Even if you don’t think Baka To Test is the best series of the season, Zeta Gundam was bullcrap or Kowarekake no Orgol was touching, I can sleep soundly at night. However, there are two things, just two things that I’ll ever implore you, beg you, to do.
One is read Planetarian.
The other is watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Though some of us may forget while being swept up in the sheer emotion of Gurren Lagann, there exist in it important allusions to our humanity. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is man choosing to brave insurmountable, utterly unfeasible odds to challenge the entire universe.
A story that goes against all the other profound works of the era that tell us today’s anomie will be the end of our civilization; an intelligible one that instead of telling us the world is crumbling from our burden or that human greed and natural evil will lead us to ultimate annihilation, tells us the emotions of love, virtue, brotherhood and camaraderie that make the human race beautifully altruistic can surpass any harrowing peril.
It doesn’t even have to do with ‘manliness’ anymore – Tengen Toppa featured distinctive, just as overly determined and vivacious female characters that could yell and persevere through their fair share. Instead, Tengen Toppa has to do with the human condition at its peak, when the Dai-Gurren Dan challenged the cosmos,
and its lowest, when Simon was a public enemy waiting for an execution order given to him for his good-willed naivete.
If there ever was a movie that showed the indomitable human spirit, this would be it.
That’s not to forget the symbolism of the drill, either. It’s a man’s romance, yes, but besides that, the circle is a very aesthetically pleasing shape. Vertex-less, it lacks the appearance of being rough, and is infinitely symmetrical. At any infinitesimal cross-section of a drill, the shape obtained will be a circle. The drill is essentially a circle projected in three-dimensions capable of perforating and imposing its one shape onto objects/surfaces/materials more effectively than any other tool of any shape or design.
Also important is that the drill, with a spiral motif, always begins with a small perforation, a small circle – and with time, radiates into a larger, more noticeable, more imposing circle. The spiral is significant as well: spirals found in nature are curved accordingly to the golden ratio. DNA, the genetic code of man, is wound in a spiraling double helix – the spiral is a symbol of life. It’s no over analysis; Lordgenome’s four beast generals’ names are derived from the four nitrogenous bases of DNA: Cytosine (Cytomander), Guanine (Guame), Thymine (Thymilph), Adenine (Adiane).
The logarithmic spiral increases in size with each revolution, just as humanity grows, evolves – the despair, hate and selfishness of man grows, but as does the truisms that are determination, love and companionship. They will become bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and that is the triumph of the human spirit.
That which is much greater than the man…
One could argue that Simon only climbed that far with his ridiculous anime power capable of denying all laws of conservation of energy – but in an entire universe of unknown waveforms and harnessable energies, Spiral Power is not actually entirely implausible to be utilized by man. Rather, it’s the most romantic power humanity could gain; an energy that takes the form of our beings (DNA), our histories (logarithmic spiral) and our determination. I’m not saying Spiral Power is realistic, but it represents a very realistic thing.
Yes, Simon’s determination is unreal.
Still, we must remember what he is – an avatar of a facet of the human spirit, perseverance. It starts tiny, and grows into something amazing.
The Gurren Lagann’s forms aren’t just a silly super robot rendition of the matryoshka doll either. It’s structural functionalism; authority figures are vital organs, the people are bodily cells, the units become smaller and smaller but they all come together to create one functioning body. All is one, one is all. The Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was piloted by every member of the Dai-Gurren Dan, the Chouginga Gurren Lagann was piloted by the Arc Gurren Lagann, The Arc Gurren Lagann was piloted by the Gurren Lagann, The Gurren Lagann was controlled by the Lagann, the Lagann was iconically piloted by Simon and his Core Drill.
No more, no less.
The overwhelming man who sat at the head of the largest mecha ever invisioned in all of anime, one ten million light years tall wielding enough energy to recreate the Big Bang, was the same little boy who was only known by one tiny village for his one talent for digging holes. Through the courage and determination infused into him by the present and past comrades of his life, thus becoming larger and larger, just like the spiral. And it wasn’t a lonely journey, too.
Gurren Lagann is as significant to our humanities as say, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Whereas the latter presented dystopia where man was oppressed along with such truisms as camaraderie or love, a what-if world where man is at its lowest, Gurren Lagann has man breaking free from oppression and overthrowing those that oppress – whether they be authoritarian figures, or cosmic entities. Nothing is insurmountable in the Dai-Gurren Dan’s quest for freedom. Note how this wasn’t a review of the movies; I’ve my own complaints about it as well. It’s not completely perfect, but it does something very important. This is an address to those who haven’t watched the two movies before, and don’t plan to.
These movies are a mark of humanity, and this is why, beyond the senseless yelling and overblown mecha fights, Tengen Toppa is a very vital reminder to on listless, pessimistic culture.
Ningyo
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February 6th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
after kamina died, it was hard for me to go through the episodes. I still have 4 episodes left and it’s becoming a chore to finish them :(
February 7th, 2010 at 5:57 am
OBOETE OKE!
KONO DORIRU WA UCHUU NI KAZAANA WO AKERU
SONO ANA WA ATO KARA TSUZUKU MONO NO MICHI TO NARU
TAORE TE ITTA MONO NO NEGAI TO, ATO KARA TSUZUKU NO MONO NO KIBOU
FUTATSU NO OMOI WO NIJUU RASEN NI ORIKON DE ASHITA HE TO TSUZUKU MICHI WO HORU!
SORE GA TENGEN TOPPA!
SORE GA GURREN LAGANN!
ORE NO DORIRU WA TEN WO TSUKURU DORIRU DaAAA!!!!!
anti-spiral ojii-san is very hotblood too.
This movie 95/100
February 7th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
This series seems like it has a lot more depth than it appears. I love anime that makes you think about humanity.
The only things preventing me from watching this are the animation and the mecha. I just can’t seem to get into them.
Planetarian, on the other hand, I need to get to soon.
February 7th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
This type of “mechanic” of power-concentration seriously reminds me of Dragon Ball Z, and Ouendan, and of course, Final Fantasy 7. It definitely is a romantic, and very awesome concept of every single being on the planet coming together for a great cause of defending itself.
Seeing these concepts come to life in an anime or a video game always gives me goosebumps and is inspirational – even one significant spec of the planet such as our own being, matters and makes a difference as a whole.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:08 am
>>A story that goes against all the other profound works of the era that tell us today’s anomie will be the end of our civilization
A message, ironically enough, exemplified by Gainax’s flagship series. That one with the albinos and the nasty bio-alien-things that wear armor and pretend to be mecha. I realize that they’re different directors, but it’s nice how it all comes full circle that way.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
haha you could have titled ‘This is the post that will drill a hole right through your monitor!!’
I love watching mecha shows with all that hot blooded stuffs ^^ With guts, determination and will power, even the smallest of us all can make the biggest impact or hole in Gurren Lagann case.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
@klux
Really? I’d have thought usually if one goes to the effort of getting through to the last four episodes they’d already be transfixed by the climax and what could possibly happen… By then you should’ve moved past Kamina and gotten into another ‘series high’. Which part of the space battles didn’t tickle your fancy?
@hikariman
Right you are. And yeah, as against his character as that is, it just isn’t right unless every character in TTGL is bellowing their ideals by the end of it.
What didn’t you like to warrant those five points off?
@Yi
That you do. Or else somebody will have an appointment with my boo- ahem.
Yes, I know you’re one of the people who never found mecha titillating in any way. Still, I have to say that the mecha don’t actually play a huge part in the narrative; sure, they’re the single-most vital instrument of the protagonists’ exploits, but they’re more an extension of the main characters – an avatar of their will, than they are mechanical weapons with any technical implications.
@Radiant
Oh yes, the goosebumps, how very characteristic of Tengen Toppa. You’ve gotten me thinking as to the origins of this trope where everybody pitches into the war effort against an incredible foe, but currently I can’t think of anything that dates farther back than Ultraman, and they really only started doing that with the Heisei Ultramen. It probably is Dragonball. Hum. Tell me if you’ve any idea.
And yes, romantic is the perfect word to describe it with. It’s nice not to think about our insignificance in the universe once in a while.
@2DT
There’s a point that flew over my head completely. I’m not quite capable of drawing enough parallels to properly compare Evangelion and Gurren Lagann, but it is true that Gainax has somehow churned out the epitome representations of both extreme ends of the spectrum. Interesting. Did they craft this? Or is it just the coincidence of things of Gainax quality?
Regardless, I’d still prefer if the current Hanamaru Youchien play no part in determining the fate of humanity.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
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February 9th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Sensei-
Getter armageddon worths watching too…for super robots but the story is a bit dark.
And kindergarten boys are just annoying, espacially when you see koume liking one of those kids.
For that five marks, it will be the beginning being too fast and not explaining where did those anti anti-spiral guns come from. It will be unclear for those who didn’t watch the TV series.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
@chubbybots
My bad, some bad sequencing of approving comments made me unable to see yours when I was making my last reply comment.
I left the title open for people to insert their own endings ^^. More of a small reference that people would just see and smirk at than anything.
Right you are; the smallest occurrences have the largest effects, a la butterfly effect.
@hikariman
Yeah, I suppose that’s so. And I don’t find the boys thaaaaat annoying. Rather, I’m not exactly fond of the cast at all. Something about the kids is too excessive, and the adults are rather bland and unremarkable. I’ll check up on Getter. Someday.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:59 am
well, as a finnish proverb states – even a small star shines in the darkness.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:21 am
The spiral not only describes what you’ve written here about TTGL movies (which I haven’t watched yet btw, but I have finished the series), but also describes Gainax’s sci-fi anime. It always starts small and very comedic at times, but it gets bigger, and bigger and BIGGER! Case in point, Gunbuster. I know we talked about this on Twitter before, but it really is the predecessor of Gurren Lagann, even its tragic, yet happy ending. It tears me up just thinking of the ending for the two Gunbuster/Top o Nerae T-T
February 10th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
@radiant
Simply inspiring. *adds to list of good narrative fuel*
@rob
Finishing the series is the main thing, yeah. The movies are basically recap until the end, fixing certain tiny flow problems and having an even more over-the-top final fight. The premise is still the same.
I’ve still yet to watch Gunbuster, but as I’ve heard of it from you, it’s something I’m slowly inching away from. Not because I believe it’ll be bad, but because I absolutely fear sad endings. They have me stricken all night, sitting there thinking about how beautiful it was and woeing about how distressing our existences are. I hate/love that.
February 11th, 2010 at 5:06 am
I wouldn’t call it a “sad ending”, perhaps “bittersweet” is closer to what Gunbuster is like. I think once you’ve seen both Gunbuster and its sequel, you’ll realize that our (human’s) existence is important. I cry not because it was sad, but because of how beautiful it was. I couldn’t help but cry. If you do get to watch it and do feel the way you’ve described after watching it, then you can blame me, lol.