TTGL Review
by Alex Hill
There is a point in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann where two robots the size of the milky way pile-drive each other through other, smaller galaxies. They use galaxies as ninja throwing stars. Surely, half of the universe dies because of this conflict, all to protect Earth. One planet, versus the trillions instantly obliterated in their intergalactic wrestling match(and countless googol deaths). For once, the bad guy, who tried to stop this from happening, has better priorities than the “heroes”.
If any of that made you think “awesome!”, then there is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise. It’s not an uninteresting show, but it’s certainly not the masterpiece it is made out to be by its excitable fan-base. Viewers who know how to “turn their brains off” will no doubt enjoy themselves. But lord knows you’ll drive yourself crazy if you even think about flicking that switch back on. If it is supposed to be satire, a wink to the audience would’ve been nice.
We follow “Simon”, a young boy with an unfortunately pronounced first name, and his misadventures with an obnoxious, over-theatrical douche, a woman who exists only so the camera can zoom in on her breasts, and the typical cutesy mascot character sure to be a hit with the merchandise. In an underground city they dwell, drilling away with their little drills, dreaming of the surface world.
Okay, just so we’re all on the same page here; the drills in this show are synonymous with “penis”, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks a good 90% of this show is compensation from very bitter, sexually deprived Japanese men. Much of the events in the show involve characters winning fights by having bigger and bigger drills than the other guy. But of course, it also relies on that insufferable trope where the hero’s chances are -literally- determined by the magic of BELIIEEEEEEVing in himself. That revolting cliche was overdone in the 80’s, when bad fantasy movies aimed at children sluggishly roamed the land like starving dinosaurs.
Mention must be made of the production values, which are excessive beyond anything I’ve ever seen. That is not a compliment. It is clear where all of the money went. This is the first anime that has so much light-show nonsense occurring on-screen, I can’t even tell what’s happening and why. There are faces behind these WWE mecha, but few are given adequate time in the spotlight. And then I’m expected to be moved by character deaths, betrayals, and all of that drama. Because the show barely follows even its principle characters, I’m sure I can be forgiven for not giving a rat’s ass when “Guy #12″ and “Dude #14″ perish.
There are too many faces and not enough show. Relationships are alluded to more than explored, and we are supposed to take it at face value. The English dub is a crime against humanity, which is why I stuck with the subtitles. Derek Stephen Prince as “Attenborough” is the best part of watching this in English, and I’ll bet his average number of lines per episode doesn’t amount to 1. Okay, him and Anti-Spiral, I guess. I think it’s the same guy who played “Angemon”. Didn’t know that guy could scream the way he does.
The plot does occasionally slow down to allow us to understand the weight of what’s happening, but not why I should be invested in the fates of these characters. It is too eager to get to the big fight scenes, without taking the time and effort to make them matter. It thinks it can make up for a stunning void of character depth by just presenting the battles on a bigger and bigger scale. The title mech combines with other pieces of technology, bigger and bigger each time. It is not unlike those toys of the little bowling-pin shaped gals. You open one up, and there’s a smaller version inside. Inside that is an even smaller one, and so on.
The problem is this is only exciting or interesting the first time. Trying the same twist over and over again is a clear sign of a lack of imagination on the part of the creator. It doesn’t raise the stakes, and it doesn’t make the cast any less bloated and meaningless. If you told these people that bigger =/= better, I imagine they might look at you like a confused puppy. There’s no time to make me care about anyone in this show. Not when they could be drawing iron fists smashing into each other. This show is the Michael Bay of Japanese cartoons.
The first eight episodes are abysmal, and it returns to this state by the end. But for a brief time in-between, it almost seems to want to be something more. It’s not nearly enough, but my favourite scene involves the main character’s grief over the loss of his best friend, and “bluff-brother”. He is the one everyone on the internet parrots whenever mention is made of this show. He is not that engaging. In Simon’s darkest hour, he stumbles upon a box. Inside is a young woman so enamored by the outside world, she can barely contain her happiness at rain and mud underneath her feet. Her voice captures how happy she is to be here, and to have been freed by this troubled young man.
They are exactly what they need at this point. It’s certainly a more poignant example of the young destined boy/MacGuffin girl pairing offered in the dreck that was Eureka 7. But at least Eureka 7 tried. At least it took its time to look at its characters more than its explosions. Nia and Simon’s first meeting is one of the few great moments in this series, and that is largely due to the lack of weird-shaped giant robot fights.
To be fair, even I felt the sudden rush of testosterone at key points. This show is not a total failure. The “Arc-Gurren-Lagann” sequence comes to mind. And it even starts to tackle some very interesting political issues later on. It sits on some deeply thought-provoking questions. If our population goes unchecked, will our species become a cancer on our world, even our universe? Is any attempt by a government to keep the numbers in check justifiable? TTGL isn’t prepared to handle those tricky subjects. It trips over its own attempts to be taken seriously, and decides it would rather shift its focus back on brainless violence.
The need for a political back-stabbing plot point altered an altruistic, sensible character into a cowardly incompetent, willing to sell his best friend’s life just to save himself the ire of some pissed-off civilians. Instead of feeling the shock of someone falling from grace(which is what I think they were going for here), it just felt like the show was cheating Rossiu. A character was shoe-horned into a role which he did not belong. And when that’s over, he’s instantly forgiven and the matter is done with forever. This show consistently cheats its audience with instantaneous, deus-ex-machina solutions.
I am sure those who read this will think I am some grumpy old coot who doesn’t know how to have fun. That all I want is “boring, talky art-film shit”. It is wrong to suggest that you can’t have giant robot fights AND a good story, or likable human characters. I can see why this show would appeal to someone, I just think there’s got to be much better examples out there. There is nothing here to warrant the years of endless hype from people whose judgment I otherwise trust.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann reaches for greater heights than it could ever hope to reach. This is what it would look like to finance a show based on the doodles on a twelve-year old’s binder. I was only recently convinced to give it a second chance, on the counsel of someone who knows a great deal more about anime than I ever will. She called it her second-favourite anime of the last ten years, above Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note.
An uncharacteristically bizarre decision? I can’t cast the first stone; I liked the first “Transformers” movie. But there’s a contrast between Transformers and “Revenge of the Fallen”.
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