History Characters / TengenToppaGurrenLagannSimon

* {{Expy}}:
** Of [[{{Anime/Gunbuster}} Noriko Takaya]]. Both start as pilots with great potential, but serious courage and self-confidence issues. And both manage to overcome their fears and limitations in order to become true heroes. They both also have older 'siblings' that they rely upon for confidence, but eventually surpass.
** He also borrows several traits from [[Anime/{{FLCL}} Naota Nandaba]]. Both start off emotionally insecure and get better when a ManicPixieDreamGirl and MiniMecha enter their lives. Both also [[spoiler:DidNotGetTheGirl for various reasons]].

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TetsuyaKakihara (JP), Creator/YuriLowenthal (EN)\\
'''Old Simon:''' Creator/TakayukiSugo (JP), Creator/TonyOliver (EN)

* AGodIAmNot: [[spoiler:When Nia dies, Simon is asked whether Spiral Energy can re-spawn the dead. It may or may not be able to, but the whole purpose of what Team Gurren did is to move forward and let the new generation take over. Also, if Simon were to dip his fingers in the afterlife, he would be starting to take the road where the Anti-Spiral already went. What Simon the Digger does and has always done is to clear the path. So, while Simon ''might'' be able to bring Nia back to life with Spiral Power, he's not going to try it.]]

%%%%* ButtMonkey: Especially in the HighSchoolAU.

%%%* CrashIntoHello: How he meets Nia in the HighSchoolAU manga.

* {{Determinator}}: '''The Determinator'''. Most people miss it because he's not boastful or showy like Kamina, but he's rock solid. His steady determination achieves more than Kamina ever could, and he has Kamina's absolute respect for it.
%%%% How so?
%%%* DeusAngstMachina: Played for laughs in the HighschoolAU.

* SpiritualAntithesis: Of [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji Ikari]]. Both of them have names that begin with the syllable "shi" in Japanese, are loners who get thrown into action as the pilot of a mecha, and undergo a SanitySlippage when they [[spoiler:experience the death of one of the first people who cared about them]]. But Simon [[HesBack gets better]], while Shinji... [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt didn't]]. [[spoiler:In the end, both of them conquer a world-ending threat in different ways: while Shinji starts out ''as'' that threat but eventually decides to embrace humanity and let it return, Simon defeats it outright with sheer manliness and badassery, all while citing [[HumansAreSpecial the power of humanity]].]] Simon was in fact envisioned as an alternate take on Shinji if he were "raised in different circumstances".

* BloodBrothers: With Kamina, who refers to themselves ''as'' blood brothers even though they're not related.

* ChickMagnet: Not to the same extent as Kamina, but all the females he interacts with (except his fellow villagers and Adiane) treat him quite warmly and find him very sweet.