I honestly dont 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 havent 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 youve been warned. Seriously its 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 industrys 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 soulcrushing grief of loss pain and hopelessness. The characters themselves have an organic chemistry that Ive 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 gutwrenching blast to the stomach. My absolute favorite of these moments is split across the two seasons of the show. Early in the shows 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 hed 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 hes 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 allencompassing and for a while it seems like Simon may never get out of it that he might become another Shinjistyle 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 Ill never forget. But this isnt 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 theyve built with Simon being a figurehead of sorts. Fulfilling the prophecy of the Spiral King the AntiSpiral attack the city causing Rossiau to blame Simon and throw him in jail. Rossiaus new ironfist rule doesnt do anything to stop the AntiSpiral 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 Ill 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 Ive ever encountered and I cannot give a greater recommendation than this. Lets see you grit those teeth.