Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is among the most iconic anime in existence. Its influence is vast, its impact tangible, its voice loud. Although there are some aspects of it that make me wish this weren't the case, I wouldn't be surprised if it remains a classic go-to for years, decades to come. Don't get me wrong- I love this show- but not without a few, massive, personal, EXTREMELY depressing asterisks...
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TTGL is quality where it counts, but unjustified where it doesn't- a time capsule of a masterpiece that aged like milk
> If there's a wall in our way then we smash it down! If there isn't a path, then we carve one ourselves!
Plot/Action: 8/10
Gurren Lagann is heavily metaphorical. I know, shocking. In that sense, for the most part, the plot is a vehicle for the theming, which we'll get to, and the action. Does it do a good job at that? I'd say so, for the most part. While the actual story is largely nothing special and not meant to be taken seriously most of the time, when the show does want to do something grounded or step back and be serious for a moment, it never feels out of place or forced. The action that the plot facilitates is mostly decent; the mecha battles are fine and the character interactions during them feel justified and hit home. 99% of what I'd say are this story's strong points I'd say are better off being addressed when discussing the characters or themes, though. For what it needs to do the plot is fine. It does fizzle out toward the end a bit for me; the themes take the reins a little too hard for my liking and just completely destroy any sense of stakes- but that happens at the end, which makes sense, to some extent. So yeah. Not much else to say here. The plot is arguably the least important piece of this puzzle.
> Believe in yourself. Not in the you I believe in, not in the me that you believe in... Believe in the Simon who believes in himself.
Characters: 7/10
Simon is one of the best anime protagonists of all time. His development is extremely drastic but believable and easy to root for. The rest of the cast is hit or miss. Rossiu, Viral, and Kamina are great. The good characters in the show really drive its emotional peaks home, as their ideals clash in believable ways that show how much each of them has changed over the course of the show.
Spoiler, click to view
I have always loved the way that the show handles Kamina's death. It has a profound effect on the entire cast and even after he's gone he still has a massive amount of influence over the way the story plays out. It's something you don't see very often in stories, and I love it.
Unfortunately, the rest of team Gurren is mostly a bunch of literal-whos that the show obviously wants me to care about but I just... don't. And the female cast... hoo boy... Yoko is among the worst characters I have ever seen in an anime I'd consider overall to be good. She is the female lead who exists to do female things such as wear revealing clothing, be treated badly by the camera, and have large breasts. She is the object of multiple male characters' lusts and doesn't develop or even accomplish much of anything for the vast majority of the show. This would be fine if the rest of the main female cast was much better, but... they aren't. Nia is amusing but is still a big ball of princess tropes who effectively serves the purpose of being a damsel in distress. The Black Siblings also do a whole heaping wad of nothing for the whole show, existing primarily to be objects of the... male cast's motivations...
None of these would be bad individually but you put them together and it feels like TTGL isn't speaking on the agency of humanity, it's speaking on the agency of men, which is one of the many reasons that despite the quality of the show's delivery of its themes, they don't hit home for me. And don't even get me started on Leeron the walking anti-LGBTQ stereotype.
> The human spirit is limitless!
Themes: 8/10
I'll be honest. Aside from what I pointed out above, a lot of what I take issue with in the theming department here is just me disagreeing with the show's optimism. I don't understand where it's coming from. I understand the delivery of its themes- what it's trying to get across- but it failed to convince me. Maybe it's simply because I'm depressed that I don't believe in the extent of agency this show tries to tell us we have. I understand that maybe asking the show to convince me is asking too much in the first place, and that the things I wish this show had spent time doing would be unnecessary for many people. As such, take this with a grain of salt. But yeah, TTGL is an extremely optimistic work with a LOT of things to say, but to me, it felt less like a thorough exploration of the idea of human agency and more like a desperate bid to tell me to "just do it" with as much energy as possible. Nothing inherently wrong with that of course- but I personally couldn't help but wish the story had been a bit more grounded in its execution. What we got has a lot of metaphorical depth to be sure and is also extremely enjoyable- but it's a prime example of what I mentioned in my Madoka review. A work that I like, that is thematically rich, but doesn't convince me of a thing, and as a result, fades into the background. It's a story where the protagonist's ideals win over those of the antagonist because of course they do, the protagonist is righteous and therefore he wins because it's a story. That's cool; sadly, I live in real life.
> These humans... what the hell are they?!
Visuals/Sound: 100/10
The two things about this show that I couldn't bitch about if I tried, holy fucking shit yall. I can't wrap my head around the fact that this anime came out in 2007 and looks better than 99% of what comes out today. The animation is beautiful and the art style is instantly recognizable. I love the use of shadows, action lines, even the fucking CGI looks excellent. So many of the best moments in this over-the-top show could only have hit home with equally over-the-top visuals to match, and to say the animators succeeded with flying colors is an understatement. If you want a show that's a visual treat in every respect, this is a must watch. It may have been Gainax in name, but as a whole, this show is the peak of Trigger as an animation studio.
The ost is no slouch either, with most of the distinguished themes being iconic. I must give a particular shoutout to the absolute MASTERPIECE of an OP that is Sorairo Days. But most of the tracks that play during action sequences are just as corny as they should be.
> Let's see you grit those teeth!
Conclusion:
An immensely enjoyable ride from beginning to end, with stunning visuals and plenty of thematic depth. There is so much to sink your teeth into here. But I'd be lying if I said any of that stuck out as much in my mind as the more negative aspects. They don't completely invalidate the quality of the show; far from it, in fact. This is still an excellent show. But what it gets wrong are things that become increasingly more important as time passes. In fact, they already have.
As a result I find myself in a difficult spot. I don't want to sell the show short; it's full of genuinely peak moments brought about by great writing and creative vision- but I also... don't really want this show to go down in the history books as a masterpiece. I do admit that some of that feeling is brought about by a desire for more realism in the delivery of its optimism, which is a personal preference and not a flaw- but some of it is also the horrid treatment of the female cast and the potential negative effects of a work that could be interpreted as encouraging people to act without thinking.
Either way, a lot of this is very personal, so I encourage you to form your own views. Of course, you should do that anyway, but... this has been less of an objective analysis and more of a recounting of my personal thoughts on this still very good show that was a lot of fun to watch... most of the time. 
