Gurren Lagan characters

A

Ark

Adventurer
I've so far got up to episode 11 (so please no spoilers) of Gurren Lagan and am immensely impressed.

I think one the reasons for this is the characters. To me what it seems they've done is taken certain stereotypical character models and made them more realistic and relatable. So for example with Yoko when you first see her you assume she's going to be a Faye Valentine type character who acts hard on the outside but is really very sensitive blah blah blah. They haven't made her that way though. Likewise with Kamina he's meant to be the cliche super enthusiatic character (who frankly I usually really hate in every other series) but we see that he does have weaknesses and moments of insecurity.

Even with Nia when I first saw her I thought she was either going to be the token "Rei" or possibly "Beldandy" but instead they have given her will and a personality.
 
Yeah, I agree. Gurren Lagann is a very "knowing wink" kind of series that takes a lot of very typical, larger than life anime archetypes and humanizes them, yet at the same time pays homage to the genre that created them. Kamina's a good example in that he's a very classic Go Nagai kind of character; full-on, hot-blooded aggression, but in some ways, that's just a front he's projecting to inspire Simon, you could say that's why he wears the shades; to hide the fear in his eyes. There's this one flashback that perfectly encapsulates Kamina's character; when him and Simon are tunneling though some deep ground and everything starts collapsing around them - Kamina admits to Yoko he was scared shitless, but kept smiling and shouting because he didn't want to worry Simon, the guy who, despite his weedy appearance, is the real hero.

Anyway, I seriously envy you for discovering Gurren Lagann. It's a truly wonderful series, one that's full of inspirational action and heart-warming sacrifice. Savor this "first time" as much as you can.
 
Gurren Lagann is an awesome series (i completed it a few weeks back) and i also agree that the characters really were impressive. They werent your typical nansy pansy characters you have and they were all different.

Overall, a brilliant series to watch!
 
Yoko is a character, but she doesn't actually have character. She was just there to draw male attention towards the series, it's a token of fan service, basically.
 
Paul said:
Anyway, I seriously envy you for discovering Gurren Lagann. It's a truly wonderful series, one that's full of inspirational action and heart-warming sacrifice. Savor this "first time" as much as you can.
Click to expand...

You make it sound almost sexual :lol:

To be honest I'm suprised I've enjoyed it so much. I usually like anime to be reasonably realistic and Gurren Lagan is anything but. However I think because the unrealism is done fairly stylishly and kept within certain limits it does work in a strange kind of way.

Going back to the characters I was really shocked by Yoko's confession to Kamina. I think that's the first time I've seen an anime character confess their love to another in less than ten episodes and without being motivated by some tragic event.

Also, LOVE the Ant Eater troopers.

 
You make it sound almost sexual
Click to expand...
Its because it is :) TTGL is the best anime I've ever watched and I doubt it will pushed off the top spot for a while.
I fail to see how it hasn't had so much hype, maybe when its released in the US it will make a name for itself, at least on the english market, I have no idea how successful it was in Japan.
 
Lupus Inu said:
Yoko is a character, but she doesn't actually have character. She was just there to draw male attention towards the series, it's a token of fan service, basically.
Click to expand...

Being an object of fan service doesn't negate her having a character. That would mean that most female anime characters have no character. I'd say she has quite a well developed personality so far which like I said I was suprised by.
 
Ark said:
Lupus Inu said:
Yoko is a character, but she doesn't actually have character. She was just there to draw male attention towards the series, it's a token of fan service, basically.
Click to expand...

Being an object of fan service doesn't negate her having a character. That would mean that most female anime characters have no character. I'd say she has quite a well developed personality so far which like I said I was suprised by.
Click to expand...
You're saying all female characters are a fan-service? Right...

No, Lupus Inu is right. She lacks character. A bit of sass, then some soul searching, badda bing, badda boom; easy character development.
 
Maxon said:
You're saying all female characters are a fan-service? Right...
Click to expand...

How many female anime characters can you think of that are designed to not be attractive?

Maxon said:
No, Lupus Inu is right. She lacks character. A bit of sass, then some soul searching, badda bing, badda boom; easy character development.
Click to expand...

Well I can't make a conclusive judgement as I've only seen half the show but so far I can't see how it could be said that she lacks character, at least compared to most female leads. The character development isn't wonderful overall anyway for any of the characters. I just said that I found their presentation refreshing. What would you say is lacking about her character (without spoilers)?
 
Roadie said:
I have no idea how successful it was in Japan.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked they loved it enough in Japan to greenlight a film sequel/remake (?) less than a year after it's end. They must have done something right.
 
Ark said:
How many female anime characters can you think of that are designed to not be attractive?
Click to expand...
A decent amount. However, that's not a really an appropriate question since everyone has a different idea of what is attractive or not.

Integra Wingates Hellsing (Hellsing)
Kurau (Kurau Phantom Memory)
Asuka Langley (Devilman Lady)
Blood (Blood: The Last Vampire)
Princess Mononoke (Princess Mononoke)
Sagi Tsukiko (Paranoia Agent)
Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle)
Taeko Ojima (Only Yesterday)

And bear in mind these are only for anime I've watched, and I can probably think of more if I think long enough.
Ark said:
Well I can't make a conclusive judgement as I've only seen half the show but so far I can't see how it could be said that she lacks character, at least compared to most female leads. The character development isn't wonderful overall anyway for any of the characters. I just said that I found their presentation refreshing. What would you say is lacking about her character (without spoilers)?
Click to expand...
Interest is what she lacks. The series tries to play her off as a strong woman that can still retain her femininity, which I find boring. A character needs to have an interesting ideology or inner turmoil. Not sass.

However, this shouldn't be misunderstood to mean that she's not likable.
 
Maxon said:
The series tries to play her off as a strong woman that can still retain her femininity, which I find boring.
Click to expand...

Why is it boring though? It's certainly not the norm among female anime characters. By the same token would you say Kaname Chidori is a boring character?

A character needs to have an interesting ideology or inner turmoil. Not sass.
Click to expand...

Well I think it's been conclusively proved that women don't actually have ideas and I don't really see that she's sassy at all.I mean look how meekly she tried to "get with" Kamina. As for inner turmoil I don't really think it's the kind of show that can handle too much of that without looking contrived. Not with levelof slap stick it has.
 
Ark said:
Why is it boring though? It's certainly not the norm among female anime characters. By the same token would you say Kaname Chidori is a boring character?
Click to expand...
Did I ever try to defend her? If you had read the last line in my post, you wouldn't have needed to bring that fact up.
Ark said:
Well I think it's been conclusively proved that women don't actually have ideas and I don't really see that she's sassy at all.I mean look how meekly she tried to "get with" Kamina.
Click to expand...
I don't even want to know how you came to your first conclusion, so I'll just gloss over that. Perhaps sass isn't the right word to use. But whatever it is, I've seen enough of it to not care.
Ark said:
As for inner turmoil I don't really think it's the kind of show that can handle too much of that without looking contrived. Not with levelof slap stick it has.
Click to expand...
Then what do you call the issues that Kamina and Simon had? Sure as hell looked like some form of inner turmoil to me.
 
Maxon said:
I don't even want to know how you came to your first conclusion, so I'll just gloss over that.
Click to expand...

I do. I'm hoping it's some TTGL-specific thing that I'm missing the point of.

R
 
I’ve just been searching the net for evidence of this conclusive proof that women don’t have ideas. I can’t find any. But I can’t wait to hear Ark’s explanation! :lol:

I’m guessing that it’ll perhaps be something to do with the portrayal of females in anime or something. But if it's not, I'm anticipating fireworks!! :p
 
Back
Top