Gurren Lagann

With this piece, I hope to call upon others to take the show's message to heart, to live and abide by it, because it's one of the most beautiful lessons we can be taught, and Gurren Lagann achieves it perfectly.

It will also have massive spoilers, I couldn't hope to explain it's main theme without the usage of them.

I never planned on this being a real review of the anime, I think it'd be pointless for me to try and claim objective truths about this show in particular through the lens of a review when I could simply explain to you what makes Gurren Lagann so important to begin with.

Gurren Lagann, at it's heart, is a story of the human struggle, the struggle to find ourselves, to keep "ascending" beyond, improving ourselves, to let go of petty anger to work with others for better outcomes, no matter the suffering we go through, our losses, the physical pain, what be it. This is what makes this show so special and so powerful. It's way of delivering important advice to all of us through it's unique story of a boy and his brazen companions, in a way attempting to motivate us to live our lives in a similar fashion, without shame in ourselves and being bold, no matter the risk.

Simon is the perfect character to display this growth. When we're introduced to him, he's lost, pathetic. He has no objective in life, besides working to live another day in the underground. This is immediately contrasted with the likeness of Kamina, a shameless man who's goal is to attain freedom from the underground, to discover the world outside, something that we are led to believe is almost a mythological goal, way beyond the likes of what man could hope to achieve. But this doesn't stop him, for in his own words: "Reject common sense to make the impossible possible!". It sounds silly at first, but we see multiple examples of this mantra at work within the show itself.

Obviously, when met with someone with such a burning passion like Kamina, Simon becomes inspired, he looks up to the man who shows no fear in the face of the danger, the guy who, in the first episode, tries to fend off a mechanical monster with a single wooden sword, the same with which he was hit in the head with for even thinking he could reach the outside world. Kamina not only inspires Simon, but us, the viewer, with a golden rule that defines Gurren Lagann and can perfectly illustrate the brutal falls and the sky high rises of our heroes; a mantra that we can strive to live by for as we long as we keep up our fight, no matter in what way.

Through the peril in the underground that Simon, Kamina, and Yoko go through, in their fight against the Beast that attempts to deny their escape, we are shown Lagann, the head part of the mech giant, Gurren. It is in Simon's usage of Lagann that ignites his brilliant character growth, when Simon discards all "common sense", so to say, disregarding any type of consequence, rushing through with Lagann against the Beast to help his friends, to do the right thing.

Simon didn't have a single ounce of belief in himself, nor the thought of being successful had even crossed his mind, but he did it because in his heart, it was the right thing to do. This is a sentiment we can very much identify with, as humans. Disregarding all reason, the how's and why's, we are often pushed to do what's right in our hearts, in our ideals. This is why Simon and Kamina, are such impactful characters. Up until this point, Simon is a sad kid who doesn't do anything else but drill. Drilling. Drilling. Drilling away with no real objective. But when Kamina shows his "lunacy", his lack of fear in the hope of achieving a greater good, we see this through Simon's eyes,and how it resonates with him on a deeper level, so much so that at first, it doesn't even seem clear why he was so inspired by his actions. When we start the show, it's not uncommon to think Kamina will end up being the main character, with Simon playing a sort of "Watson" role to Kamina, being a shy and cowardly kid, from who we can admire the brave and bold Kamina much like he does. But on the flipside, we learn that Kamina himself perceived Simon in a different way that we hadn't seen. He tells us of a story between them during an earthquake, where the two of them were stuck underground, Kamina confesses he was at the end of his ropes, seemingly ready to throw in the towel, but Simon's persistent drilling motivated Kamina to put up his brave face. Through this short moment, we see how they fuel each other to keep pushing forward, to keep at their struggle with the hope of survival, even if Simon himself didn't believe in himself, Kamina did. If Simon didn't believe in himself, all he had to do was believe in his own belief of Kamina, who believed in him. It's not logical, but it doesn't matter, It'll never matter. We don't need logic alone to keep pushing through, all we need sometimes is a strong belief in something, anything, to hold on to. The constant successes of Dai-Gurren team awaken in Simon a belief to pull off the impossible, and this much even applies to the other humans who were opressed by the beasts. His borderline suicidal plane of stealing a robot from the enemies (Gurren), which somehow succeeds, ends up motivating the rest of humanity to take upon Kamina's ideals, to abandon logic in the search for the greater good. Team Dai-Gurren becomes a symbol for all of humanity, a why and how for any sort of doubt that could be created, because no matter how impossibly hard it seemed, the chances were never 0, so long as we believe they aren't, much like the ant and the grasshoper, or the ape and the fallen angel, a proof of their own evolution right before them.

Fast forward some episodes, and we're met with an insurmountable tragedy, Kamina's death.
The main hope of humanity, lost, what could they possibly do now? Without an idol, a light, to guide them, could they ever achieve anything to the likes of their previous acomplishments?

Of course we can.

This event is a major breaking point for the story, especially for the now hopeless Simon, who slowly comes to the realization that he doesn't have to rely on an idol, a single figure to motivate him to continue his struggle. Kamina simply showed him the path, but it's up to Simon to carve it himself, with his "Bro" always on his back, in his heart, living on as a part of him. Because now, everyone can help Kamina live on, taking up on his legacy, being their own bright ray of hope, and this is what Simon tells us. He's not his bro, he's no one else but himself, Simon the digger, and by god he'll continue doing what he does, even if it ends up in his death, because as long as keep up the fight and don't give up, it means we won. This scene is especially beautiful through it's presentation, with Simon taking up on a manner of speech and even poses identical to Kamina's, but it's no longer an imitation, Simon has become a new beacon of hope, taking up on his bro's legacy, his mantra and ideals, and transforming them into his own

So, how does this apply to us?
Well, as I finish writing this review, or more of an analysis at this point, a little teary eyed from all the memories and the life-long lesson this show gave me, all I wish to say to anyone who reads this is: Find your inspiration, whomever it may be, and always strive to be like them in your own way, strive to keep pushing forward and be the better version of yourself, because you always have someone who is gonna believe in you to do so.

But don't take my word for it, think it for yourself shamelessly, logic doesn't have to apply to our beliefs.

Believe in yourself, or if it helps, Believe in the you that believes in yourself!.