Name: This was MADE for theaters.
Item: Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars
Rating: 80
Author: Entrylevelweebfrom22

Waifra

This was MADE for theaters.

Gurren Lagann's The Lights in the Sky are Stars finale movie is as bombastic, explosive, exhilarating, colorful, and unforgettable a trip as you could hope to imagine. And you thought the show took things to the extreme? Oh honey....

This movie, like Childhood's End, condenses the show, but does still veer away from the original in some places:

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

Kittan still dies, though a lot of the other secondary characters that got killed off in the show like the twins, do actually stick around for the big epic showdown, Yoko's teacher arc is only quickly mentioned, Rossiu doesn't try to unalive himself at his old cave home, a lot of the epilogue is cut, EVERYONE gets their own mechas, and Simon delivers the goods in quite possibly the most fucking badass final beatdown against the AntiSpiral you could ever imagine in an ending such as this.

Ultimately, if I reeeaalllyy had to choose-I'd say the series was better. More time, better paced, and all of that helped make the ending wedding and epilogue scenes hit so satisfyingly to me. But this movie is still MORE than worth your time for the simple fact that the final battle is amped up beyond belief. It's. A. Damn. Rush. With all the time, resources, and willpower they had-Gainax and Production I.G. deliver quite possibly some of the definitive greatest animation in anime I have ever seen. Hell, it's at times mind-boggling to think humans are capable of making something as inspiring and kinetic as this finale. Once again, it's another "How the actual hell did they DO THAT?" moment cementing animation as a medium to be reckoned with. The passion, commitment, and imagination all comes together to create something that deserves to go down in history as an artistic achievement. Hot......DAMN.

And I gotta say, they somehow made Nia even more of an overwhelming cinnamon roll. Like Jesus Christ, I get butterflies in my stomach whenever she shows up onscreen.

After spending a week following these characters' journeys, seeing the story unfold, and being inspired in a way very few shows have-I can't help but gush over how much of a Godsend Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is as the perfect mecha anime. You keep upping yourself time and time again-constantly getting back up and learning more about yourself in the process. You push yourself beyond space and time, never even thinking about stopping, where any and all setbacks are just inconveniences, and you finally get to that sacred point where you peak. Your journey is complete, and you finally feel as fully realized of yourself as ever before. And even then...don't lose yourself to it all either. You're not God, and that's more than OK. You finally reach the point where you can move on and hold back sensibly. For all your extreme effort, diligence, and excellence: there's nothing wrong with at least a little contentment and peace. I think Simon says it best himself in the final episode: "We're not that stupid." (Or something along those lines but you get the idea).

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: I salute you. Farewell Simon, Nia, Boota, Yoko, Kamina, Viral, Leeron, Rossiu, the Blacks, twins, everyone. Thanks anime, thanks art, thanks robots, and thank you. See you up across space and time. Peace.

"You're at your best when the going gets rough. You've been put to the test, but it's never enough. You've got the touch. You've got the power." -a wise man from the 80s.