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tengen toppa gurren lagaan has always
been a series that was on my radar it's
a show that had been in my plan to watch
lists for ages almost since I first
started watching anime in mid 2015 I had
just never gotten around to watching it
for one reason or another but since I
started this channel and got past more
than a couple hundred subscribers I'd
have almost weekly comments on my video
is recommending that I check it out when
I finally started shifting my responses
from I'm planning on Washington
eventually - I am literally about to
started this weekend I was met with an
interesting response about 75% of people
were absolutely stoked and said that I
have a wonderful time with one of the
greatest anime of the past ten years or
perhaps ever the remainder were more
hesitant saying that they didn't think
the anime was for me that it would be
too stupid for my tastes and that it was
just too nonsensical for them to get
much out of it it seemed to me like it
was quite polarizing with a very large
majority having loved it in a very vocal
minority thinking of it as a waste of
time
but something that I found interesting
about gurren lagaan perception was that
a ton of people even the ones who loved
it
seemed to boil the appeal of the series
down to simple stupid ethnic legendary
fun
there was little mention of any real
somatic depth or nuance when talking
about the appeal of the series and I
know that there are people who
appreciate gurren lagaan for the deeper
and more complex things that it achieves
but by and large the perception seems to
be that this is a series that is
absolutely amazing as long as you don't
think too hard about it and I think that
this does a big disservice to a really
well-done aspect of the series now of
course the show finds its identity and
its larger-than-life characters that
display universe defying perseverance
through the thrilling action and the
pure boldness and vibrancy exploding for
most of the frames but these
characteristics are all stylistically
ingrained and gurren lagaan design
simply put these broad strokes ideas are
what made gurren lagaan a modern classic
more or less but for me it was the finer
details the surprisingly intricate
criminally underplayed ideas
that impressed me the most the point of
this video is not the state that the
main strength of the show were not
terrific but to instead bring attention
to the understated assets of the series
stemming from some very mature ideas
that I observed during the middle
episodes roughly from around episode 8
to the story beats before the final
battle but before I get into those ideas
allow me to digress and get my thoughts
on gurren lagaan style these days I'm
pretty good at going into fiction with a
fresh mind which is lucky because
earlier in my life I tended to let hype
ruin some great stories for myself
so with gurren lagaan I was able to go
into it with basically no expectations
other than to hopefully have a fun time
throughout the 27 episodes and witness a
ton of crazy stuff throughout the first
six or seven episodes I'd say I was
enjoying it the battles were fun it's a
bit predictable the characters were
memorable and I was pretty into some of
the societal world building tidbits
established through episode fives
village of a die and of course I adored
communi but in these episodes I began to
see why a common criticism of the series
the fact that so much crazy and
nonsensical stuff happens throughout
would not really be a problem with me in
any story I consider a plot event to be
out of place or a detrimental flaw to
the story if it is inconsistent with the
rules previously established in said
story through dialogue world-building
tone and more a good example of one of
these inconsistencies is present in the
Harry Potter series in this series
witches and wizards the younger than
seventeen are not allowed to perform
magic outside of school there is
something called a magical trace which
can detect when magic is used in the
proximity of an underage wizard and
notifies the Ministry of Magic who
respond quickly to investigate why the
magic occurred and usually hand out
punishments this happens in numerous
times throughout the series with Harry
being contacted by the ministry for
magic occurring around him outside of
school both in cases where he himself
performed the magic and in cases where
someone else did however there are so
many points in the story where magic is
performed outside of school in the
presence of underage wizards and the
ministry does not follow up on it the
lack of ministry action is not ever
explained either so I consider this to
be a flaw in the story because it
contradicts rules that had been
established in universe previously now
relating to that the reason that I don't
have a problem with gurren lagaan is
overblown approach to storytelling is
that it doesn't really break any of its
own rules the thing is the rules
established within the show in the first
few episodes and much later on are so
loose that basically anything goes
within the confines of the narrative
there are so few restrictions as to what
can be achieved in this world and while
I can see how that fact in itself could
be a problem with some people it's
undeniable that this design choice
integrates beautifully with one of the
main themes of the series the theme of
persevering against all odds to achieve
great things and that's fine by me so if
someone has a genuine problem with the
design of gurren lagaan 'he's
ridiculously insane story the fact is
that it likely isn't a flaw the fact is
that this type of story where everything
goes probably just isn't for that and
that's completely fine but I do find it
unfair to ridicule a story for
consistently sticking to an over-the-top
style that it establishes so early on
Seamon and friends literally travel
through space and time using emotional
connection and the power of fighting
spirit yeah sure why not the draw of the
show is not in a tightly written and
rigid script but in the ideas and themes
that can be communicated thanks in part
to a setting where anything can be
achieved now in a show more grounded in
reality or with tighter rules this
insanity would be a problem but in guru
McGann it works and because of this I
was able to brush aside any issues and
focus purely on the aspects of the story
that I had great interest in and like I
said before in doing this I found some
really well-executed and interesting
ideas
I'm sure like many of you the main draw
to the series and the main thing that
kept me going through the early episodes
was kameena his appeal is hard to put
into words and actually goes beyond
words in some ways a man so open minded
adventurous bold and willing to take
life by the scruff of the neck would
naturally be the focal point of the
story his personality was absolutely
infectious and it's mindless ambition
fierce determination and endeavours for
a life greater than what he had been
told was possible he was able to live
without restrictions in a way that
augmented the themes of the show and he
reminded me quite a bit of one of my
favorite fictional characters ever Tyler
Durden from Fight Club naturally a
personality this big was a gigantic part
of the story so when our hero met his
end the impact of the death had on the
characters and stories was monumental
kameena was the focus point and driving
force of the story a man that impacted
each and every one of the characters in
one way or another so naturally his end
and his actions in the world left a huge
void for the episodes after calming his
death there was a distinct something
that was lacking everything was a bit
less vibrant and colorful and really
quite depressing because of this the
plot hits a bit of a lull here in terms
of pacing and direction and this is why
I think a lot of people dislike this
part of the show it was all a bit dreary
and aimless wallowing in grief and
fixated on the depression that Simone
was experiencing but the thing is I
think that the viewer is supposed to
feel this I think that we were meant to
vicariously experience what Simone was
feeling and I can't speak for anyone
else but it worked for me I was in a
pretty awful mood State in the few
episodes after Kammenos goodbye and I
really wasn't having a good time with
the show at this point but this fact in
itself was what was needed for gurren
lagaan to communicate its ideas on
coping with the death of a seemingly
irreplaceable person
if you lost anyone in your life then you
know that the aftermath can be
unbearable at times you may start
looking at everyday situations and
thinking about how that lost person may
act in these instances seeing scenarios
of daily life that tend to emphasize the
void that the individual has left behind
and this is exactly what happens in
gurren lagaan with Simone and his
reaction to communist death
Simone's perception is that kameena was
everything and he always was so enamored
with the man that he never stopped to
think about his place in the world
without him so when he was gone Simone
would always think about how he wasn't
good enough to be communist and how he
would never live up to him without
thinking that he had his own strengths
he kept thinking about how wrong it was
that Camino was gone from the world but
he eventually reached the conclusion
that he was not good enough simply
because he was not communist he tried
and failed to emulate kameena but this
was totally the wrong approach and one
that was pretty poignant in his
execution it took a third party one with
a fresh perspective to bring him out of
this funk nia is the only one in the
story that sees Simone strengths but is
unable to compare him to communi and
this helps Iman to slowly but surely
discover his self-worth in doing so he
organically discovers the healthiest way
possible for him to cope with Carmina
Simone begins to realize that he was as
valuable to kameena as Camino was to him
and using this knowledge he responds in
a really beautiful way instead of
seeking to emulate his bro
Simone empowers himself using the memory
of Camino Simone uses the lessons he
learned from him and certain aspects of
communist personality and actually
embodies them to find a way past his own
personal struggles in doing this he
becomes a man who is shades of communist
added to a new and improved simile
he empowers himself by embodying the
life lessons that calming a taught him
and adding them to a man who is still
very much Simone the bigger at heart it
was a striking metamorphosis that I
thought gurren lagaan executed very well
death is something that really doesn't
have any set response due to how deeply
it can affect
people and because of this reactions to
it can be portrayed wonderfully in many
ways in media there are people that
learn too fondly remember past loved
ones and allow themselves to be
empowered by the story of their life as
explored in gurren lagaan there are some
that simply never come to terms with the
death of a loved one and there are some
that forget about past loved ones death
can be dealt with in so many ways and I
really have to applaud gurren lagaan for
displaying a very healthy and quite
inspirational approach to dealing with
it this approach was heartfelt
you're not unrealistic or cringy
striking a very sensible balance and it
really was the biggest strength of the
show for me another of my favorite parts
of the show was centered in the story
points or at the very least a character
who tends to get a lot of flak Ross you
Ross use gradual betrayal of Simone
after the time-skip
is a plot event that is met with
contempt by many to this day but for me
it was a great stretch of storytelling
covering ideas that I definitely
wouldn't have predicted gurren lagaan
tackling in this universe or at least
during the timespan covered in the show
there has never been a reasonable amount
of time for a substantial society to
take root and grow there were always
little underground communities with
their own customs but only after the
defeat of a lord genome where the
characters finally able to settle into a
city that contained hundreds of
thousands of people's it's important to
keep in mind that this is a society full
of people that have not experienced
society from top to bottom and that this
is a world in which fighting spirit can
achieve virtually anything so these two
facts alone have an influence on the
merits or lack thereof of any political
power moves made by the government as
explained through the story there was a
predictable honeymoon period where
everything was running smoothly for the
government and people in gurren lagaan
but things always go so well until they
don't and by the 7-year time skips
people were becoming restless and
unhappy doubting that this relatively
new civilization was right for them and
upset with those in power this was
nothing too different
regular exasperated water cooler talk
and routine grumblings that happen
everyday in our world but for these
people it was a new dynamic in turn this
put pressure on semen and Roz you two
men who were unaccustomed to dealing
with this kind of unique issue and who
were also under strain from Lourdes
genomes Proclamation that humanity would
be doomed once the population reached 1
million semen was always someone who
acted with his heart but this contrasted
the colder and more calculating ross you
as someone who is not used to or suited
to political leadership see mold
struggles to come to grips with
maintaining order while abiding to his
morals this put the emphasis on raw co2
do things his way and after Seymour's
conflict with the anti spiral layed ruin
to the city the public had grown very
unhappy causing Ross you to realize that
he must do something to maintain order
this is why he took someone who was not
a public darling by any means semen and
turned him into a scapegoat he hoped
that this move would restore a relative
calm to the masses allowing him to deal
with the situation at hand he felt like
he had to arrest and sentence his friend
to death because he felt like it was the
thing that would benefit society most as
a whole and he was completely alone in
this decision with no one to look to as
a role model in a similar situation
ironically except for the memories of
the chief man of the village of a died
due to a complete lack of exposure to be
societal situations in the past
Rossi you panicked and made a knee-jerk
decision which he personally was against
and this decision ended up being the
wrong one the funny thing is that it was
a political move that I honestly think
would have made some sort of sense in
our cynical world but in gurren lagaan
'he's insane universe it ended up making
a fool out of Roz you in a world like
ours this would be an undesirable and
cruel
yet intelligent play a display of
utilitarian ethics that not many would
argue would have an overall positive
effect on the city's sociological state
but in gurren lagaan where you have
things like spiral power the improbable
is possible and it is actually a logical
thing to go for broke and try to save
everyone in everything and this is what
Ross you didn't understand
and he was a realist living in an
idealist world sort of a mirror image of
idealist living in brutal settings that
we see in other works of fiction you
know that character from that story that
you loved whose ideals were
unrealistically positive and not fit for
the rigid world they lived in think of
Roth you as the opposite of that kind of
character so due to the fact that this
society was a completely new thing for
everyone and that it existed in a world
with looser boundaries of reality than
ours seeing the way that the post
time-skip city function was truly
fascinating to me it was a study of how
tiny variable alterations can change the
way we view how society should be run
and some excellent character moments
were brought to the fore thanks to this
it was a very mature and cerebral
trajectory that the story went in here
and not a direction that I foresaw the
show going in in the beginning but it is
a direction that I am so glad that it
went in because it really added layers
and a new element to the narrative that
I really appreciated gurren lagaan
while far from perfect was an anime that
I wholeheartedly enjoys from start to
finish as soon as I realized that I had
to suspend my disbelief it's a heartfelt
story that isn't afraid to exaggerate
the point that tries to make through
pure narrative insanity and I really
admire that but what I dug most out of
it were the aforementioned themes based
on some very intricate topics yes the 27
episodes were full of giant robots
beating the out of each other
ridiculous attack names fanservice
jiggle physics and some great story
beats that basically demanded that The
Watcher stand up for what they believe
in no matter what trials they faced but
put that aspects of gurren lagaan to the
side for a moment and you'll discover
some very interesting sauce food about
coping with death self growth
discoveries and the nuances of socio
politics simply put there is substance
to gurren lagaan and like I said in the
beginning downplaying the depth is doing
a disservice to this anime these themes
were ones that I would never have
predicted the show fixating on from the
start
but ones that really fit the narrative
as the story organically headed in a
direction in which these issues would
become relevant thanks so much for
watching and listening to my take on
gurren lagaan
and a special thanks in particular to
the ones who constantly recommended that
I watch it it really was a great time if
you like this video and want to see more
like it consider supporting the channel
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on be sure to let me know what you
thought about this anime in the comments
and I'll catch you guys later
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