Manga of the Week: Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann by
Kotaro Mori This week, our manga spotlight has shined upon Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann. If you are unfamiliar with this manga be sure to check it out!
Series Summary:Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann takes place in a fictional far future where human beings have been forced underground and thrive in isolated subterranean civilizations. These "villages" have no contact with the surface world nor other villages. Since frequent earthquakes damage infrastructure, the villages must constantly expand deeper into the earth. Individuals designated to this task are known as "diggers". Jiiha Village is the home of Simon, a fourteen year old digger who was orphaned when his parents were killed in an earthquake. He is respected by the village elder as the best of the diggers, but is ostracized by his peers. After discovering a special drill key deep in the ground, he is recruited by an eccentric fellow orphan named Kamina into his group, the "Gurren Brigade". Kamina dreams of the surface world, which he visited as a child with his father but had to return home because he was too weak to survive.
Review: - by
ahpoke Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, quite a mouthful of a title, but yet the humor in it is unmistakable. The story focus mainly on exploits of the Gurren Brigade (think SOS-dan + GAR), where their manly and fearless leader Kamina, seeks to reach the surface world, in a village who has never seen the sun. Throughout these exploits, he recruits the village’s top digger and fellow orphan, Simon, who becomes his sworn brother and the brigade’s key to fulfilling their group’s goals.
The story, set in an underground village under siege by a Ganmen (Gundam Face with miniature arms and legs), and as the roof of the village finally crumbles, the surface is finally revealed to Kamina. Joining this assaulting Ganmen in the decent into the village, is Yoko, a busty teenager with a big gun as well. As she fights the Ganmen, Kamina tries to assist her, but both of them end up being saved by Simon who then shows them the Ganmen he found while digging. Using the newly found Ganmen, both Kamina and Simon defeat the intruding enemy and finally get a taste of the surface world when they get blow skywards.
As they crash, Yoko’s allies finally join up with them and thus began the adventures of the two men Gurren Brigade. As the story progresses, Kamina manages to steal another Ganmen from the viscous Beastman, a feat which is replicated by many others, adding to the number of the Gurren Brigade. Kamina then surpasses his father, who had left for the surface world when he was still a child, as he survives in the harsher surface world.
Simon, as the ever loyal sidekick to Kamina, still manages a crush on Yoko, who in turn has a soft spot for Kamina, thus introducing a dash of romance to the series. There are also many other elements that are added to the story as it progresses, which isn’t your run of the mill action comedy.
The series is widely popular, especially seen as an epic series with lots of GAR action yet has that ecchiness that appeals to the more mature males. If you liked Gundam, Guns, Ecchi, this is the series for you! So go check it out now!
Can’t wait to find out what happens next? The anime has already completed itself! So u can catch it too! Why not? You can’t get enough of the epicness of Gurren Lagann!
Even after watching the anime and reading the manga, there’s more! There’s still the spinoffs to read, in this series, even the spinoffs are good, all the ingredients of one are in the other, so you’ll probably like the rest if you liked the original.
Rating:Storyline: 9/10
Artwork: 6/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Other Related Titles:- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - Guren Gakuenhen
-Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Yoko no Obeso-hen
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