Of all the anime I have seen, this one remains my absolute favorite. If you don’t already know, Gurren Lagann is animated by Gainax, the studio behind Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and Gunbuster, to name a few. Gurren Lagann is their latest work, and, in my opinion, their best.
Gurren Lagann is about Simon, a digger from Jiha Village. All humans live in underground villages, and many do not even believe in the surface. Kamina, the rebel of Jiha Village and Simon’s soul brother, insists that the surface is real and that he went there once as a child. After a failed attempt to reach the surface, Kamina is jailed, only to be rescued by Simon, who claims to have found a giant face. Suddenly, a giant robot head falls from the roof and begins to destroy the town. Yoko, a girl from the surface with a huge rifle, follows the robot, attempting to kill it. Simon, Yoko, and Kamina board the tiny robot Lagann, and are able to destroy the robot and reach the surface. Yoko explains to Simon and Kamina that on the surface, humans are attacked by beastmen piloting giant robots, and after a fight with some particularly powerful enemies, Kamina steals one of the robots for himself, naming it Gurren. In a battle against Viral, one of the Human Eradication Forces on the surface, Kamina and Simon combine their robots into Gurren Lagann, a powerful robot that can defeat even the most powerful of foes. The team goes on to form the Gurren-Dan (Gurren Brigade) and fight the spiral king, Lord Genome. Along the way, Simon rescues Nia, a girl who claims to be the daughter of Lord Genome.
In the second half of the show, time has skipped forward many years. Humanity, led by Simon and the Gurren-Dan, has moved to the surface and prospered. However, just as prophesied by Lord Genome, when one million humans reach the surface, a power enemy from the far reaches of space emerges and, once again, the Gurren-Dan is the only hope for the future of humanity.
Gurren Lagann is unique in many ways. It takes all the stereotypes from giant robot anime and goes so far over the top that they are refreshing and new. In Gurren, all living being generate spiral power. It is the will to live, to grow, to fight. It is the power of evolution in its purest form. Throughout the show, Simon harnesses this power to do the impossible and fight, against all odds, to protect those he cares for and to do what he believes in. Overall, Gurren Lagann is a moving display of humanity’s desire to survive, to grow, to evolve, and to go beyond reason and do the impossible.