“One whose drill will pierce the heavens”
At what point do you decide an anime is great? Can you tell 5 episode into the series? 10? 12? Lots of people decide whether an anime is worth watching within the first handful of episodes. Many quit and banish an anime from their memory with no knowledge of what they are missing.
Going into a series and expecting to be satisfied immediately can lead you to miss out on the greatness that a series may truly be. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a great series that upon completion should leave the viewer wanting so much more. I personally had no issues with any episodes but I tend not to nit-pick, just let it go. With so much going for it the small things really are insignificant.
With an awsome soundtrack and one the best intros (performed by the lovely Shouko Nakagawa) I can remember, Gurren Lagann stands out amongst the best of late. As with most animes, the introduction of a song at just the right moment can be critical and in my opinion Gurren Lagann pulls it off flawlessly. Though it doesn’t have an abundance of selections, it’s still fun and a great listen.
The Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Original Soundtrack can be purchased at Playasia
So much of the series seems to unfold as shocking events, I’ll do my best not to mention any of them since it’s best discovered on your own. After many twists and turns, you kinda get used to it, but all that does is make you want more and more. The introduction of main characters is well done and side characters come together to perform substantial roles throughout the storyline.
About half way through the series it ends and reboots itself showing the evolution of the characters sometime later. The later episodes rewards us with a similar plot to the first half but with new problems. Not aware of consequences foretold, our heros/heroines are faced with a new problem they themselves have unknowingly created. I know I’m being a bit vague but I really don’t wanna spoil anything for anyone since I enjoyed the so much.
I went into TTGL through nobody’s recommendation. It was purely curiosity and probably images of Yoko and Gurren Laggan. Despite starting off slow and people hating particular episodes, the show has managed to gather a huge following. Along with a heavy merchandising blitz (including PVC figures (some of which I have reviewed) , shirts, mugs, a video game and the usual anime related merchandise), Gurren Lagann has spawned a movie which was release on September 6th. A second movie has also been mentioned.
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann for the Nintendo DS
It’s been my pleasure to share my views of TTGL with you and urge you to watch the series if you haven’t already and complete it if you gave up on it too early. Hopefully, I haven’t said too much and you will feel as good as I felt upon completion of the series. Now if the movie would only make it stateside.
Also over here in N.A – I remember catching a couple of episode on the Sci-Fi network as part of their Ani-Monday block at the 11pm EST. Of course the episodes are dubbed w/no subs, but if I do remember correctly, at least the intro was still the original.
