ROW, ROW, FIGHT THE POWAH!!! Gurren Lagann complete simulwatch

[Neil.T]

Episode 22

"I can't hold a candle to him. In the end, he overturned every plan set against him."

And in that way, Simon saves everyone. While Rossiu aimed to preserve the lives of just the 180,000 passengers of Arc-Gurren, Simon overtook him and prevented the loss of even a single life. Rossiu really doesn't look so hot as he takes his leave after the disaster is averted.


But let me be real here: the big thing (literally) in this episode is all the mecha porn on show.

For starters we've got Arc-/Arch-Gurren (the spelling in the subs seemingly having changed between episodes 21 and 22) transforming into a massive robot, Arch-Gurren Lagann. What a transforming sequence, including Gurren Lagann being swallowed up inside the head, taking its piloting position while in the Gunbuster pose, and the main bridge of Arc-Gurren dropping down to give Rossiu and the crew a view of the action as well.
My man @João Gomes described this brilliantly already, but I couldn't resist adding my own while I'm at it.

I just love how it's piloted by Gurren Lagann itself in a clever cascade effect. We'll be seeing more of this piloting system soon enough. I loved as well how Gimmy and Darry took over its controls in their Grapearls, grabbing hold of one control handle each.

And if that mecha wasn't big enough for you, we get the moon-sized (and oddly named) space dreadnought Cathedral Terra as well. This entire sequence of events plays out very differently in movie #2, and includes a line of dialogue that's just so wonderfully ridiculous and OTT that it's just so... Gurren Lagann! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do when we get to it, João and @ayase.

Doesn't Cathedral Terra look familiar, though, like we've seen it before somewhere?
That's right, folks: in the prologue of episode 1!

It's quite the impressive arsenal that humankind has amassed against the Anti-Spiral now. They've got the always adaptable Gurren Lagann, the mighty powerhouse of Arch-Gurren Lagann, and now the as-yet-unproven colossus that is Cathedral Terra to replace the lost Dai-Gurren mobile fortress.

All of this, and I haven't even mentioned Simon's brand-new trademark BURST SPINNING PUNCH!!! that breaks through the fabric of reality itself.

Hot damn.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 21

I sometimes wonder how things can possibly ever get more ridiculous, then GL reminds me that there is always a way. I remembered some vague details about some of the events here like meeting Nia inside the moon, but I couldn't remember exactly how it all went down.

In general I think Rossiu is far too logical to really understand what is going on, everyone else more or less just runs on a belief that things will work out somehow, where Rossiu is concerned, it's more about plans and details. They summed it up pretty well when they said about Simon being the ones to grasp a victory at the last second from an almost certain defeat.

The mecha combining is starting to go very much like those Russian dolls, one fitting within another, it's mecha all the way down!

 

[ayase]

Argh, I got behind again. I was busy and tired from doing that thing where you sell your body to someone else in exchange for money... Work, that's the one. Whenever this happens I forget where one episode ends and another begins, let's see if I can remember.

Episode 20 - Don't try to teach me, I got nothing to learn


Simon? Rossiu? Honestly who needs them at this point? Kittan is the man. His own man now, comfortable and confident in who he is and doing things his way rather than emulating Kamina or following Simon or Rossiu. Perhaps Kinon helped him to realise that, in a way. I've certainly grown to appreciate him more the second time around, that's for sure.

The best laid plans of beasts and men (are there any beastmen in the administration? I can't think that I've seen any, seems a wee bit racist)... Viral's antics in the prison showers aren't the only cock-blocking going on, as Rossiu's reason meets both unreasonable physics and unable to be reasoned with Anti-Spirals. But he still keeps his head enough to realise Kittan deserves a chance to try things his way. And Simon, to his eternal credit, doesn't even hold a grudge over being locked in prison and sentenced to death as long as he believes the people are safe. Definately a better man than I am, he still believes in Rossiu even when Rossiu's belief in himself is slipping rapidly away.

Speaking of unreasonable physics, guess who's back...


To be fair Yoko, she was kinda boring before.

Episode 21 - Sayonara Yomoko Sensei


Return to the past, where SUPER DOCTOR K-KO* Yoko is busy stirring mixed oedipal feelings in young boys again.

There are a lot of things this episode does that I enjoy (I could probably list a load of tropes here if I bothered to learn them, but I don't want to, because I have no desire to ruin all fiction for myself forever) since I am a bit of a sucker for stories of childhood adversity and forgiveness, and also ones which see a character come out of their comfortable retirement to go on another crusade. Yes, that's how I'll describe this episode, it's exactly like a combination of Alps Story: My Annette and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

Seeing Yoko removed from conflict does make me wonder if her and Kamina would even have worked. She has to live with the (painful) thought of what could have been of course, but however she imagines it I can't really see Kamina being the sort to want to settle down and raise a family. We know he was a Hell-raiser even before his real fight began, but without the ever-present threat of violence Yoko actually seems happy with a calm, quiet life. He might have broken her heart in one way, but perhaps his dying prevented him from breaking it in another.

It's Yoko's episode but Viral kinda steals it at the end there, utterly shattering Rossiu in the process by quite literally taking his place. Simon has certainly learned how to pass on that infectious sense of belief in people.



Episode 22 and responses to follow...

*A prize for anyone who got that reference without the aid of a search engine, Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān is a forgotten gem which deserves better. Now THAT would be a very fun simulwatch, had it ever been available legally in English.

 

[Lordhippos]

Argh, I got behind again. I was busy and tired from doing that thing where you sell your body to someone else in exchange for money

Most people sell their time for money, good to see you going the extra mile!

 

[HWR]

Episode 22
What a battle! Had me grinning throughout.

 

[ayase]

Most people sell their time for money, good to see you going the extra mile!

Don't be daft, you can't buy or sell something as nebulous as time. What would happen to it? Would the time I sold be removed from my experience of reality and added to theirs? If so, how would I even be aware I had sold it? It would be more confusing if my time disappeared and money appeared, so anyone capable of taking my time would be better off simply taking it without payment so as not to tip me off that it was missing in the first place.

 

[Lordhippos]

Don't be daft, you can't buy or sell something as nebulous as time. What would happen to it? Would the time I sold be removed from my experience of reality and added to theirs? If so, how would I even be aware I had sold it? It would be more confusing if my time disappeared and money appeared, so anyone capable of taking my time would be better off simply taking it without payment so as not to tip me off that it was missing in the first place.

Hmm I dunno about you, but when I work time just vanishes and there is a hole in my day, a bit like this Reddit skit from VLDL!

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Lost out to most of the simulcast of the arc that makes this show the epic it is (some personal trauma had me down for the count unfortunately). Just managed to catch up to episode 22 so will bounce off a few thoughts.

Oh this day of rest, I bring you a collection of images from the episodes of Part 1 I was able to screencap that didn't make it to the thread, since I've finally worked out how to navigate imgur's horrible new(? I haven't used it in a while) user unfriendly interface to actually create albums. In whatever order imgur feels like putting them, I guess. Hopefully this is less stress on AUKN's bandwidth than uploading them all directly.

https://imgur.com/a/dQH3Jf7

I won't inflict my 94 image Adiane folder on you just yet.

Loving this slide show with my highlights being the giant Rei Nia and Adiane's Senketsu Gunmen getting the boot heh.

Apparently gone are the days of talking big, dreaming bigger and flying by the seat of your pants in a white-knuckle thrill-ride of adventure: it's all about job roles, proper titles, mountains of paperwork and tedious bureaucracy now.

I really liked how the show took a break from the bravado of wartime to touch on the bureaucratic mundanities of peace time and the realities of politicians like Rossiu as opposed to those of heroes like Simon when dealing with human selfishness.

Yōko blasting off on her flying scooter is somewhat reminiscent of the end of FLCL.

Absolutely was thinking the same thing but more so in the Yomako slice-of-life Island episode heh.

continued into an early scene in his film Promare.

Speaking of, I've been feeling like part of this arc feels like it's been given it's own mini-movie in the form of Promare.

I thought that was Simon

I thought it was Kamina's dad in his past glory until episode 3!

Don't play Danganronpa, people, it's awesome, then you'll want to play the second one and then you'll be glued to it when you get to the final chapters and the simulwatch will start to lag behind. Awful!

Heheh I've been trying to get through this having bought the PS4 boxset late last year, and only just managing to start the third one now (but have just realised that apparently the first two games' story is only concluded in an anime so have to pause and watch that first...). Was very much feeling they got some GL inspiration, when hearing of the anti-spiral's ultimate despair strategies on this re-watch heh.

Episode 17
Timeskips can make for some interesting developments. I like the direction GL takes from this point on, asides from Rossiu becoming a dick that is.

Was he ever not one?

Aw man, where is the Rossiu love?! He is totally a dick though I actually am really liking his character on this re-watch and feel he is the most pragmatic character in this arc (no one else took any steps heeding Genome's final warning). That unfortunately is blasphemy in a passion filled show like GL and he is just set up to be the naysayer antagonist to team GL's chutzpah. Clearly his upbringing with the cold-hearted survival logic from his village informs a lot of his decisions. Ah wait, I've read @Neil.T & @ayase's comments now, woohoo more devil's advocates!

If you told me that Jorgun and Balinbow were in charge of developing the UK's Test-and-Trace system, I wouldn't doubt you for a second.

I would, they're far too smart and overqualified for that job...

Fun fact: In order to bring you these screencaps I had to purchase a huge 400mm drillbit and literally pierce my downstairs ceiling with it to cable my router to my PC. Seems fitting.

Totally worth it!

Unsurprisingly, I see as I read through that I'm just repeating what everyone has already said heh so will stop here to limit an even more painfully long post.

 

[Neil.T]

@Geriatric hedgehog:

Glad to see you back, buddy. Been missing having you here.

I hope you're okay.

 

[Dai]

Episode 23
In Batman Begins, we get the memorable, if slightly awkward line, "It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." GL's philosophy is the polar opposite, judging people on their inner feelings rather than their actions. This is important when you consider how close Rossiu's approach to saving the human race was to Lordgenome's. Both were willing to sacrifice countless lives for the sake of the species, but only Rossiu felt the weight of it. Whatever morals Lordgenome might have had in his youth, they were long gone by the time this story begins, as we see him use and dispose of girls for nothing more than his own amusement.

This begs the question, can any action be forgiven if you're repentant and your heart's in the right place? This show certainly thinks so. Perhaps that's just its shonen fight-then-bond DNA bubbling to the surface, where we see Team Dai-Gurren forgive Rossiu, accept Viral (who killed Kamina, let's not forget), and even team up with a castrated Lordgenome.

 

[Ian Wolf]

Episode 23

Spoiler

One of the first things that interested me was looking at the re-cap to the previous episode. There is a scene in which Simon launches an attach with Boota on his shoulder, and while Simon is shouting, Boota is proudly standing with his hands on hips. A nice little touch I missed the first time round.

As for the actual episode itself, it is mainly designed to build-up for what is to come. However, as Dai says, one of the most interesting things in it is the element of forgiveness, in that Simon forgives Rossiu and has forgiven Viral.

One thing that I am particularly interested is the costume designs for the crew as they enter the final battle. Firstly, are all the stars a reference to do with space, or is it just the fashion? I know that the main cast were all wearing stars on their uniforms showing of their rank (three for Simon, two for Rossiu and other higher-ranks, one of lower ranks like Kinon), but now they seem to be the key look. Secondly, I do like the fact that Simon has decided to go to battle in what appears to be a corset. It does seem somewhat restricting in terms of body movement and thus rather impractical, but on the other hand the entire outfit does look really cool.

 

[João Gomes]

Yeah, @Geriatric hedgehog hope you're doing OK and I'm glad to have you back, too!

@Dai I think the series goes to certain lengths to help us consider forgiving or accepting things like Lordgenome being a subdued version of himself that is more useful than dangerous and as I see it Kamina was dead as soon as the monkey burst out of the mecha ship hull with the spear piercing the Gurren (sorry don't remember the name of the ship).

I agree that Viral tag-teaming with the general was a complicated situation that annoyed me, considering it kind of goes against his way of fighting but aligns with his desperation in showing service and loyalty. He gets **** from everyone, so that kind of helps being more open to his redemption.

I don't know how much of my post is denial, lol, but that's the way I see it.

Still haven't watched today's episode, though.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

@Geriatric hedgehog:

Glad to see you back, buddy. Been missing having you here.

I hope you're okay.

Yeah, @Geriatric hedgehog hope you're doing OK and I'm glad to have you back, too!

Thank you kindly guys, getting there and much better now. Anime always helps and what's been interesting is coming back to the more uplifting GL as opposed to my usual masochistic tendency to want to watch something nihilistic like Eva/EoE (though I'm usually too scared to actually watch the latter when down!) or devilman crybaby or elfen lied. Ironically find that helpful but maybe better to spiral upwards than downwards I guess, pun fully intended heh. Be back after watching the next episode.

 

[Neil.T]

Episode 23

"ROSSIU!!! GRIT THOSE TEETH!!!!!"

Simon then lays out this show's manifesto for all of us.

"Have you come back to your senses, Rossiu? I was belted like that, too. Everybody makes mistakes; it's to be expected. But when you do make a mistake, you should be slugged by someone else; there's no need to punish yourself. At the time, you might think that it's a mistake you can never undo. Even if it is, if we kick and struggle and fight like hell, we'll move forward a little bit. I got knocked flat on my ass, and I was told to believe in the me that believes in myself. That's probably how it should be."

It's as touching and inspiring as it is OTT.

And yet maybe it's still not as OTT as the difference in scale between Gurren Lagann, Arc-Gurren and Cathedral Terra as shown on Leeron's computer monitor. Or even the part where the soon-to-be-renamed Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren drags the real moon out of its sub-dimensional hiding place using a gigantic pair of drill anchors. Oh my gods and goddesses, it's phenomenal!

Yes, what an absolute cracker of an episode this is from start to finish. I got chills watching the whole climactic sequence where Simon leaves Earth aboard Gurren Lagann and we see that shot of Kamina's grave, culminating in the part where everything that has happened so far circles back around to a setting that's very similar to the prologue of episode 1.

God I love that ED to round things off as well. I'm all fired up and ready for the last push to the finish now.

 

[HWR]

Episode 23
“Grit those teeth!” Indeed. Couldn’t put it any better than what you’ve summarised there @Neil.T. Bring on the final episodes!

 

[Neil.T]

Just wanted to pick up on this important plot point here:

Viral (who killed Kamina, let's not forget)

Kamina was dead as soon as the monkey burst out of the mecha ship hull with the spear piercing the Gurren

Yeah, as João rightly points out there, although Viral did assist in the attack, it was actually Lordgenome's general Thymilph who struck the fatal blows using his lance.


This point caught my attention, too:

I know that the main cast were all wearing stars on their uniforms showing of their rank (three for Simon, two for Rossiu and other higher-ranks, one of lower ranks like Kinon)

I didn't actually clock that until you mentioned it, Ian. That's really neat.

I've seen the one- and two-star uniforms now, but I want to go back and look at Simon's three-star gear now.

(One- two- and three-star uniforms, eh? Sound anything like Kill la Kill's Goku uniforms, anyone?)

 

[João Gomes]

Thank you kindly guys, getting there and much better now. Anime always helps and what's been interesting is coming back to the more uplifting GL as opposed to my usual masochistic tendency to want to watch something nihilistic like Eva/EoE (though I'm usually too scared to actually watch the latter when down!) or devilman crybaby or elfen lied. Ironically find that helpful but maybe better to spiral upwards than downwards I guess, pun fully intended heh. Be back after watching the next episode.

Jesus dude, anything but Devilman Crybaby, that thing made me miserable, it's so sad, tragic and melancholic! Watch GTO or Fumoffu or Prison School!! PLEASE

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 23

For me at least it was never really in doubt that they'd forgive Viral, I think even Kamina respected him, and even if Viral had killed Kamina, I don't believe that Kamina would want them to hold a grudge that prevented them teaming up to fight the anti-spiral. It's a sad truth but in war people get killed, and they were on opposing sides for much of the series.

Leeron not knowing how he got smart enough to do what he did was pretty much par for the course, as a lot of stuff that goes on is kind of operating on the same idea of don't try and explain it because you can't! Waving his hands around to control the screen haha.

This episode introduces the concept that they can teleport to something if they know where it is, they all take this new ability very much in stride. Now to put it to use with that ring Nia has refused to get rid of despite saying she doesn't care for Simon or what happens to them.

Of course we pull the moon in from it's hiding place first

@Geriatric hedgehog - Hopefully you're doing OK!

 

[João Gomes]

Episode 23

My favorite part of the episode was the running gag of Team Gurren not understanding spiral science, chuckled every single time. Teleportation is now possible because of reasons.

Not a whole lot to say. Love seeing the gang dressed for war and how the episode title card clearly communicates this is Team Gurren back running the show

 

[Ian Wolf]

Episode 24

Spoiler

The final battle begins and it does not start well for our heroes. In this episode we finally see the truth strength of the enemy, and witness the tragic deaths of many of the members of the Team. Yes, they may be minor characters in the grand scheme of the series, but some of them are particularly gripping. The one that stands out most to me is the deaths of Jorgun and Balinbow as they rescue Gimmy and Darry.