History Anime / TENGENTOPPAGURRENLAGANN

** Possibly averted with [[spoiler: Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan, which is shown to be so absurdly tall that it literally encompasses the entire universe.]]

Lonely orphan Simon[[note]][[NoPronunciationGuide pronounced "SHI-mon" in Japanese and "SEE-moan" in the English dub]][[/note]] lives in an underground village, digging for ancient artifacts and eating pigmoles. His [[BigBrotherMentor self-appointed big brother]], Kamina, is a [[HotBlooded hot-headed]] badass who dreams of going to the "Surface" as his father did despite the village elder constantly saying the "Surface" doesn't exist. One fateful day, Simon discovers a strange drill-shaped key and, soon after, [[MiniMecha a pint-sized mecha]] which responds to the key. While taking an unapproved excursion to see it, Simon and Kamina are interrupted by the village elder... then by the roof of the village collapsing... ''then'' by [[HumongousMecha a massive, bestial, robotic head]]... and ''then'' by Yoko, a young woman [[SmallGirlBigGun with a very big gun]], [[{{Stripperiffic}} and very little clothing]], firing at said beast-mecha known as a "Gunmen".[[note]]''Ganmen'' in Japanese, meaning "face".[[/note]]

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: [[spoiler:Iraak]]'s Tengen Toppa Gunman in TheMovie is a robotic T. rex the size of a galaxy. Thank god for SparedByAdaptation!

* {{Bowdlerize}}: [[HotSpringsEpisode Episode 6]] received several edits, particularly Kamina abandoning the Gurren Lagann for the promise of seeing the captured girls' censored bodies on a monitor (turns out they were wearing {{Modesty Towel}}s). Yoko berates him for his stupidity (she's just angry about the hot springs being a trap in the edited version) and later tracks him down to [[DopeSlap pound his face in]]. When Kamina stands by his choice, she finally yells that [[DidISayThatOutLoud he only needs to ask to see her breasts]]. Also deleted were some scenes involving [[{{Gainaxing}} Gainax's traditional jiggling breasts]], and Simon and Kamina overhearing and attempting to peek at the girls on the other side of the ''onsen'' wall (and Gimmy applying a bit of ''[[AssShove kancho]]'' due to misunderstanding what they mean by "find a hole"). Some DVD releases included a "director's cut" version of this episode, called "There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!"

* {{Gainaxing}}: So, so much.
** Taken to an extreme in ''Lagann-Hen'', where [[spoiler:Yoko's Tengen Toppa Gunman has a pair of anti-gravity jubblie missiles.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Simon. Only in the universe of Gurren Lagann can something like ''[[https://pm1.narvii.com/5748/691aeb09a6d681f899d210befe855767224b8c15_hq.jpg this]]'' happen. A human being turning [[Anime/DragonBallZ Super Saiyan]]? Because that's what it looks like to me. (Either that or [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Deku going 100% against Overhaul]]) That's right, being in ''Gurren Lagann'' makes you so badass that it turns you into a Saiyan. Seven years, some good CharacterDevelopment, and [[spoiler: the ingestion of a Big Bang-level attack]] will do that to you.

* TookALevelInBadass: Simon. Only in the universe of Gurren Lagann can something like ''[[https://pm1.narvii.com/5748/691aeb09a6d681f899d210befe855767224b8c15_hq.jpg this]]'' happen. A human being turning [[Anime/DragonBallZ Super Saiyan]]? Because that's what it looks like to me. That's right, being in ''Gurren Lagann'' makes you so badass that it turns you into a Saiyan. Seven years, some good CharacterDevelopment, and [[spoiler: the ingestion of a Big Bang-level attack]] will do that to you.

* SlidingBikeStop: There's a debatable bikeless scene being made in the first episodes, where Yoko brakes in her own feet, making a pose with her {{BFG}} very similar to the one [[Manga/{{Akira}} Kaneda]] does.

** ''Even the girls'' are manly enough to warp reality.

* RefrainFromAssuming: No, the song is not called ''"Row, Row, Fight the Power"''. There are three main versions of it; ''[[LongTitle Rap is a Man's Soul! We Surpass the Impossible, and Kick Reason to the Curb! Open Your Ears Wide and Listen to Team Dai-Gurren's Theme]]'', ''[[LongTitle Rap is a Man's Soul! Open Your Ears Wide and Listen to the Great Kamina's Theme, the Man Who Believes in Himself and Surges at Heaven!]]'', and, most famously, ''"Libera Me" from Hell''.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GirlInABox: Nia.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals
* GloryDays: Subverted/inverted.
* GodivaHair: Yoko, briefly, in TheMovie.
** Nia in the second movie.

* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler: Lordgenome, and the Beastmen]].
* GossipyHens: In the first episode.
* GratuitousEnglish: The attack's names.

* FinishingMove! [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Giga! Drill! BREAK-AAAAAHHH!]]

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: In the form of "Spiral Power", this is a codified law of the universe.

The sheer success of this anime led to the creation of ''Creator/StudioTrigger'', a sort of spiritual successor to Studio Gainax.

* BadBadActing: The group of women who lure Team Gurren into a trap in episode 9. Despite this, Team Gurren easily falls for it.

* HumongousMecha: The Gunmen and Grapearls, which range from MiniMecha to extremely huge. At the end of the show, the [[spoiler:[[TitleDrop title mecha, the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]] can be measured in ''light-years'']]. See [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gurennlagann/images/f/f8/TTGL.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20180225111454 here]] and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ttgl.jpg here]] for just how big the damn thing is. The second movie features the [[UpToEleven 52.8 billion light-years tall]] [[spoiler:Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (according to the official guide book from GAINAX (仕事魂) and after transforming into a drill its length is multiplied 10 times)]], which can be seen [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gurennlagann/images/6/65/717133bd761b03bdc837de8f50b8e50952256ff3_hq.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20191125164119 here]]. That red thing inside its head? That's [[spoiler:Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]. [[spoiler:The small smidges are galaxies. And yes, the mecha DOES look like a huge Kamina. [[IncendiaryExponent Made of fire]]]]. [[spoiler: [[http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j76/Zeldamaniac/SuperTengenToppaGurrenLagann.png THIS]] picture gives a size comparison with the Granzeboma, which is smaller than the STTGL's foot!]] At this point, the only larger known mecha are VisualNovel/{{Demonbane}}, and ''possibly'' [[Manga/GetterRobo the Getter Emperor]], both of which are ''ridiculous''.

** Lordgenome had Nia and her sisters before her [[spoiler: placed in boxes and dumped over a mountain when they began showing signs of intelligence. This was to prevent their growth in spiral power and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]. Even DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou is cranked UpToEleven.

* SplitScreen: Taken to [[UpToEleven splintered screens]] wrestling with each other's borders during arguments and HamToHamCombat.

* UpToEleven: The entire series revolves around taking every SuperRobot trope up to eleven. The movie goes on ahead and disintegrate the goddamn knob.

** Taken UpToEleven in the HighSchoolAU where pretty much everyone's age is up for grasp since most of the main characters seem to be in the ''exact same grade'' despite some characters clearly being established to be older than others regardless of what their age in the anime is mentioned to be. Some gems include:

* BrokenAesop [[spoiler: The constant cries of "do the impossible" and "never say die" ultimately amount to nothing when Simon lets Nia die,]]

The series also has a notable relationship with ''Manga/GetterRobo'' - being written by one of the editors of the original manga, and incorporating enough of its lingering plot threads[[note]]Most notably, the late-series moral conflict over whether humanity pursuing "the power of evolution" will cause them to destroy the universe[[/note]] that it can be seen as a [[SpiritualSuccessor pseudo-sequel]] to the [[DiedDuringProduction unfinished]] ''Getter Robo Āḥ''. This extends to its appearances in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', where it's treated as [[SpiritualAdaptation an honorary Getter entry]] for the purpose of mechanics and roster (even being allowed to take Getter's place in the traditional ''Anime/{{Mazinger|Z}}[=/Getter/=]Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' "Holy Trinity").

* MediumAwareness: In the the director's cut version of the HotSpringsEpisode, Darry and Gimmi are notably surprised when they notice Kamina and Simon's split screens appearing above them, and actually begin looking around for where it's coming from.

* GreenLanternRing: Spiral energy is one of the ultimate examples of this.

** [[spoiler: Kamina's death in Episode 8. He suffers a blow that [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat nobody could possibly survive, and is]] LeftForDead, (It's implied he actually ''is'' dead.) and Simon enters the DespairEventHorizon, the Dai-Gunzan goes berserk, all hope seems lost... and then Kamina turns out to be NotQuiteDead, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan throws his own mech's arm at Simon in the most epic face punch ever]] ([[SerialEscalation indeed, it was the second one in that episode]]), combines with Lagann, destroys some {{Mooks}}, and invents the finishing move Giga Drill Break, utterly obliterating Thymilph, then dying again. You know someone's badass if they die twice in a series in such an epically awesome fashion.]]

** About the whole relationship between Rossiu and Simon is made of these, really. Starting after Kamina's death, when Rossiu takes over the piloting of Gurren Rossiu acts similar to Simon's old self and constantly tries to save Simon who gets nearly suicidal and reckless "like" Kamina. As the story develops Rossiu is the one that needs encouragement like Simon did, and Simon is the brave, inspiring big bro like Kamina was. The whole resemblance goes on to the GetAHoldOfYourselfMan punch from Simon to Rossiu exactly copying what Kamina did to Simon, and ultimately Simon entrusts the leadership ''and everything'' to Rossiu, just like Kamina chose Simon to lead the Dai-Gurren Team.

* NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow: [[spoiler:Kamina, after being epically blasted and impaled, seeming dead to everyone and making Simon have a HeroicBSOD,]] comes back and [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan punches]] him out of it, then leads the Dai-Gurren Brigade to victory. [[spoiler:[[MoodWhiplash And then dies.]]]]

** Rossiu is repeatedly called out for this post-Timeskip. And rightfully so. He [[spoiler:makes Simon a scapegoat (after the latter had just finished defending the city from TWO Mugens, puts Simon in a KangarooCourt (appointing himself as the judge and stocking the prosecution and probably the jury with people who were more loyal to him), uses the aforementioned Kangaroo Court to sentence Simon to death for the sole sake of calming the public. He then orders Gurren Lagann and the other Gunmen scrapped, evacuates everyone outside of Kamina City to underground shelters to survive the ColonyDrop, and continues doing this even after he learns that they have no chance of surviving. He then leaves half of Kamina City behind without a hint of remorse.]]
*** This is made all the sweeter when [[spoiler: the total extinction of mankind is only prevented by the very Gunmen he ordered scrapped in the first place, and a bunch of former members of Team Dai-Guren deciding "ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight". He spent two weeks making a mess it took Simon less than two hours to fix]].

** Whoever designed the Do-Ten-Kai-Zan certainly was. In a RealRobotGenre show it certainly would be an intimidating opponent, being four carriers combined into a flying fortress that the enemy would have to traverse in order to destroy. Unfortunately for it, it's in a SuperRobotGenre series and the ''Giga Drill Break: Team Dai-Gurren Special'' just ''punches through it.''

* OminousLatinChanting: See OneWomanWail. Interspersed with a rap song, [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly and is just as awesome as it sounds]].

* SerialEscalation: No matter how cool the last fight was, no matter how big their current mecha are, and no matter how HotBlooded and badass they are, the next episode will top it all in mind-blowing fashion. Keep in mind, this series is what happens when Creator/StudioGainax makes a ''SaturdayMorningCartoon.'' They can't really help it. It's just what they do.

* {{Meganekko}}: Yomako, Yoko in Gurren-Hen during the TimeCompressionMontage, and Kinon.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Some characters, such as Kamina and Nia, have obviously blue hair; others, like Simon and Kiyal, have dark blue hair which is less noticeable.

* MulticoloredHair: Nia and Kittan.