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

[João Gomes]

Yesterday's episode

Aw s.hit, Kittan waiving that death flag way too soon. The Lagann graveyard was one hell of a reality check for the team and this is about the only anime where a pigmole could possibly be accepted as a last minute energy reactor, but here we are, happy to be along for the ride

Kittan went out, appropriately, like a king. Thank you for your service and such. The ending to the episode was just goosebumps goosebumps goosebumps culminating in Simon's rage, holy hell. He ain't fckin around

Today's episode of Neon Genesis Gurren Lagann

In any other anime, this would be the last episode, but guess what: this is Gurren Lagann, son. We've only just started hurling planets and there's bigger stuff than that.

Spiral tornadoes and interdimensonal homing lasers to the sound of the anti-spiral theme are today's highlights. We'll be right back after the break with one final goodbye to Kamina and Co.

Simon is just one huge Deus Ex Machina, isn't he. I love it. By the way, Viral's dream hurt. I want that guy to find happiness.

Tomorrow's episode

Just kidding, I'll actually wait for tomorrow!

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 26

Bit late on this one been doing other things. One episode to go!

Only one episode left now!

Well this simulwatch has flown by, can’t believe there’s only an episode to go now.

How do you defeat an enemy that can use probability to attack you even if you think you've blocked them? attack every possibility! makes sense

Boota turned into some kind of sonic-esque character, rather feminine might I add?

The time loop stuff was fun to watch, Kamina rocking up and saving them all was a nice touch after he'd been absent for so many episodes.

We end the episode with finally reaching Nia, and the last episode begins tomorrow!

 

[Dai]

Episode 26
Most of the series is pure proto-Trigger, but this episode had a strong flavour of old-school Gainax with its large-scale battles and barrage of complicated SF weaponry. I wonder how many people realised at the time that we were witnessing the death throes of those kinds of scenes from Gainax. Anyway, I like that they came up with some interesting concepts that kind of make sense, even if the characters don't know Planck from a plank.

Simon finally gets to see how he measures up against his bro, and Yoko gets a "here's what you could have won" montage in probably the most emotionally evocative sequence in the series.

 

[Ian Wolf]

Episode 27 (finale)

Spoiler

This episode is perhaps the biggest reason as to why this is my favourite anime, in particular the final moments with the wedding and what happens 20 years hence. These scenes, still after so many years of me watching them for the first time, still make me emotional. While the fighting, the action, or the comedy may be high points at various different points in the series, it is these final sadder scenes, witnessing the final loss of Nia, and the old Simon watching the Gurren Laganns (plural) going off into space with Boota and a young boy, that are utterly brilliant. I still feel like wanting to cry after watching them. The only issue I have with these scenes is their decision not to show the old Yoko’s full face, while happily showing everyone else.

I love it when Lordgenome is turned into a gigantic quantum drill. Nice to see the Evangelion cross-shaped explosion being referenced when the Anti-Spiral is finally defeated. I would also say however that I think my cynicism has caught up with me during the moment the dying Anti-Spiral tells Simon to look after the universe and prevent its destruction, to which Simon replies: “Humanity isn’t that stupid.” I can’t help but feel that events over years since the anime’s debut has show that actually, humanity could just be that stupid.

 

[Neil.T]

This episode is perhaps the biggest reason as to why this is my favourite anime, in particular the final moments with the wedding and what happens 20 years hence. These scenes, still after so many years of me watching them for the first time, still make me emotional. While the fighting, the action, or the comedy may be high points at various different points in the series, it is these final sadder scenes, witnessing the final loss of Nia, and the old Simon watching the Gurren Laganns (plural) going off into space with Boota and a young boy, that are utterly brilliant. I still feel like wanting to cry after watching them.

I think you summed all that up perfectly, Ian. That final line of Simon's never fails to do it for me. He's still a staunch proponent of the value of hope 20 years on, despite the cruel hand that fate dealt him.

It's heartbreaking that in only that short time, the hero of humanity seems to have been quietly forgotten. Simon doesn't seem to find it that way, though.

I guess that a life as a wandering drifter was all there was for him after losing the love of his life, Nia. She could never be replaced, in his eyes. Movie #2 somehow manages to draw even more emotional impact out of old Simon's restless existence in its own epilogue, reframing it as a quest to fulfill Nia's last wish and again creating a story thematically even stronger than the original. We'll have the chance to see that for ourselves in three days' time during this simulwatch.

We'll also be seeing drastically different roles in the story for the sadly departed Team Dai-Gurren stalwarts Zorthy, Iraak, Kid, Makken, Jorgun and Balinbow. Expect a very different final battle is the only thing I will say as a teaser for now.

But back to episode 27, there are just too many things I could gush over in the epilogue. I love seeing Gimmy and Darry in their impressive new roles — so much so that I actually feel a sense of pride towards them. I love how an older and wiser Rossiu is voiced by the same VA, Jōji Nakata, as the head of his old village, bringing things around in a very satisfying full circle. And I love how Leeron doesn't seem to have aged a day; he's the only one who hasn't!

He must have a good moisturising regime, is all I can say.

The only issue I have with these scenes is their decision not to show the old Yoko’s full face, while happily showing everyone else.

You make another very good point there, Ian.
I think there might've been something niggling me the previous times I've seen the ending, but it's never materialised as a conscious thought, and you've managed to dig it out there. That's... arguably sexist, as if Yōko would prefer us to remember her as she looked when she was younger.

I haven't actually watched today's episode yet (because it's glorious sunshine outside as I type this!), so I'm writing from memory for the time being.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of this for myself again when I can.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

For various reasons I've not been able to keep up, but today is a day off with no other distractions, so here I go! It turns out that it's a good day for it as well being the day of the last episode. Probably watch an episode and just put down some random thoughts rather than read everything as well because that was taking me over an hour an episode! Might skim through later.

Ep 21
Who's this sexy teacher? It was one of those "oh yeah, I remember now" moments. Looked like she was deliberately driving her scooter slowly, as it zips around later.
Are they going to blow up the Moon, whilst not as devastating as it hitting the Earth, there's plenty of problems with it not being there at all! I guess I'll find out:

Ep 22
Had to pause the episode to start writing thoughts down. There were so many in the opening 5 mins:
Leron doing some exposition, is he Leron from the future explaining some important science? No he's still in the present just talking to himself only to be interrupted by someone.
Ah, that's where the First Order got there idea from!
Little call back to the last episode with "you sound like a teacher"
How many hurricanes/typhoons on Earth are there? At least 6 there!
Gurren Lagann piloting the new transformationed Arch-Gurren
Ah, the Moon was an even bigger giant robot, of course it was. Seems rather than the Moon itself being the robot, the robot had been hidden inside it, but the Anti-Spiral knew that and were using it against the Earth and its forces. Or did they just build their own lasers on the surface and not realise what was under the surface?

Ep 23
Rossiu trys to make amends for his "sins", but choses a rather dramatic and, of course, wrong way of doing so. But this leads to the discovery of a new Spiral power of dimensionally jumping through space! I have actually read the posts now and a lot of people are pointing out that it is a bit of an ass-pull, but no worse than any power creep seen in Shounen stories "ah-ha suddenly I can do this move that I couldn't before" "why you say? Because the plot demands it now! Forget the point that I could have discovered/learnt/been taught it at any point in the past."
OK it was the Anti-Spiral hijacking the battleship. Also the Spiral King did make the animals as well as the Beastmen.
Oh and the real Moon had been hidden in another dimension rather than being repurposed as a hiding place.

Ep 24
Giant Nia in a familiar pose (call back), actually the giant battleship seems to be another call forward to a certain giant space waifu with its looks (FranXX spoilers, tried to be as careful as possible there).
Your gonna need a bigger drill!
So many sacrifices
It's a trap!

Ep 25
Deep dive.
Never tell me the odds
Another sacrifice
Poor Yoko, can't hold onto a man for more than a day!

Ep 26
I'm flagging a bit now. All the scientific mumbo-jumbo about how the Anti-Spiral attack works and how to counteract it was stupidly OTT and I got a bit lost. Didn't really see the point of Boota's transformation either.
The dream world stuff was a bit boring as well, I started to nod off (told you I was flagging), but I will say Simon's dream seemed worse than what actually happened, wasn't it supposed to be a "look how much better you could have had it" type situation or a final temptation? Didn't seem very tempting to me.

Think I might actually leave the final episode for now.

 

[Dai]

Episode 27
One of the craziest mech fights in anime history, and probably the largest if you get the tape measure out. Opening the portal to Earth was a smart move narratively, since seeing the fight from the Earth's surface gives it some sense of scale. I think Gunbuster 2 did a better job on that front though, and felt weightier and more visceral as a result. It's a fitting grand finale though, and a mostly satisfying conclusion to the story.

I say mostly because, once again, Nia gets the short end of the stick. All the casualties Team Dai-Gurren has suffered up to this point have been when people chose to charge into the enemy lines. Nia's entire arc through the second half of the series consists of things outside her control happening to her with no relation to anything she did prior. Consequently, her death doesn't come across as a heroic sacrifice or the price of redemption, but instead just the price that Simon has to pay for victory.

Anyway, skip ahead two decades and we find humanity flourishing. Again, it's a mostly satisfying conclusion, but I've always found the state Simon ends up in rather depressing. I just keep hearing that exchange from Pulp Fiction: "I'll walk the Earth... like Kane from Kung Fu... you know, walk from place to place, meet people, get in adventures." "You've decided to be a bum."

I think my cynicism has caught up with me during the moment the dying Anti-Spiral tells Simon to look after the universe and prevent its destruction, to which Simon replies: “Humanity isn’t that stupid.” I can’t help but feel that events over years since the anime’s debut has show that actually, humanity could just be that stupid.

That line always struck me as painfully naive. Humanity has been that stupid since year one; we're just increasingly seeing the fallout of that stupidity in larger ways as the years roll on.

Well, now that we've seen every mech that GL has to offer, it's time to share my favourite video on Youtube: a size comparison of almost every mech in anime history, set to some very familiar music. The last couple of minutes get pretty crazy.

There's also a version with the labels translated into English, but it loses a lot of the impact because it falls out of sync with the music. I also find it more fun to see which mechs I recognise by sight rather than reading the labels.

Spoiler: English version

And with that, I'm out. The US DVDs don't include any of the stuff that you'll be watching for the next few days.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 27

Pretty epic battle in space here, the scale of the conflict is huge now, from what started as finding a small mecha head, to now quite literally throwing galaxies around.

After all that the Spiral King put them through it was nice to see his redemption at the end, and proving his worth to his daughter and the others.

The final death of the anti-spiral reminded me a lot of the earlier Spiral King fight, it wasn't an overwhelming victory then either, but Simon and his drill that won the day, just needed to get close enough to use it.

I think it was a good ending all told, seeing how everyone was doing afterwards was something I personally enjoyed. It's a shame that Simon and Nia couldn't stay together but I think saving the universe was more important than saving just Nia, and Simon knew that defeating the anti-spiral would lead to losing her.

The advancement of technology is once again a leap forwards, and in only 20 years, they have a very sci-fi metropolis going and relationships with various other spiral races spanning the universe as well, a lot has changed in a very short space of time.

I was kind of bittersweet on Simon at the end, I think he deserved better than just wandering about, I think I'd have preferred to see him chilling in a small cottage or something, just enjoying some rest after all the craziness.

 

[HWR]

Episode 27
And with that, the series comes to a poignant close. GL isn’t perfect, especially when it came to factors like Nia being essentially a plot device in the second half.

Elsewhere my views on Rossiu have only slightly softened and there are elements I think that the two Parallel works films did better but overall I’m glad I had the chance to experience this series again alongside fellow fans for this simulwatch. GL is a damn fun series!

 

[João Gomes]

God damn, man. Every single time.

This ending wrecks me every single time. I know what's coming, but still. F.uck me.

This is why. Lagann's emotional core is extremely strong and it all rides on Simon's character. This has been said time and again but even with the s.hit hand fate has given him, he takes it like a champ and presses on. With all the power he had, he still gave priority to those that will come after him instead of meddling with stuff he doesn't understand.

Yes, Nia's purpose is that of a plot device at this point in the story but I still liked her character and what she brought to Simon. The look in Simon's eyes when he realizes what will happen to Nia breaks my heart (like, in a really quick ultra-short-term way, not dramatically lol).

He leaves like a goddamn hero without fanfare or melodrama. It's what he chooses for himself, fully in control. It's f.ucking incredible, I love this ending dearly and Simon is inspiring in his blinding positivity. No wonder he has so much spiral power.

And I find it awesome that me being such a huge mecha fan and in an episode where huge robots hurl galaxy destructo discs and big bang attacks at each other, what stays with me is how emotional it was. Everyone had their chance to shine, Laganzann was, again, recognized as the superior mecha design, having the spotlight and even Lordgenome had a bit of a redemption thing. It's superlative s.hit.

Final Episode

 

[Lordhippos]

“Humanity isn’t that stupid.” I can’t help but feel that events over years since the anime’s debut has show that actually, humanity could just be that stupid.

Could not agree more. Humanity is all short term profit with no thought for longer term. Definitely can mess things up!

Anyway, skip ahead two decades and we find humanity flourishing. Again, it's a mostly satisfying conclusion, but I've always found the state Simon ends up in rather depressing. I just keep hearing that exchange from Pulp Fiction: "I'll walk the Earth... like Kane from Kung Fu... you know, walk from place to place, meet people, get in adventures." "You've decided to be a bum."

Yeah I had the same thought, Simon doesn't really have a happy end, he just has an end where he gets to wander about without any responsibility.

 

[João Gomes]

Listen, I hate people as much as the next guy, but I don't know how you guys can be cynical in the face of our lord and savior Simon-sama

I'm half joking, but it feels good to watch an anime and see the best a person could be, even if it's pretend. It's why Simon is so inspiring as a character!

Yes, we suck and ruin s.hit, but Simon is a "what if we were actually cool (and you know, had access to reality shattering power and cool a.ss mechas, etc.)" and the answer is, it'd actually be kind of awesome

Back to our regularly scheduled s.hitty selves!

 

[Neil.T]

@João Gomes:

That avatar pic, though.

It's like an almighty Burst Spinning Punch straight to the feels.

I'm gonna watch episode 27 right now.

 

[João Gomes]

@João Gomes:

That avatar pic, though.

It's like an almighty Burst Spinning Punch straight to the feels.

I'm gonna watch episode 27 right now.

I used my vast(ly small) google skills to find it, only I didn't. But since my drill is the drill that CREATES THE HEAVENS, I just straight up paused my blu ray, took a pick with my phone and cropped it.

This is the extent of my love for this series, it makes me do things in real life

Go, I'm looking forward to your post!!

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Ep 27

since seeing the fight from the Earth's surface gives it some sense of scale.

The scale is miles out:

quite literally throwing galaxies around

All you'd see from Earth would be the equivalent of microbe seeing a human! Don't quote me on that it'll probably be something even smaller! You might catch sight of a pore on the surface of the skin, but not see any of the action going on!

I did like that the final move mirrors the very first fight together when Kamina in Gurren throws Lagann.

The post credits stuff was a bit meh, like most pointed out, Nia is just a plot device in this half. If she had stayed human and died at the end in some way then maybe it would be worth a tear or two. There have been other moments that moved me more than that did.
And then Yoko seemingly being a spinster and Simon a widower, just seemed to suck. I don't think them getting together would have worked for me either though.

I think I remember the first half better because mostly it's big robots go smashy, smashy, where as the second gets a little more serious with political stuff and other things ending in -ical that I generally don't care about.

 

[Neil.T]

So I just watched episode 27 of Gurren Lagann.

I used all the best measuring equipment given to us by science and engineering combined: an angle measurer, balancing scales, a Geiger counter, an egg timer, a laser tape-measure, a clicker... hell, I even used a plumb line and spirit level to verify the final result...

... and I am now in a position to be able to scientifically confirm: the ending to this show is f**king MIGHTY. @João Gomes and @Ian Wolf were right!

Full post tomorrow once I've processed it all.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Well that was quite the ride topped off with the exhilarating and beautifully titled final episode (great use of the Arthur C Clarke titles).

I liked how in episode 25 both Viral & Kittan took the mickey out of the fanfare speeches of the rivals they look up to, but happily followed in their steps. Nice to see Kittan's feelings being reciprocated by Yoko. Kittan bursting out of apparent failure to deal the final blow was suitably awesome.

Episode 26 gave us the ghost of Kamina to help the team get out the trap of an appropriately tempting but anaesthetised existence.

Finally at the end the reveal of the anti-spiral's true nature, one could sympathise with their sacrifice in their belief that were saving existence, not dissimilar to Rossiu and his village elder being prepared for the sacrifices required for humanity to survive. But that despondent way of thinking being the antithesis of our heroes' is happily defeated and great to see lordgenome back in action with the awesome lazengann. I also really liked the double helix formed of the dreams of the living & the fallen heroes as the anti-spiral were defeated, that I thought was a great touch. After the epic galaxy & universe hurling battle, with the great theme tunes, it was a nice cool off to have the last moment of bliss between Simon and Nia. A bit of wisdom from Simon to not resurrect the fallen but make space for future generations. And what a wonderful epilogue to complete the characters' journey (one of whom suspiciously seems not to have aged heheh)

This thread will continue to exist even after the simulwatch is over, so you can drop your thoughts in anytime!

Heh I'm liking this line dude, reminded me of one at the end of EoE! I'm looking forward to having the movies for my hopefully next re-watch of this great show heh.

You know how in episode 25 we see multiple Laganns floating in space? It's explained that they once belonged to others who had previously "made it this far", as Kittan puts it. What if one of these groups was the Commander and his crew?

This is the explanation I came to myself in the end (also that perhaps it was the group the eventually made up the anti-spiral even?and the theory I like the best so will stick with that one heh (also the concepts would be ripe for a prequel!!). Interesting thoughts on the other potentials.

Episode 27 (finale)

Spoiler

This episode is perhaps the biggest reason as to why this is my favourite anime, in particular the final moments with the wedding and what happens 20 years hence. These scenes, still after so many years of me watching them for the first time, still make me emotional. While the fighting, the action, or the comedy may be high points at various different points in the series, it is these final sadder scenes, witnessing the final loss of Nia, and the old Simon watching the Gurren Laganns (plural) going off into space with Boota and a young boy, that are utterly brilliant. I still feel like wanting to cry after watching them. The only issue I have with these scenes is their decision not to show the old Yoko’s full face, while happily showing everyone else.

I love it when Lordgenome is turned into a gigantic quantum drill. Nice to see the Evangelion cross-shaped explosion being referenced when the Anti-Spiral is finally defeated. I would also say however that I think my cynicism has caught up with me during the moment the dying Anti-Spiral tells Simon to look after the universe and prevent its destruction, to which Simon replies: “Humanity isn’t that stupid.” I can’t help but feel that events over years since the anime’s debut has show that actually, humanity could just be that stupid.

Totally with you on how this last episode just elevates the entire series to another level with the final scenes being heartbreakingly beautiful. And also couldn't help chuckling at the "humanity isn't that stupid" comment and thinking of the episode title from Adam Curtis' latest work: "But what if the people are stupid?"

I love how an older and wiser Rossiu is voiced by the same VA, Jōji Nakata, as the head of his old village, bringing things around in a very satisfying full circle.

Indeed, that was another nice touch along with him also physically resembling his father figure.

And I love how Leeron doesn't seem to have aged a day; he's the only one who hasn't!

Heh I was thinking the same (maybe his secret has been implied as drinking children's blood!?!)

Nia's entire arc through the second half of the series consists of things outside her control happening to her with no relation to anything she did prior. Consequently, her death doesn't come across as a heroic sacrifice or the price of redemption, but instead just the price that Simon has to pay for victory.

Good point here, she started off so well as a strong character with a mind and opinions of her own and would have done so much better with further positive development rather than just being a tragic foil to Simon. She was painfully effective at the latter though heh.

That line always struck me as painfully naive. Humanity has been that stupid since year one; we're just increasingly seeing the fallout of that stupidity in larger ways as the years roll on.

Coming back to this, I find it difficult to not be pessimistic in these times but looking at it objectively, on an individual basis humanity can be incredibly stupid but collectively we've managed to come very far in a relatively short space of time, even if it will only be to implode in the end, but still, that's some serious spiral power for you!

I was kind of bittersweet on Simon at the end, I think he deserved better than just wandering about, I think I'd have preferred to see him chilling in a small cottage or something, just enjoying some rest after all the craziness.

He leaves like a goddamn hero without fanfare or melodrama. It's what he chooses for himself, fully in control.

On first watch I too found Simon's fate tragic but this time around I also felt that actually, he bowed out gracefully on his own terms like a true champion once the fight was over. Nothing wrong with a bit of wandering especially after having lived through more excitement & adventure than countless lifetimes would provide some! No doubt he enjoyed life to the end as he still seemed happy & satisfied in the epilogue.

Ah well, in the end that was just a lot of fun with a lot of heart. Until next time buddy!

 

[Neil.T]

Episode 27: "The Lights in the Sky Are Stars"

"We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance a little further with each turn. That's how a drill works!"

Just some disparate thoughts in a bullet-pointed list from me to cover bits and pieces in the final episode.

• Lordgenome's megasized mecha's name is subtitled on the Anime Limited Blu-ray as "Lazengann Overload". I pondered the possibility that the name could also been translated as "Lazengann Overlord", because both "lord" and "load" (as well as "road", actually) would be rendered in katakana as ロード (rōdo, the pronunciation of which is explained in an earlier post of mine.)

• Another bit I love in this episode is the part where Simon smashes drill after drill fighting against the Anti-Spiral's final form. This highly charged sequence shows Simon and humankind's endless determination. It wouldn't matter if Simon had broken one, one hundred, one thousand or one million drills: he was not going to give in.

• Simon's line "My drill is the drill that creates the heavens" is a bit of wordplay in Japanese. The usual line, "Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens" uses the Japanese verb tsuku. The episode 27 alternative, though, adds an extra syllable on the end to make tsukuru, which is to make or create.

On a related note, "Ten wo Tsuke" is the title of a familiar piece of music from the series:

Spoiler: YouTube video

• It's amazing how, after escalating the scale of humanity's battle against the Anti-Spiral race to super-colossal size, the series strips it all right back down to basics and settles everything using the smallest robot in the show. Movie #2 takes this one layer deeper to utterly spectacular effect.

• During the scene of Simon and Nia's wedding, I love the rather unexpected design choice of having Yōko wear a suit rather than a dress as you'd probably expect.

• I had completely forgotten that the kid Nakim from the Yōko flashback episode is now a Grapearl pilot. It seems that everyone's been inspired to step up and make something of themselves. It's very difficult with only a single sound to go on, but I think that Gimmy's voice actor in the epilogue might be Simon's original VA. This would fit a theme of sorts, seeing as how Rossiu ends the series with his mentor's voice actor.

• Right to the end, Simon the nurturer and giver of inspiration. Always a believer in the power of hope.

"Sure you can. The lights in the sky are stars. ... Stars where our Spiral cousins are waiting for us."

 

[Neil.T]

Double posting again, but...

in the end that was just a lot of fun with a lot of heart.

You know what? Yeah, that's Gurren Lagann in a nutshell there, really.

now that we've seen every mech that GL has to offer
...
And with that, I'm out. The US DVDs don't include any of the stuff that you'll be watching for the next few days.

Well, you say that, but...

Not for viewers of the films it's not.


And on that very subject: tomorrow, simulwatching members of Team Gurren, brings us Gurren Lagann movie #1: Childhood's End. Expect the film to cover almost all of the first main arc of the story, with some some clever pieces of plot streamlining and even a new battle royale involving Lordgenome's four generals as a finale, with some shiny new animation! Look out for Yōko engaging in some gripping hand-to-hand combat with Adiane.

Who's going to be joining in for the films, then? @João Gomes, @ayase and @D1tchd1gger, you guys are in, aren't you? I'm sure @Birdie Num Num mentioned them too?

 

[Ian Wolf]

@Neil.T I will be watching the films too.