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

[Lordhippos]

Episode 14

I don't have much to say really here, with the exception of two things. Firstly I recall it being interesting that the direction of the spin matters when it came to the drilling section, and secondly that it was a very interesting tonal shift for me around this point.

First time around, I was expecting the remainder of the season to be all about working up towards defeating the spiral king, but the latter half of the show gets that out of the way really fast, and moves onto other things without delay.

 

[Dai]

Related to that, there's something I've wondered about before when watching this episode. Are the Gunmen being operated by the cavalry supposed to be fortress-sized like Dai-Gurren? I take it from the shape that they are, but it's hard to tell.

And unless I'm very much mistaken, this was the episode where we first heard the lyrics that spawned this thread's title.

The people we see inside the cavalry gunmen are standing rather than sat at pilot controls, so that suggests they're on the bridge of something battleship size.

I think we hear a bit of the song in episode 6 when Kamina is trying to get through the hot spring partition. IIRC it's still a long way from getting the epic Libera Me From Hell treatment at this point.

Episode 14
Between the size of the beastmen army, the arrival of the human cavalry and the revelation of the city's true form, this episode feels like the tipping point where the scale of the conflict escalates out of control. I mentioned exponential growth at the beginning of the simulwatch, and this is really that moment of disorientation where you wonder how it came to this so abruptly.

 

[João Gomes]

Yo momma so late-

Aaaanyway, episode 13 got me on Viral's side again after being pretty annoyed at him for tag teaming with the gorilla against Kamina. His "he d-d-died back then?" was still silly, though. Well yeah, what the hell were you expecting.

Him sitting out of the cytomander's shenanigans was great, though.

I hadn't mentioned this before, but I'm loving all the Eva references all over the series, so good. Evolving OPs are also one of my favorite tropes, so that's great.


Episode 14

Damn, Jojo kamikazed the hell out of teppelin. The sky is falling and everything is a gunman!

About ready for the end of part 1 and the beginning of my favorite half. Next episode is also one of my favorites!

 

[HWR]

Episode 14
Not much commentary to add really, @Dai sums up the state of conflict very well. The series really does feel like it’s going all out for this climax.

 

[Ian Wolf]

Episode 15

Spoiler

For me, the best moment in this episode is when Simon delivers the lethal blow to Lordgenome - because it is actually him rather than the mecha that does the damage. The brief moment when you see his hand holding onto the Core Drill as Lordgenome lifts Simon up is brief, but key (both literally and metaphorically). Then, when Simon uses it to stab that hairy chest, and turns it drill that hole through his chest is one of high points of the entire series.

Another element that is of interest is the actual opening: the normal opening is entirely gotten rid off, with it being replaced with the events that ended in the previous episode, the opening song appearing at the end of the episode. A nice change to set up the unfolding drama.

Anyway, as one arc ends, another begins, with a clip show in the middle.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Catching up and bouncing some thoughts off of others'.

Nia gets a haircut.

Thought the hair being burnt off Yoko's shots was a nice touch, and coming back Nia's cool hair design, was like seeing cotton candy being blown away.

One of my personal favourite moments is the brief seen between Simon and Yoko as the sub is setting following their battle, which changes to a different pace for the animation which in turn changes the mood to make the scene more poignant.

I too quite liked these moments in the last few episodes between the two original members of the team bonding and Yoko finally realising Simon's qualities as a leader.

Gurren giving Yoko her own pilot icon

Apart from this being a very cool aspect of Gurren, I like how all the Gunmen are idiot-proof with their apt use of iconography given the implied initial widespread illiteracy of the human population. The iPhones of the mecha genre given their ease of use?

Highlights included Gurren Lagann playing monkey bars with the airborne gunmen

Heh I saw this more as Spidey Lagann swinging across.

Viral continues his ascent in the "compelling character" stakes.

I'd forgotten how irritating he was initially until this re-watch, given how he is a bit like the Simon of the beastmen, and really grows throughout the series ending as a far more compelling character than irritating.

Don't believe anybody (the writer of that Fandom page included) who tries to tell you that the singular is "Gunman". It's not: the singular and plural are the same.

I appreciate your attention to detail with grammar and language dude! Always good to learn something new heh.

I wonder if Yoko starts to regret letting him do that once he takes on humanoid form. I can just picture them avoiding eye contact for the rest of their lives.

Heh I'd completely forgotten about that and good point on the expected awkwardness heheh. And there I thought only Simon was the jammy git at the end of episode 1 but Boota has been the real deviant all along. In fact, I see a trend here with animals portrayed as stand ins for pervy behaviour (the cat from Konosuba comes to mind).

First time around, I was expecting the remainder of the season to be all about working up towards defeating the spiral king, but the latter half of the show gets that out of the way really fast, and moves onto other things without delay.

This is something else I really liked about this series and how it packs so much in its run. I would say most limited run series seldom go past the main perceived battle, though one would argue this wasn't the main battle, but I still see it as the main one where Simon really matured into his role.

Evangelion's influence on anime continues with the aforementioned airborne enemy Gunmen resembling the flight form of the Eva Mass Production Units in The End of Evangelion, as well as the Sachiel-like (Third/Fourth Angel) skulls in the room where the Spiral King fills Viral in on the truth behind the Beastmen.

Another one for me was Adiane's battleship/carrier reminding me of the fourth angel Shamshel from the Eva TV series, when it first came to view.

 

[ayase]

Episode 14 - "You think it's all over?"

It is now.

Charmander and Guame take their bow. Pride goeth before destruction, boys. This is, as others have mentioned, a very action-centric episode and there isn't great room for discussion beyond "the action waz gud" but again it includes some great visuals, particularly when Simon and Rossiu (and Boota) give Guame and his fortress a good screwing.

I enjoy Kiyoh, Kinon and Kiyal's fighting spirit and how much of a true bro Kittan is to them; he has his moment of scepticism and protective instinct but almost immediately remembers to believe in them and realises they're stronger together. Family, comrades, lovers, everyone can be a team that cheers each other on in Gurren Lagann and that's great (getting a bit ahead of myself here, but Simon and Nia behave very similarly towards each other in the next episode too, just simply trusting each other).



Also, far be it for me to re-ignite the debate over whether or not GL takes place in a far future world with our own historical past, but Lordgenome does make pretty explicit reference to the Genesis creation story (itself based on earlier Mesopotamian sources, some of the earliest written creation myths, potentially interesting when you consider where the names of Viral's Gunmen originate) in this episode...

Episode 15 - My Teppelin is moving on its own

Akira Kurosawa's Gurren Lagann

It's interesting to have been watching Lagann alongside Gundam 00 this time; as a show that came out later the same year I can't help but feel perhaps the writers of the latter took a little inspiration from the former in a "mid-season finales and time-skips are in this year" kind of way. 00's is not quite as epic perhaps, but both leave you with the impression the main conflict appears to have been resolved and wondering where the story can possibly go from here.

Another episode that just makes me want to fill this post with screencaps. Whether it's the awesome sight of Gurren Lagann reaching out for Nia, the humour of the characters shoving each other out of the way on the screen with their communications, the beauty of the fact the whole episode appears to take place on a hazy yellow-lit summer evening or pretty much everything involving Lordgenome, it all looks damn good.

Of course we know that Simon isn't likely to fail, but the battle is still a nail-biter. If this had been my first time watching I would definitely have been concerned for the protagonists whether everyone would survive this encounter, such a massive threat Lordgenome appears to be. But as @Ian Wolf has already pointed out, we get that brilliant man-to-man finishing move and with a final dire warning, we head toward the future...

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Loving the screencaps for a visual flair to thread, thanks dude!

 

[Dai]

Episode 15
Even by this show's standards, this episode is nuts. Gurren Lagann takes on a city-sized mech, the size difference so great that most of the fight is focused on a single fingertip. In one of the creepier callbacks to Evangelion, Lordgenome's harem seem to get off on being turned into spirals, rather like the way the mass-produced Evas reacted to impaling themselves in End of Evangelion. The showdown against Lordgenome has the climactic ring of a series-ender, but we're only halfway done.

 

[ayase]

In one of the creepier callbacks to Evangelion, Lordgenome's harem seem to get off on being turned into spirals

Funnily enough that made me think of [fairly major Made in Abyss spoiler] how Bondrewd turns Prushka into power-up sludge for himself, similar sort of "I'll use your devotion to me as a source of power" thing.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 15

I forgot how the Spiral King fight ended, given it's been about a year since I watched it for the first time, and I've watched a lot since then, that is not a bad thing! I enjoyed how powerful the spiral king felt as an opponent myself, he was a bad ass, but was taken down by the spiral power of the small drill key that started all of this craziness off.

Am I right in seeing that 16 is a compilation ep? If so I will see you fine gentlemen and ladies on Monday for episode 17

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Episode 15

I forgot how the Spiral King fight ended, given it's been about a year since I watched it for the first time, and I've watched a lot since then, that is not a bad thing! I enjoyed how powerful the spiral king felt as an opponent myself, he was a bad ass, but was taken down by the spiral power of the small drill key that started all of this craziness off.

Am I right in seeing that 16 is a compilation ep? If so I will see you fine gentlemen and ladies on Monday for episode 17

Likewise, I'd forgotten the specifics of this fight including the spiral king's power and also the second Lagann - double the awesomeness!! But such a shame it only lasted the one episode (just like red wolf in the totally awesome airwolf - it was heartbreaking seeing it blown up). And yet the Laganns are just thrown aside for the end of the real fight as @Ian Wolf referred to.

 

[Neil.T]

Episode 15

"Don't give up! Rejecting common sense to make the impossible possible is the Team Gurren way. Rossiu, have faith in me. Believe in the Simon who believes in you."

Wow, what a role reversal: now Simon's the one giving the pep talk.

Just to reiterate what @ayase already said, the animation in this episode is absolutely fantastic. Gainax must've devoted a good chunk of the series' schedule/budget to this one; it's just so full of energy, and I love it for that.

I think my favourite bits of animation in amongst so much goodness would have to the part where Lordgenome climbs down his Lazengann to face Lagann directly, and then everything that involves Simon's final defeat of humankind's nemesis. Simon's speech and his turning the core drill to blow Lordgenome away is just so damn satisfying every time!

There was an interesting bit of dialogue that caught my eye and ear before all that, though, and it was this:

Lordgenome: "There was once a man who fought as you do. He was also unaware that his actions would doom humanity to extinction."

Could he be referring to the character we saw on-board the space battleship during the short episode 1 prologue?


I really could rave on some more about the wonderful animation and the sheer excitement of this episode, but instead I'll dip back into some stuff from previous posts:

The people we see inside the cavalry gunmen are standing rather than sat at pilot controls, so that suggests they're on the bridge of something battleship size.

That's a really good point. Great observation, Dai; I don't think I'd ever put those pieces together before.

We actually got a much better look at the cavalry battleships in today's episode. They're definitely much bigger than an ordinary Gunmen, but are still dwarfed by Dai-Gurren. (Goodbye, Dai-Gurren. You served well. [salute])

Evolving OPs are also one of my favorite tropes

Oh, me too, dude!

I'm watching Back Arrow on Funimation this season, and that does it too: there are characters silhouetted out in the OP who only become properly visible once we've met them in the show, and mecha that only appear after we've seen them as well. It's a neat little touch.

About ready for the end of part 1 and the beginning of my favorite half

Wow, you too, eh? Yeah, I love Gurren Lagann as a whole, but I've long felt like the second arc is my favourite.

That might be partly down to movie #2 turning it into something possibly even more amazing to me, though. (The impossible made possible?)

 

[HWR]

Episode 15
This was just an awesome episode, can’t put it into words any better really.

 

[Ian Wolf]

Could he be referring to the character we saw on-board the space battleship during the short episode 1?

@Neil.T For some reason I thought he was referring to Kamina’s dad, as if Lordgenome was the one responsible for his death too.

 

[Neil.T]

For some reason I thought he was referring to Kamina’s dad, as if Lordgenome was the one responsible for his death too.

That's entirely possible as well. To me, though, it felt like Lordgenome was teasing something new but was unwilling to reveal more.

Likewise it's more of a teaser than a spoiler when I say that we'll be touching upon that plot point again during the series' second arc.

Am I right in seeing that 16 is a compilation ep? If so I will see you fine gentlemen and ladies on Monday for episode 17

You are absolutely right, buddy. There's no new animated material in episode 16, so Sunday's a day of rest for anyone wanting to skip it.

See ya Monday, dude.

 

[Lordhippos]

Wow, you too, eh? Yeah, I love Gurren Lagann as a whole, but I've long felt like the second arc is my favourite.

I also prefer the post spiral king section! Same as you it's all great though (except ep 4).

 

[Dai]

Lordgenome: "There was once a man who fought as you do. He was also unaware that his actions would doom humanity to extinction."

It's been quite a few years since I last watched this, but he's referring to himself, isn't he?

 

[Lordhippos]

It's been quite a few years since I last watched this, but he's referring to ... isn't he?

That was my take on it also, I couldn't remember if this got revealed later.

 

[João Gomes]

Episode 15 IS SO GOOD WHAT A SURPRISE

Having a climax midway through a series is so tight. Very hot. Extremely arousing and such.

Alright, obviously this was impeccable from a technical perspective, the soft coloring in exterior scenes was a particular highlight, reinforcing the setting-sun aesthetic, but animation all throughout was top-notch with a lot of highlights, most of them during the lordgenome fight: character expression, attack impact, debris flying, general movement... The fluidity is to die for. Add to that quite a few wallpaper worthy shots, for good mesure.

Perfect pacing, too. We're in the final battle arena before minute 8 of the episode and from then it's just non-stop bliss all the way to the conclusion of the fight, which is pitch perfect.

Seeing Simon go toe to toe against the big bad was very satisfying ("GIGA DRILL BREAKER™® denied" included) and as far as I'm concerned it only goes uphill from here.

Miscellaneous stuff would be...

The Lagannzan is maybe the only mecha design in the series I love with no reservations. It's just really appealing, aggressive looking and lean. Strong Eva-03 vibes, too.

Simon Neo-ing Viral was funny and looked great.

The beginning reminded of ZOE 2 with the falling buildings/towers; I think it's the part where you meet and fight Lloyd (Kazuma Kaneko ♥). Love that game dearly.

@Neil.T already itching for the new OP animation! Also, villains denying trademark attacks is another favorite. And yes, the next arc is so much better while enhancing what came before with the added knowledge and context you get from it. Whew, gonna stop right there, I'm gushing again. ☄

Oh yeah, good call, also loved the scene of lordgenome casually exiting his mecha and walking up to Simon to lay the smack down on him. The guy has class!

OH AND ALSO. Thanks for bringing Back Arrow up, just saw its by Goro Taniguchi so that is definitely getting watched! Gotta re-watch GunxSword one of these days...