AnimeNfo

[Rosepetals (#42525)]

 Offering two cents on Gurren Lagann

[Veleon (#124559)]

What more can I say about Gurren-Lagann. Well, I think I have said it all before.

I completely disagree with you Rose, I felt the character were great. However it wasn't for development, but for simply who they were. I also feel being a male will increase the chances of you enjoying the series. It is the way of a mans soul. TTGL had its funny moments. However, i felt the series was way more about its epic moments. You thought of FLCL when you watched Gurren-Lagann because the resemblance is there. They are both Gianax after all. I feel TTGL is by far the best mecha anime I have ever seen. The main reason being because of the sheer awesomeness and epicness I felt from it while watching it. Because of how much I enjoyed it, I could completely ignore any and every fault people could bring up. The series was that enjoyable for me.

[Stick (#5576)]

A "man's" sort of anime, huh? I gotta check this out now.

[Rosepetals (#42525)]

@Veleon Fair enough, and you were respectful about it as well so I applaud you. I missed a lot of the discussion that you guys had on TTGL in the anime watching thread a while back and I'm just getting to the point where I can offer an opinion about it. Again, I'm not saying I hated the series, I actually appreciate it for what it offered, but I'm quite critical of it.

I was hoping it would be more of discussion than just a "I liked it; I disagree with your opinion" vibe, but if it's simply that, I'm cool with it, just as long as breeds some discussion.

I didn't really feel like the series struck me as being epic, but the environment was different for the setting of the anime and the intrigue of it, but I don't know if it's my watching a number of different mecha series and feeling like it took on some of the same tendencies, or if it was simply what I observed in it as noted above, but I wanted to put that opinion out there and see if there were any others who might have noted that and either liked/disliked it aside from those factors. Or even saw something totally different.

@stick XD I think I might be in the minority with this series, but you should check it out if you haven't.

Oddly enough...of the people I know IRL regarding this series, all three girls I know love it, two guys I know love it, and three other guys hated it.

I'm probably one of the few that's in the middle, leaning towards like, but I'm critical. I just don't think it was one of the best anime series in the past year, or that I've seen in its respective genre.

[Stick (#5576)]

Completed ep 4, onto ep 5 now.

What can I say? This show pretty much has taken a bit of everything a (male) anime fan has seen in a show and seems to have put it together. From the boobs/fanservice to the mecha to the Shinji-like manner of the main character at times, to the whole "lets fight together" with the chest thumping and tears flowing down their faces.. (as far as i've watched), this show seems to have crammed in every anime cliche that's been the staple of anime and manga in the short timespan i've been watching it. If I were to guess as well, there should be an eventual tragedy that will befall this ragtag team in later episodes.

And I seem to like it. Thanks for the recommendation rose and veleon!

[Last Exile (#35342)]

More like a 'boy's' kind of anime really.

[Veleon (#124559)]

Yea, it's a shonen series, for a grown male.

[Shinka (#128364)]

Veleon, not to be mean, but "for a grown male" contradicts the clasification of the series as "shonen".

[fnord (#129232)]

Perhaps he wants to say that TTGL appeals to some sort of nostalgia in people who loved super robots when they were younger. I haven't seen it, nor will I, but that's about the image that I have of the show.

[Veleon (#124559)]

No I mean exactly what I say. It is a shonen series which is for males. TTGL doesn't need to make sense. It is TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN!!!!!

[Veed (#138990)]

Perhaps it's unfair to say that Gurren Lagann does not measure up to the likes of Evangelion and Rahxephon. It is definitely unlike any mecha shows that've been released post-Eva and if anything, one can say that it is very original in its approach to the genre.

Story-wise, I find that Gurren Lagann utilizes a number of plot threads that are similarly used in mecha shows like GunXSword and Eureka 7. But unlike them, Gurren Lagann made the transition from mediocrity by identifying itself with and developing a well defined theme. Evangelion has its psychology while Rahxephon its romance. Gurren Lagann, in the same vein, raised the typical mecha premise by brilliantly introducing a purposeful wackiness into it. What it truly excelled in most was that it successfully combined the best of FLCL, Dead Leaves and Diebuster (shows that director Imaishi was involved in) and packaged their over-the-top craziness into a more existent story structure that was lacking in its predecessors. This unique meld of storytelling and insanity coupled with its message and theme of believing in oneself sets it apart from any other ordinary series.

Gurren Lagann has the markings of a true anime classic with its epic scale and excellent role models of male characters. In all honesty this series is extremely well executed with just the right amount of wackiness and seriousness put together. If any one element present is missing, the imbalance would have been disastrous, much like what Dead Leaves is. In my opinion the wacky humor in Gurren Lagann is its most defining element and ultimately one's appreciation of the show depends largely on how one takes to it. For all its anime cliches employed, it is actually extremely original in crafting a good story that is propelled forward by ridiculous non-stop action and energy. And most importantly it avoided the many great pitfalls recent mecha shows tend to fall into - uninspired endings that either feels rushed or reek of End of Evangelion. For me, Gurren Lagann never fails to be downright enjoyable and this enjoyment never lets up till the very end.

[Shinka (#128364)]

Well, I do agree with most of what Veed said, but what I was saying is that, although TTGL is a series that young adults such as Veleon, myself and many others can enjoy, its target audience were teenagers, thus is has a greater message for their specific target, not that anyone else cant appreciate it, the impact will simply be stronger for those which the message is intended to.

[Stick (#5576)]

Well, I just finished watching the series, and I must say, while I enjoyed the show immensely, there was a little disappointment as well.

Usually, any anime (anything else for that matter, like a movie or videogame) which has a cliche (or something that's been done before) or two in it would be considered a negative for it, but in the case of TTGL, this had so many cliches in it, that they all made the show better in the end.

It was sort of like as the saying goes: 2 negatives make a positive, while in this case, instead of 2, there are "a whole heck of alot" and instead of negatives, you have cliches. I wonder if that was the intent of the creators, that the show would dare to break every possible "rule" when it came to the balancing act between having new original ideas to entice viewers and old crap they can put it because it's been successful before, but may turn off people, since it might be considered "more of the same".

But it paid off, I think. There was so much "old crap" stuffed into the show, it came off as something entirely original, or at the very least put in the same category of "WTF" anime like FLCL.

Now, while I did enjoy the show, I actually felt the "first arc" of the series was far better compared to the "second arc". Yes, the ways Gurren Lagaan became more awesome along with the battles (especially the last one) were indeed pretty epic and a sight to behold, but I sort of felt that it lost that "special something" which the first arc had, and while the series never really bothered to give much backstory into the cast (which wasn't needed really, given what the show was), I associated better and felt more connected with the characters in the first arc, compared to the ones in the second arc, who felt a little flat to me. and at times, frustratingly annoying at how they act. Even at the expected "emotional" moments of the arc, especially towards the final battle, It really didn't hit me as the moments I experienced in the first arc. Still, my indifference could have also been due to the fact that it was another in a long line of anime cliches, and wasn't surprised when they occurred. In fact, I sorta expected those moments to happen.

I also feel that since they did have two arcs, they could have had more episodes. From beginning to end, they had more than enough material to cover 2 seasons worth, and I really do think they could have stretched the entire first arc over 26 episodes and had the second arc as another 26, not to stretch out the series (which can be the downfall of a series if it drags on too long), but that the core storyline had that sort of unique.. epicness that you normally wouldn't find in other series.

Still, all nitpicking aside, the way that just threw in so many cliches which one their own, would make a show unoriginal and somewhat boring, and instead, due to the sheer number of them squeezed in turned it into an original and very enjoyable show to watch.






for the Tl;dr crowd:

It had some negatives, but the show had so many things absurd in it, that the sheer amount, nay, the sheer Epicness of the absurdities themselves contributed into making an amazing series.

I don't even know if that made any sense.

[Last Exile (#35342)]

No, that made sense. However, you higlighted several of the main reasons why this series is my most despised series of all time and probably always will be.

[Stick (#5576)]

[Last Exile (#35342)]

Agreed except for the unfortunate bit. I consider myself forunate, actually. But each to their own.

[Stick (#5576)]

[Veleon (#124559)]

[Stick (#5576)]

[Last Exile (#35342)]

I think Veleon is trying to say the two of us are at opposite ends of the pole and that we will always be at loggerheads.

[Veleon (#124559)]

Of the series I can remember, Gurren-Lagann and Baccano! are the big ones that I loved and you hated. I believe the same goes for key titles. While I liked Code Geass I didn't like it nearly as much as Last does. I will most likely never like any shoujo-ai series. I liked Eva, not quite sure what your opinion is on that but I don't think it was a good one. I don't like Last Exile (the anime) as nearly as much as you do either.

There are a few oddities though. I enjoyed Nodame Cantabile also. I think we both like Shingetsutan Tsukihime also.

[Rosepetals (#42525)]

Wow, I basically agree with everything stick said about the series, almost to a fault, but the cliches were, if I could pinpoint, were what bothered me throughout, and that's why I felt really critical of it.

I'm still right at the center between liking and disliking this, though I think it can be enjoyed for what it has to offer. I just don't think it's one of the better series of its year.

And I agree, there are worse series out there. I've seen it twice, but I probably won't watch it again, much less buy it because it wasn't my cup of tea. If there's one thing I could note about it though - if you think of it as a collective parody, it probably digests a bit better.

Ah well.

[Last Exile (#35342)]

Yes, I know TTGL is meant to be a parody series with a bit of depth theme-wise, I really do. The problem is, I've already seen it before and it's called FLCL. Not to mention 'The War', Maharomatic, etc. Rehash is rehash.

[Veleon (#124559)]

I wouldn't call it a parody as it isn't making fun of anything. I believe it would be more like a tribute to great aspects of anime.

[Last Exile (#35342)]

Interesting. Because the club managed to like it once they decided to stop taking it seriously and took it as a parody series. Once they watched it for the lols, awesomeness and the aesthetics of Yoko, it clicked for them. Not for me, though.

[Veleon (#124559)]

I depends on how far your club is into the anime. Have you gotten past 15? It gets really epic starting at like 12.

[Last Exile (#35342)]

About 15 at present. I stopped watching at 12 - I just couldn't take it anymore. All those promises of epicness that didn't eventuate for me - no longer have the energy or time for it.