http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tengen_Toppa_Gurren_Lagann.jpg
[[caption-width:300:WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!]]


-->''"Go BeyondTheImpossible, and kick reason to the curb! That's the Team Gurren way!"''

-->''"Don't believe in yourself! Believe in me, who believes in you!"''

''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' is what happens when you ask StudioGainax to create a SaturdayMorningCartoon.
%comment% Sunday, actually, but no need to get technical.

Lonely orphan Simon lives in an underground village, digging for ancient artifacts and eating pigmoles. His self-appointed big brother, Kamina, is a [[IdiotHero hot-headed idiot]] [[{{Delinquents}} gang leader/delinquent]] who dreams of going to the "Surface" like his father, despite the village elder's insistence that there's no such thing.

Then Simon discovers a strange drill-shaped key and, later on, a pint-sized mecha that seems to respond to the key.

Taking his brother to see it, they're interrupted by, in turn, the elder, the roof collapsing, a massive bestial [[HumongousMecha robotic head]]: which Kamina faces off against with just a katana, and Yoko, a [[SmallGirlBigGun woman with a very big gun]] [[{{Stripperiffic}} and very little clothing]] firing at said beast-mecha -- a "Gunmen".

Thus begins a rollercoaster ride of {{Fanservice}}, over-the-top fight scenes between mecha, [[HotBlooded hot-bloodedness]], [[CoolShades epic sunglasses]], massive {{Badass}}itude, and mind-blowing heroism. Great fun, and doesn't take itself seriously at all. Don't try reading any science into it, common theory holds that the Universe is actually governed by RuleOfCool and RuleOfFunny. Also, on MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness, it ranks as one of the softest.

There have been two movies (which basically amount to nice {{Clip Show}}s of the TV series with the exception of the endings)--''Guren-hen'' ("Crimson Lotus Chapter") and ''Ragan-hen'' ("Spiral Stone Chapter"). There are also three manga: one of which is pretty much just a slightly altered version of the anime, another which is a hilariously awesome HighSchoolAU, and a third set in an AlternateUniverse focusing on Simon and Nia.

Was ''going'' to be released by ADVFilms, but was suddenly lifted from their license list and given to Bandai. The English dub, under the title ''GurrenLagann'', began showing in America on SyFy [[MoodWhiplash right before]] NowAndThenHereAndThere:and then ''MDGeist''. SyFy reran it from the beginning due to the positive response, right before ''{{Rave Master}}''.

The entire anime series is now currently [[http://www.hulu.com/gurren-lagann?c=Animation-and-Cartoons on Hulu]]... [[NoExportForYou at least in the United States]].

There is a [[Characters/TengenToppaGurrenLagann character sheet]].

Compare ''[[GaoGaiGar Yuusha-Oh GaoGaiGar]]'' and ''GGundam''. Contrast ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Nothing to do with the movie ''{{Lagaan}}''.
%comment%Please don't add anything else. It gets annoying after those three.
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!!This series features examples of:
* TheAbridgedSeries
* AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit: Thanks to Spiral Power, Humanity starts out as pretty much Type -1, then shoots all the way to Type 4 and beyond ''in 7 years!''.
** Technically, they went from Type -1 to Type 0 in seven years. They got up to 4 in a only a few days.
* ActionGirl: Yoko
* AerithAndBob: And how!
* AffectionateParody: Not only are the heroes {{Determinator}}s, as they would be in a bona fide SuperRobot show, ''but they can also win literally on pure determination''.
* AfterTheEnd
* AllYourPowersCombined: The movie.
* AMechByAnyOtherName: Sort of: there are Gunmen and Grapearl, but the (''very'' infrequently-used) generic term is "mech". On a single occasion, "Gunmen" is also used as if it were the generic term.
* AnimationBump: Episode 15 (the end of the first half) looks like a movie version compared to everything we had seen before, especially Gurren Lagann's flight-to and fight with Teppelin's hand and the battle with Lordgenome. Add it half the episode is evening colored instead of the usual bright daytime.
* AnimeFirst
* AntagonistInMourning: Viral can't help but feel sad for [[spoiler: Kamina's]] death.
* {{Antivillain}}: Lordgenome [[spoiler:and the Anti-spirals]]
* TheAragorn: Kamina of course; though Kittan assumes the role [[spoiler: after Kamina dies]], even getting two [[ADayInTheLimelight days in the limelight]] in the second arc.
* ArcWords: "Yours is the drill that will pierce the Heavens!"
* ArtShift: Nia's paper-cutout flashback in Episode 11. Also, the animation switches to a light, heavily sketchy style during times of extreme hot-bloodedness along with Lordgenome most of the time, whether the rest of the shot is sketchy or not, [[spoiler:probably because he has a truly preposterous amount of Spiral energy]]. Also, the art style changes noticeably in episode 4 due to having a different director.
* ArtisticAge
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Thymilph, Lordgenome and the [[spoiler:Anti-Spirals]] all succeed in doing major damage to Team Dai-Gurren.
* AutobotsRockOut: Viral's {{Leitmotif}} is highly badass heavy metal.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Filled to the brim with this, but for a [[RuleOfCool completely logical reason.]]
* AwesomenessIsVolatile
* BadAss: Many, ''many'' characters. Kamina takes it to RefugeInAudacity levels.
* BadassCape: Kamina of course.
* BadassLongcoat [[spoiler:Prologue and post-Timeskip Simon]]
* BadassTeacher - Yoko becomes one after the TimeSkip. Do NOT threaten her students. She'll show you that she hasn't lost her sniper skills.
* BashBrothers: Simon and Kamina.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace
* TheBattlestar: The Dai-Ganzan becomes Team Gurren's mobile fortress "Dai-Gurren" after it's seized from the Beastmen army. It gets an upgrade after the TimeSkip when [[spoiler: the moon is revealed to be an old Spiral Base, and is converted into the new "Chouginga Dai-Gurren"]]
* BeachEpisode: Used straight and subverted: Most of the girls get the usual treatment.. except for Yoko and Nia; the former ends up wearing a swimsuit ''less'' revealing than her normal clothes, while the latter does even better with a full body swimsuit.
* BeamSpam: There's a reason why Attenborough is known by fans as "Beam Spam [=McMuppet=]".
* BeneathTheEarth: Most of humanity had been forced underground by forces unknown a long time ago. The first part of the series revolves around liberating the repressed humans.
* TheBerserker: The entire cast!.
* BerserkerTears: Simon in chapter 11.
* BeyondTheImpossible: The TropeNamer, as shown by the first quote on that page.
* {{BFG}}: Yoko's rifle.
* {{BFS}}: Kamina's katana. Possibly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in Kamina's on-foot battle with Viral; he spends a good ten seconds drawing the thing.
* BicepPolishingGesture: [[FanNickname Bruce Ironstaunch]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Kamina; although he's not Simon's real brother, he considers himself his soul brother.
* BigDamnHeroes: Happens all the bloody time.
* BiggerIsBetter: The Gurren Lagann just keeps getting bigger.. and bigger.. and bigger..
** GROW GROW BUILD DA POWAH!
* {{Bishounen}}: Cytomander.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nia dies just after getting married to Simon, who spends the rest of his days WalkingTheEarth with Boota.]].
* BlackBox: The Gunmen. Rossiu outright failed to replicate their physics-breaking awesome.
* BladeBrake - OVA
* TheBlank: [[spoiler:The Anti-Spiral robots]]
** [[spoiler:Only appropriate, as "Mugann" can be translated as "faceless".]]
* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: Nia.
* BoisterousBruiser: Kamina.
* BossSubtitles: When some of the mightier Gunmen are introduced, along with [[FourIsDeath their pilots]].
* BreakingTheBonds: Done by Kamina in the first episode, as well as Lordgenome in the 15th.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Done in the HotSpringsEpisode in reference to the censoring blur on the female [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean naked apes]] of Team Gurren. Kamina points it out, and is overall confused by it. That's right folks, Team Gurren really ''does'' live up to their theme and "breaks the unbreakable".
* BuildingSwing: Simon and Yoko do it ''by sticking the Gurren Lagann's drills on enemy aircraft!''.
* CallingYourAttacks: Giga Drill Breaker is the most famous, but at one point it's parodied as well."HANDS-OFF-MY-LITTLE-BROTHER PUUUUUUUUNCH!" "WHO-THE-HELL-DO-YOU-THINK-I-AM KICK!!!" "MAN ON FIIIIIRE! BLAZING CHARIOT! KIIIIIIIIIICK!!!" MY-WIFE-IS-THE-BEST-IN-THE-UNIVERSE-'''SWING'''!!!
** The Anti-Spiral King plays it straight in the finale: "Infinity...Big Bang! STTTTOOOOORRRRRRMMMMMMM!"
* CampGay: Leeron.
** Then we have Leeron's theme tune, "He is so XXX". The following message is spelled out in individual letters: "[[spoiler:Leeron is gay. He is so gay. He loves my asshole. Asshole]]."
* CartwrightCurse: [[spoiler:Any man Yoko starts to express anything resembling nonplatonic affection for dies very soon. She kisses Kamina and he gets his HeroicSacrifice clearing up Simon's HeroicBSOD. Seven years later she admits she admires Kittan's contributions, even compared to Kamina's... which concludes in a kiss right before HIS own RuleOfCool HeroicSacrifice. Given that death follows her lips, fans of Simon should be GLAD she never gave him the eye.]]
* CastOfSnowflakes - crowd scenes are impressively detailed, and include quite a few recurring extras. Bruce Ironstaunch only appears once, however.
* CatchPhrase: Kamina has several, all of which border on being ArcWords: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr1ZxXKrK2c "Who the hell do you think I am!?"]]
** The MouthFlaps actually match fairly well from Japanese to English, so WTHDYTIA [[LuckyTranslation didn't have to be altered at all]].
** Just so you know, in Japanese it's 俺を誰だと思ってやがる ''"Ore o dare da to omotte yagaru?!"'')
* CatchphraseInterruptus: WTHDYTIA, the last time it's used in the show.
* ChaoticGood: Essentially an ideal for the protagonists. Doing things in a Lawful way is even harmful.
* TheChainsOfCommanding - Rossiu despairs of them once.
* ChekhovsBoomerang - [[spoiler:Nia's engagement ring, which coincides with her FaceHeelTurn into the Anti-Spiral messenger, is later used to find her and the Anti Spiral homeworld, and is then used once again as a gateway to allow Simon and the Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann to get to the Anti Spiral King.]]
* ChekhovsVolcano
* CityInABottle: Jeeha, Simon and Kamina's village; Kamina always keeps getting in trouble because he firmly believes in the surface, and the elder doesn't start believing until Yoko and a Gunmen crash through the ceiling.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: The Gunmen, especially Gurren Lagann, pretty much run on the sheer power of belief and [[HotBlooded hot blood]].
* ClipShow - Episode 16, which recaps the entire story thus far.
** The movies are arguably glorified clip shows until the endings.
* CloseCallHaircut - Nia is being held hostage by an enemy mech, but Yoko destroys it by shooting through Nia's hair.
* CloudCuckooLander: Nia; at first it seems to come from her sheltered up-bringing but it quite clear she isn't all there in the head when even after 7 years in the outside world she still surprises everyone with her quirky misunderstandings. Simon even remarks he has a hard time understanding what she says.
* ColonyDrop: [[spoiler:After the time skip, the moon is sent on a head-on collision with the Earth.]].
* CombiningMecha: Parodied when Kamina tries to accomplish this by just sticking Simon's mecha on top of his own, only to have it work anyway. [[spoiler:Simon is able later to repeat this trick with a battleship, a winged mini-mech, an ''even bigger'' battleship, and ''the Moon''.]].
** Further parodied in the [[AnimeFirst manga adaptation]], where Kamina gets it in his head that Lagann Gurren: Gurren on top, Lagann on the bottom. might work. [[http://www.onemanga.com/Tengen_Toppa_Gurren_Lagann/7.5/07/ It doesn't]].
** In the CompilationMovie [[spoiler:the mecha of the Four Generals: with Viral taking Thymilph's place. combine into one massive robot rather than the generals fighting the Team Gurren individually]].
** In addition to being a combination of every mecha/spaceship it has fused with to this point, the titular mecha also includes [[spoiler:several other Laganns that had been abandoned in previous failed attempts to defeat the Anti Spiral]], each piloted by a team member.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: The last part of the show seems to carry this message to a great extent.
* ComingOfAgeStory
* ConspicuousCG: [[spoiler:The Anti-Spiral Mugann mecha look like refugees from ''{{Tron}}''.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: Needed for the DiabolusExMachina moment and lampshaded with little more than the affected character shouting '''[[RobotChicken WHAT A TWEEEEEST!]]'''.
** This actually supposed to be part of the thematic development in the show. [[spoiler:Not only was Nia captured by the same fate as her father, it was actually supposed to tie in with her overall development as someone that wasn't born to be a human. It was also more beneficial to the heroes than to the villains, if Nia hadn't been the Messenger Earth would be doomed and they would never find the Anti-Spiral homeworld. It's basically the same deal as Simon finding the Lagann.]]
*** This troper thought about writing a FixFic so that [[spoiler:Kamina would survive the battle of Dai-Gunzan]], only to realize that doing so would derail the plot of the rest of the series!
* CoolBigSis: Yoko.
* CoolShades: even the robots have them.
* CoolShip: The Dai-Gunzan/Dai-Gurren, followed by the Arc-Gurren and finally the Cathedral Terra/[=SuperGalaxy=] Dai-Gurren.
* CommediaDellArteTroupe: The entire cast fits just fine in the HighSchoolAU.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: The Gunmen in season 1 seem to adhere to this, especially with regard to Yoko's rifle: whenever there's one Ganman, her shots barely faze it. When there's an army of them: like in the battle to capture Dai-Ganzan., they're dropping like flies.
** To be fair, there's a big difference in the single Gunmen she was shooting at (Enki) and the ones she was against in the battle. Enki, like the General's Gunmen, is of a higher-caliber (which Adiane points out during her own battle) than those issued to lower-ranking soldiers. That it would be resistant to human weapons more than a standard one is logical.
* CorruptChurch: partially subverted; the religion of Rossiu's village is faked, but only to ShootTheDog when it's honestly necessary.
** Though after the TimeSkip, Rossiu seems to be reverting somewhat to the patterns of this phony faith, as Simon points out.
* CrackingUp: The Arc Gurren-Lagann cracks its neck.
* CrazyAwesome: Pretty much the entire thing.
* [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Series of Awesome]]: [[CrowningMoment/TengenToppaGurrenLagann For the entire Mecha anime genre.]]
* CrowningMomentofFunny: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVbWL6ESlc8&NR=1&fmt=18 This vid.]] That is all.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: You all know what it is.
** What, Viral's Theme? Sorairo Days? Minna no Peace?
*** ''All of it.''
* CuteBruiser: While she never actually gets to fight hand-to-hand, Nia is ''freakishly'' strong, especially given her small size pre-timeskip.
* [[CuteLittleFangs Cute Little Fang]]: Kiyal.
* CuteShotaroBoy: Simon.
* DecoyProtagonist: Kamina definitely takes up most of the spotlight during the first act, but [[spoiler: his death]] kind of disqualifies him of protagonistship.
* DelayedExplosion: Happens a lot. Often done to give the heroes time to strike a pose after a kill.
* DestructiveSaviour: the alternate Team Gurren in ''Parallel Works 6''.
* {{Determinator}}: The whole cast.
--> '''Kamina''': A true man never dies, even when he's killed!
* DeusAngstMachina Played for laughs in the HighSchoolAU with [[http://www.onemanga.com/Tengen_Toppa_Gurren_Lagann_-_Guren_Gakuenhen/6/05/ Simons past]]
* DiabolusExMachina: see ContrivedCoincidence.
* DiagonalCut: Although ThisIsADrill, Giga Drill Break stylistically resembles one.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu
* DistantFinale: The epilogue takes place many years after the climatic battle, and shows how the survivors have settled into their new lives.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Within five minutes of the first episode's beginning, some girls wonder if Simon's going to drill them. It only gets worse from there.
* DoomMagnet: As mentioned above, [[spoiler:anyone Yoko shows the slightest romantic affection toward is destined for a BadEnd]]
* DontThinkFeel: How to pilot a Gunmen: do whatever feels natural.
* TheDragon: Viral, as well as Guame could be considered Dragons.
* DualWielding [[supersecretspoiler:Most notably, the TTGL dual-wielding ''two Giga Drill Breaks in the finale''.]]
* TheDulcineaEffect: Simon and Nia's first meeting.
* DyingLikeAnimals: The RedshirtArmy in the battle against the Teppelin die like Boars until Nia calms them down. After the TimeSkip, the population of Kamina City turn into Sheep and Reindeer in the backlash against Simon. Also, thanks to the Beastmen, happens rather literally thanks to the CannonFodder they provide to Team Gurren/Dai-Gurren and, after the time skip, the Beastmen joining the ranks of the rest of the population of Kamina City.
* DynamicEntry: ''inter alia'', see below under GetAHoldOfYourselfMan.
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* EarWorm: ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH.
* EatTheDog: Boota serves ''his own tail'' to Simon and Kamina when they're too hungry to pilot their Gunmen with HOT BLOOD. It turns out, despite Simon's reluctance, it's actually delicious -- though it might be that he's just a [[spoiler:massive source of Spiral energy]].
*{{Ecchi}}: Mostly confined to Yoko's outfit of choice.
* {{Elseworld}}: Some of the Parallel Works videos.
* EmpathicWeapon: The Gunmen -- and especially Simon's Lagann -- are powered by the fighting spirit of their pilots.
* EmpathicEnvironment: The weather is rainy and gloomy during the first two-thirds of the Episode 9. After Simon finds Nia, beams of light appear, the rain stops and colour returns to the sky.
* EmperorScientist: Lordgenome.
* EnergyBeing: Not an actual creature, but it arguably describes the [[spoiler:''title mecha'' itself, which is a construct made out of all of the heroes' Spiral energy]]. Possibly the same case regarding [[spoiler:its anti-thesis, the Grand Zamboa]].
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Lots of fans consider Kamina the actual protagonist of the show.
* EnthusiasmVersusStoicism
* EstrogenBrigadeBait: Viral and Kamina.
** It's hard to imagine [[spoiler: Simon and Viral to be fighting in nothing but towels around their waist]] being for any other reason.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Nia, though she slowly becomes a HotBlooded freedom fighter as she hangs out with the Team Gurren. Which makes her a...
** RebelliousPrincess
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: In the form of "Spiral Power", this is a codified law of the universe.
* EvilChancellor: Post-TimeSkip Rossiu, although he believes he's just [[ShootTheDog Shooting The Dog]].
* EvilIsDumb: Viral.
* EvolvingCredits - each arc has a different animation for the opening credits, reflecting changes in the cast and the goals. But they don't stop there- the pre-timeskip openers feature the first verse of ''Sorairo Days,'' while the post-timeskip openers use the second verse.
* ExpressiveMask: The faces on the Gunmen speak at the same time as their pilots.
** To go even further, the Gunmen can even mimic facial expressions to some degree. Thought it happens with the majority of the main ones, it's best featured on Enki (particularly in Parallel Works 2, though it happens at various points in the canon).
* {{Expy}}: Kamina acts very much like a successor to Sanson from ''NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater''.
** It wouldn't be a Gainax series without a ShoutOut to CordwainerSmith. The Beastmen are all too similar to Smith's animal derived Underpeople, and Teppelin shares a structurual design similar to Smith's Earthport.
** Thymilph is a fat, old one of 777 from ''DeadLeaves''.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Nia and Lordgenome in the series (and the movies, though those are essentially just glorified clip shows); as well as Lordgenome in the parallel works. And they turn HARD.]]
* FangsAreEvil: until [[spoiler:Viral's HeelFaceTurn]], when Gurren itself sports them.
* {{Fanservice}}: Yoko wears a flame-patterned bikini, short shorts, stockings and a scarf. At all times. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when they visit another village and tell her to cover herself up.
** And again with the BeachEpisode: The men are VERY excited that Yoko agrees to put on a bathing suit, but are disappointed when it covers more than her normal outfit (though, really, how much more revealing can you get than her normal outfit?).
** You think Yoko is fanservicey in the show? Try watching [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEMeW-m0tdc this]]
** Kamina also has his fair amount of ShirtlessScene, a whole episode of full nudity. and is a good example of EstrogenBrigadeBait. [[spoiler: Which re-occured with Simon and Viral during the shower fight scene.]]
* FanNickname:
** {{Beamspam}} [=McMuppet=] -- Atenborough, the {{Gonk}}ish weapons officer of the [=DaiGurren=], who loves his work a little too much.
*** Also known as Button Smash [=McMuppet=].
** Captain Garlock -- the captain in the prologue to the first episode, who resembles ''CaptainHarlock''. [[spoiler:He is believed to be an alternate version of, and should not be confused with, the much less arrogant Post-Timeskip Simon, who is referred to as Captain Starlock.]]
*** The [=GARcadia=] -- The [[CoolStarship Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren]], a.k.a. Cathedral Terra. By logical extension of the above nickname.
** Cotton Hill -- Makken of the Team Dai-Gurren, who resembles [[KingOfTheHill Hank Hill's]] father.
** Doombitch -- [[spoiler:Yoko, who gave a LastKiss to two characters, Kamina and Kittan, who then died of {{Retirony}}.]]
*** In her defense, [[spoiler:Kittan was the one who kissed Yoko, and that was AFTER he decided he was going on a suicide mission to give Team Dai-Gurren the chance they needed to win]].
** Professer Midrift -- Otherwise known as Leyte. Named as such due to nearly every scene she's featured in displaying her nerdy abs.
** Bruce Ironstaunch -- An otherwise unnamed background character who only appears in one scene in the series, making a supportive, strong-armed gesture to Rossiu during the speech [[spoiler:where he gives news of Simon's death sentence and word of an escape plan to save the city's population from their planet's moon, which is set to collide with the planet.]] In Western culture, however, Bruce's gesture translates roughly to "fuck you," and as such several fan artworks of Bruce have been created by Western viewers, depicting Bruce beating on Rossiu or just being manly in general.
*** The same memetic {{Fanon}} holds he's the one who threw that anonymous rock at Rossiu. But, whoever it was, there is at least one fan club dedicated to them.
** Kamina-sama: adding 'the great' as a prefix optional. -- Kamina. Let's face it; [[{{Badass}} the man]] ''[[{{Badass}} deserves]]'' [[{{Badass}} it]].
*** [[BigHam Hamina]]
** [[CodeGeass Lulussiou and Spinsimon]]: Rossiu and Simon, respectively after the Time Skip, because the same English voice actors voice [[YuriLowenthal both]] [[JohnnyYongBosch pairs]], and because of both pairs' similar actions and relationships. Also note the oddness that each voices the generally like main character in one series, and TheScrappy in the other.
*** Namely, Rossiou's penchant for [[spoiler:Xanatos Gambits]] and Simon's Uhhh. Spinning.
* FastballSpecial: Kamina chucks Lagann at two Gunmen (against Simon's will the first time), and it soon becomes a staple of their combat tactics.
**[[spoiler: Viral]] repeats this in the battle against the [[spoiler: Anti-Spiral]], though it stands to reason that he probably learned from watching Kamina.
*FauxActionGirl: Kittan's sisters, who appeared very brave and strong in their first appearances, but after that, became mere [[SatelliteCharacter satellite characters]] for their love interests and/or Kittan.
* FemmeFatalons: Adiane, of course. Her entire character is feminine to the point that she has the most titular Gunmen of the series; sporting ample breasts and speaking out of its crotch.
* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler: Nia, after her consumption by the anti-spirals]]
* FinalSpeech: Lordgenome [[spoiler:and the Anti-Spiral leader]].
* Foreshadowing: In the first 2 minutes of the series, we get a look at the initial battle fought with the [[spoiler: anti-spirals]], and the ship which was used in it. It goes even further to show that [[spoiler: Lagann (by way of the core drill) will play a huge part, and even displaying a character looking almost identical to evolved!Boota]]. The series is in love with history repeating itself (with everything from personalities, fighting techniques, and deaths), and just repeating itself in general by way of having an episode and two movies dedicated to clips; but they have moved to show us that the same thing has been in the course of happening for over [[spoiler: 1,000 years]].
**[[spoiler: Viral's character and sense of honor being what it is, his discussion with Lordgenome is obvious but real foreshadowing for his HeelFaceTurn after the time skip.]]
**Rossiu's society as a child fuels his future decisions to the point where he does exactly what he'd been so horrified to learn of in the past.
* TheFourGods[=/=]FourIsDeath: the Four Generals of the Spiral King; their Gunmen are named after the Chinese gods.
* FreudWasRight: All those 'drills' 'penetrating' things, the shape of the good guys' airship, as well as the only female Gunmen having a [[VaginaDentata fanged talking crotch]].
* FunbagAirbag: The male-on-male version happens in the very first episode between Simon and Kamina; later, you see a straight version between Simon and Yoko, who reacts with a smile.
** Happens again in episode 6, when Simon leaps over Leeron, but his crotch doesn't quite clear him and Leeron gets smacked in the face by Simon's junk. He responds simply by going "So warm.~"
* FutureBadass: Gimmy, Darry, and Viral.
** In the DistantFinale, it's just those 3. But don't forget, this show does have a 7-year timeskip, where pretty much everybody counts as a FutureBadass. If they started BadAss, then they got ''more'' BadAss. FutureLoser? In ''Gurren Lagann''? What the hell do you think this is?!
* [[GainaxEnding Gainax]] [[strike: Ending]] [[GainaxEnding Opening]]: Apparently, it was ''supposed'' to foreshadow the ending but the writers lost that story thread somewhere. Fans have taken it as an alternate reality where that foreshadowing references a ''bad'' ending. The WordOfGod ended up being "SureWhyNot?"
* {{Gainaxing}}: So, so much.
* GenerationXerox [[spoiler: (Played with, since the villains make it quite clear that everything the hero has done so far has been done before, with ''no success''; the heroes only manage to succeed due to ThePowerOfLove.]]
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff - Bruce Ironstaunch is popular in America, for telling Rossui "FUCK YOU!" at his plans to execute Simon and then hitting said Rossui with a rock. Even this show's UnfortunateImplications are ''Badass''.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan -- "Clench those teeth!" Kamina ''punches'' Simon to help him get over his {{Wangst}} at [[spoiler:Yoko's kissing Kamina]]. Later on in the battle, Kamina ''throws the damaged Gurren's arm'' at Lagann to snap Simon out of it again. After the TimeSkip, Simon pays it forward by learning to jump through [[SubspaceOrHyperspace Hyperspace]] just to punch Rossiu before he [[spoiler:attempts to commit suicide]].
* GirlInABox: Nia.
** Hers is the box that will.. [[SoYeah uh..]]
** Store the pieces of the heavens?
*** [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean PIERCE THE BOX OF HEAVEN WITH YOUR XXX!!!]]
* GloryDays: subverted/inverted.
* GodivaHair: Yoko, briefly, in TheMovie.
* GonnaNeedMoreTrope: You mean we're gonna need to use an even bigger drill?
* GondorCallsForAid: At least partially subverted when a motley crew of bit players from previous episodes show up to join the heroes' cause without being asked by anyone, least of all the heroes themselves.
* GoldilocksAndTheMinesOfMoria
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler: Lordgenome, and the Beastmen]]
* GoodBadTranslation: The famous "[[NeverTellMeTheOdds But it's not zero percent. In my case that's as good as 100 percent!]]" line would be better translated "I'll succeed no matter what" but god it fits character wise.
* GossipyHens: in the first episode.
* GreenLanternRing: Spiral energy is one of the ultimate examples of this.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: Kamina smacks some sense into Simon with the arm of his own mech. Gurren Lagann has a habit of fastballing it's own head at enemies.
* {{Gundamjack}}: How Team Dai-Gurren got just about all its Gunmen besides the Lagann.
* HalfHumanHybrids: The Beastmen.
* HamToHamCombat: There may have been one or two brief scenes of thi-- OK, can't do that with a straight face. Happens every two minutes, like clockwork.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Viral and Lordgenome after the timeskip; and Nia unwillingly during the Anti-Spiral arch.]]
* HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:More a villainous blue screen of death: Viral's realization that he's been fighting "women and a children" instead of Kamina, ever since Kamina's death.]]
** Simon also gets a brief one after [[spoiler:Kamina's death]] before realising that this isn't NeonGenesisEvangelion and quickly snaps out of it.
* HeroicSacrifice : Several -- all the others' completely eclipsed by [[spoiler:Kittan, whose death scene is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome all in its own]], and [[spoiler:Lordgenome, who tanks a Big Bang's worth of power.]].
* HeroLFG: The lead and secondary cast joined Kamina just after a little talk. The rest of them joined just because they were told about his awesomeness.
* HesBack: Simon.. One of the most [[CrowningMoment/TengenToppaGurrenLagann awesome]] examples ever seen on television. [[BeyondTheImpossible EVER.]].
* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler: Kamina's NotQuiteDead moment made it harder for fans to accept he was KilledOffForReal.]]
* HeyItsThatVoice - After the timeskip, you start clearly hearing the [[GaoGaiGar Cyborg Guy]] in [[spoiler:Viral]]'s voice when he's yelling. His is the voice that has destroyed both a sun ''and'' a moon.
**In the dub, Simon is Keigo, Yoko is Rukia, and Kamina is Aizen. All from ''{{Bleach}}''.
*** However Aizen doesn't sound much like Kamina. A better comparison would be Simon is Teen Ben from ''Ben10AlienForce'', and Kamina is Teen Gohan: or to be more precise Saiyaman. from ''{{Dragonball}} Z''
*** [[DotHack OVAAAAAAAAAN!]] LET'S SEE YA ''GRIT THOSE TEETH!!!''
** Leeron is [[{{Naruto}} Orochimaru]]. Now go watch episode 2 and remember that Simon's VA is also Sasuke.
*** Or [[MegasXLR Jamie]].
*** In the Japanese, he is [[{{Trigun}} Vash]].
**Japanese seiyuu of Kamina is also [[{{Bleach}} Shuhei Hisagi]] , background character [[EnsembleDarkhorse developed by fanbase demand]]
***And Lloyd Irving in Tales of Symphonia
***And America and Canada from AxisPowerHetalia...just putting it out here...
** Viral's Japanese actor is the man who provided the voice of adult Link in ''TheLegendOfZelda: Ocarina of Time''. Listen to Viral's shouts and grunts in fight scenes, he sounds hilariously like Link.
** Not to mention, he also does Siegfried in the SoulSeries. And said Link of ''Ocarina of Time''. And Hiei of ''YuYuHakusho''. And Madarame, from ''Bleach''. And Madarame, from ''{{Genshiken}}''. Thus making him [[spoiler:an immortal badass]], the wielder of a sword made of pure good, and.. [[NamesTheSame two epic guys named Madarame]].
** And [[GaoGaiGar Guy Shishioh]]. No-one knows more about hot blooded shouting than him.
** As stated above, the dub has Post-Timeskip Rossiu being played by [[CodeGeass Lelouch]] and Post-Timeskip Simon being played by [[CodeGeass Suzaku]], since [[strike: Bandai]] Bang Zoom! is handling the dubbing for both shows.
** Dub!Nia is voiced by Starfire from ''TeenTitans'' and boy does she ever put it to good use. The world figures for diabetes were painted red when she described Adine as a "Pissing off person".
*** She's also Yutaka from ''LuckyStar''. Adult Nia is [[HaruhiSuzumiya Ryoko Asakura.]]
** Dub!Yoko sounds like [[{{Persona 3}} Yukari]] to me, and my little brother swore he heard Junpei.
** Dub!Guame is a less raspy sounding [[MetalGear Psycho Mantis]] (as is Dayakka, but that's less noticeable).
** Simon's Japanese VA is also the voice of a number of Armed Devices in season 2 of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. [[spoiler: The ''German'' voice]]. "Kick reason to the curb" indeed. [[spoiler: He ''was'' born in Germany.]]
** Dub!Lordgenome sounds a lot like [[EurekaSeven Norb]], albeit in a rather bad mood.
** Dub!Anti-Spiral sounds much like [[DigimonAdventure a nihilistic Angemon]].
** Simon and Yoko also play the leads, Shing Meteoryte and Kohak Hearts, in [[TalesOfHearts Tales of Hearts]].
** Dub!Simon is either [[Ben10AlienForce Ben Tennyson]], or [[strike:Superboy]] [[Series/LegionOfSuperheroes Superman]].
* HighSpeedMissileDodge
* HiveMind: [[spoiler:The Anti-Spirals.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:Viral]] in episode 13 (he needs a little push, though)
**[[spoiler: This is rather typical of Viral, actually, as he is repeatedly shown as holding a sense of honor and responsibility above all else. Better explained in the manga, but it shows in the anime as well; such as when he waits patiently for everyone to get dressed and into their Gunmen because there would be no honor in fighting otherwise.]]
* HotBlooded: ..Where do we '''START'''?!.
** We start at the Village Chief, if only because this happens within 40 seconds of the initial title screen, and the first 3 minutes of the entire series.
** Even [[spoiler: the Anti-Spiral]] becomes this during the final fight after [[spoiler: spending the entire show trying to suppress the same thing.]]
* HotSpringsEpisode: featuring [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Lawyer Friendly Cameos]] from other famous Gainax characters -- in PlayboyBunny costumes.
** There was even a 3-frame shot of [[{{Squee}} Rei snogging Kamina]]: The only other GAINAX anime he's familiar with is [[NeonGenesisEvangelion NGE]], but Rei was almost exactly the same in cameo form and Asuka's only difference was her hairstyle. [[http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc59/mrpink139/PICSORGTFOI.jpg?t=1235279309]] [[http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc59/mrpink139/PICSORGTFOII.jpg?t=1235279339]]
*** Haruko from FLCL is also spotted in that episode.
*** As were Lal'C Mellk Mal and Nono from DieBuster: [[http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp15/andzuha/Tengen%20Toppa%20Gurren%20Lagann/kamina_019_animestockscom.jpg seen here behind Kamina]] Nadia shows up as well.
* HowWeGotHere
* HoYay : Real men [[FreudWasRight fire each other up, unite, and make comments about each other's drills.]].
-->'''Kamina: ''' Combining is where two fighting spirits collide! It's where a man's spirit is ablaze!
* {{HSQ}} - [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale Very, very high]]. [[BeyondTheImpossible Don't bother to pick]] [[SoCoolItsAwesome your jaw up off the floor]].
* HumongousMecha: At the end of the show, the title mech broke [[GunBuster size records. Twice]].
**[[http://i29.tinypic.com/2w56b8h.gif This animation]] removes some of the boggle you'll be feeling, polishes it, and puts it back. Sideways.
*** The scale's a little off on that one. [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ttgl.jpg Here]]'s a downscaled demonstration of 10 million lightyears of HumongousMecha.
**[[spoiler:The second movie features Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Yes that's right, they broke the size record again.]]
*** Can be seen [[http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/7553/ohgodepic.jpg here]]. [[spoiler:That thing inside its head? That's Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The small dots are galaxies. And yes, the mecha DOES look like a huge Kamina. [[IncendiaryExponent Made of fire]].]]
* HypeAversion: Gurren Lagann's fans tend to be.. rabid. This has caused more than one person to turn away from it, which is actually quite sad given the remarkable quality of the show.
** Just the fact to find this series mentioned in tropes where you simply can't expect it to be, and of course hyped to the max, people probably would have deleted them if not by being sure the fans will simply add it again and again no matter how many times you remove another "ZOMGBBQ! GURREN LAGANN OWNS THIS TROPE!one1!"...
* HypeBacklash
* IAmLegion: [[spoiler: The Anti-Spiral King.]]
* IAmNotShazam: You may see many references to "Lord Genome" which are technically incorrect. Officially, "Lord" and "Genome" are not his title and name, rather "Lordgenome": one word. is just his name. Thus it is pronounced as one word in both the Japanese and English versions.
** This hasn't stopped a few fans from hilariously back-mistranslating it as "Genome-sama".
* IFeelAngry: Nia.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each arc uses a line from one character -- first Kamina, then Nia, then Rossiu, and finally Simon -- as the title for each episode.
* IdiotHero: '''KAMINA.'''
* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: Simon gives a particularly good one to [[spoiler: Nia.]]
* ImprobableWeaponUser: Using [[spoiler:''galaxies'']] as weapons, of course.
* IncendiaryExponent: If something is about to get badass, it lights on fire. End of story.
* IndyPloy: Every single fight with just ''one'' exception[[ColonCancer :]] [[spoiler:the one fight that is actually planned is the one wherein Kamina dies]].
* {{Instrumentality}}: [[spoiler:The Anti-Spirals are all collected in one hive mind. They did this so they would stop evolving and prevent the Spiral Nemesis.]]
* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: Do '''not''' mispronounce Kamina's name around Hokkien-speakers, especially not if you're saying it enthusiastically or loudly.
* InternetBackdraft: Is this ''really'' the greatest series ever made, or a typical {{Shonen}} piece of crap? Don't forget to bring a helmet if you decide to ask.
* InventingTheWheel: Averted - The new high technology used after the timeskip is all influenced by Gunmen designs, so all civilian vehicles move on legs or have hoverpads attached with nary a wheel in sight. Basing everything on Gunmen also results in ''skyscrapers'' with faces...
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Simon and his current co-pilot do this at dramatically or thematically appropriate moments.
** Which, ironically, includes the time they went to attack [[ThatsNoMoon the moon]].
* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Kamina dies. Also, there are things called "Anti-Spirals", and the final incarnation of Gurren Lagann is bigger than a galaxy. That second one is the most common.]]
* IsntItSad: Pretty much the only one who makes it to merchandise is MsFanservice Yoko...
** No longer true. We've got Boota (shirts, plushies), Simon & Kamina ([[{{Squee}} plushies]]), the titular mech, Nia ([[FetishFuel figurine]]), flags, wallets, bracelets & whatnot. [[{{Squee}} That is all]].
* KangarooCourt: Simon gets put through one of these when Rossiu needs a scapegoat. Kittan angrily protests at the verdict, pointing out, among other things, that they gave Simon the stupidest member of the government for a defense attorney. Rossiu is pretty up-front about it, too.
* {{Keigo}}: Nia speaks like this. It leads to her version of Kamina's phrase: "ARE YOU AWARE OF WHO EXACTLY I AM!?".
* KilledOffForReal: not only straight-up, but arguably subverted, ''with the same character'': try seeing how well most people survive ''having their torsos be completely vaporized''.
* TheLastTemptation
* [[strike: [[LargeHam Large]]]] [[LargeHam EPIC Ham]]: Kamina. In fact, most of the cast are somewhat ham-like at one point or another, but Kamina really takes the cake.. The cake made '''entirely''' of ham. And badass.
** The [[spoiler: Anti-Spiral King]] brings forth truly preposterous amounts of ham when [[spoiler: they]] are fighting in the final battle.
* LawfulNeutral: Rossiu who believes that Order must be mantained no matter the cost, though his actions cause him great pain.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Several Gainax characters as bunnygirls; also, Squidward from ''SpongebobSquarepants'', along with Gunmen resembling the [[{{Transformers}} Autobot and Decepticon symbols]] have been seen briefly. Also, Yoko rides a [[{{FLCL}} yellow hovering scooter/moped.]].
** The eyecatches have even more, with Gunmen resembling ''{{Pokemon}}'' and ''LegendOfZelda'' characters.
*** Pikachu himself appears in the last Parallel Works video as one of Lordgenome's toy animals.
**And the Enki and Lazengann look... [[NeonGenesisEvangelion strangely familiar...]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Damn near everyone. Kamina and Attenborough are especially good examples.
* LensmanArmsRace: It goes from the compact car-sized Lagann, to the tens-of-meters Gurren Lagann, to the aircraft-carrier-sized Dai-Gurren, to the multi-kilometric Arc-Gurren Lagann, to the [[spoiler: ''thousands-of-kilometers'' Chouginga Gurren Lagann, to what WordOfGod has stated '''''10-million-light-year tall''''' [[TitleDrop Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]]].
** Also, the [[spoiler: Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann from the movie. Supposedly, it is 3 BILLION light years in height.]]
*** Not to mention, [[spoiler: any and all visible movement, even the slightest twitch, would require breaking the lightspeed barrier.]].
* LethalChef: Nia, although Simon and Boota sincerely like her cooking. Anyone else who eats it gets knocked out, though.
* LiteralMinded: Nia. Watch the first post-TimeSkip episode in case of doubt.
* LittleBlackDress: You are not very likely to find a [[ShipToShipCombat serious shipping war]] in the ''TTGL'' fandom simply because ''everyone'' (except maybe Leeron) is a LittleBlackDress. Yes, even [[TeamPet Boota]].
* LoadBearingBoss: With Lordgenome's defeat, not only does the capital city ([[RuleOfCool itself a giant robot]]) start to break apart and explode, but [[KeystoneArmy his army's mecha all simultaneously lose power]], thus assuring victory for our heroes.
* LongTitle--not the series itself, but rather Kamina/Team Dai-Gurren's theme song. Taku Iwasaki sure had a lot of fun making up titles for the tracks on the soundtrack. The Team Dai-Gurren rap theme's title is very, very, very long. The Japanese title is "ラップは漢の魂だ! 無理を通して道理を蹴っ飛ばす! 俺たち大グレン団のテーマを耳の穴かっぽじってよ~く聴きやがれ!!": ''Rappu wa Otoko no Tamashii da! Muri o Tōshite Dōri o Kettobasu! Ore-tachi Dai-Guren-dan no Tēma o Mimi no Ana Kappojite Yo~ku Kikiyagare!!''. The OST cut of the song adds "(Short Start Edit)" to the end, since the 60 second-ish orchestral opening is cut. One translation of the title, "Rap is a Man's Soul! We Kick Reason to the Curb to Make the Impossible Possible! Open up Your Ears and Listen to Our Team Dai-Gurren Theme!!", is so long that when used as a filename, "(short start edit)" is cut off at "(short ", and the length of the title caused all sorts of weird bugs to happen to Windows Explorer until he finally cut "(short start edit)" to "(SSE)". Oh, and to make it worse, the most common English translation uses wording that makes the title at least two words longer.
** What do you mean, not the series itself?
* LostTechnology: The Gunmen; also, Yoko's gun comes from the cache of ancient weapons her village was built around.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Attenborough loves to do this. It generally [[TheWorfBarrage accomplishes very little]].
** A massive one is delivered in the CompilationMovie.
* MaleGaze (ubiquitous throughout)
** The camera explicitly tracks Kamina's gaze as he tries to chat up Yoko -- from the gun, to the boots, along the thighs, to the breasts.
* TheManBehindTheMonsters
* ManlyTears: Simon at episode 11, after a hell of a RousingSpeech. The [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome distilled awesomeness]] of that scene is undescribable.
* MarkedChange: [[spoiler: Post-TimeSkip Nia after she becomes an Anti-Spiral]].
* MarshmallowHell: Simon has just the perfect height for this. Kiyoh even ''[[LampshadeHanging says so]]'' when she smothers him.
* MauveShirt: Gimmy and Darry usually end up as the last survivors of the RedshirtArmy.
* MeetTheNewBoss
* MegatonPunch: In possiby the ultimate example of this, Simon uses Arc Gurren Lagann to punch an enemy so hard it rips a freaking hole in the fabric of space and time.
* MemeticBadass: Kamina, or rather ''his sunglasses''.
** Don't forget Simon. He invented teleportation ''specifically'' to punch someone in the face.
* MemeticMutation: "Viral Marketing" -- Viral, TheDragon of the Beastmen, collided with the "Viral Marketing" meme used to complain about ''SuzumiyaHaruhiNoYuutsu'' posts on the internet. Picture Viral in a business suit.
** Also, ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH.
** Let's not forget a "Drill that pierces the heavens!"
** It seems that this site has a minor meme that Simon and [[spoiler:Viral]] destroy an entire fleet "by the sheer awesomeness of their presence."
* MemeticOutfit: Kamina's shades.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Frequent and ''intense''.
* MiniMecha: Lagann
* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler:This is the Anti-Spirals' preferred method of inducing ultimate despair.]]
* MixAndMatchCritters: Grapopotamus is a key example; though this trope fits for every animal and most of the Beastmen in the series.
* MoeMoe: Nia.
* MonstrosityEqualsWeakness
* MoodWhiplash: as a direct consequence of [[KilledOffForReal several character deaths]].
** Also, the above-mentioned SciFiChannel scheduling.
** Frequently switched between humour, drama, and action. "You're Gonna Do It!!", for example, starts with dramatic closeup shots as Kamina and [[spoiler: Viral]] snipe at each other while Simon, Yoko, and the Black sisters look on. Then the camera switched to a wider angle, and, reminds the audience that, oh, right, our heroes are still pretty much naked from the last episode.
* MulticoloredHair: Nia and Kittan.
* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: "I'm Simon The Digger!!!"
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Rossiu, known by Kamina as "Dekosuke": "Forehead Guy".
* [[strike: {{Narm}}]] NarmCharm: ROW ROW FIGHT DA POWAH! [[HotBlooded Because It WORKS DAMMIT!]]
** From the dub, episode 11: "ROSSIU! Let's '''COMBINE!'''" This troper howled. The following CrowningMomentOfAwesome is made even better by Yuri Lowenthal's delivery and the new script, though, so it's all good.
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler: Simon]]
* NeverTellMeTheOdds: They do this with ''Zero percent chances'' and Simon famously says "To me that's more like 100 percent!".
** Also played up straight when [[spoiler: Lordgenome is about to tell Leeron the chances of survival in the Sea of Despair, and Leeron simply doesn't want to hear it.]]
*** [[spoiler: Best thing about that? Lordgenome later tells him the chances of survival were ZERO. "The odds of success were zero, but probability doesn't seem to matter with you guys."]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Wait, Lordgenome's iron-fisted rule was the only thing keeping all of humanity from a brutal genocide at the hands of the Anti-Spirals? Whoopsie..]].
** An example of Nice Job Breaking It Villain: Gaume's televising his fight with Lagann and broadcasting it to humans everywhere. [[spoiler: He ends up getting his butt whupped by Simon, for all humans on Earth to see, who are thus inspired into Badassery and Hotbloodedness and turn up as TheCavalry in the penultimate battle for Teppelin]].
*** Later on, [[spoiler:Simon points out to Nia that all of the Anti-Spiral's attempts to kill off humanity have simply made them stronger.]]
* NoConservationOfEnergy: Actually a plot point.
* NoOntologicalInertia: [[spoiler: Teppelin when Lordgenome is killed, and Nia after the defeat of the Anti-Spiral]].
* NobleDemon: Viral.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The battle against Lordgenome, who beats the ever-loving crap out of Lagann ''bare-handed''.
* NonHumanSidekick: Boota, later [[spoiler: human sidekick.]].
* [[NormallyIdBeDeadRightNow Normally I'd Be Dead Right Now]]: Kamina, after being epically blasted, seeming dead to everyone and making Simon have a HeroicBSOD, comes back and [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Bright Slaps]] him out of it, then leads the Dai-Gurren Brigade to victory. [[spoiler:And then dies.]]
* NotBrainwashed: [[spoiler: Nia]], according to herself after she learns she's TheMole. [[spoiler:Simon [[IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight disagrees]]]].
* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler:The Anti-Spiral goes surprisingly HotBlooded during the final battle]].
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: [[CampGay Leeron]] gets a ''little'' too close to Simon and Kamina for their comfort when he first appears; and then repeatedly with various others through the rest of the series.
* TheObiWan: Kamina and Yoko fill this role together: Kamina takes it upon himself to guide Simon on his path to being a man, and Yoko acts as their guide on the surface, as well as fulfilling the role of The {{Herald}}.
* ObiWanMoment: [[spoiler: Kamina before dying]].
* OffModel: Episode 4 had a guest director, and is considered to be a visual low-point in the series.
* OneHundredAndEight Pay very close attention, in episode 24, 13 minutes and 21 seconds into the episode, Gimmy says something to the effect of "108th unit destroyed!" after blowing up a few anti-spiral mooks. Then, that's when everything goes bad. Given the obviously Buddhism(or Hinduism?. inspired ships, this was wholly intentional. If you really want to get into the symbolism here, what's 13 minutes in seconds? That's right, 780 seconds, plus the 21 seconds, and you get 801, which is ONE HUNDRED EIGHT BACKWARDS!!
** Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has 27 episodes. 27 times [[FourIsDeath four]] is 108.
* OneWomanWail: "Libera Me From Hell", the track played during [[spoiler: Kittan's HeroicSacrifice, Kamina pulling everyone out of the LotusEaterMachine, and the creation of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]].
* [[strike:Orcus]] [[OrcusOnHisThrone Lordgenome On His Throne]]
* OnlySaneMan: Rossiu in episode 6.
* OutOfTheInferno: [[spoiler:Pulled by Kittan flying King Kittan through the explosion of his Space Gunmen.]]
* ParentalAbandonment: The parents of everyone that wasn't born during the course of the series are all dead [[spoiler: Except for Rossiu, though his mother was essentially sentenced to death by his father]]. Except for one case, where it simply was literal parental abandonment - though her father dies anyway. [[spoiler: Twice.]].
* PeopleJars: [[spoiler: Lordgenome's head is revived as a "biological computer", who later becomes useful for spouting out TechnoBabble on the reality-altering attacks the Anti-Spirals use. The Beastmen also come from people jars, which are briefly seen when Lordgenome makes Viral immortal, and again in Parallel Works 8]].
** In this case, it was more than likely a reference to the Zentraedi Exsedol in Macross 7, who had the same thing done to him.
* PetTheDog: [[AntagonistInMourning Viral in mourning]]. Then comes a DoubleSubversion later in the same episode, where [[spoiler:Yoko, Simon's current co-pilot, was held hostage by Cytomander, and the latter orders Viral to finish Simon off (defenseless because of Yoko's situation). Viral was about to comply, until Simon calls him out on this, causing Viral to disobey the order given to him]].
** Viral also has a second PetTheDog moment after the TimeSkip. [[spoiler:Prior to his HeelFaceTurn]], Viral is shown protecting a migrating group of humans.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: After the heroes end up naked after being ambushed at the hot springs, Viral shows up looking for a fight. He is outraged at their lack of attire and gives them time to get dressed before he fights them.
* PopulationControl: Applies both to Adai Village's population limit of 50 (enforced by randomly-selected exile to the surface) and the "1,000,000 apes" prophecy.
** Of course, the latter was supposed to cut the population down to 0, were it not for Team Dai-Gurren being incredibly badass.
* ThePowerOfLove: One of the main themes of the show; on a more literal level, without [[spoiler: Simon and Nia's love]], [[strike:the last arc would never have happened]]; humanity and the beastmen would've been annihilated.
* PowerOfTrust: Trope quote maker.
* PostDramaticStressDisorder: [[spoiler: Kamina]] gets [[spoiler:lethally]] hurt, but not without opening a huge can of whoopass on Thymilph's Dai-Ganzan and comandeering it as the Dai-Gurren. [[spoiler: Then he dies.]].
* PsychoactivePowers: Spiral Power. Fear and despair kill it, hope and optimism increase it, and [[HotBlooded Hot Blood]] blasts it sky-high.
* PunBasedTitle: The Japanese titles of the movies use kanji that read ''Guren'' and ''Ragan'' (i.e. "Gurren" and "Lagann"). The English titles eschew this in favor of the IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming, and go with quotes just like the series episode titles.
* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: Sort of, with Lordgenome effortlessly managing to block a Giga Drill Break.
* PunkPunk: The entire first season and a little on is in the style of DesertPunk to the letter. Plus giant robots.
* PureAwesomeness: Simon [[spoiler:and Viral]], arriving just in time to save the day in the Gurren Lagann, use it to destroy all nearby enemies.
* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: ''Literally'', as in [[spoiler:when the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann absorbs the energy from a BeamOWar twice the power of the Big Bang, the readings]] ''went off the scale and floated in midair''.
* {{Reconstruction}}: This show is pretty much the polar opposite of NeonGenesisEvangelion.
* RedOniBlueOni: Reversed: über-HotBlooded Simon and Kamina wear blue, while the level-headed Yoko is a redhead.
** Played around with in regards to Jorgun and Balinbow (each twin wears red and blue shades respectively, but have the same basic [[HotBlooded Hot Blooded]] personality).
** And played straight Post-[[TimeSkip Time Skip]] [[spoiler: Simon and Rossiu.]]
* RedshirtArmy: The motley crew at the battle against Teppelin, then the post-TimeSkip Grapal army.
** Said motley crew? [[InvokedTrope Entirely identical and all bright red.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: The show's gung-ho attitude makes it difficult to tell whether it's [[RefugeInAudacity taking refuge in audacity]] or just [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar goosing the censors]]. Remember, this was aired at ''9 a.m.''
** If nothing else, Parallel Works #5 puts a whole new spin on the goosing part.
* ReplacementScrappy [[spoiler:Averted hard by Viral. He's essentially a replacement for Kamina, but he's an insane badass in his own right. Rossiu plays it perfectly straight immediately after Kamina's death.]]
* RetiredBadass: [[spoiler: Post-TimeSkip Yoko before the Anti-Spirals' attack; Simon in the DistantFinale.]].
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Not that the minor characters from Team Gurren ''were'' Scrappies, see, it's just that no one really cared about them. But then episode 24 hits, where [[spoiler: all of them go out in one heck of a blaze of glory]]. This troper couldn't believe his own ManlyTears.
* ReverseFunnyAneurysm - In Episode Seven, Rossiu warns everyone that "Good intentions can sometimes tempt good people into traveling down the wrong path." Post-Time skip, he's doing exactly what he was warning against. He even mentions the effect it had on his village, which is what Simon compared it to when he found out.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Boota!
* RocketPunch: Subverted -- the one and only example is less "rocket" than it is "pull off my arm and throw it at you," and it is less "punch" than "the most epic BrightSlap in human history."
* RousseauWasRight [[spoiler:EVERY major antagonist turns out to be trying to do what they thought was best for the world. [[IncrediblyLamePun Including Rossiu]].]]
* RuleOfCool: The show pretty much relies on this for everything it does. [[spoiler:Even ordinary goggles can randomly transform into [[CoolShades sunglasses]] if the situation is dramatic enough.]]
** Kamina lives strictly by the RuleOfCool to the point of rejecting anything useful, plausible, practical, survivable, etc, if it isn't cool enough.
* RunningJoke - The Old Man
* SatelliteCharacter: Kinon after the time-skip.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Yoko's.
**Also [[spoiler:Viral Post-Timeskip, in his hobo/freedom fighter outfit,]] although this is possibly a subversion, as his scarf defies all laws of gravity and refuses to blow in the wind.
* ScavengerWorld
* {{Schoolmarm}}: [[spoiler: Post-TimeSkip Yoko]].
* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: [[spoiler: The last episode shows Chouginga/Super-Galaxy Gurren Lagann, which is the size of the moon, being only slightly smaller than Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which is larger than galaxies]].
** This may be justified in that the universe they were fighting in was under the control of the opponent. As they continued to fight, between the energy the heroes were releasing and the BigBad losing focus, the universe may have been falling apart at the seams, causing reality, sizes, and more to bend (And sometimes break completely.)
***If, by this point in the show, you have enough brain remaining to worry about this... you're doing something wrong. Very wrong.
* ScreamingWarrior: Every time someone is HotBlooded; read: ''all the time!''.
* ScrewDestiny: The entire point of "We go BeyondTheImpossible" basically. Just listen to their [[RousingSpeech Rousing Speeches]] during the last part of the series.
**Alternatively, Screw Physics.
** This could be taken literally: the dominant motifs are drills, spirals and other screw-shaped implements with which they dig right through their confines and break them to pieces.
* SelfMadeMan - Kamina!
* ShallowLoveInterest: Kiyoh for Dayakka, Kinon for Rossiu. Still, this is CharacterDevelopment for them since before they had little characterization.
* ShareTheMalePain: In a particularly memorable scene, the Dai-Gurren takes a shot to the crotch. Every man (save for Leeron) immediately winces.
* ShootTheDog: Rossiu is forced to do this a lot, and suffers for it.
* ShouldersOfDoom: Most of the Gunmen, epitomised by Chouginga/Super-Galaxy Gurren Lagann's.
* ShoutOut: When [[spoiler:Yoko]] becomes a teacher during the TimeSkip, she takes the name [[ReadOrDie Yomako]], the name and outfit of another ActionGirl teacher (if only substitute)
** Lordgenome's Lazengann is supposed to look and fight like Gainax's earlier [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Unit 01]]. [[EpilepticTrees You don't think that]] [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds means anything, do you?]]
* ShowyInvincibleHero: Basically every main character, but subverted [[spoiler: in that most of their death cheating catches up with them at the very end, albeit by choice, in a series of HeroicSacrifices]]
* TheSiege: Combined with '''DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu'''.
* SingleMindedTwins: Jougan and Barinbou.
* SissyVillain: Cytomander provides the page picture.
* SixthRanger: [[spoiler: Viral after his HeelFaceTurn]].
* SlapOnTheWristNuke: [[spoiler: Big Bang-powered Wave Motion Gun? No problem!]].
* SlipknotPonytail: [[spoiler:Rossiu after Simon jumps through ''space and time'' to smack some sense into him.]]
* SmallGirlBigGun: Yoko and her sniper rifle.
* SnotBubble
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Viral, then the [[FourIsDeath Four]] Divine Generals, then Lordgenome, [[spoiler: then the Anti-Spiral System, then an entire ''reality'' controlled by Anti-Spirals, and finally an enemy mecha that throws galaxies like Frisbees]].
* SpaceIsAnOcean: There really is an ocean in space, and a watery one at that. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a NegativeSpaceWedgie.]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: official Japanese Gulaparl vs. {{Fanon}} Grapal; which one is used depends on the fansub group, and NEITHER is the official English name, "Grapearl;" Ganmen/Gammen/Gunmen/Gunman, Rossiu/Roshiu, Giga Drill Break/Breaker; Giha/Jiiha; pronouncing Simon SHE-Moan or SEE-Moan (or as the usual Anglo "Simon"); Lord Genome/Lordgenome.
** To add a theoretical dimension to this, Matt Greenfield of ADVFilms once said that they would've dubbed Simon's name as the typical English Sai-mon.
** "Ritona" was pretty rampant as Yoko's last/clan name, being the direct Romanization. Bandai standardized this to "Littner".
* SphereOfPower
* SplitScreen: Taken to [[UpToEleven splintered screens]] wrestling with each other's borders during arguments and HamToHamCombat.
* SpoilerOpening: the third intro is notorious for this: [[spoiler:Nia having "another self", the Gurren Lagann shown to have more (and larger) forms, the Cathedral Terra (although it's only shown in shadow)]], among others...
* SteppingStonesInTheSky: The last chapter features [[spoiler:''Stepping Galaxies In Outer Space!'']]
* StormingTheCastle
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Yoko, especially her outfit for the final arc. Not to mention ''Simon's'' waist cincher and posture collar. And Kamina never wore very much either..
* StrongFamilyResemblance: As [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOBG3CCew7Q the 8th Parallel Works video]] shows [[spoiler: super-huge Lordgenome used to basically be a male version of Nia]].
** The implications this would have for an older Nia are pure NightmareFuel with a side of BrainBleach.
*** Of course, we've already seen an older Nia and she's only a disappointment to {{Lolicon}}s.
** In the DistantFinale, Rossiu now has a striking resemblance to his own father.
* SuperPrototype: The Grapearl mecha are mass-produced versions of the Gurren Lagann. Of course, being {{Real Robot}}s based on a SuperRobot, they're inferior. Gimmy [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] this in one episode. Also, the Custom Gunmen of Lordgenome's Four Generals.
* SuperRobot
* StartOfDarkness: Parallel Works #8 for Lordgenome.
* StupidSexyFlanders: If the short "Viral's Sweet Dream" is anything to go by, even his sworn enemies can't help but have ...''[[IfYouKnowWhatIMean thoughts]]'' about Kamina.
-->'''Viral:''' Why was I dreaming of ''Kamina!?'' Well, I guess I'm allowed to have sweet dr-NO, NO! NOT SWEET! NOT SWEET!
* TeamPet: Boota.
** The eighth Parallel Works video suggests that [[spoiler: Guame used to be this to Lordgenome.]] This is hinted at in the canon, as [[spoiler: Gaume]] justifies taking more liberties [[spoiler: against Lordgenome]] than the others by stating that they were old friends.
* TechnicolorEyes: Nia.
* TelescopingRobot: Taken to the extreme: making weapons ''larger than the rest of the mech''. Handwaved: Spiral Power, [[spoiler: and deconstructed: overuse will destroy the entire universe.]]
* ThatsNoMoon: [[spoiler: the Moon itself is a disguised HumongousMecha]].
** Which is thereafter corrected by [[spoiler: using said mecha to pull the ''real'' moon ''[[BeyondTheImpossible out of another dimension]]'']]
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Repeatedly. Culminating in [[spoiler: the final episode, which contains a theme music-powered beatdown to the entire full length version of the opening theme.]].
* ThemeNaming: The Beastmen, their leaders, and a good chunk of the core group of Team Gurren.
** The four generals are named after a sort-of-portmanteau of the DNA base pairs and pagan elemental spirits. Guame = guamine+Gnome, spirit of earth, Adiane = adenine+Undine, spirit of water, Cytomander = cytosine+Salamander, spirit of fire and Thymilph = thymine+Sylph, spirit of air. Their Gunmen are also named after TheFourGods, Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakkou, and Genbu.
** The four Beastman flagships are all named "Gun(something about the ship)". There's the ground-based Gundo: ''"do"'' means "earth", air-based Gunten: ''"ten"'' is "heaven", sea-based Gunkai: ''"kai"'' is "ocean", and for the Gunzan: ''"zan"'' is a phonetic variant of ''"san"'', meaning "mountain."
** "Simon" contains ''"shimo"'', "below"; "Kamina" has ''"kami"'', "above"; "Yoko" is ''"yoko"'', "beside", and her alter-ego Yomako is from ''"mayoko"'', "directly beside"; Nia has "near" (of course); Kittan is from ''"tanki"'', "quick-tempered"; Leeron is from ''"riron"'', "theory"; Gimmy and Darry are from ''"migi"'' and ''"hidari"'', "right" and "left"; Kiyoh is from ''"youki"'', "cheerful", and her infant daughter Anne is from ''"annei"'', "public peace"; Kinon is from ''"nonki"'', "easygoing"; Kiyal is from ''"yaruki"'', "eager"; Dayakka is from ''"odayaka"'', "gentle"; Kidd and Ailak are from ''"kidoairaku"'', "human emotions"; Zorthy is from ''"souzoushii"'', "noisy, boisterous"; Jorgun and Balinbow are from ''"ganjou"'', "solid" and ''"abarenbou"'', "rowdy"; Makken is from ''"kenma"'', "grinding, polishing, studying"; Leite is from ''"teire"'', "maintenance"; Attenborough is from ''"awatenbou"'', "flustered". Jeeha Village is from ''"haji"'', "end"; Littner is from ''"tonari"'', "next door"; Korehana (the school Yomako taught at) is from ''"hanare kojima"'', "small island of isolation"; Bachika is from ''"chikaba"'', "nearby place"; Adai is from ''"aida"'', "distance; Koiiga (no official romanisation, the village Kidd and Ailak are from) is from ''"gaikoku", "foreign country"; Nakai (from whence Zorthy hails) is from ''"inaka"'', "countryside"; Bakusa (Jorgun and Balinbow's home village) is from ''"sabaku"'', "desert"; Jouken (Leite and Makken's home village) is from ''"kenjou"'', "neighbourhood"; Koachichi (Attenborough's home village) is from ''"acchikocchi"'', "somewhere". Phew.
*** Heh, [[{{Uke}} below]], [[{{Seme}} above]], [[YaoiFangirl beside]]... sorry. (Subverted: Kamina is usually ''uke''... OrSoIHeard.)
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Most battles, including the very first, are completed by utterly anhilating the enemy. "GIGA!!! DRILL!!! BRRRRREAKER!!!!!"
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans are actually complaining that the remake of the "Simon the Digger" speech in the first movie isn't the same as the TV version, when [[FanDumb in reality, it is actually better due to the improved animation and the fact that Simon's seiyuu no longer sounds like he's just reading lines off a script page like in the TV original. And don't get me started with some people's dumbassery with the English dub...]].
** Hey, now. Could just be [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]].
* TheyShouldHaveSentAPoet: at the end of the first episode. The three main characters launch themselves through the earth's surface and high into the air, getting an overview of everything.
**This is repeated with Yoko and [[spoiler: one of her students]] post-time skip.
* ThisCannotBe: Actually exclaimed by heroes and villains alike whenever physics go out the window in favor of what's coolest.
* Of course, ThisIsADrill.
* ThisIsSPARTA: '''GIGA!!! DRILL!!! ''BREAAKEEEERRR!!!!!'''''.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3GSMPAZhMU Taken to the logical extreme]] by combining [[ThreeHundred 300]] and TTGL, which arguably makes for an even more awesome trailer than the original. Beware of [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Spoilers]] and keep a towel ready to wipe off the testosterone from your monitor afterwards.
** Gross.
* TimeAbyss: While receiving reports on the evacuation, Rossiu glances at a display showing a world map. The shapes of the continents are just recognizable enough to deduce that tens of millions of years' worth of continental drift has occurred.
** Or [[spoiler: the Anti-Spirals' attack on Earth (as shown in Parallel Works #8) severely screwed up the landmasses.]]
* TitleDrop: The biggest mecha in the series is called "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann"; chapters are also named after a dramatic line said by one of the characters.
** As the title [[MemeticMutation in]] [[RunningGag America]] is simply ''Gurren Lagann'', this was lost when the finale was aired. There's also confusion after episodes having to be renamed as the line they're named after are slightly different.
* TookALevelInBadass: Simon.
* TransformationSequence: ''[[InvokedTrope Invoked]]'' by Kamina in the fourth episode. He just ''would not'' combine with Simon until he did it.
* TronLines: these appear on many things related to [[spoiler:the Anti-Spirals, including most of the Mugann, spoiler: Nia as the Anti-Spiral messenger, and even their home planet.]]
* {{Troperiffic}}
* {{Tsundere}}: Yoko shows some characteristics of this when it comes to Kamina.
* TunnelKing: Simon the Digger
* VaginaDentata: Adiane's mecha has its mouth in its crotch, with fangs.
* VisualInnuendo: The Dai-Gurren - for God's sake [[GagPenis just look at it]]!
** This is actually [[LampshadeHanging pointed out at one point]]. When something smashed through the observation deck, all of the male crew members, minus Leeron, grabbed their crotches and cringed.
*** Shortly thereafter, an equally Freudian weapon nails the Dai-Gurren from below...causing Leeron to hop out of his seat with a startled "iya~n."
** [[spoiler:Antispiral Nia]]'s black LatexSpaceSuit has red TronLines going about it. The concentric circles on her breasts [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything easily remind you of]] [[NippleAndDimed something]].
**Dai-Gurren versus Dai-Gunten. That is all.
* VillainOpeningScene: In the Movie.
* VillainPedigree: From Beastmen to Anti-Spirals.
* WalkingTheEarth [[spoiler: Viral, because of Lordgenome (post-timeskip) and Simon, because of Nia (in the epilogue)]].
* WaveMotionGun: Powered by [[spoiler:a Big Bang]].
* WellDoneSonGuy: Kamina; much of his personality is arguably because of [[MyGreatestFailure his regret that he didn't accompany his father to the surface]] when he was a child.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Lordgenome, post-TimeSkip Rossiu and [[spoiler:the Anti-Spirals]]
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:Kamina.. Kamina ''dies''? No way. That.. that can't be right. He's gonna get right up, wipe himself off, they'll maybe put some bandages on him, he'll be fine, right? .. Right?]].
** After a certain point in Episode 24, [[spoiler:you just want to grab Gainax and start shaking them until they stop killing secondary characters.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNrtK78tlJA Parallel Works 2]] -- a pachinko mecha. Seriously.
** Libera Me From Hell wasted on nature shots. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdfXUQspWNI&feature=related And it's an official Parallel Works video]].
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: as elaborated in Simon's WorldOfCardboardSpeech, the concept of spirals detailing the struggles of the humans up to that point.
* WhatTheHellHero: The justification for [[spoiler: Simon's imprisonment.]]
* WhenAJerkLovesATsundere: Kamina and Yoko, very much so. The bickering, the insults, the beating, the denial, the accidentalpervert that leds to a beating; its all there.
* [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer When All You Have Is A Drill]]
--> [[spoiler:Viral]]: "It's no good! Our drill can't penetrate it!" [paraphrase]
--> Simon: "So we need a bigger drill!?" [paraphrase]
* WhoIsThisGuyAgain: The secondary members of Team Dai-Gurren tend to go unnamed, even if they get large amounts of screentime.
** The entire crew of Dai-Gurren is actually named; as are their Gunmen (though this may just be a trait of the manga). They announce names at a few points in the canon, and resources exist with all the characters labeled. None the less, it's incredibly easy to forget that they are all indeed named, as these characters are rarely identified despite having substantial screen time for minor characters.
** Happens to Viral at the end of episode 6. Kamina actually asks "Wait... Who is he again?", though Kamina does this for various people and facts. He actually does this a lot more than one would think for a character [[spoiler: who only lives for 7 episodes]].
* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: [[spoiler:Lordgenome asks the Anti-Spiral Leader why he didn't just destroy Team Dai-Gurren with his near-infinite power. The ASK says there was an unusual source of spiral energy that they needed data on, lest it "ruin everything". Turns out it's [[ChekhovsGunman Boota]].]]
* AWizardDidIt: Spiral Energy can do pretty much [[RuleOfCool whatever the hell's coolest]].
* TheWorfBarrage: Poor Viral seems to fall victim to this a lot, especially any time he draws his swords. Apparently drills > Katanas. [[spoiler: Then he [[HeelFaceTurn gets]] [[EvilIsDumb redeemed]].]]
** Not to mention Attenborough's ButtonMashing all the HumongousMecha-du-jour's guns on every enemy, usually to little effect: see his FanNickname. This is [[LampshadeHanging pointed out to him]] at one point.
* TheWorfEffect: If you pay attention, you'll notice that Kamina almost ''never'' won a fight without Simon.
** The funny thing is, Kamina is fully aware of that trend. It's just that no one - especially Simon - believes him.
* WorldOfBadass
* WorldOfHam
* WrenchWench: Leyte, [[FanNickname a.k.a.]] "The Professor".
* YaoiFangirl: Kinon in the AU manga.
** For that matter, note Yoko's's reaction to "they're going to combine".
* {{Yonkoma}}: The Internet has created the "Dai-Gurren-Koma", a collection of photoshops of the "Gaijin 4-Koma" corresponding to each episode that aired, which was updated within days of airing. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaibqUn-2zg This [=YouTube=] video]] uses the pictures to punctuate a montage of the entire series. Warning: spoilers.
* YouKilledMyFather: In the second episode, Simon realising that tremors caused by the Beastmen-piloted Gunmen led to his parents' deaths motivates him to fight.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Yoko starts the series at 14. [[{{Lolicon}} Feeling uncomfortable?]]
** Nope.
** Well, sort of. Because of living underground, the years were counted far differently than they were when the sun and seasons held so much sway. Because of the difference in amount of days per year, Yoko was 18-19 by our standards.
* YouShouldKnowThisAlready: If you value being free of spoilers, do not so much as '''Google''' this series. Heck, you shouldn't even have reached this far down the page.
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