NoaIzumiGurren Lagann Marathon! Part Ni!
November 17th 2008 13:43
Finally finished it this weekend. The rest of the series lived up to the first episdes, and then some.
I guess I ought to mention that the following contains some SPOILERS. (I often forget. They don't really bother me.)
If you've heard about Gurren Lagann, you've probably heard that the makers do something unusual, plot-wise. The first part deals with humans, who have been banished underground when the story opens, coming up to try and reclaim the surface world. A resistance forms, they fight their enemies, and it winds up in a climactic mecha battle with the Spiral King, humanity's oppressor. Battle is joined, battle is won, humanity returns to the surface. Then, it skips forward seven years, to when surface civilization was been rebuilt and the original resistance fighters have become part of the new government, and they spend the next ten episodes dealing a with a new enemy.
A move like that is risky. Characters change, their appearances change, the voices change. You run the risk of alienating audience members that have bonded with these characters. It's like seeing an old friend after being apart from ten years. You're glad to see him and catch up, and you might even be able to renew the friendship, but it won't ever be the same, because both of you have changed. It's the same here, and a few viewers were undoubtedly lost because of this.
But, for those who stuck around, the payoff was worth it. In the second half, the humans aren't just facing a new enemy, this was the enemy that created the whole original situation in the first place. And, now that the humans have grown used to living peacefully aboveground, they have to mobilize again, which isn't easy. The story really could not have been written any other way.
And the robots are as cool as ever. I read in Otaku USA magazine that the creators were big fans of giant robot anime as kids, and it's pretty obviously true watching this. There are a lot of old school elements in the mechas, the battles, and the theme.
Definitely going on the "To buy" list.
I guess I ought to mention that the following contains some SPOILERS. (I often forget. They don't really bother me.)
If you've heard about Gurren Lagann, you've probably heard that the makers do something unusual, plot-wise. The first part deals with humans, who have been banished underground when the story opens, coming up to try and reclaim the surface world. A resistance forms, they fight their enemies, and it winds up in a climactic mecha battle with the Spiral King, humanity's oppressor. Battle is joined, battle is won, humanity returns to the surface. Then, it skips forward seven years, to when surface civilization was been rebuilt and the original resistance fighters have become part of the new government, and they spend the next ten episodes dealing a with a new enemy.
A move like that is risky. Characters change, their appearances change, the voices change. You run the risk of alienating audience members that have bonded with these characters. It's like seeing an old friend after being apart from ten years. You're glad to see him and catch up, and you might even be able to renew the friendship, but it won't ever be the same, because both of you have changed. It's the same here, and a few viewers were undoubtedly lost because of this.
But, for those who stuck around, the payoff was worth it. In the second half, the humans aren't just facing a new enemy, this was the enemy that created the whole original situation in the first place. And, now that the humans have grown used to living peacefully aboveground, they have to mobilize again, which isn't easy. The story really could not have been written any other way.
And the robots are as cool as ever. I read in Otaku USA magazine that the creators were big fans of giant robot anime as kids, and it's pretty obviously true watching this. There are a lot of old school elements in the mechas, the battles, and the theme.
Definitely going on the "To buy" list.
| 65 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
