#i literally can't remember a single thing from the ova it's been so long

[hapalopus]

I just finished my first complete rewatch since 2017 and I can't believe I forgot that this is how it ended

[estercity]

☕ + gurren lagann

i hjave mixed feelings about gurren lagann because... whilst it is one of my favourite animes of all times, is unironically what made me figure out i'm transmasc, and it being one of the first pieces of media i rewatched after i got serious about actually analysing what i was consuming, it's just... there's many things about it that make it difficult for me to reccomend.

i've heard people blame the fact that it was a rush job or that the story changed halfway through and whilst i personally didn't notice that, i think the bigger issues is how misogynsitic it is and going hand in hand with that how sexualised the underaged girls are in the series (which tbf is a staple of early 2000s gainax but i disgress). whether it's every man in the series having the pervert bug or every single teen girl being trapped in a skimpy outfit with little to no personality until the writers remember theyre seperate characters, it's hard to watch especially now vs when i first watched it when i was 17~

it is one of the staple coming-of-age save-the-world seinen series of the 2000s and i do agree it deserves that recognition despite it all. its influence is undoubtable with how many creators its continued to inspire after 15 years, whether in the actual themes, visuals or just gag references (like the iconic shades). the themes of generational trauma and the ability to take back something others failed to before you, something you have no personal experience with but once you realise it might actually be in reach you can't ignore it... it's just such a good premise for the series, i still get hyped everytime i rewatch the opening scene.

one thing gurren lagann does brilliantly is set up the scope of the main character's objective, specifically from that first scene onward. gainax and trigger media have ALWAYS been so good at bending the rules when it comes to perspective and size visually (e.g gamagori in kill la kill constantly changing size to fit the shot) and with gurren lagann being a MECH ANIME, they really just go all out to have you feel the weight of EVERY villain and EVERY fight. singular characters will have huge sweeping shots dedicated to them building up to a single hit and the animation makes sure you feel the impact. in a story where the goal is to literally reclaim the world from a cosmic entity, it delivers exactly what it has to.

whilst the characters are imo the strongest part of gurren lagann's story, and i absolutely adore the cast both in the physical sense and the voice cast (which you KNOW i have to mention because i will shout out katsuyuki konishi's kamina and chris smith's kittan whenever i can), i actually have an issue with how much character work was confinded to side material? whether its the recap movies, the manga or the parallel works ovas, i just... wish the actual series was denser with it. but idk if i can back that up. like if we got a bunch of character dedicated filler, i don't think the story would have flowed the same

i lost structure as soon as i started typing all this so i'll just say the relationship between simon and kamina, and then further on between simon and nia, and simon and rossiu... there's so much heart. and whilst my oppinion of simon shifts around because i don't find him as compelling as a protagonist compared to kamina, i still do think he carries the series well long after a chunk of fans stopped watching

my most solid 6/10 series ever <3