Gurren Lagann Review

The premise is a boy digging in a hole and the last act throws galaxies, and the achievement is that the distance between the two feels earned rather than arbitrary. Gainax builds the show as a ladder of escalations, each one grounded in somebody deciding to want more, and pays for that structure by killing its most charismatic figure a third of the way in and then spending the rest of the run on what his absence costs.

Simon's growth from a frightened digger into a man who can lead is the spine, and Kamina's shadow over it is the point. Imaishi's direction is all speed, exaggerated perspective and hot color, and the design work turns a drill into a genuine idea. The animation swings hard from episode to episode and one notorious installment looks nothing like the rest. The fanservice and the tonal wobble after the time skip divide viewers, and the governing arc in the back half is the least loved stretch. It remains the most exhilarating mecha series of its century.