Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review: Gurren Lagann (2007) by Hiroyuki Imaishi

The first of the three masterful collaborations the duo of as director and veteran playwright Kazuki Nakashima as script-writer gave us (“Kill la Kill” and “Promare” are the other two) was a truly game-changing title, which reinvigorated the rather preterit at the time mecha genre in ways no one could have imagined.

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The main story, which is not based on a manga in another unique aspect of the title, takes place in a fictional future where Earth has become an almost complete dystopia, ruled by the Spiral King, Lord Genome, who has forced mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages for generations. To achieve that, apart from spreading lies about the surface of the earth being extremely dangerous, he also uses his beast men, who, using mechas, terrorize anyone who dares actually leave the underground villages. Two teenagers, however, Kamina, who once saw the sky with his father, and Simon, an expert driller whose parents were killed in an earthquake, dream of reaching the surface against the wishes of their village elder. When a huge mecha, and subsequently, Yoko, a rather sultry and extremely beautiful girl suddenly appear in the area, all hell breaks loose and the brothers soon find themselves on the surface, with the help of a small mecha that transforms into a drill, named Lagann by Kamina.

The three of them, under the “don't stop until you reach the skies”-mentality of Kamina soon manage to unite the other villages against the beast men, and as soon as they realize that Lagann can take over any mecha by drilling into it, embark on a battle against Lord Genome. Soon, however, tragedy happens, while the truth is revealed to be something very different than they expected. The trio eventually becomes a quartet when Rossiu, a boy from another village is added to the group, while the appearance of Nia, a mysterious girl everyone immediately starts loving, complicates things even more.

The series' narrative is one of the greatest ever to appear on an anime, for a number of reasons. Firstly, Kamina's mentality truly draws and inspires the viewer as much as it does the villagers and Simon, with lines like “don't believe in you, believe in the me that believes in you” echoing on a number of levels. The dynamics of the two blood brothers create a great antithesis, with Kamina always pushing forward and Simon being constantly reluctant, while the presence of Yoko adds another level to their relationship, as all the characters grow through love, but also loss. The impressive characterization also benefits the most by the whole Lagann concept, since the robot's abilities actually mirror the psychological status of Simon, a concept that is exploited for dramatic tension mostly, with the best results.

However, the narrative does not stop there. Eventually, politics and the concept of military men against politicians comes to the fore, as does God and religion and the way faith can be implemented as both a driving force and means of crowd control. The juxtaposition of sociopolitical themes with ones about love and grief is greatly implemented, and one of the best assets of the narrative, particularly because as the protagonists grow, so does the complexity of the issues they have to face.

What is equally impressive is how much Gainax's animation is a part of the narrative, with both the movement and the drawing of the anime mirroring and adding to the story in the most remarkable way. In that fashion, Gainax has implemented a number of elements through the animation. One of the most obvious is the homage that occasionally functions as a parody of classic mecha anime. One can easily find references of “Robotech”, “Mazinger Z” and “Transformers” for example, while the triumph stances the robots take after each win are as hilarious as they are reminiscent of all the mecha classics. Regarding comedy, a special mention should also be given to the moment Kamina withdraws his huge katana, which is hilariously hyperbolic. Lastly, the drawing of the plethora of mecha also implements the aforementioned combination in another very entertaining element.

Special mention should also be given to the character design, which features details very rarely incorporated in series, while the fact that the plethora of characters are easy to distinguish is definitely another trait. The two characters that truly stand out, however, are the two main female ones. Yoko is the main source of fanservice in the series, as she moves around with a huge gun and a bikini or in general, clothes that stress her impressive bosom. However, this part is actually also implemented quite well in the narrative, and is never distasteful. On the contrary, it is frequently a source of laughter, since the creators seem to mock the whole concept of the fanservice. Nia, on the other hand, exhibits another kind of beauty, more fragile, but it is her design that is truly unique, with the cloud-shaped hair and the cross-shaped eyes.

The same artfulness applies to the background drawing, which is the one that transforms the title from western to urban/futuristic to complete sci-fi, while in the finale, it presents a rather intense surrealism that seems to incorporate the philosophical aspect of the narrative in the most impressive way.

Furthermore, the action also incorporates all the aforementioned elements in the best way, including some of the most hilarious, agonizing, nuanced and in general impressive sequences ever to appear on an anime, including both mecha and hand-to-hand combat.

Lastly, both the rockish music of the first part and the more epic of the second one complement the visuals excellently.

Not much more to say, “Gurenn Lagann” is one of the best anime titles of all time, a series where imagination, originality and implementation are of the highest degree.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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