QUEZON City, Philippines (January 12) – For me the most memorable line in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is spoken by the lead character Simon after he and Team Dai-Gurren escaped the multi-dimensional labyrinth: ” We don’t care about time, space and multi-dimensional whatevers…” This set the tone for one really epic anime series.
Which kind of makes me sad that it is not as well known here in the Philippines.
Created in 2007 by Studio Gainax – known to anime fans as the studio responsible for Neon Genesis Evangelion – Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – or Gurren Lagann for short – superficially belongs to the mecha genre of anime. It is about a boy Simon, who spends his life digging precious artifacts for his underground village. Joining Simon is his self-appointed big brother Kamina whose self-confidence and sense of manliness is off the charts. When Simon found a mysterious robot, immediately followed by the arrival of sharp-shooter Yoko and an even bigger robot, Simon’s life just become very interesting.
Gurren Lagann is a wild roller coaster ride full of fan service, over-the-top fights between mechas and mind-blowing heroism. The series also never takes itself seriously, which makes it really fun to watch.
But epic fight scenes aside, at the heart of the anime is a simple journey – the journey of Simon – from a simple digger in an underground village to the leader of the resistance movement to the leader of the entire human race to the leader of the fight against a very powerful alien collective-mind entity and finally as a silent guardian of mankind. You may accuse me of spoiling the anime but really how Simon’s journey was resolved is truly fulfilling to behold. Also, the animation is state-of-the-art, so you can still enjoy watching even if you already have a basic idea of the story.
At the end, Gurren Lagann has only one very important lesson to impart and that is to believe in yourself. Believe in yourself and nothing is impossible.
(written by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
