Now, here’s a show I’ve alluded to before – the whirlwind of illogical, enjoyable energy known as Gurren Lagann. Part of me wants to just jump right in, because it’s that kind of show, but given the contexts I’ve brought it up in before, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least address something of the production history.
You see, Gurren Lagann (Tengen Toppa
Gurren Lagann if you prefer) is, technically, a Gainax anime. But to
an extent that’s like saying the studio behind Nausicaa of the Valley
of the Wind was Topcraft. Which it was. But Nausicaa is largely
considered a Ghibli film because much of the talent that worked on it
went on to become Studio Ghibli. Similarly, while Gurren Lagann was
created under the auspice of Gainax, it is in some respects Trigger
anime #0. Much like you can see many of the themes that would be
endemic in Ghibli’s work (particularly Hayao Miyazaki’s) in Nausicaa,
it’s easy to see that loads of Trigger’s favorite tropes and styles
were first developed here in Gurren Lagann.
So, if at some point in this review, I
mention how an element is very much like Trigger, or even call Gurren
Lagann a Trigger show, know that I am fully aware that it technically
belongs to Gainax, and am speaking more to the fact that many of the
people we think of as Trigger were here too.
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