Revisiting Gurren Lagann

 Or "Who the hell do you think we are?!"

This is not a review, as I am somewhat irrational about this series. It was the last anime I unreservedly loved, and despite its problems, I still do. It was one of those zeitgeist moments, where I had the good fortune to be on at the ground floor. In 2007, Gurren Lagann exploded onto the Internet, promoting a thousand memes, and a million shouts of "fuck yes!". A Saturday morning Cartoon from Studio Gainax. A loving tribute to super robot shows. A deconstruction of robot shows. A relentless parade of explosions, drills and fan-service. It was all this, and somehow more. But I want to tell you why it means so much to me, and why I've returned to it in times of depression and stress.

Gurren Lagann starts out as a comedy, but turns up the dials to maximum, especially the one marked "passion", so it flips over to earnest and incredible. Plotwise it's about the nervous Simon and the bombastic Kamina, two teens whom live underground in the far future. When a giant robot falls through the ceiling, closely followed by a lass in minimal clothing, they get to see the sky for the first time and embark on a grand adventure. Collecting allies and mecha as they go, Team Gurren starts in a hole in the ground, and ends up fighting at the very ends of the universe. Mere words are insufficient to express the sheer crazy, creativity, and technical skill on display. But what people always want to talk about is Kamina. The godlike Kamina. Highly memetic Kamina. The Kamina I would follow into hell. Kamina the SPOILER ALERT FOR A DECADE OLD SHOW, decoy protagonist whom ends up pulling a Gai Daigoji.

 

Kamina overshadows the meek Simon. Kamina overshadows mountains. Kamina struts around bare-chested in a red cape and sunglasses, with a sword. Kamina cares not for logic, or matters of brain. Kamina cares for manliness and boobies. Kamina can out meme Chuck Morris, and cause BRIAN BLESSED to go deaf. His speeches could motivate the dead. He has given motivational speeches despite being dead. But while being bravado personified: its an act. Kamina radiates positive reinforcement and cool Big Bro vibes. He seems all talk, and he is. But the reason why the talk is there is because he knows people, especially Simon, need that. And Kamina needs Simon, both as an inspiration, and as the real power of the partnership. We didn't see this, the other characters didn't, nobody saw it, despite the narrative shouting it, but Kamina did. And he spends almost his entire screen time trying to unlock Simon's potential. Just as Simon spends much time ensuring Kamina's actions actually work. If you've ever been depressed, this should speak to you. It certainly spoke to me. And how does this all manifest? In an escalating chain of masculine insanity where something incredibly awesome happens at least once an episode.

Sadly, there is an obvious and immediate problem to note. The downside to Gurren Laganns OTT masculinity, juvenile but endearing, cis refuge in audacity is however the way it treats non-bloke characters. I dread mentioning this, as it's the sort of thing that summons angry incels in the comments, making the false equivalence fallacy. About Kamina's chest. But, as the most obvious example, let us consider for a moment the character design of Yoko, the de facto female lead. 

Did I mention this show was originally broadcast at half 8 on Sunday morning? Yoko is introduced with the Male Gaze in full effect, Kamina's to be specific, and is generally animated for sex appeal. This is an area which I find both embarrassing and problematic about anime in general, and Gainax works in particular. I wrote a lengthy digression about this topic, but decided to shelve it until I can do the matter justice. As such, I'm limiting myself to the following. Gurren Lagann is a bit off-putting in its sexual politics, just on first impression, and doesn't look any better if you start digging into the details. To be fair on the show, I have seen much more tasteless and inappropriately sexualised works than this one. But as I age I find myself less able to tolerate such things, and I don' t feel that such a tolerance be the price of admission for watching anime. Perhaps I've matured, maybe I'm just prudish, I dunno, but I felt it would have been dishonest not to raise the issue. This article is about my feelings, and that's one of them. Gurren Lagann does mature into such a show that this does not detract from its merit, but let's acknowledge it for what it is. Its like an adorable puppy whom insists on humping your leg, or perhaps a mate whom makes dirty jokes in McDonald's while eating a Happy Meal. Please stop, stop, stop. Damn, you'd be so much easier to live with if you'd just dialled it back.

But that's not all that it is. What Gurren Lagann is, at least to me, is uplifting. The characters are often machismo personified, but it's not toxic masculinity. It's defiance in the face of unjust authority, of old men telling you it has to be this way, and defiance in the face of despair. Gurren Lagann is full of authority figures whom are wrong. They think they have good reasons, but their methods produce needless hardship for their people. It's not really a matter of personal power either, these people aren't actually evil, with the better examples being visibly depressed or conflicted. The protagonists are mainly orphans, who have hard lives, and don't want to take it any more. But it's never the motive at fault, it's the refusal of people to attempt a better way or to simply step aside for someone else. The universe of Gurren Lagann is one where millennia of needless pain has been caused in the name of the common good, fearing terrible consequences. The protagonists challenge and defeat this, but it's ultimately not framed as history repeating. It's the start of hope, as those old fears get addressed in a way that's better for everyone. This theme is above all personified by Simon, the actual protagonist. And yes, I know its odd to find a life-affirming message in a cartoon THAT ALSO has a bikini sniper and relentless phallic imagery, but its there.

Not confident in the first place, Kamina's death in battle breaks Simon, sending him straight into a pit of self-hatred. Kamina falls to a sneak attack, but Simon blames himself as it was him that placed Kamina in that spot. Its understandable, but ultimately not his fault. But seeing Simon overcome his grief, mainly thanks to his love interest Princess Nia, meant a lot to me. So many mecha protagonists start or end up as angst-ridden pricks, but Simon came out the other side as a more complete person and this is a joy. Then things get subverted: Simon's won the war, its seven years later, but nastier foes await, and he's loosing the peace. Nia is claimed by this new threat, as an avatar, while co-pilot Rossiu has decided its up to him to make the hard choices, even if those choices involve throwing Simon under a bus. A bus Rossiu is also driving; it was so very easy to hate Rossiu during those episodes. Things get bleak, only for despair to be again defied. Simon rises to the occasion, and Rossiu realising he's made a lot of bad calls. The strain of this leads him to attempt suicide, only for Simon to intercede in what can only be described in the most Gurren Lagann of ways, a sliding punch to the jaw. This is a callback to Kamina's last moments, and it's not an act of hate, or a judgement. It's saving a friend, and telling him you understand. The following and final story arc sees the despair and defiance theme repeat. Oh shit, we're outmatched, people are dying. Yes, they died, but they wanted you to live, and they'd make the same choice in an instant. The powers you invoke will doom the universe, is the girl worth it? Yeah, who are you to present that choice? We can save both! The ending is bittersweet? Well, if that's what it costs. The next generation won't have to deal with your bullshit, and we'll step aside so they can make their own way. Things can be better, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

There is so much more to say, but that's why you need to watch Gurren Lagann.