Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Review - 78/100
If you came to this entry, expecting another rave about how Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann should deserve to be the best anime ever, then you’ve come to the wrong address. This series is a nice watch, but for me, it wasn’t the instant classic that others make it out to be. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan is homage to the GAR mecha-series of the seventies and eighties; it’s a brainless over-the-top action-series, nothing less, but barely anything more.
This series suffers from a huge degree of predictability. The good guys are basically like a bunch of energetic monkeys who’ve drank too many cups of coffee, and they often like to think with their hormones, instead of their minds. Nearly the entire series has them basically running forward, taking out enemy after enemy. When one enemy is defeated, another, more powerful one appears. He or she is cocky, but he keeps getting surprised at the ever-increasing power of our protagonist. Of course, the anime does this in style, but the lack of much variation does become jarring after a while.
There’s one point in the anime where it actually promises to be more than just this, though. At episode 17, there’s a time-skip, and both the setting and the characters themselves develop quite interestingly. Unfortunately, the creators chicken out after three episodes, and go back to the overblown action of the first part of the series, and increase this ten-fold. If there’s also a point in this series where every chance has turned against our heroes, then don’t worry. A previously unmentioned plot-device will appear and turn the tides. After this happens for the fifth time, it does take away some of the tension.
The characters are fortunately a bit more interesting than this. They’re basically the definition of passionate manliness. I especially liked Kittan and Rossiu, two side-characters who do what they can to help out, and can actually think for themselves. The other characters are enjoyable enough, though the two lead females have a few problems here and there. Nia’s actions in the beginning feel a bit forced, and while Yoko is a great side-character, she becomes really annoying when she becomes the centre of attention. This is a Gainax-anime after all, and of course they had to stuff in the obligatory fanservice.
If you’re looking for something realistic, then stay far and far away from this series. While I can’t say it for sure, but especially the final episodes deserve a good chance of being among the most scientifically inaccurate episodes ever. If you’re looking for epic GAR and manliness though, you should give this one a chance. The over-the-top action nearly thunders out of your screen with the bright and energetic production-values, and among the general fandom, this has become a favourite series. While I can’t share this opinion (Gurren Lagann is nowhere near the best of the previous season), it remains a nice watch.
I seem too think the same thing about this show, I watched it expecting to be surprised at some point but it just never happened, that’s really a shame because it could have gone in a lot of better directions.
Also I think one of the biggest malus of the show, is the references to old guts full anime. I mean there is something missing, it just doesn’t have the infantile cruelty nor the sentimentalism of it’s references, it’s like there is nothing behind the GAR.
Comment by Cos — October 1, 2007 @ 12:32
even if i have yet not finished this anime i don’t think much will happen to change my overall impression
i agree with u when u say that this is not the best ever,of course it is not there are tens of anime that are better but even so this anime has managed to become together with Death Note and Code geass the highest ranked animes of the year and enter the top 20 of many all time anime rankings,each one having a grade bigger than 87 and as many know Death note is on the first or second rank,and is known as the best anime ever…..
overall back to the review,if i would have read your review and not seen your grade i would had imagined that it got under 70 but overall nice review you are right about the predictability,but even so i enjoyed watching the episodes,maybe i bit more than u seem to have liked it and i would give it almost the same rating but still he have to admit the great quality of the animation(unique in a way) and some of the characters were interesting to so i think that people who need a relaxing anime,that does not need much attention or who want to see some great fights should watch this bit if u want a more complex anime search a bit more cause there are enough of those to
Comment by Archer — October 1, 2007 @ 13:02
this anime has managed to become together with Death Note and Code geass the highest ranked animes of the year and enter the top 20 of many all time anime rankings,each one having a grade bigger than 87 and as many know Death note is on the first or second rank,and is known as the best anime ever…..
Eh, Geass top 20 anime ever? No. I have never seen the Death note anime, but read the manga and it was very good. Though I doubt it’s the best anime ever. It’s a good anime that is recent. People have habits of inflating ratings for the new. See most lists like @ MAL. There are only a few anime that are years old and stand the test of time.
Back to the review…I loved Gurren Lagann for what is was and that was epic silly GAR action. I thought the ending was very well done in terms of the characters. You say you like Rossiu, but he was generally hated and people didn’t want to see or hear his side. They wanted epic battles and manliness. I think it’s great for what is was, but I also don’t really ever take it too seriously. I think it spoke to a lot of guys especially who loved the old 80’s and 90’s over the top shows. While clearly GL is not the best thing ever made, it WAS something “new” and fresh. Especially in a mecha world now where you have Sunrise catering to teenage girls most of the time (see Gundam and Geass).
Comment by anne — October 1, 2007 @ 13:57
yeah… i agree with archer that if you want some great fight scenes and just an anime that you could watch to pass the time without digging to deep in it then this is the show for you… i just started watching this because of all the positive reviews it recieved…. i wouldn’t say my time was wasted watching this, it’s the complete opposite… it was a fun ride… filled with gar and whatnot… but it’s not really the best of the season though since there are better anime out there that makes you think and entertain you while you watch…
Comment by kaz3phyrous — October 1, 2007 @ 14:38
G-L is not a deep anime, but it has been one of the most enjoyable series I have followed in years.
Comment by i-k — October 1, 2007 @ 15:52
I think the strength of the series actually lay in its predictability — it gave a promise, and it delivered, exponentially. I definitely agree that it wasn’t ground breaking, nor do I feel the love that most bloggers do — very typical shounen fare, or what Dragonball would be like if crunched into 27 eps — but it was a solid entertainer for an otherwise underwhelming season.
Comment by kaei — October 1, 2007 @ 19:38
I didn’t mind the predictability too much. Watching this show, there was no need for you worry about the story since you could somehow always tell what’s going to happen. The aspect where I put my hopes in was the way Gainax achieved their goals. Considering that Gurren Lagann was a perfect show as its presentation was just superb (like you said) and something I’ve never seen before.
So I say it was no challenging show, but a very very entertaining one.
Comment by David — October 1, 2007 @ 20:18
Predictable? Totally, but of the most entertaining shows I´ve ever seen! And the ending in indeed great, the best for this season for sure!
Comment by Amalgam — October 2, 2007 @ 1:32
when i referred to ranks i had in mind ANN and as i saw both ANN and MAL have the same two ranks:Death note and Rurouni Kenshin- Tsuiokuhen and even if i don’t agree with them this is how a top is made,not just the opinion of one person but more vote and the best ones are decides this is how most things are done in the world and no matter what one said Kenshin the first ova is a masterpiece for the anime,there are some that don’t like it but it’s by far the most realistic samurai anime ….. much to say but this has nothing to do with psgels review
Comment by Archer — October 2, 2007 @ 8:51
Archer: I haven’t seen Rurouni Kenshin, but I have to say this: popularity and quality don’t have anything to do with each other. Bleach may be popular, it has issues on so many levels. I shouldn’t take these rankings so seriously, if I were you.
Comment by psgels — October 2, 2007 @ 9:17
I totally agree with David. Being a parody and tribute to mecha anime, TTGL wasn’t really about being deep or carrying serious issues [although the themes dearest to Gainax, such as the adolescent growing and the contrast between reality and dreamworld, make an appearance]; I think it nevertheless was a compelling story, and also not too much predictable [sure, it is a Super Robot anime, the hero has to win every time no matter how it is unrealistic and predictable; but if its predictable moments are compelling and carried with style, they just succeed.]
Comment by Cheshire — October 2, 2007 @ 10:52
psgels:i saw kenshin ova before i even had a internet connection and i did not knew of any ranks and i was amazed by it,i think if you did not see it u should give it a chance ,the anime is not as good but the 4 part ova is a masterpiece and there are only few such great anime,maybe Mushishi and Monster(in my opinion),anyway i don’t care about the ranks i have a different way of choosing anime to watch and every anime deserves a chance :)
Comment by Archer — October 2, 2007 @ 17:49
yes! - first review that’s actually reasonable in its rating for GL - this is probably one of the most overrated series of the season, or year, or decade…
Comment by alynd — October 3, 2007 @ 8:02
I find it very annoying how everyone keeps labeling this show as “manly”. If your concept of manliness comes from Glam Rock sure, then Lagann has it in spades, but otherwise it makes no sense, especially considering the AWFUL space arc. Ok, Kamina was cool, but he was only in 8 episodes, and those included the infamous episode 4 and the onsen episode - a recap that was later made into a fanservice special without nipples, but with male genitalia and rectal exploration.
Some people really should go back to the basics: Go Nagai could teach them a lesson or two about testosterone.
Comment by Calorro — October 5, 2007 @ 22:21
I have to agree about your score though TTGL is end up for my top 3 anime in the past season.
I have to give the score to this series separately by her arc.
first arc 7/10
2nd arc 5/10
3rd arc 9.5/10
Its enjoyable but it isn’t balance. I very very in love with the final arc but the first and second completely boring, story line is too predictable and looks like super robot-anime from 20 years.
Comment by naneya — October 6, 2007 @ 10:52
First let me say I spent a whole Saturday, Half a Sunday, and Monday morning watching the whole show. And my brother says I was wasting time but I feel that I was relaxing and enjoying myself not having anything to do….now on to the critique.
I have to say this show is Overrated. Wonderful Animation but after that there really is nothing. It was NOOT an amazing story. Yes I loved that fact that the title really does sum up what the show is about seeing as they began underground and worked their way up to the universe but I watched and this show is easily forgotten. There were just so many things off about it…and I am a huge fain of Mech and Action but you don’t need a brain to enjoy this show. Not saying that there isn’t brainless Anime but like you said it was very predictable you knew they were going to win you knew there were going to be power-ups you know all these things. And some saying that this is a tribute to Mecha Anime…this is crap. This is on some Power Ranger type ish…I hated Raxepheon but as a Mecha Anime it was waay better than this.
Did anyone else notice how the Animation style changed…in the beginning it looked a lot like FLCL and then when Nia came I am reminded of Eureka. This show was bad…awesome Animation but that alone does not make it eligible for Best Anime Ever…there are soooo many shows that blow this out of the water…this is just a drop in the bucket. I am not saying I hated it but really it is so overrated. I think it should be given a 60/100.
Comment by se7enfan — October 9, 2007 @ 0:43
Great animation quality, nice concept, awesome soundtrack, noisiest seiyuus ever, mindless entertainment, predictable but concrete storylines with heightened atmosphere, compelling characters, plain crazy.
Candidate for the best anime this decade alright.
Comment by kelzero — October 9, 2007 @ 11:07
Your review is fairly biased and simple minded. For a show where triumph always comes as granted, it sure depicted a really fatalistic notion of the intensity behind humanity. Pushing forward means destroying, taking over both allies and enemies alike. Beyond the GAR, the style and the hot-blood lies a fairly serious analysis that results satisfying for those that dare to ignore their pretentious prejudices and look beyond the flamboyant exterior. The writing is superb, too. The so-called “plot devices” are reinforcements of a theme that blurs the line between right and wrong and for the Nakajima written episodes the dialogs are simply outstanding.
Comment by 7Th — October 28, 2007 @ 12:46
7Th: you lost me with that last sentence. Sure, the moon being a giant Ganmen and Nia are examples of giving the evil side a bit of depth, but they remain frighteningly close to Deus ex Machinas.
For me, the problem also with the pushing forward all the time was that everything just felt standard and predictable, and because of this most of the characters failed to connect to me. I’m not saying the show is bad, I just didn’t like it as much as others did.
Comment by psgels — October 28, 2007 @ 14:00
Going to have to agree with 7Th here, but you made some good points psgels. But here’s the thing; You either connected with the characters, or you didn’t. Simple as that. Whichever one it happens to be determines how much one enjoys TTGL, and to be honest, I was surprised you didn’t say something along those lines within your review.
Otherwise, nice work!
Comment by Houlgrave — December 7, 2007 @ 4:40
i understand if some people said that TTGL is a tribute to mecha anime. it does resemble 70s mecha anime such as mazinger n stuff, just like psgel said. if you grow up watching anime like raxephon, NGE and gundam wing, you wouldn’t understand. 70s mecha animes are all about ridiculous explosions and fighting spirits. yes, it’s all about the GAR.
Comment by nahrub — January 1, 2008 @ 17:02
Sorry, I know this is old, but I have to say… the fact that you rate Trinity Blood a point above this is sure proof that you have not one iota of taste in anime. That is all.
Comment by Dookie — February 19, 2008 @ 15:55
Dookie: actually, it means that our tastes are not one iota similar. How can you be sure that you aren’t the one who doesn’t have any taste? ;)
Comment by psgels — February 19, 2008 @ 19:39
**THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR SERIES-RUINING SPOILERS. STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT THE WHOLE SERIES RUINED FOR YOU.**
Predictable? To a certain extent, but mostly I’m going to have to disagree. When I sat down and watched TTGL without any prior knowledge whatsoever, I didn’t expect Kamina to die like he did. I was totally shocked that they were so bold as to kill off the character that literally controlled the series up until that point. I was honestly depressed for the first time watching an anime. I’ve watched a lot of anime in my time and never before has a major character death hit me as hard as Kamina’s. I considered dropping the series at that point, but I continued and much to my great surprise, it worked without him. Not only that, it worked well — dare I say, better. Looking back, I don’t think it would have been as satisfying if he hadn’t died. Further, when Lordgenome was killed, did you sit there and go, “in a few episodes, I’m sure he’ll be cooperating with the Gurren Brigade! In fact, he’ll probably save them!”? Did you predict Viral piloting Gurren-Lagann alongside Simon after their rivalry throughout the first two-thirds of the series?
Really though, it’s not intended to be a twisting unpredictable story. The plot is GREAT. The whole fun of Gurren-Lagann is its flashiness and colorful animation and very memorable characters. I think you’re missing the point of the series.
Comment by brandon — March 4, 2008 @ 11:57
7th: I agree completely.
brandon: Likewise.
Comment by Grevane — May 1, 2008 @ 2:17
No other anime has ever crossed the line to make itself this predictable… This show uses the most cheesiest, the most over-the-top, over-used plot devices and mashes it up to form the most generically cliche and predictable anime on the face of the earth.
Don’t you guys see? It’s this stupendous mash up of predictable and generic plot elements that also make this anime one of the most original animes I’ve ever seen.
While other anime writers try to come up with more emo characters in more unique and dramatically convoluted high school love triangles (Code gayass is a good example), the writers of Gurren Toppa No Lagan have the balls to run at light speed in the opposite direction. I’ve never thought such an extreme mash up of generic plot elements could form something so good.
Comment by Briany — June 11, 2008 @ 11:10
The series was definitely predictable. I literally sat through every episode wondering when they’d gain another ganmen. Though I don’t watch animes expecting to see anything. I watch them and hope to find something. The main reasons I loved this anime were the pour your heart into every fight and never give up ideals. The deaths of Kamina and the others touched my heart and made my cried since I barely see those types of deaths anymore. I think I can say no anime I’ve seen so far has given me deaths like those and I appreciate TTGL for that. I wanted to see a giant Gurren Lagann because even though I knew it would happen, I didn’t know how they would show it and those first few minutes of the last episode had my jaw drop.
Comment by EndingPC — July 27, 2008 @ 16:20
well i personally like the anime just for its simpleness , in my opinion theyre is a need for animes like this which are not trying to be over complicated or catering to emo children . Till then its just a simple fun anime thatll keep you watching and I think it is great just for that.
Comment by Red end — August 29, 2008 @ 14:32
You guys should all shut up!!!!! This show is awesome, AWESOME I TELL YOU!!!!! To to honest, I didn’t like this show at the beginning, but I sure changed my mind later. No wonder it is an epic show!!!!!
If you say anymore, IO WILL PUNCH YOU!!!!
Just kidding.
Comment by ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER — September 8, 2008 @ 4:17
I’ve watched a a bunch of episodes and dropped it. This kiddy cheesy stuff just doesn’t cut it for me!!! HORRIBLE!! I’d rather watch DNA2.. DUBBED.
Bunch of underground suckers that barely know eachother suddenly decide to become best friends, get some machines they instantly have names for and are able to combine, go on a journey with some half naked chick to defeat all. Kinda sounds like a 14 year old daydreaming at class?? Truly sorry but a story like that can kiss my ass.
And then I read somewhere that it’s supposed to be a lot better than Evangelion or Code Geass. I know tastes differ, but it makes my blood boil to hear that kind of bull.
Comment by Cwall — September 29, 2008 @ 0:05
It was hard for me to grasp the reasons you gave this a 78 mainly because it’s one of my all time favourite animes. I guess it was predictable but sometimes, an anime should simply be enjoyable and in my opinion, not many series have been able to bring that out in the past few seasons. I mean, this anime practically brings out every emotion you could possibly feel o_o. Oh well I guess tastes differ :S. And as for its depth, if enough thought is given to it, there are NUMEROUS political, humanitarian etc themes. Admitted Code Geass was a good anime but in terms of consistency, character development, animation and other categories, Gurren Lagann completely blew other series out of the water.
Comment by Epicly amazing. — November 22, 2008 @ 4:07
Predictable?? I don’t think any of you predicted Kamina’s death..I don’t think any of you predicted that Lord Gerome was actually a good guy. I don’t think any of you knew why humans were underground…Sure they won every single battle because that was what the story was about…Evolution and moving forward like a drill and never to run away..The had to win the fight or else the moral won’t be as effective…They won every fight but at what cost? I believe the anime was one of the greatest anime I’ve ever seen because it was so fast paced yet the characters were developed well in only a few episodes and had a common them throughout the story. “JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!!!!!”
Comment by Lemonphantom — August 16, 2009 @ 0:54
I don’t feel that the characters well developed in a total sense, they really just fit their mold so to speak. I mean just compare how the 1st and 2nd phase are the characters are basically the same with some changes of course but none that add depth, and frankly speaking I think its a joke to look for depth in a show that is trying to be completely over the top and aimed more for mecha fans as they try to pay homage or parody to old mecha archetypes. And while I don’t think the scenes you mentioned Lemonphantom were predictable they certainly weren’t much of a shock, somehow there was just not enough build up leading to that point well Kamina may have been the build up for that but that man was easily one of the most annoying characters for me (he epitomized the over the top style of the show). So his death was easily something that made the show more bearable. I shudder even more at the so called build up of the romance between Kamina and Yoko, which I think is a case in point at the rush of revelations that this show does it just blurts out the important information so quickly that it loses impact.
This show as mentioned is pretty fast paced and thats precisely what I didn’t like about it. I don’t have problems with fast paced shows, I’m quite a fan of Zetsubo sensei, but this show was just being a kaleidoscope of really bright flashing colors. The pace of things so to speak were there more for eye candy rather than trying to be inventive with the narrative, I think the colors used by the show along with how the battles looked would support this. Another beef I had with the show is that it went HOG WILD. I can see that the show is trying to be completely over the top but there is a difference between going over the top and going hog wild which this show just did, it went overboard with its elements whether it be sexual innuendos or the testosterone levels it was simply too much that it was obviously contrived. Case in point is the so called manliness of Kamina and well I can point to so much actions of him whether it be his incessant cockiness or his perversity as I said he was what the show was about in one character and that wasn’t a good thing. Again I’ll go to a comparison of Zetsubo Sensei which is a show that is too much, so much small details texts, jokes, criticisms, satire, etc. Yet, Zetsubo Sensei is a show that is too much but never feels like it was trying too hard to cram as much of everything it had but it never felt so contrived and just felt natural, hard to say why was but perhaps it was the frenetic cross-cutting style that though the show certainly was crammed never felt like it was forcing down all those details into as the editing was done fast enough to give you a glimpse of the detail. Enough of a glimpse to capture your interest and pay more attention to the surroundings, I often had to pause the show for a moment just because I wanted to see what the entire environment of the scene had in it. But with Gurren it just forces down all its absurdity into you.
Comment by Machi — August 16, 2009 @ 1:59
I think that I know what´s going on here, you people that say that this anime sucks most likely like death note, but as many of you have said, this anime is not a complex like one, but the exact opposite, I´ll put it this way, anime is a coin, death note is on one side, Gurren lagann is in the other, they are part of the same thing, yet they are opposite poles, from few to nothing in common,and if you try to make one side fit in the other you wil gain nothing but dislikes from it.
TTGL is a simple to understand anime, yet the anime uses simple things to reach so many, again, DN proves to be the exact opposite, uses so many things to reach something so simple. Also TTGL is about breaking every limit that your humanity, law of physics, or even the universe has set to you, and critisize this anime for that is like critisizing DN for being far too complex, and trying to think every single word you say without messing up.
In conclusion, you can´t choose which of those two is the best anime, since they are seperate categories, but on their own category I can safely say that they are the best ones, but is up to taste of the viewer of either choosing complex-to-simple or simple-to-complex animes as their favorites
Comment by ajch22 — September 20, 2009 @ 7:25
This is the most overrated TV series to date. In fact, its the second worst anime I’ve seen this year (worst being MD Geist).
#34 I like what you have to say about DN and TTGL, but what you said about them being two sides of the same coin doesn’t make sense. You explained how TTGL is simple-to-complex, but not how DN is complex-to-simple.
I love complex storylines, plot twists, character develpment, action scenes, and good animation as much as the next person. Especially if its a fast paced show or if its a tear jerker.
This show had none of these aspects aside from being fast paced (which didn’t really matter because it was INSANELY predictable) and tolerable animation.
Probably the best show I’ve seen so far is Code Geass (1+2), followed by Ghost in the Shell, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Gungrave (in that order).
I’ve seen more movies than shows, so I’m no expert on the subject. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t obsessed with DBZ when I was 11 years old. So to get to my point, DBZ and TTGL are two sides of the same coin, which makes TTGL completely unoriginal. And like DBZ, it is the drivel of desperate anime creators and should only be shown to people who cannot tell the difference between pathetic absurdity and quality entertainment (i.e. 11-year old boys)
Grade: D-
Comment by Aware — September 28, 2009 @ 0:56