Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Episode 16
18 July 2007
Oh my god! I saw the torrent this morning and literally dropped everything and downloaded it. My internet is evil and it took all day, which was actually good because I had to go to school and had to go somewhere with my mother afterwards. Any case, I waited for so long for someone to finally dub this! Thank you Bullet Speed Subs! Aha, get it? Bullet Speed Subs? Subs…sandwiches…Haha? You know, bullet speed…sandwiches?…Nevermind…why do I even try….
Anyways! It’s the recap episode! I loved it anyways! It brought back so many memories! Unless you want me to summarize episode by episode, plot point by plot point, every single thing that’s happened in fifteen episodes of Gurren Lagann, there’s no plot summary this time!
Plot (not really)Most of the first bit of the episode is about Kamina. You can’t think of Gurren Lagann without Kamina. It made me miss Kamina, a lot. From that first episode, he was the personality that stuck out to me the most, that blue hair, the cape, the sunglasses, “Who the hell do you think I am!?” He’s such character, dare I say it, he’s so GAR. There is no other way to describe the man, but he’s just so manly! He ideals unwavering, he’s the in-your-face, loud mouth that’s so damn lucky and the fact that he believes just makes everything work. Just remembering he and Simon’s first battle with Viral where Kamina’s great idea was to ‘fuse’ with Lagann and he literally just tacks the thing on top of his ganmen. I laughed so hard and so loud at that scene, it was the most preposterous thing and it was so funny. But what was even funnier and even better was that they beat Viral anyways.
I thought they handled episode eight’s recap really well. Episode eight is historic, it’s grand, it was amazing. Can’t bear to watch it though, Kamina dying is going to kill me. The fact that his kissed Yoko and promised her to return the kiss ten times more when it’s over and the fact that he died…That was a moment of pure shock right there. I’m under the impression that people can’t kill their main characters, guess again. The episode with Cytomander and Guame, where reinforcements arrive hailing the Dai Gurren Brigade flag, I was hoping so desperately it was Kamina, knowing full and well it couldn’t be.
Nia’s introduction was still the funniest, quirkiest, most awkward moments ever. She steps out of the box, grabs Simon’s face and asks him what a human is. That was great. I’ve come to love Nia. Kamina was irreplaceable, but she’s not meant to replace him. I thought I’d hate, for sure, the new character, but I can’t Nia. Nia is beautiful. She is the best loli, ever. I’m not big on lolis, that’d just be weird, but I love Nia, her clover eyes and yellow-blue hair. Her and Simon makes for the cutest couple.
Episode fifteen is still the best finale, in my mind, unless it’s to be outdone but the actual finale to Gurren Lagann. Just rewatching clips of the episode, you get that feeling again, watching Simon defeat Lord Genome. It’s so tense and so overwhelming and then it just bursts like a bubble. It’s like your team winning, but so much more. I love the shots at the end, the sunset, the Gurren Lagann, everyone in the Dai Gurren Brigade, beautiful.
Ending I really, really, really, really, really liked the ending sequence. It’s a collection of sketches from the series, I’m a sucker for sketches from anything. They were so pretty, I loved the ending. I took screens of the ones I liked the most, but since I’m subjected to watching the subbed versions, the karaoke for the ending theme are on half of them. The ones without were just lucky moments. In particular, the sketches for Nia were the prettiest. Her facing the sunset had such a warm tone to it, even if it were just three seconds in an ending theme. My favorite one of all is the last one, that pencil sketch of Kamina and Simon, I don’t think I have to explain why, not to mention I can’t without sounding incredibly cheesy and emotional.
Preview Dear god, I can’t wait for the next episode. It’s worse than the upcoming release for the seventh Harry Potter book. Hell with you, emo Harry Potter child! I want to see Simon grown up! Right, seven year time lapse, I’m assuming all is going well and we’re going to start where the trouble starts. Simon and Rossiu have uniforms now and they look damn nice. Did I mention I have a thing for men in uniform? No? Now you know! And Gimmy and Darry have Gurren Lagann look a likes! I’m glad they’re getting a part and a chance to fight in upcoming episodes. The fact that Gurren Lagann manages to incorporate and give a role to almost the entirety of it’s cast just baffles and amazes me. What’s even more amazing is…did I see a ring on Nia’s hand!? Did they get married?! I want the next episode! Why can’t I speak Japanese!?
Impressions Well, this whole post was like a big impression of everything, but here’s the random bits. Even the recap episode for Gurren Lagann was sweet. I loved the opening, the pencil sketching the title. Their use of written lines and how they timed it to the clips was a nice touch. The music, the clips, the written inserts fit together nicely and made an incredibly captivating recap episode. Although I would’ve liked to get straight to the new arc, in retrospect, the recap episode felt like a nice, sentimental moment, a last look as you head towards tomorrow.
And I’m still so freaking excited from the preview! Ah! Simon was cute, it was decided that from the first episode Simon (I still remember how mean the girls were to him that first episode, calling him names and all that) was the cutest thing ever. Kamina was cool, Yoko was hot and Simon was just too innocent and naive to be anything but cute. It really killed me what Kamina’s death did to him. Severe depression is not supposed to be part of a kid’s childhood. He lost his parents, and then his brother. But along came Nia and every was alright again. In the preview, Simon actually looked pretty…hot. It was strange, but it was also pretty nice. Grown up Simon, I’m starting to like the idea of grown up Simon. Never going to be quite as explosive and quite as cool as Kamina, but he’s got that air of authority to him. Rossiu has a ponytail, and he carries an uncanny resemblance to Wufei from Gundam Wing, someone on another blog said that, too. And Gimmy and Darry’s ganmen, and Nia’s ring, and I’m just running in mental circles waiting for the next episode.
To think, there’s only ten episodes left. I’m going to miss this when it’s over. I don’t want it to be over. I want to squeal and run around going crazy after more episodes of Gurren Lagann. Evangelion might have been Gainax’s masterpiece, but Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is my favorite.
Although I usually skip recap episodes, I knew this wouldn’t be the typical rehash of the plot, and if nothing else, Gainax have established that they are trying to push Gurren Lagann in brave new directions.
Just a few things that I really loved about this episode. The continuous music mixed in with the hand-written phrases, especially in the first half, I felt like I was watching a great AMV. It also reminded me how awesome a character Kamina was, especially during his last moment with Yoko. I loved that scene where he says “Now, time to get some hot blooded action!” as his red cloak is flowing over his back and he’s looking out over that vast waste land. It’s just the epitome of doomed cool.
Also, I can only agree that the ED was awesome in terms of seeing the story-boards and promotional art. Kamina and Viral looked so different. I wish I could get clean scans of these images, I’d love to make a blog layout based on Gurren Lagann!
@bateszi – I was actually excited about a recap episode! XD I’ve always loved Gurren Lagann’s music and now that you’ve mentioned it, it was like an AMV. A really good, totally kick ass AMV.
That scene with Kamina and Yoko is one of my favorites. “Doomed cool” is exactly how I’d describe it. The ominous setting gave me such a terrible feeling the first around. The whole thing was just screaming tragedy.
The ending was the best part. I love their art. With your skills, that’d be one helluva of a good looking blog! You really should make one, it’d be so cool! XD!
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title . Thanks for informative article