End of Dreams

It’s amazing how a series that I didn’t even like turned into one that I’ll remember for a very long time. It has everything a fan would love: not one, not two, but several GAR characters, amazing animations, great voice acting (with the exception of pre-time skip Nia - I literally cringed each time she spoke), manly tear moments, and concepts/attacks that are flat out cheesy (e.g. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE KICK). That’s the beauty of Gurren-Lagann; the cheesiness somehow works. I don’t how, or why, but it does. I guess you could liken Gurren-Lagann to One Piece, another terribly cheesy series that is a juggernaut in the popularity department.

With Claymore’s horrible ending (Claymore’s ending seemed so insignificant after watching Gurren-Lagann twenty seven), Gurren-Lagann, along with Darker than Black and Seto no Hanayome, is clearly one of the top contenders for best anime series of 2007. I wonder how the second season of Code Geass will measure up to this juggernaut when it premiers in a few weeks. I was expecting a typical LOLGAINAX ending, so I was somewhat surprised when the last fifteen minutes of episode twenty seven rolled across the screen. I mean, this isGainax we’re talking about; I expected an ending akin to something along the lines of some explosion killing every single character in the series with vague or no explanation as to what had just happened. Those that know me will know that I despise happy endings; mainly because they are a dime a dozen amongst anime. I could not be any more happy with the way Gainax ended Gurren-Lagann - Nia disappearing made it a bittersweet ending, and the twenty year time skip at the end of the episode provided a happy dose of closure to the masterpiece that is Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.

Viral

As for the final episode itself? Amazing. If I were to pick my favorite episode in the entire series, it would be a deadlock between twenty six and twenty seven; both were so incredible T_T. We get to see Lord Genome (with an actual body) and the Lazengann one last time when he, like Kittan and Kamina before him, sacrifices himself in a GAR fashion to help destroy the Anti-Spiral. The specialized fighting techniques that the Gurren-Lagann gains based on its users was also a nice addition (Yoko sniper Gurren-Lagann and Viral dual-wield katana Gurren-Lagann was badass). Aside from all of that, Gurren-Lagann gets massive props from me for being the first series that I’ve seen to have someone (whether it be a TV show, anime, or movie) grab and mesh together a goddamned galaxy to kick someone’s ass. Not even Galactus did that and he’s the devourer of worlds.

GARnome’s last moments

As much as I liked the ending, it has risen some questions that I felt that went unanswered: What’s up with the opening scene of episode one? I don’t believe they ever went into detail about that and many speculate that it’s actually a scene of the second season of Gurren-Lagann. However, the twenty year time skip epilogue debunks this theory, although I guess they could always do an OVA of some sort that takes place in between the ending of season one and the epilogue.Another theory is that the person with the cape is Gimmy, although the presence of Boota makes me think otherwise. Also, why did time skip Simon have a spiral eye similar to that of Lord Genome? Is it because Lord Genome is now a “part” of him (“Lord Genome, isshoni iku zo!”)? Or is it simply because Simon is becoming somewhat like Lord Genome in the sense that he’s also an extremely powerful spiral energy user and has started to gain immortality or extended life as a result of his proficiency with spiral power?

Simon and Nia

I don’t like randomly throwing out the word “epic” to describe something, but I really feel that Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann is deserving of it. Well done Gainax, you’ve truly outdone yourselves this time. Dare I say “best anime series of 2007″?