Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann, ("Heaven Shattering Crimson Face") brought to America as just Gurren Lagann, is yet another mecha series I've taken an interest in. A friend of mine lent me the first two DVDs, and so you get to hear about them.
Just for the novelty of it, I'd love to see a shojo mecha series. Mecha in itself, is a shonen genre, but I really would love to see the differences if they aimed it at girls. Being a shonen, we've got all the shonen plot points: overconfident male fighting-type, shy with some sort of hidden inner talent/magic/drill/whatever not-normally-a-fighter type, busty girl with some sembalnce of a purpose to thinly veil the fanservice, and STUFF BLOWING UP. Though more general fights than explosions.
Gurren Lagann takes place on an unknown planet which may or may not be post-apocalyptic Earth. People live underground, and except for Kamina, deny the existence of a surface. Our main character is 14-year-old Simon, a shy scrawny kid who's really good with a drill. The people drill out to expand their village, since they can't go up. One day while drilling, Simon find a tiny drill. No, I'm not joking. He shows it to Kamina, 18-something cocky punk who wants to break out of the village. Immediately afterwards, he pulls Simon into his "Team Gurren" and uses a herd of some sort of weird animal to break out. He fails, Simon goes back to drilling, and this time finds a "face". 'Tis a mecha, which they are forced to use when a "Gunman" falls though their ceiling being chased by aforemnetioned busty girl. Her name is Yoko, and she's a killer shot with a rifle. After killing the Gunman with the mecha--named Lagann by Kamina, Simon, Kamina, and Yoko bust through to the surface.
Reasons for: It's a fun show, and you can't help but be pulled in by that. Kamina's definitions of manhood make you want to learn to fight just so you can apply them. The mecha piloting is plausible, with neither Simon nor Kamina being especially good when they start, and only winning through the immense powers of the Gurren and Lagann, and eventually, the Gurren Lagann. Yoko really DOES have a purpose, unlike other fanservice characters I've reviewed lately (coughKarenCodeGeasscough) and she's good with that rifle. The general plotline is tried-and-true, but the idea of a planet populated by beastmen that force people to live below the surface is intriging, and keeps you watching.
Very nice opening and ending, as well. First time in a while that I've liked the ending theme song of a show.
Reasons against: KAMINA, SHUT UP. I don't know if I love him or hate him. People get annoyed by Naruto's overconfidence, fighting abilities that he didn't earn, and general attitude in general, and Kamina's much the same. He doesn't have the slightest clue what he's doing, but he just charges blindly forward and pulls through in the end. Some of the "manly" things he does are just ridiculous. When he forces Simon to jump on top of his mecha instead of just picking him up, for example--long minutes of a battle are spent on Kamina smacking the Lagann away instead of letting it combine. Really, Kamina, how far did you need to take that? He's the heart of the show so far, now will he carry it or kill it? I'm sorry, but I want to see more of Simon, the ACTUAL MAIN CHARACTER, and not Simon whining "I'm afraid, let's go home!". What home? Am I the only one who saw the Gunman destroy it?!
For the first time since Yuugiou, I've got animation to complain about. Is it just me, or was the animation different in episode 4? That's not cool, Gainax. Transfer some of the budget on making Yoko as suggestive as possible and get some consistency.
Overall: I like it, but I just don't see what makes it SO great. B+ so far, but because I've read and know what's going to happen, A-.
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