Dhruv Sharma
‘Gurren Lagann’ is often referred to as one of the best anime series ever made. Like every other anime, it does have a lot of haters but they are largely outnumbered by the people who literally worship it. The anime starts off a little slow and it initially gives you a negative impression. Quite a few people struggle to get past this stage, but the ones who manage to do so, know that it’s completely worth it. ‘Gurren Lagann’, after the first 4-5 episodes, starts taking a completely different direction. Just when you start assuming that you’ve got a fair idea about it, you’re thrown right out of that state of mind and everything you knew about it goes for a toss.
‘Gurren Lagann’ was once ranked #1 by almost all popular anime websites for all the fame it had gained. Over the years, for obvious reasons, it has slightly gone down with respect to its ranking because it came out more than a decade ago. But even now, some fans could swear that it’s the best ever made. Meanwhile, there is a rare bunch of people who claim that it’s too cliched to be called the best. And I do understand the sentiments behind their claims because the story and characters are very similar to that of most other Mecha anime series. But even these clichés have been executed so perfectly that the entire anime gets elevated above all others in its genre. The story is incredibly engaging and you’ll love all the characters.
I usually look at Original anime adaptations with a very cautious eye because they usually fail to reach a depth that manga adaptations are able to. But every once in a while, an amazing original comes along and changes my entire perception about them. ‘Gurren Lagann’ is definitely one of those and I would never even dare to dispute its sheer awesomeness.
There’s only one thing that a viewer must do while watching it — throw away all your abilities of reasoning and try to embrace the ridiculousness being thrown at you. If you are able to achieve that, then you’ll definitely start appreciating and even liking the show. You might not love every episode of the anime, but there are times when you just need to sit back, shut your minds off and watch something funny and lighthearted. A little bit of patience will definitely pay off as things change really fast in the anime, going from utterly boring to super exciting. The ending is literally orgasm-worthy, with its passionate closing dialogues and grandiose animation. I highly doubt that anyone with the slightest interest in anime might have missed out on ‘Gurren Lagann’ considering the fact that it’s been out there for more than a decade now. But even then, if you’re one of those few people who haven’t seen it yet, start bingeing it right away!
Gurren Lagann Season 2 Release Date: When Will it Premiere?
‘Gurren Lagann’ season 1 premiered on April 1, 2007 and with a total of 27 episodes, it came to an end on September 30, 2007. Soon after the huge success of the anime, fans were dying to watch another season but it never really came out. Instead, the creators decided to have some fun with the show and turned it into a parallel story anthology series that features 5-minutes long musical shorts. In all honesty, these shorts make absolutely no sense and I would not recommend those to anyone.
Every now and then, a Reddit user claims that ‘Gurren Lagann’ will be coming back with a new season very soon but it’s no coincidence that these claims usually come around the 1st of April every year. I end up fooling myself with false expectations again and again, only to later accept that there will probably never be a ‘Gurren Lagann’ season 2. It’s about time you start accepting that too and while you’re at it, you can always catch up with some similar anime created by Gainax. If by some magic, the show gets renewed, we will let you know about ‘Gurren Lagann’ season 2 release date.
Gurren Lagann English Dub:
The English Dub of ‘Gurren Lagann’ can be streamed on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and AnimeLab.
Gurren Lagann Plot:
The world, as we know it has come to an end and its surface is now ruled by “Beastmen” who are humanoid creatures terrorizing the remaining humans. The Beastmen operate giant robots called “Gunmen”, that are some heavy war machines designed solely for the purpose of destruction. Two boys, Simon and Kamina, have never seen the fabled surface of the Earth and are forced to grow up in an underground village. Kamina is a free soul who has big dreams while Simon is just a tiny teenager who has no clue what he’ll do with his life. While digging up the earth one day, Simon comes across the ignition key of an ancient artifact of war. With their new found discovery, the duo decides to head to the surface of the Earth along with the short-tempered Yoko, who walks around with a huge gun swinging in his arm.
Upon reaching the surface, they are amazed by the view of the clear sky that they never got to see before this and then they go-ahead explore more of the land that is left in ruins. Soon, they realize that it’s time for them to fight the “Beastmen” with their own new weapons and bring back peace to the world. The trio struggle with all the setbacks and misfortunes they face during this battle, but their undying spirit and determination help them to unravel the mystery behind these strange creatures.
Gurren Lagann Characters:
Kamina
Kamina is more or less the founder of the Gurren Lagann group and is also the deuteragonist during the first half. He is tall and muscular with a slightly tanned body; he often prides himself for his manly looks. He has short blue spiky hair and often walks around wearing his weird red colored sunglasses. Kamina comes off as an arrogant punk who’s hungry for fame, calling himself “The Mighty Kamina”. He even materializes women and claims that ogling at them is the definition of a man. But apart from being such an egoist, there is another side of his personality that is very determined and motivated. He even cares a lot for Simon and makes sure that no one doubts his abilities. He is the only one who initially believes that Simon will someday achieve greatness and Simon does not let him down.
Simon
Simon, as a kid, is tiny in stature and unlike Kamina, he has no goals for the future. But all this is only in the first part of the anime. After spending enough time with Kamina on the surface of the earth, battling the monstrous creatures, he transforms completely. He reaches a whopping height of 6 feet 2 inches and also becomes a strong confident hero everyone can rely on. He proves to be a prime example of how one can defy their odds to become much better than they ever thought they could be. With the right mentorship from Kamina and a little bit from Yoko as well, Simon overcomes all the things that were holding him back from reaching his full potential.
Yoko Littner
Yoko has long red hair, amber colored eyes and the figure of a goddess. She is often the source of most of the initial fan-service in the anime. Despite her typical anime girl looks, her personality is completely the opposite. She is portrayed as a very mature and intelligent character who is always well aware of what she’s doing. But even then, she loses her temper at times, especially with Kamina. She is able to handle every situation that is thrown at her and that’s the reason why Simon and Kamina trust her so much. Even during battles, she is not the kind of person who just jumps right into them; instead, she believes in strategizing all her moves to achieve optimum results. She is also very protective of all of her loved ones and even after claiming that Kamina is full of stupidity, she later finds herself falling for him.
Yoko isn’t too fond of Simon because of his lack of confidence in himself and firmly believes that he is not at all made for battles. It remains a mystery to her why Kamina believes in him so much and assumes that it’s just blind faith. But with time, she also realizes that Simon isn’t all that bad and ends up forming a sisterly bond with him.
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