper or spoken normally. And yet… he makes them work.
One thing that GL will be remembered for is the whole belief aspect, believing in you who believes in himself. That’s something that’s been lacking in mecha – your average mecha pilot is angsty, suffers inferiority complexes, and – as in Shinji – suffers a painful lack of belief in himself. Gainax deserves a big thank you for bringing this to anime.
Bottomline for me: I watched GL because it was fun, gar, and above all, it was uplifting. There’s a current trend that to be profound and to be taken seriously you have to be depressing. Here’s to Gurren Lagann reversing that trend – I believe it can be done, since it’s got all that awesome Spiral Power. ^_^
[quote comment=”153528″][quote post=”1167″](Question: why isn’t there a Gurren Lagann model kit that rivals God Knows Haruhi out on the market yet?!? Who was asleep at the wheel for this one?) [/quote]
Check out the following link. It looks so good!
http://zenime.animeblogger.net/?p=682
(not out yet, but still… so good…)[/quote]
http://www.hlj.com/product/KNM13491
Pre-Orders…
[quote comment=”153522″]About the whole “Nia needed to die” thing:
You might be right… but on the other hand, I was really annoyed that all the characters (especially Simoun) just took it as a given.[/quote]
Gimmy didn’t really take it as a given. And I think they (everyone except Leeron and Simon) were more shocked than anything. And Simon was their pillar of strength the the later parts of the series, they rallied around him. So when their leader gets so down it’s hard for the rest of the brigade to muster up the “spiral energy”.
Nia’s death at the end made is one of the reasons why the ending was so great. I’m a Nia fan, but that just made the ending more bittersweet than it already was. Fantastic job Gainax!
Yes, Gurren Lagann in an SRW would be a beautiful thing. And if they really wanted to make things pure love, they could put in extra paths that allowed you to save [guess who?] if you fulfill certain requirements (like in SRW J).
[quote post=”1167″]Could it be possible that the original visions for the ending changed as the director was replaced after episode 4?[/quote]
Actually, the director wasn’t replaced. The series was helmed through out by Hiroyuki “Dead Leaves” Imaishi and his frenetic style is stamped all over it. However, there are different episode directors, and number four was handled by Osamu Kobayashi, he of BECK and Paradise Kiss fame, hence the distinctive drawing and tone; after the negative reaction, that was the only episode he was involved with and Takami Akai resigned as a producer of the show. That first scene in the first episode has nothing to do with the changing staff and I think I agree with Myssa Rei thoughts on it.
One Gurren Lagann figurine I would want would be of Simon’s pose at the last episode when he leaves the wedding, with his cloak flowing behind him.
Damn, that pose is just unforgettable. Too bad we’d more likely get a Kiyoh figurine than a Simon one. SIgh…
[quote comment=”153547″][quote post=”1167″]Takami Akai resigned as a producer of the show.[/quote]
I believe he and the the co-founder of Gainax also quit cause they critisized peopel on 2chan who whined about ep 4 (Osamu Kobayashi being a good friend).
Another thought about the interpretation of the beginning of episode 1 is that it is Boota’s weird dream thing from episode 26. After all, the only character whos face we see is his.
http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/da/w/
what the…
even nanoha strikers dvd is selling better then Gurren Lagann???
this suck. really suck.
and the top1 best selling anime of this season is………
lucky star
surprise. surprise.
Wonder if anyone saw the news about the ill-fated Gurren Lagann MMORPG that just tanked. If that is any sign, they really should just leave this franchise as it is and just never touch it again.
[quote post=”1167″]Wonder if anyone saw the news about the ill-fated Gurren Lagann MMORPG that just tanked. If that is any sign, they really should just leave this franchise as it is and just never touch it again.[/quote]
I’m fairly glad I didn’t see that news. *shivers at the thought of it.
[quote post=”1167″]Another thought about the interpretation of the beginning of episode 1 is that it is Boota’s weird dream thing from episode 26. After all, the only character whos face we see is his.[/quote]
Interesting, but a distinct lack of Yoko cleavage for him to jump into causes me to think that’s not likely it.
[quote comment=”153562″][quote post=”1167″]Wonder if anyone saw the news about the ill-fated Gurren Lagann MMORPG that just tanked. If that is any sign, they really should just leave this franchise as it is and just never touch it again.[/quote]
I’m fairly glad I didn’t see that news. *shivers at the thought of it.[/quote]
Well, it tanked for technical reasons. Apparently there was a bug in the game that was discovered when they were in closed beta. The bug caused the corruption of the Windows OS. It was so bad that people had to re-install windows. The details of this is already on the Gurren Lagann wikipedia page.
Okay, that didn’t work right at ALL, sorry for this folks, but here it is again, this time I KNOW it’ll work.
[quote post=”1167″]One thing that GL will be remembered for is the whole belief aspect, believing in you who believes in himself. That’s something that’s been lacking in mecha – your average mecha pilot is angsty, suffers inferiority complexes, and – as in Shinji – suffers a painful lack of belief in himself. Gainax deserves a big thank you for bringing this to anime.[/quote]
Except….that’s a relatively recent occurrence in anime.
Most giant robot pilots are like Kamina and Simon…Bombastic, over the top. Look at Kouji Kabuto of Mazinger Z/Mazinkaiser, or Ryouma Nagare of Getter Robo. Then there’s the pilots of Gravion, most of the pilots of Aquarion, Nono of Aim for the Top! 2, The Combattler V and Voltes V pilots, Guy from Gaogaigar, it’s been a while, but the guy from Kenran Butoh-sai: The Mars Daybreak, the cast of Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures, even Heero from Gundam Wing! (Though he’s included because being angsty would mean he has emotions, and we all know he hunted his emotions down one by one and slaughtered them, their family, and their friends and their friends’ families when he was eight.) And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head from the series I’ve watched!
Anyway, my point is…the angsty giant robot pilot thing is fairly recent, and is in no way universal, even now.
That said, there is a reason there’s a lot of angsty giant robot pilots…the giant robots are usually so invincible the only way to hurt them is to get to the pilots themselves..If it was just the good guys beating the bad guys every week with a hero that has nothing wrong in their life, and is thus pretty much invincible, that doesn’t really make a good series to watch. Look at any number of american TV series, both animated and non, and you’ll see one reason why they seldom last more than a season or two, and are rarely more than vehicles for selling toys or actors.
FLCL and Aim for the Top 2~ Diebuster still remain as Gainax’s best shows imo.
This is the only series of which I’ve bothered to watch even one episode more than once. I’ve watched ep26 like 5 times and it still isn’t enough, I absolutely love this series. When I first started to watch I watched only because of the animation and the fact that it was somewhat funny (so basically i had nothing better to watch), but when I made it to the ep8 I thought “Man, this is something else” and it sure was. Probably my all time #1, thumbs up!