Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Hear, hear

Gotta love this show huh.

Also, here's something for you guys to get excited for.

I am so sick an tired of Yoko's exploitation. Then again, Gainax are merchandise whores.

Damn, I know that Blu Rays in Japan are expensive, but over $700 for a 27 episode series? Ouch.

edited 1st Jan '13 1:05:49 PM by Grahf

Insane, right?

I'm annoyed at how fanservicey Yoko is. I like her better in her teacher garb. Grrr.>:(

Yeah. Teacher Yoko was classy.

I like both versions of her equally.

edited 1st Jan '13 4:20:00 PM by Demongodofchaos2

Nothing wrong with that either. Yoko is classy no matter what she wears, even if her clothes would make you think otherwise(beyond the teacher duds).

I liked Yoko in her bikini garb the best.

I don't understand why would she put more clothes on for the beach?

edited 3rd Jan '13 12:06:10 AM by AMurderOfCrows

It made for an effective reverse-fanservice joke.

Yes. It was funny. But her normal outfit is silly anyway.

8 bit Gurren Lagann

[1]

Delicious. Thanks!

Question: How can the Gainax cameos in the Hot Springs Episode count as Lawyer Friendly Cameos when Gurren Lagann itself was made by the same company? Aren't they more Captain Ersatz, or Expy given their stark personality/behavior difference from the original characters?

If they're all owned by the same company, it's simply a cameo.

Well, someone may have to fix the relevant entries in Anime.Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, then.

I wouldn't say they were Captain Ersatz or Expy either since they weren't exactly "characters", so much as a visual reference. Those two tropes would imply there was any writing to them based on other characters.

Watched CS's new review of TTGL because I'm a glutton for punishment (Spoiler: It's exactly the same as the review he did three years ago, so I don't know why he did it beyond ripping off elements from Plinket Reviews). But something that came to mind while watching it was exactly why Rossiu is a villain in the Kamina City arc. Rossiu is fundamentally, at least at the beginning, someone who, ironically, lacks belief or passion. He tries to use logical systems as crutch of escaping from all or nothing decisions, but he doesn't have the will to fully commit or the belief that his decisions are the right ones, even if he tries to convince himself and the people around him that he does. He also tries to use his logic to hide from the fact that the world can be random and absurd; and when he's force to confront that fact, when all his perfectly planned contingencies fall apart, he chokes.

I don't think TTGL has stupidity as a virtue, but rather is about how strictly abiding by what is considered reasonable or 'common sense' can be binding in a world that can be unreasonable, and that needs to be embraced and tapped into to the best of our abilities.

Interesting way to look at it.

That is essentially the motivation for all the antagonists in TTGL: instead of having confidence in themselves & finding a better way to solve the problem at hand (be that keeping their village alive or stopping the universe from exploding), they all crumple and seek to control others instead. The village chief in the first episode, Rossiu's chief, the Spiral King, Rossiu, and even the anti-spiral.

I think with Lordgenome though there was always a glimmer of hope that one day a hero would emerge more powerful than him who could potentially take on the Anti-Spirals.

But anyways, I don't think the theme of the show is "If you believe yourself to be a big enough of a badass you can do whatever you want." I mean sure, characters do do that a lot in the show, but that's not really the shows theme.I feel it's marrying a child-like sense of possibility about the universe and the belief you can accomplish anything, unvarnished by world-weary cynicism and bitterness, with the adult virtues of wisdom and Responsibility.

Like take Kamina; he's the only one in the village that dreams of something bigger than the life presented to him. His pure, maddening drive to strive for more proves inspirational for humanity. But I think he recognized he couldn't be the leader that humanity needed, and he was grooming Simon to be that leader.

The theme of the series is pretty much evolution, or moving forward. Sometimes that means beating the guy in front of you, while other times you have to accept someone's death in order to move forward.

Well that too, but evolution requires a belief you can achieve anything.

Sorta tangential but I think this Colbert quote is pertinent.

edited 3rd Mar '13 10:03:51 PM by Scherzo09

That line from Colbert was perfect. Definitely shows that the idea that True Art Is Angsty is just a fallacy.

And yeah, this series did have pretty good messages about the human spirit, determination, self-sacrifice, idealism vs cynicism and so on. Is it any wonder why it became one of Gainax's most well-received shows? Though I think the ending could have been better executed, and I don't necessarily agree with just letting Nia die, I understand that decision and respect it. Overall, the show is pretty epic.

Though since Eva 3.0 seemed to go out of its way to completely tear down everything that this show said about us, I wonder if it will be viewed as highly.