So now onto Gurren-Lagann, it's a mecha anime and some will think of Gundamn and at first that what I thought. It does share some aspects with it, but where it shares it, it amplifies it! If you love mechas this series is for you. As said by Anime For Dummies this series will be like crack for mecha fans. The plot of this series is that humanity has been taken down and are forced to live underground by the Spiral King. There are people called Diggers who expand where they live. One boy wants to see more of the world though and with his role model Kamina he supports Simon with his dream. One day a giant robot crashes into their village and begins to attack. During this attack Kamina takes action, but a woman appears and fights the mech. During the fight the three get away because Simon has an idea. He shows them the "face" he has found and it's similar to the Gunman which are what the mechs are called in the series. Simon activates it with the drill object he found from before and it's already time for Lagann's first fight! Simon pilots the Lagann and gets his first win thanks to the mighty drill weapon! Now the three explore to the surface and they don't get a friendly welcome. Now they have to fight some more and through all of this they find out a lot more about the surface and their robot. It is in fact a Gunman, but it is missing it's lower half. Each Gunman can unite to a lower half and soon they steal their own lower half. This makes Gurren-Lagann and it's drill will pierce the heavens! Also with the support of other people Kamina takes his the team Lagann into new light as they will take down the Beast-men who have kept them underground.
Pros- What I love about this series the most is how short it is, but it has three parts in total. There are 27 episodes and I am amazed on how smooth things went. There is great progression and each episode has some importance to the plot. Since it's a mech anime you expect there to be action and this series gives you more than you expect. The action in this series is top notch and it just keeps giving you it. Along with the great animation everything looks amazing and doesn't confuse you on what is happening. The characters are really good as well with the best character ever made in an anime series Kamina! The series use him in the best way possible and his legacy will always live on. He is a complete badass who calls for danger and knows how to fight. I also love how much of a leader he actually is as he leads many people to what looks like suicide missions, but with his great dynamics he can make any battle possible. Simon was also a near perfect character as he is the main focus. He goes through a lot of development and how it is done is amazing. Yoko was also a pretty good character along with the other two and I am surprised that she does a lot than I expected since characters like her just stay as eye candy. There are minor characters as well and some don't get the same dynamics as others, but they stay who they are and they are already awesome so there was no need for them to change. I was afraid with the action because I would think it would over whelm the overall series, but I was dead wrong. There is great sense of emotion with sheer excitement and pure sadness. Another emotion is happiness and boy will this series get you happy, the comedy is another good element for this show. Gurren-Lagann is one of the best series I have seen to use many elements of entertainment.
Still one of the best characters I have ever seen in any type of entertainment.
Cons- There are only little things that get me at times and that is the fan service. Yea the series does do that and it's not a thing I personally like. It maybe done too many times, but at points it does mix well with the comedy at least. Also this series uses a bad style of recapping and then there is the mid point break. So little, but it still bothers me.
She is fourteen?!
Overall- This is easily my second favorite anime. It has some of the best action because it's not only eye catching, but also fills you up with so much excitement. The progression feels very good and doesn't feel rushed at all. I would recommend this series like I am with Wizard right now. It is near perfect and both English and Japanese voice actors work well. So I give this series an A. So now here's the question what connections does it have to Toku? Well there are two parts that I know the most. The first hint is a certain voice actor and the second hint is a recent series that ended and is coming back.
