The worst possible thing for a teenager to learn is how the world works and the issues that come with it. Simon from Gurren Lagann is a prime example in his town, caved and away from any society on the surface. He’s timid, worries, and is a wimp that doesn’t know what he wants besides to be someone dependable like his big brother, Kamina. Kamina..is loud, somewhat scummy, but he captures and entices everyone in the town with his charisma, coolness and with how honest he is to everyone about how feels. He’s someone people can rely on under a tough and messy situation and make everyone calm and focused. He’s something Simon isn’t. But Simon believes he has a chance when he discovers a small mech with a drill.
After they meet Yoko and leave the town, the next six or seven episodes are spent with us learning and seeing what the grand goal of the people on the surface is and what they’re doing to stop the big bads. Whether it’s meeting and facing the fiend and anti-hero of the show Viral and having Kamina take his mech as his own, or getting a harem hotel spa only for it to be a trap, Gurren Lagann is a fun and awesome show. But at the centre of it, Kamina stands tall and he gradually becomes one of the best leaders in the world, having a team that could possibly rival the main bad, Lordgenome. As Kamina is getting bigger and bigger however, Simon realises that..he’s still Simon. He hasn’t gained or lost anything. He’s still him. Whereas everyone has faith in Kamina, there isn’t anyone for Simon. Except for Kamina.
Just because he’s great at motivating people, just because he’s great at helping others, he’s still human. He needs people to live his best life. That’s why he cares about Simon so much and constantly tries to make him better. He needs Simon. He’s a man of great skill and power, and he knows that in order to have a fun and awesome life, he needs to have people who feel the same way about him.
During the “final” battle, Kamina is critically injured. There’s nothing he can do to save himself. There’s no way he will live. Kamina will die. And he knows that, he doesn’t say or do anything to try and protect himself. Instead, he educates Simon on life by combining his mech with his Simon’s one last time for Gurren Lagann.
“Listen, Simon. Don’t forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not in the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.”
You can follow something forever, but is that what you really want? Don’t you want to follow yourself and realise what else you’re capable of?
What makes Kamina’s death so important is that up until that point, the entire show has been a fun and epic adventure with Kamina motivating everyone and saving the day as someone people can look up to.
I knew Kamina was going to die yet I was still baffled. For the next three days, I couldn’t believe it happened. Yet, it makes sense why he had to die. Kamina was a symbol of hope for people because of how confident he was, he was a perfect figure. No flaws, no problems, just perfection. His death causes the tone of the show to change and the cast feels different, but mainly, Simon. He lost a brother who taught him everything and doesn’t have anyone to look up to. He doesn’t know what to do anymore. But he finds a girl, Nia, who is the daughter of Lordgenome, the villain of the show. Nia doesn’t agree with what her father is doing, but she doesn’t have anyone to look up to. She and Simon share similar discussions and Simon feels like he needs to protect her. Not because she’s pretty, not because this is what Kamina would want, but because he doesn’t want someone who’s also lost to be pushed to despair.
With her involvement and everyone who had some sort of connection to Kamina, the show goes through a strong change that doesn’t feel unnatural and that’s what makes it so good. Yoko becomes a teacher to educate people on life, Viral becomes someone who wants to liberate others, and Simon becomes the bigger man and someone who goes above and beyond to do the right thing.
With Kamina’s death, Gurren Lagann does some risky things that I see a lot of modern anime struggle with and stops them from being something higher than an 8/10. Gurren Lagann takes this risk and sees it through the end that affects every single character whether their a side or a main one.
This show has aged so well and even though it has epic fights, music, characters, the best thing it does is with how it tells its story. If for whatever reason you haven’t watched the show (which you shouldn’t be reading this analysis if you haven’t), please do, even if it’s just for Kamina. Maybe even rewatch it. Whatever the case, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had with an anime while also helping the viewer learn some great things.
