Weekly Review: Gurren Lagann

Plot / Story

The world is cruelly ruled by the spiral king known as Lordgenome. His rule is absolute. He is challenged by no one. His army of gunmen spread across the globe to keep man hunkered beneath the soil. Mankind was forced beneath the earth. They must live underground in fear of what might happen if they rise to the surface. They are plagued by lack of resources and deadly earthquakes. We start out our series by meeting Simon, a digger in the village of Giha. He is not very well liked by the other villagers, most describe him as smelly, but he is good at his job. He was born to be a digger, he says later in the series that he can hear the soil and rock, it tells him where the best place to dig is.

Simon’s parents were killed after a deathly earthquake, since then there has really only been one person there for him, Kamina. Kamina is a refractory youth of the village that dreams about the day he will make it to the surface. He tells everyone he saw the surface as a kid with his father, and that he must rise to meet him. Of course, no one believes him. One day, Simon discovers two peculiar things while he is digging. At first he discovers a kind of small drill, then he discovers a face buried inside the ground.

Simon decides that the best course of action is to go get his “bro,” Kamina. He helps Kamina escape from containment, he was put there as a punishment for trying to leave the village, and starts to take him to the robotic face. It’s at this time that a huge robot crashes through the ceiling, landing in the center of town. After figuring out that this new intruder is a foe, they also meet an ally. Yoko comes swinging to the rescue firing off rounds from her rifle. Yoko is a sleek looking girl that is quite the master with her rifle. Simon then leads the two to the face buried in the dirt, to which they realize it is a small robot, and the drill Simon found is the key. They decide to use the robot to attack the enemy robot outside, and this is when Kamina names the robotic head “Lagann.”

They manage to drive the robot out of the village. Afterwards they are told by Yoko that those robots are called gunmen, and their sole purpose is to attack any humans that end up on the surface. After dealing with two other gunmen, with the assistance from Yoko’s village, they finally make it to the surface. They go to Yoko’s village with her as they are sure the gunmen will return the next day. The next day’s battle features Kamina being fascinated with an enemy gunmen, so he decides to steal it. After apprehending the machine, he names it “Gurren.”

The story takes off from there. The two “bros” join forces with many allies as they journey to dethrone the evil spiral king. Along the way they meet a pestering nemesis named Viral, and also discover that they have the ability to combine Gurren and Lagann. Kamina names the combination, very cleverly, “Gurren Lagann.” There hardships never stop as they must face each of the four generals of the spiral king, and eventually, the spiral king himself. It is a magnificent journey, one filled with cheerful victories and devastating losses.

Of course, after the final battle with the spiral king, there are still quite a few episodes to go, but I won’t spoil any of that!

Sequels

As of this moment, there is rumored to be a sequel coming out. Since the demand for a sequel is so popular, one is believed to be in the making. Some say this isn’t true due to the way the story ends. Who knows!

Overall

I would highly recommend this anime series to anyone that likes action and comedy. The series will have you rolling laughing at some of the comments, not to mention the subtle sexual jokes and cracks at governments. Of course, you will have quite a few emotional moments, but that just adds to the amazing story. It’s a little old school in the fact that they call out their moves and what not, but it goes along with the characters and style well. Honestly, my girlfriend and I spent our three year anniversary sitting in bed watching this series, and we both love it. Give it a watch!