'Gurren Lagann' movie review

14.09.2008 by Patrick W. Galbraith

The “Gurren Lagann: Koshuhen” movie is not a simple retelling of the series, but rather a revised and re-imagined arc from the failed battle to defend humanity fought by “The Spiral King” Lordgenome to the Dai-Gurren-dan’s victorious battle against his Big Four beast warriors, who oppress humanity to ensure its continued survival. Despite the appearance in the widely distributed trailer, this is not merely a patchwork of or homage to the original, but a stand-alone work that reinterprets the original. The movie is more objective and easier to understand than the series, but perhaps in the process loses some of its rough charm and raw emotional impact. It is incredible to watch, an action-packed and oversexed rollercoaster of energy, but tends to rely on spectacle and grandeur rather than nuances of the heart, an understandable and necessary shift for a two-hour film.

This tone is set from the opening narration, a completely new sequence wherein Lordgenome explains the fate of human beings to be forever blissfully ignorant of why they live. He, who has the power of the spiral (or evolution) and unsuccessfully attempted to defeat the ordering force of the universe, was left with the fate to seal human beings beneath the surface of the Earth and to suffer knowing. While few will deny this rendition of Lordgenome is awesome in character and design, and the opening animation is an incredible abstract flashback metropolis and epic space battle, it is a completely different feel from the TV series, which begins with Simon digging endlessly without purpose and Kamina aiming to break onto the surface. There is no world or context, just two guys doing their thing and trying to find a way out, but instead finding the power to believe in each other and themselves. That humanity is to some extent downplayed in first setting the larger stage of cosmic evolution, inescapable fate and the human condition. When Kamina says your drill is for piecing the heavens, it makes sense in the movie; it was just a crazy dream in the series.

To phrase this more generally, the scenes where characters are introduced one by one or big shifts in their emotional states take place, are replaced by image shots. For example, the scene where Simon, Kamina and Yoko finally reach the surface and bond while fighting a group of gunmen and getting the smack laid down on them, is replaced by a very cool intro by the men of Ritona (who will become the Gurren-dan) who shoot the hell out of the gunmen. Simon running away and Yoko looking extra hot with her rail gun, gone. (Lucky for diehards there is Yoko fan service aplenty later). The eye catch inserts from the series are included to create a sense of TV continuity, a novel idea. Whether it is for the sake of time or just to cut to the chase of the larger narrative, the entire bonding experience between Simon and Kamina is absent. There is a blank between their fight with beastman Viril (who gets a bigger part later, but for now is basically unimportant) at Ritona village to Kamina’s final battle that is filled by a montage of images of them marching across the desert and fighting gunmen, meeting Kitan and his sisters, picking up Roshu and Gimii and Darii and so on (many of the shots from the opening animation of the TV series are incorporated into larger vignettes). There are no words, just vague sounds and the “Fight the Power” rap anthem used in the latter half of the TV series. New emotional nuggets are peppered in the montage, from funny ones such as Kamina peeping at Yoko in bath, to cute ones such as Kamina, Simon and Gimii peeing off the side of Gurren and even sexy ones such as a scantily clad Yoko (with glasses!) reading late at night. But no amount of added, and beautifully rendered, Yoko bum can explain the need to erase knowledge of the death of Kamina’s father; yes, even that crucial self-discovery is absent. Along the lines of the new intuitive format, the cut after the montage is Lordgenome, who explains what is happening with the Big Four and sets the stage for the decisive battle with Thymilph to subjugate the humans. Kamina’s death is almost entirely the same footage, but without all the incumbent emotions it comes off as a lot of action, shouting and posing for cool shots. Kamina’s first and last Giga Drill Breaker is a footnote.

In their defense, Gainax has done something incredible with this film: they made a review film that stands on its own. Yes, scenes are missing and elements are missing, especially in the beginning, but the second half of the film is unbelievably good and almost completely new. There are no more montages and no more eye catches, just pure, fluid, full animation. It is from here that the power of this revised version starts to shine. The real shift in style and content comes after Simon retreats into himself after the loss of Kamina. In one memorable transition, Simon becomes a white silhouette on a black screen and shrinks into the lower left corner of the screen (with such impact on the big screen!). The viewer next sees him sits in his room, rotating his drill endlessly on the floor of a desolate room on the Daiganzan, Thymilph' battleship that Kamina lost his life to secure. This raw, painful atmosphere is actually slightly improved from the series. Another new scene, where Simon glowers at Roshu in front of Kamina’s Gurren and asks him, voice dripping venom, “Are you going to pilot it?” has punch to spare. By this point, the movie is already approaching the 90-minute mark, and the viewer thinks it will end when Simon finds Nia and recovers. But no. After the beautifully drawn and eerie sequence with Nia in her coffin in the canyon, and an intense three-way heart to heart about Kamina and Lordgenome between Simon, Nia and Yoko (a variety of TV scenes boiled down to one in the depressed Simon’s cave-like room), another of the Big Four, Adiane, appears to take revenge for the slain Thymilph. This, too, is accelerated, and she gets an electronic transmission that Nia has been abandoned and takes her hostage.

Suddenly, the remaining Big Four, Guame and Cytomander, appear along with Viril in his own remade Daiganzan Dues. Everything from here out is film only. Nia is captured and will be killed and the human crushed on network TV. During the live broadcast high up on an airborne gunmen, Nia finds out that she is a nothing but Lordgenome’s doll and has been abandoned. At that moment, Simon, who has lost the will to control his Lagann, appears on screen, stubbornly using his tiny core drill as a pick to crawl up the side of the airborne gunmen to reach Nia. She explains to the TV broadcast, which is being viewed by humans in underground villages all over (or under) the world that humans have will. Humans are not dolls to be controlled, and neither is she. Simon falls, but Lagann finally responds to him and his desire to save Nia and together they go to save her. For the fanboys, there is a Nia panchira in there when Lagann arrives at high velocity. This is a hybrid of the display of willpower scene when Simon drills through metal to earn he respect of the Dai-Gurren-dan and when he saves Nia from Guame, two very emotional scenes combined to awesome effect (Yoko has a flashback of Kamina talking about Simon’s power at the same time, too). Meanwhile, Viril, thinking the Gurren is piloted by Kamina, is kicking it and the actual Roshu to the curb, and Adiane has boarded the Dai-Gurren-dan ship and is beating down Yoko in hand-to-hand combat. Yoko is looking sexy and very cool in this sequence, and takes down Adiane only after losing her bra and pulling a hidden pistol from her loosed hair. She then is saved by more members of the Dai-Gurren-dan, who provide her with a customized gunmen of her own. The Dai-Gurren-dan, which has been made a lot cooler with more developed characters since their first entrance as the men of Ritona, all scream out their names individually and say together, “Who do you think we are?”

The Big Four join form the ridiculous hodgepodge Dotenkaizan, but Simon joins with Roshu to revive Gurren Lagann. He explains that he is not Kamina but Simon, but his brother lives in him. Together with all the guns from the Dai-Gurren-dan, Simon makes an enormous Giga Drill Breaker and destroys all four components of Dotenkaizan in one shot. Only the pitiable Viril remains, without his compatriots or his rival Kamina. Again, this is all very cool and entertaining, but the slow development of Simon and Gurren Lagann as they evolve defeating the Big Four one by one, all that is swept away in a hectic one-shot battle royal where Simon jumps from zero to hero. The catharsis goes so far as to be his solution for Kamina, too, as finding the courage to save Nia and be himself convinces Simon that Kamina lives in him. Even skeptics, however, will likely be convinced by the power of the scene where Simon scales the gunman to save Nia. That determination and awkwardness is so great to see, and it is vastly improved from the TV series. One can believe seeing this kid that he found himself, won respect and inspired a repressed world. All the scenes of him failing to be a decent leader and stepping aside for Kitan are downplayed this way, a welcome change. Simon visits Kamina’s grave with Nia, and her tears of joy and the silhouette of Gurren Lagann are a moving end to this first installation.

With the end of the movie changed so much, it is hard to imagine what will come next in the “Rasenhen” (Spiral Edition). There is no more Big Four, but in the after credits Lordgenome promised to show humans the true face of fear. The ominous proclamation was accompanied but a shot of a giant gunmen shaped like an evangelion in his palace. The story has a long way to go, and unexpected turns are guaranteed! This first movie is a definite for fans, and recommended for those wanted to get into the story, but not so interested in the characters.