Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann (General Discussion thread)

[flou]

Yeah, the animation was pretty bizarre

[7Th]

I already want to see it, I love all the names involved in it.

[Shiroth]

I've just seen screenshots for episode four on the Lagann-blog.. i am in for a wacky Sunday. :3

[Wosho128]

I just viewed the first episode.

Forget plot and realistic situations; this series is so much fun! After a long day of work or school, this is exactly what I want to see on my computer screen. While I'm no fan of fanservice, I like how the directors use Yoko. She's not full of herself and she's just a part of the group. The line uttered by Kamina while they are in the air though is really perverted, haha.

I'll look at episode two when I have time. This is fun stuff so far though.

[7Th]

Because this will be needed as time advances:

Episode 4 was basically completely the work of Osamu Kobayashi - directing, animation directing, and storyboarding were all him. You can look up his other works on ANN.

It's not a situation where the budget has gone through the floor, it's one where a director with his own style has been given complete control, and it shows.

Much like how Sousei no Aquarion episode 19 and the third opening of Eureka 7 were entirely the work of Satoru Utsunomiya, or that episode of Samurai Seven that was directed by Hisashi Mori (aka Hisashi Nakayama).

[K3cT]

Episode 4 seems well, different. Either people are going to love it or hate it.

[issei]

Originally Posted by 7Th

Because this will be needed as time advances:

thanks for the information. while i was watching episode 4, i got vague kemonozume vibes, and looking him up on ANN revealed that he helmed episode 7 of that series.

the sheer absurdity of the episode was thoroughly enjoyable, though it did take a minute or two to get used to the difference in stylistics. most of the major differences were in the character design and animation; the battle scenes seemed as lush and fluid as ever. my particular favorite moment was when

Spoiler:

buuta literally tore his own ass off to feed simon and kamina in their time of need, and the subsequent cries of "うまい！" ringing out.

although it's only episode 4, one thing is beginning to worry me. in this episode, the main difficulty facing off against a new opponent is again

Spoiler:

simon's complete lack of self-confidence and inability to muster courage in a time of danger, and prior to that, his constant emasculation by the other characters. it didn't really bother me here, but if this goes on for another few episodes without any changes in simon's character, it'll become frustrating for me as a viewer.

[SilentGhost]

This is already one of my favorite hot-blooded mecha anime ;D The style, characters, mecha, ect.. are all fantastic and its only at episode 3! If it gets much more excellent I may die of heart failure lol. "Gurren-Lagann! Spin On!" (Although my favorite quote so far is "Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me who believes in you." Gold ;D)

Kamina gets into my personal hall of fame alongside Kazuma, Domone, En, Gai, and other characters that no hot-blooded anime can do without. I just cant help but love these characters for how much soul they have. Theres nothing these guys can do that isnt cool, even acting like a total idiot lol.

I wont vote yes or no for the possible Kamina death flag, but if he does get axed at some point I'm sure he'll go the Gai Diagoji route and "live on" in the spritual sense. Even though Gai said goodbye in episode two of Nadesico they still managed to carry him all the way to the end in one form or another lol. Gai would love GL. (I have a pic of Gai attempting the Shining Finger in a little manga sketch, which is mega hilarious, but I cannot find the link to it >.<)

That possiblity gives credit to Simon being the Captian from the very begining but I'm still of the opinion that the war was something from the past and that Lagann & the Drill Key were hidden underground to keep them away from the big evil enemy. (or something like that) It just sounds... too blatant/arrogant for them to start the anime with Simon in all his glory and then moving on to the beginning of it all as a introverted kid.

While Kamina is holding the show for now, it looks like Simon is building up some steam. I do hope Yoko gets some more attention (of the non-bouncy kind) so she doesnt end up just "tagging along with the boys". I like strong male leads but without equally strong female leads it turns into bishi-boy wierdness....

[nubby]

I think the funniest part of the eps was Kamina slapping Simon when they tried to combine. LOL

I didn't like the drawing but like someone above me said, you'll either love it or hate it... think Champloo

Oh and Simon's whiney voice is annoying.

[Lost]

Originally Posted by issei

although it's only episode 4, one thing is beginning to worry me. in this episode, the main difficulty facing off against a new opponent is again

Spoiler:

simon's complete lack of self-confidence and inability to muster courage in a time of danger, and prior to that, his constant emasculation by the other characters. it didn't really bother me here, but if this goes on for another few episodes without any changes in simon's character, it'll become frustrating for me as a viewer.

I'm sure this will not be the case for very long more; looking at the OP, I think it's a clue that he'll drop his lack of self-confidence. Speaking of which, this really is an awesome OP, sound and visuals wise. May I know what the title of the OP song is?

[issei]

Originally Posted by Lost

I'm sure this will not be the case for very long more; looking at the OP, I think it's a clue that he'll drop his lack of self-confidence. Speaking of which, this really is an awesome OP, sound and visuals wise. May I know what the title of the OP song is?

yeah, i'm not too worried, really. it's just a minor concern at this point. the OP is 空色デイズ, sky-blue days, by 中川翔子, nakagawa shouko.

[Sonhex]

Boota snapping off then giving his ass to Shimon and Kamina to eat, has to be one of the most troubling things I've seen in anime for a long time.

I'm sitting here eagerly awaiting the influx of Kiyoh, Kinon and Kiyal fanart. Go Maids!. I hope these guys come back, they're great fun on their backwards dougals.

[Skane]

Wow... that was, decidedly different. Will watch the subs before commenting further on Ep04. The difference in artstyle was too different for me to pay proper attention to the RAW.

Hmm...

[Deathkillz]

WTF just happened to the series? O.o
ep 4 ~

Spoiler:

the animation has been changed dramatically as mentioned before...not its neither smooth or "pretty" which is a shame...and whats with those rough sketch lines? it just makes the ep look lame >.< but the good news is that from the preview things seem to be getting back to normal :3

an episodic ep (but it was expected from this genre) with a few random cracks ~ the first half was a bit meh but when those fluff ball aliens showed up things started to get wacky again ~ Kamina refusing to combine with simon because hes not doing it rite? wTH! so at the end he chooses looking cool over his life i believe XD and with the mole ripping his ass off and feeding it to Kamina and simon while it is still moving...im deeply disturbed >.<

also simon really need to grow a spine...if he says "its impossible" once more im gonna smack him!

[Sonhex]

Well, as 7th said ep 4 is directed by Osamu Kobayashi, an animator with a particularly sketchy style. It's different, that's all.

Gainax is a hothouse of experimentation. It's what has always made them exciting and why they attract such talent as Imaishi in the first place. On the other hand they're consistently inconsistent, but never dull. I suspect future episodes of Gurren Lagann to continue to be experimental at times with guest directors cameoing with their personal styles.

[Shinndou]

I'm fine with experimenting as long as they mantain a consistent feeling though. I mean, I do hope they won't go overboard by giving total freedom to each "guest" director they'll be having for next episodes as well. Though I still have to see episode 4, I might even end up liking it anyway, hehe.

[Shiroth]

Wow, what a great episode --- Kobayashi Osamu's style works well with Gurren Lagann. It makes me wonder if he'll take part on an episode again, though he'll need a wacky episode like this was.

And you people calling Simoun, you must be new to male leads that appear in Gainax shows.

Oh and Shinndou, i think you'll love episode four. :3

[Lost]

Originally Posted by issei

yeah, i'm not too worried, really. it's just a minor concern at this point. the OP is 空色デイズ, sky-blue days, by 中川翔子, nakagawa shouko.

Thanks for that. Yeah, about Simon, I guess its only normal for him to be that way; after all the emotional/mental scar of having your parents killed by an Earth tremor must run deep; thus his paralysis during those tremors really can be justified.

Episode 2, and firstly, Kamina's Subs are wonderful. Full 1280 x 720 glory. The episode itself: It's been some time since I've laughed so much to an episode. This was an awesome and hella fun episode. Heh, "screw it in good, like a man!" accompanied with suggestive thumb movements. It would be a crime not to laugh at that; and that's without considering the context of the joke! Leeron's becoming another likeable character - and honestly, I feel that he's a perfect complement to Kamina; both of them are two different definitions of men.

What really impresses me about this show so far is that despite being such a carefree kind of fun ride, it really contains much solid substance, especially in the plot that is slowly being revealed and more so, in the themes and feelings revolving around the characters, and also their development. Ending the episode with Kamina finding his Dad; that was incredible.

I'm extremely glad I picked this show up; and I look forward to much more.

[7Th]

ProTip: Going by the four arcs in Shimon's character development mentioned by Imaishi in the interviews we'll be seeing the first notorious change in the character around episode 6 or 7... my guess is the former for the enormous amount of hype it is getting at the official Lagann's blog.

As for episode 4 it turned out as visually crazy as I expected it to be. Probably one of the most original and imaginative mecha battle executions I've seen so far in the medium. Osamu Kobayashi is simply amazing, AMAZING I think I can surely say that so far this 22 minutes are probably my favorite anime related thing in the year so far. Most fans won't like it as much as I, though.

[orion]

That's funny! Boota is the new Menchi!

Spoiler:

But while alive and still jumping... Yuck!