Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Well, Angst doesn't necessarily imply cynicism. To angst implies you have ideals you wish to achieve, that you aren't dead against an abrasive world.

And er, what does Eva 3.0 have to do with TTGL though? Imiashi isn't Anno. Actually, now that I think about it, Shinji did the opposite of what Simon did. Simon was mature enough to realize he didn't want to endanger the universe for his love, and that Nia would like it that way too; whereas Shinji selfishly wanted Rei to cope with how horrible the world was, and that fucked over everyone else.

Anyways, I totes would've liked Nia's death to have been her leaping into the Heavens and high-fiving Lordgenome.

Heh, that would hhave been a sight to see.

Also, you're still going on with that whole theory for the end of 2.0 huh?

I don't want to get into an argument, but I think it was equal parts selfish and selfless. While I don't view it as positively as before, I still don't think it was an entirely Spec Ops The Line WP level bad. It was very morally ambiguous.

Sure he could have just killed Zeruel and ignored Rei, but that also means that he knowingly let another person suffer due to his inaction and cowardice. Isn't that selfish as well? He wouldn't even be giving Rei a chance to speak for herself, just like the rest of the world.

Look,just because you want to save the person you love doesn't mean you're just trying to cope with how bad the world is. On that logic, every relationship is just trying to escape from reality, and being alone and single is the only way to face it. It also isn't like in Gurren Lagann, where there literally was no way Simon could have saved Nia and Simon knew the consequences.

But enough of that. We've debated this ala Siskel and Ebert more than I can count. Back to Gurren Lagann ho!

Where does the show rank in terms of favorite anime for you guys?

edited 4th Mar '13 12:18:40 AM by LDragon2

Let's not get into an argument over the validity of Shinji's actions; that's not this topic. I think though you can see there's a clear difference between Simon's actions, which are circumspect, and Shinji's which are, valid or not, childish and self-centered.

I dunno where TTGL would rank. I need to rewatch it. I'm pretty terrible at ranking stuff anyways.

In 3.0, yes they are childish, I agree. I just don't agree with your stance on 2.0, but again, imo.

I do enjoy debating with you though. It is always good to be able to discuss views and defend our stances imo. They allow us to gain a better insight as to personal beliefs and criticism.

As for Gurren Lagann, I think it ranks eighth. I don't think it is the best anime ever made, nor is it one of the Top Five of the past decade like what some sites say, but it is still a very solid and adrenaline-filled experience.

edited 4th Mar '13 12:29:37 AM by LDragon2

Anybody read this fanfic yet?

Bring tissues. The Manly Tears will flow.

Also, this is my headcanon and if you're not down with that I only have two words for ya!

edited 4th Mar '13 12:31:28 AM by Nitramy

Awwwwwwwww. That hit me right in the feels.

Would work well as the ending for Rebuild too.

Heh, Asuras Wrath really shouted out to this series quite a bit, amongst other anime.

The scale of the final boss is the same as the final Gurren Lagann battle, the villain basically being the Spiral Nemesis, Asura Dying for the same reasons Nia does.

I feel 2.0 was somewhat ambiguous about whether we should be rooting for Shinji or not, but 3.0 has retroactively kinda gone "No, what he did was wrong."

anyways, I could totally see this blaring as the Dai Gurren leaves Earth:

Count that as a pet peeve of mine with 3.0.

Back to Gurren Lagann, do you think this series has influenced many other anime? I know that Madoka Magica has several inspirations from the show.

edited 4th Mar '13 8:36:03 PM by LDragon2

Directly influenced? I dunno. I mean, really, it uses themes that have been with Gainax since its inception. Just look at Gunbuster and Diebuster.

TTGL is more of a tribute to Super Robot anime (and Mecha in general) and as such, uses quite a bit of already existing elements and themes. I'd say at most it influenced a lot of expies and got a whole new generation interested in the Mecha genre.

Aesthetically, yeah, but the thematicism of the series I feel is more of Gainax's homestyle than that of 70s Super-Robot shows.

How could Gurren Lagann be an influence to Puella Magi despite some things like Beyond the Impossible? Since PM is said to be more of Evangelion.

The ending.

I'm not seeing it, unless you mean Madoka takes a cynical approach to those themes. My understanding of Madoka's ending is more like this (covering it because this isn't the Madoka thread):

Urobuchi thinks happy endings are unrealistic, so you need a miracle to make them possible. Otherwise, the laws of the universe ruin everything. So, essentially the first quote on this page: Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Gurren Lagann is often the opposite of that, despite how it uses Spiral power. Human determination and confidence win the day. So it is very Super Robot.

edited 17th Mar '13 8:44:53 PM by SilentColossus

Hey question: Are the movies a good substitute for the show? I have tried watching the show itself but that is a struggle for me.

From what I've heard about them ("Glorified clipshows"), no.

Yes.

The movies are meant to be watched by fans of the series, not people knew to it.

I've seen the first movie. Was a bit miffed by all the stuff that had to be cut or glossed-over in montage format.

Don't know about the second, aside from towards the end, so my suggestion would be to wacth the series, but turn on the second movie's version of the final battle when it gets there.

Of course, since there is no dub of the movies, I'd just say watch the series.

edited 18th Mar '13 10:43:35 AM by Enlong

The ending of the second movie was amazing.

The movies skip over most of the character-building scenes and jump straight into the action. The assumption, I think, is that's you've watched the show and already know who these people are.

Going to an above statement, that is probably a good contrast between the two series. And Gurren Lagann isn't alone on that, both in fan and original works.

I think Naruto did a similar thing between Neji and the main character where you can't change or achieve your destiny if you don't work for it. And Fullmetal Alchemist did another similar thing where you can work your way up to goals without having to rely on miracles or (in Father's case) taking power from others.

A project I'm doing that is specifically supposed to be a GL-EVA flip on Puella Magi also revolves around this a little. This of which is how dreams can be unrealistic, but can come true if you fight for it correctly.

Right. It's a theme very common in shounen works in general.

@Post 64:

Madoka's ending is most definitely a Kamen Rider Ryuki influence. Ryuki had the villain's sister, who was the entire reason for all the time loops fix everything by removing herself from existence, and the epilogue is a slightly happier world.

edited 19th Mar '13 4:12:19 AM by SimplyWhatever