Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Redux!

I recently got my hands on the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Gurren-Hen Movie and let me just say that if you're a guy and you fail to get pumped up while watching it, YOU FAIL AT BEING A MAN AND MIGHT AS WELL GO AND GET YOURSELF CASTRATED! Seriously though, something is wrong with you if you don't. Even girls get pumped up watching it (Beware of such girls as they are more than likely able to kick ass).

It was great to watch the series all over again for probably the 7th time but in a summarized way. There are new scenes but not that many and there was actually a montage in there of the episodes between stealing Enki’s helmet and facing off with the eastern beast army. It even included clips from the dvd version of episode 6 and a bonus shot of Yoko wearing glasses while reading. Yoko gets a lot of love in the movie version considering the glasses show that they weren’t just part of her Yomako-sensei persona and that there was about half a minute of her going topless in a catfight with Adiane. I do wonder if Yoko fans are satisfied with the extra fanservice or if they still scream at GAINAX for full exposure. Chances are it’s the latter but I’m too lazy to check Gurren Lagann forums for the answer. What I do know is that both Nia and Yoko get full exposure in the next one which I'll go into after this.

It’s been a while since I watched the original series so it was nice to see all the characters being awesome again. Any anime that can make me feel anything by watching it is a great anime. And I really do mean that, people usually ask for my opinion on whether a certain series is good or not whenever they’re not sure to buy/watch/ download it. In the movie’s case, it heated up my blood once more with Kamina and Simon’s speeches of GARsome. I actually felt like shouting with them while I was watching it and any scene that could make feel that way has to be excellent or the cold heartless me who laughs while watching ridiculously over the top and silly love tragedies will do nothing more than smirk. I say smirk because when I smile to myself it always ends up looking like I have some mischief planned. I can’t help it though, to me playing tricks on people is just as entertaining as great stories so me smiling to myself is either a sign of trouble or enjoyment. I wonder if I should be worried that I my urges to perform some act of evil outnumbers my testosterone driven urges by at least seven fold? I can’t help it if I have morbid sense of humor.

Here are some AMVs that retain the spirit of TTGL in them:

Kimaguren - Life

Black Parade
WARNING: YOU WILL PROBABLY SHED MANLY TEARS IF YOU ARE A FAN

A Disney Song Made Epic by Kamina

Gurren Lagann Parallel Works 8 HD

Now onto the second movie. It came out just last month so those of us who didn't have the extra cash to fly out to japan and go watch the movie at the theaters there will have to wait about 6 more months till it comes out. Until then I'll be suffering in agony waiting it to reach these shores. Why? It's because the next movie won't be a summarization like the first one but will be made of mostly new scenes with changes in plot and scripts based on the novelisation and a completely revamped ending. Based on what I heard, the second movie outdoes the second half of the anime in every single way and we even get to see a Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann that looks like a giant Kamina.

Here are the highlights of the movie:
-More Characterisation For Simon and Nia
- Redrawn Scenes
- 30 Minute Long Fight Scene Between TTGL and Anti-Spirals
- LOLtastic scene for Lord Genome who also happens to go naked sometime during the movie
- We get to see what Shimon does after he left.
- Cathedral Lazengann vs. Arc Gurren Lagann
- Final Simon vs. Anti-Spiral Fistfight ala Liquid Snake
- Extra Time-Skip Scenes
- Nia and Kittan still die but the rest of the Gurren Brigade live
- More Parallel Universes Scenes that could make you cry (I'm hoping for new parallel works videos)
- 16 Different Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Here are screenshots I could find:

Nia & Simon About to Kiss

Cathedral Lazengann vs. Arc Gurren Lagann

Nia's Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Sorubaania (Allegedly named based on the phrase "Soba ni iru" which means "By your side")

SUPER TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN!! I'd prefer to just call it Kamina Lagann though...

That's it for now. 0 Gundam and Exia R2 will be released on the 5th in Japan so I'll probably get mine on the 10th. I may be canceling Susanoo though due to lack of funds and the unwillingness to to wait till the 18th for my gunpla since that's during the holidays and I won't be able to pick them up then. Enjoy this Yoko PV.