I honestly don't even know where to start when it comes to talking about how incredible Gurren Lagann is as an anime. By this point, most of you have probably already seen the show, but if you haven't yet, this is where I tell you to stop reading this review and go watch it, as this review will have both literal spoilers and could also spoil the feel of the show for you. This review will quite literally cover one of the most important plot points in unmarked spoilers, so you've been warned. Seriously, it's worth every minute of watching.

Releasing in Spring 2007, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was immediately and incredibly well received, reaching the number one spot of the season and number two spot of the year in terms of popularity. The only anime more popular in 2007 than GL would become one of the industry's most well known titles: Naruto. Needless to say, it was solidly cemented in the industry almost immediately for its incredible character design (both visually and emotionally), beautiful storytelling, and the absolute way it plays on your emotions.

The show plays an amazing balancing act between giving you incredible comedy through the bright and enthusiastic cast of characters and the absolutely soul-crushing grief of loss, pain, and hopelessness. The characters themselves have an organic chemistry that I've yet to see done as well in any other show, anime or otherwise, and you can feel the pain, the joy, the life that these characters live through. Every step forward feels like a straight up adrenaline shot to the skull, and every step back a gut-wrenching blast to the stomach.

My absolute favorite of these moments is split across the two "seasons" of the show. Early in the show's runtime, Simon, Kamina, and the gang are all fighting several beastmen and a giant gunman they control. Simon is tasked with using Lagann to take over the ship, but after seeing Kamina and Yoko (who he'd been developing feelings for) kiss the previous night, his heartbreak prevents him from using his fighting spirit to do so. Kamina, seeing Simon struggling, charges onto the ship and punches him in the jaw, shouting at him to "grit those teeth" and going on to tell him about how he's always going to be there to knock some sense into him when he needs it. This gives Simon the willpower to take over the ship and effectively save the day.

Shortly following the fight, Kamina is struck down and killed. The grief and destruction to Simon and the rest of the crew is immediate and all-encompassing, and for a while it seems like Simon may never get out of it, that he might become another Shinji-style character full of loss and grief. Which makes it all the more heartfelt when he first pilots Lagann again, and the various expressions of the crew around him is an image I'll never forget.

But this isn't where this moment ends. In the second half of the show, we skip forward in time after killing the Spiral King, the antagonist of the first half. Rossiau, one of the GL crew, currently leads the city they've built with Simon being a figurehead of sorts. Fulfilling the prophecy of the Spiral King, the Anti-Spiral attack the city, causing Rossiau to blame Simon and throw him in jail. Rossiau's new iron-fist rule doesn't do anything to stop the Anti-Spiral and alienates him from all his friends, leaving him incredibly depressed. In a moment of grief, Rossiau tries to end his life, only to have Simon quite literally leap in and punch him square in the jaw. The beauty of that moment and the realization that Simon had become the person he looked up to is a moment I'll never be able to forget.

Gurren Lagann will probably be my favorite show, and possibly my favorite piece of media, for as long as I live. It is the closest thing to a perfect piece of media I've ever encountered, and I cannot give a greater recommendation than this.

Let's see you grit those teeth.