Who the hell do you think I am!?

Written by MithrilSword on August 15, 2011 at 6:14 AM

Gurren Lagann is a pretty unique anime disguised as a very ordinary one. At first glance, the pretense is set up to be like a very stereotypical shonen anime. There's the amazingly awesome dude with a sword, his younger sidekick that calls him "bro", and a hot chick wearing minimal clothing. As standard as you get in anime character archetypes, right? Keep watching and you'll see where this ride goes. I watched this knowing nothing of the plot and characters. And let me say for a show that's supposed to be satire about shonen mecha, Gurren Lagann is surprisingly legit in terms of story and character development.

Story: The synopsis Anime Access gives is all you need to know going into this. I will say that the story goes from borderline ridiculous to something solid that fully develops. Since Gurren Lagann is satire, it makes a point to not take itself too seriously, but at the same time, the plot takes some serious turns that momentarily stops the laughter. Don't worry, you'll be laughing again soon after. The premiss is simple, yet solid; the development is constant and paced appropriately for a series of this size, and the conclusion is solid and satisfying.

Dialogue: By far, this is where the comedy of this show shines. All the over-the-top phrases and lines you'd expect to hear from an shonen are there and they're completely exaggerated. The character personalities are colorful and fit into the action stereotypes we all know and love. The beauty of this anime really comes out when the characters go from ridiculous to serious seamlessly. The script writers did an excellent job.

Animation: At first, the artwork comes off as simple and perhaps a little dull to some people. When the action is tame, the drawing reflects that mood. When the action picks up, the styles follows right along. The animations are smooth throughout the series. Its very stylized, fitting in with contemporary anime and with older mechas from the late 80s through the 90s. In fact, there are a lot of visual reference to Mobile Suit Gundam for those savvy enough to catch them.

Entertainment: This show's packed full of it! From hilarious jokes to witty one-liners, to moments of total badassness, Gurren Lagann's got it. Each episode is memorable from start to finish with very few boring moments. The characters are great, each one developing in their own way as the series progresses. Everyone one who watches Gurren Lagann is sure to have at least one favorite character if not several.

The Final Verdict: As I said before, for an anime that's satire, this show is solid on all grounds. The only reason I wouldn't recommend this for first time viewers is because they may not understand the genre stereotypes that Gurren Lagann is making fun of. But even without those Easter Eggs for anime veterans, there's more than enough substance to make this show stand on its own. This is a solid choice for fans of old school and current anime!