TTGL: Lagann-hen is probably what the final episode of Gurren Lagaan should have been. And a bit more.
But still, doesn’t diminish it’s epicness. You guys can read my sidebar for my thoughts about it for the time being. I will post more later.
I think I’ll do a proper post when I rewatch it this weekend. Hopefully.
Let’s all refrain from the Resident Evil jokes here now, shall we?
Anyways, I saw the single out a few days ago, but I certainly didn’t expect them to have made a bloody PV to go along with it. Watching it was quite a combination of “Oh god why am I watching this?” and “Holy shit, this is pretty good” and “Man…. Yoko is really hawt isn’t she?” Yes, it was a pretty complicated mix of feelings.
So the much awaited movie is out. Yeah it’s about 80% recycled footage, but the last 20% of the show was actually new stuff and consisted of the Four Generals getting their ass beaten up by the Gurren-dan. Considering that it’s a rehash movie, it’s actually pretty nice to have some new content, but the fight still felt really ‘summarized’… as if they cut and pasted it around. I can almost see the Director’s Cut edition with ’30 mins of new footage!’ coming out already.
But there was one awesome part they added, namely Yoko getting a bit more screentime, going mano-a-mano with her gun against Adiane. It was quite refreshing to see her fighting melee since she’s a sniper and her mini-showdown with Adiane was really impressive… to the point of her bra getting ripped off. Awesome timing for fan service there, Gainax.
Now another year or so wait for the Lagann-hen. I want to see what they are gonna do for the ending. The series ending is pretty much cemented in legends already so can they top it off or will they totally ruin it?
Ah finally. A worthwhile Gurepala Works to watch.
This final one (IIANM) details Lordgenome’s rise to become a Spiral warrior when the anti-Spirals started their conquest of the universe. Of course, the rest is history, but I have to say, his resemblance to Nia when he was young is a bit disturbing to say at least. It seems we’ll also be seeing some footage of the sort in the Gurren Lagann movie, which is already airing in Japanese screens, and probably will take a while more to reach the international audience :P.
No. I am not trolling you. This IS the video.
Seriously. For the most EPIC BGM of 2007, all you can whip up is a slideshow of desert backgrounds and the shadow of someone running? I’m sure it’s, uh, something symbolic, but this shit is too “deep” for me man.
I want to cry now. Why are my Tuesdays all so shitty? T.T
Wow, I’m really slow, but I just knew about the Nia Portraits artbook. God damn, I’m really tempted to buy it now. Niaaaaa!!!!!!!!!
I really hope someone (maybe Ningen, XD) makes some nice wallpapers out of the pictures in the book, especially the one with the adult and loli Nia together :). Man, that portrait is really awesome.
It’s online now, you can watch it here.
….um so, do you like Pachinko Lagann?
Personally, I found it kinda LULZ instead of cool and such. Poor Viral, he’s such an unlucky sod.
I’m hoping the next one one will be more awesome.
I’m surprised it’s not being hyped much, but Gainax is gonna release a series of music videos, set to a track from the TTGL soundtrack, with all the characters of Gurren Lagaan set in to a parallel world. The first one’s out it seems and it can be watched here.
Starting the series off with the perfect track, 「Rap is a Man’s Soul! (Dai-Gurren-Dan Theme)」, this music video has the TTGL cast in a medieval setting, with Simon, Kamina and Viral playing as knights out to rescue poor damsel-in-distress Nia from the hands of the Spiral King. Yoko makes her appearance as one of the guards of the castle.
Pretty awesome as music videos go, and as a plus, we get to see adult Simon side-by-side with Kamina himself.
“F*ck yeah you are the best OST evar.” Seconded, Anon, seconded.
If for anything other than it being TTGL’s OST disk, get this album for the awesome track that is “Libera Me” From Hell, rap + opera never sounded this EPIC before.
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAA!!!
Rewatching it for the second time somehow makes the tears come easier, mostly when you get some of the more subtle hints that are easily missed in the frenetic pace of the episode buildup and climax.
I especially noticed that in the middle of the final battle, Nia flashed for a moment, noticed by Simon, and he suddenly comes a realization of the fate to befall Nia when he wins, making him hesitate a moment. However, Nia calms him down and instead tells him to follow his path. Ah, it’s this subtle foreshadowing that really makes a big impact on the emotional enjoyment of the show, especially when you rewatch it again and notice all this slight hints.
Also, Simon’s decision to not use the Spiral power to revive Nia and the rest of the Gurren Lagaan when suggested by Gimmy was a very nice touch by the production team, possibly as a way to subtly criticize other studios who might build up emotional impact by killing characters, but waste it all on a cop-out at the end. Simon rightly says that reviving the dead will eventually hinder the ones who follow after, and I can’t help getting flashes of a certain other mecha show that was popular recently.
Other, lesser studios *coughsunrisecough* might actually take the cop-out way of reviving everyone, at this point in the show, but I’m glad the Gainax team didn’t do so and aren’t the people to do so either. Definitely, Gainax people are really worthy of the respect I afford them, as mad as some of their mindsets are at times.
And finally, on towards the epilogue, roughly 20 to 30 years later, I say 30 because of how much the cast has aged (Intriguingly, except for Leeron, he must be researching youth creams on the side), a comment by Myssa Rei on my earlier post, on the saying of how true heroes will never know true happiness, really touched a nerve in me.
Truly, many Gainax’s protagonists are embodiments of this, in some way or another, and it is perhaps this overarching theme that they infuse in to their works that really brings me to utterly respect them as storytellers. It is a very true thing in real life as well, and I find that it’s characters that embody such are the ones that I truly find memorable, a lot more than ones that achieve some form of happiness in the end, mainly for the catharsis they evoke in me.
In the end, I’m glad I kept my faith in the GAINAX team throughout the run of Gurren Lagaan. There were many a times I felt like forgetting about this series, but inevitably, I’m thankful I didn’t act on those impulses. It has turned out to be a real sleeper hit, as put by Jason, and I’ve really enjoyed myself watching the show immensely when I felt my loyalty to the show rewarded back in return. Definitely one of the most notable shows of 2007, and I’m definitely proud to say that the show is worth mentioning with other Gainax gems such as the Top wo Nerae series and Evangelion.
P.S. BTW, why is everyone saying Simon looks like Kamina during the wedding shots? I seriously don’t see the resemblance. Perhaps it’s because I’m not really a great fan of Kamina himself, even though I acknowledge the impact he has had on the whole cast of Gurren Lagaan.