Stumbled on this article while surfing the net that’s apparently an announcement on a possible Gurren Lagann movie. Since I don’t comprehend moon runes, I had the ever reliable Hoshi-kun translate it for me, albeit directly, which I will now quote directly from our IM conversation:

TV anime broadcast “Our house`s Inari(Fox Deity)[?]”.
startin` of “pure heart romantica[?]”, currently airing TV anime works, limited edition open works, and all kinds of works will be displayed. Also, there’s a announcement of the forcefully pushed out movie edition “Heavenly breakthrough Grenlagun[?]” on March 10th`s “Newtype” magazine.

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[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=HAAOQHhoyzA]

Not sure if it’s fake but this is supposedly the official trailer for the dubbed version of Gurren Lagann. Having said that, ADV Films(the official licensor) have removed several titles from their website including this the other day, so whether we’ll still see the final product actually being released is a question. Then again, after watching this, I’d rather they not… Still, it was pretty funny. Gainax bounce lawl.

Fuck yeah you are the best OST evar - Anonymous

Well said, Anon, I couldn’t have agreed more. Have been longing for this ever since the recap episode. The opera version of the main theme during Kittan’s sacrifice made the wait even more unbearable, but it’s finally here.

Track List:

DISC 1
1. Sora iro Days
2. UNDERGROUND
3. Minna no Peace
4. happily ever after
5. BREAK THROUGH THE DREAM
6. Trust

DISC 2
1. Rap wa Kan no Tamashii da! Muri wo Toushite Douri wo Kettobasu! Ore Tachi dai Gurren Dan no Theme wo Mimi no Ana Kappo Jitte yo~ Kukiki Yagare!!
2. Mogura wa Mogura no Mama na no ka?
3. Boin VS Boin
4. Gakotsu ni Nacchimatta Kamina no Oyaji ni Yoseru Aika
5. Ookami ga Kita!!
6. BafBaf! Sonna ni Moeru no ga…Suki Kai?
7. Nikopol
8. Tsuki to Hoshi to A-ta-shi
9. Nessa no Areno wo Nukete dai Gurren Dan ga Iku no da
10. Rap wa Kan no Tamashii da! Onore wo Shinjite Ten wo Yubi Sasu Dotou no Otoko. Kamina-sama no Theme wo Mimi no Ana Kappo Jitte yo~ Kukiki Yagare!!
11. “Moe”tte Itai Nandesuka?
12. Omaera Zenin Moete Shimaetsu!!!
13. Gattai Nante Kuso Kurae
14. Mawatte Mawatte Mawatte Mawatte Tetete…
15. Love Conservative
16. Rap wa Kan no Tamashii…… Datta… yo na…
17. The Blue monday e”r”ectrical parade
18. Douda! Ore no Trumpet wa Sugoi Darou!!
19. “Libera me” from hell
20. Omae no XXX de…
21. Omae no XXX de Ten wo Tsuke!

Also, it turned out to be RAW! RAW! FIGHT THE POWER! as opposed to what everyone initially thought, ROW! ROW! FIGHT DA POWA! Damn Elevens and their Engrish, lawl. Available now at the usual sources, so be sure to get it.

I don’t really know what to make of this episode. On one hand, I’m glad we weren’t slapped with a mindfuck ending, but on the other hand, the show left me somewhat underwhelmed as I had expected much more from it.

For the most part, I couldn’t have hoped for a better ending than this, as it was very complete and concluded everything on a high note, although as mentioned, not the way I wanted it too. Sigh.

A run through of the finale:

First half was a mind imploding final duel between the titular Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann against the Anti Spiral, which is revealed to be an entity of like-minded beings that share a single consciousness. The battle takes place on, wait for it, a galaxy. That’s right, two galactic sized monstrosities fighting one another on top of a plane consisting of stars and planets, which shouldn’t sound too odd at this point, considering the nature of this show, where laws of physics do not exist.

For this clash, our heroes throw everything they’ve got at the enemy, each whipping out their individual specialty, be it Yoko’s high powered anti-Ganmen rifle, Viral’s longsword or Attenborough’s missle barrage, although it does little to subdue their foe. All seems lost until the fight takes them to the galaxy where Earth is, in which the inhabitants witness the epic struggle their saviors are putting up against the Anti Spiral, cheering them on.

This prompts Lord Genome to make his final stand, as he separates himself from the main body of the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann(TTGL), and along with Lazengann, he absorbs a direct blast from the enemy. He in turns it into raw spiral energy which is then channeled through the TTGL, causing it to go into overload mode, spawning drills from every part of its body.

A case of now or never, Simon lunges head on at the Anti Spiral and deals the final blow with the minute Lagann, after every evolution of the Gurren Lagann was resisted by the enemy’s defenses. With its imminent defeat, the Anti Spiral parts with a request asking Simon to protect the universe.

With a massive explosion that signals the end of the Anti Spiral, everyone back home cheers for their heroes, with Rossiu informing them that Spirals throughout the galaxy are cheering them on as well, as proof of the number of allies they have gained along the way.

The Dai Gurren Brigade returns triumphant and the long overdue marriage between Simon and Nia takes place, although their joy was shortlived, as being a virtual lifeform created by the Anti Spirals, she begins to dissipate into nothingness, telling Simon that she loves him. Taking with him Kamina’s cape and the ring he gave Nia, Simon bids farewell to everyone and entrusts everything to Rossiu.

20 years on, we see the future, possible only through the liberation our heroes had fought for so hard, where an aged Rossiu is talking to Leeron on the differing ideals of different Spirals, when Simon’s name was brought up. Leeron then tells Rossiu that Simon is watching from afar. Next is Yoko, who is now the headmistress of the very same school she taught ages ago, listening to a transmission to the now grown up Nakimu, who is now a Grappal pilot under Darry and Gimmy’s guidance. We then see Viral, who is now captain of the Chouginga Gurren Lagann leaving for another galaxy as Earth’s representative. Night falls and a little boy struggling to crack open a coconut with his drill is approached by a cloaked man who teaches him the proper way to do it. The now impressed kid is amazed, prompting the man to utter a familiar line that goes “Who do you think I am” although he stops midway as the boy is no longer paying attention to him. The man then realizes he now indeed nobody and joins the boy in watching several Grappals launch. The boys tells the man of his dreams of one day joining them as he describes how all the lights of heaven are actually stars. This man is none other than Simon, who reveals his face, with Boota still loyally by his side. The end.

Damn it. Gainax left me in absolute despair when they killed Nia off right after her wedding and turning the man who challenged and defeated a God-like being into a homeless bum. Why couldn’t they have made the epilogue the same as the first 5 minutes of episode 1 instead? Hopefully, this matter will somehow be addressed in the rumored OVA, which I really hope provides an alternate ending of some kind. Whatever the case may be, this show has now become one of my all time favorites, with its magnificent animation quality and story which escalated exponentially from just plain decent to epic proportions in such a small period of time. Couple this with its memorable characters and often a times uplifting and inspiring moments and you’ve got the contender for the best anime of this year. Thank you Gurren Lagann, it has been a splendid journey. Shin out.

This is one of those anime episodes that had me holding back the tears. I didn’t think there was anything that could top the previous episode of the 40% arc, but damn, this is not only the best episode of the arc yet, but the entire series itself, and for once, an epic battle scene had nothing to do with it.

The episode kicks off with Simon finally managing to activate the Chouginga Gurren-Lagann’s humanoid form, which looks awesome, to say the least. And being the (possibly) final form, he turns the tables to his favor and wipes out every Anti Spiral ship without so much as breaking a sweat.

Right after disposing every foe in sight, the Anti Spiral finally shows itself(?) and warns Simon of the dangers of using the Spiral Power as it would lead to total oblivion, and this shocks Simon almost to a point of breakdown, as he instinctively realizes that the enemy if telling the truth. Even so, Lord Genome restores Simon’s fighting spirit as he mentions that while what the Anti Spiral said was true, the fact Nia was waiting patiently for him is also the truth.

Displeased with the outcome, the Anti Spiral sends the entire crew into a trance like state where they are stuck in a parallel dream world cum alternate universe and have no chance of recovering. Just as the Anti Spiral is about to finish Lord Genome off, Boota leaps into the crossfire, and instead of disintegrating into mere particles, he undergoes a transformation of sorts and turns into the humanoid form fans have been speculating since episode 1, albeit in a child form.

The Anti Spiral is taken aback by Boota’s sudden metamorphosis only to realize it was the source of the strange Spiral energy it has been detecting earlier. Just as the Anti Spiral confirms this, Boota lunges at his foe and attempts to strike it down, but it proves futile as he is also succumbed to the trance like state. We shift focus to Simon, who in a dream world, is living a somewhat decent life with Kamina, although they were nothing but a bunch of petty criminals stealing from the Beastmen to survive. How unsightly! The duo is soon arrested, and Kamina pleads for his own life, like a spineless coward. Ugh. Simon is somewhat dazed attempts to reach out for his drill, which is usually tied around his neck, only to realize it’s not there. Then from nowhere, another Kamina appears before him and tells Simon his drill had always have been in his heart and nowhere else. Simon becomes aware of his surroundings and the fake world crumbles apart, and he is returned to his adult form.

The remainder of this sequence had me holding back the aforementioned tears, as the BGM kicks in. We are then shown the alternate worlds the remainder of the crew in, with Yoko seeing herself living in a life that could have been, if she wasn’t fighting this war, a celebrity and married to Kittan(wtf!) through a television set, in which Kamina is changing the channels, each with its own scenario. Yoko then also comes to a realization and thanks Kamina and proceeds to join Simon break free of the trance like state. And so, each of the crew members proceed to free themselves from their comatose state. I think I had a tear in my eye when we got to see Viral’s happy world, where he wishes for nothing more than just having a family with his wife, who incidentally looks like Princess Zelda of the Zelda games fame. Just wow.

And so, with everyone back to their own selves, the crew proceeds to the nemesis’ domain on their quest to end this once and for all, just in time too, as Nia is slowly being drained by the Anti Spiral.

What will befall our heroes? Will Nia be able to survive the ordeal and live happily ever after with her knight? Will Gainax screw us over and give us a mindfuck ending? Tune in next time for the finale of TENGEN TOPPA GURREN-LAGANN! Shin out.

Kiyoh’s kid eventually grew up on Earth. As nightfall approached, the stars would glow brighter than ever, since Kiyoh moved out of the bright Kamina City to escape the raucous involved with city life. Her child would look out of their cabin, up at the twinkling stars, the vast sky containing a new world the child couldn’t even begin to fathom.

She would excitedly stare into the starry night and ask, “Why do the stars twinkle?”
Kiyoh would smile and laughingly reply, “That’s the fighting spirit of the ones fighting for our future.”

Her daughter would slowly tilt her head to one side and inquire, “How far away are the stars, Mommy?”
Kiyoh would gently take a glimpse at the sky and say, “Far, far away. The lights from the stars take years to rea-”

And as she spoke, a star began to fall. One at first. Then two at once. Then two that appeared to be stuck to each other. Stars continued to streak throughout the sky, disappearing into the black night, their warm aura gradually fading into black. Seconds passed, and the stars continued to fall in greater amounts.

The child beamed at the sky, exclaiming, “Look Mommy! The stars! They’re falling…”

A raindrop plopped on her head. Lightly touching her hair where the raindrop landed, she looked up to her mother. Her mother was glaring into the night sky, her eyes desperately and silently pleading to the stars. She should have known years ago, but she refused to believe her instincts, and she silenced her inner cries and warnings until now. As tears were rolling down her face, she asked, “Do… do you remember Uncle Kittan?”

The child gave returned an odd look at first, in confusion of her mother’s tears. She was unsure of what to say, but she eventually stammered out a, “N-n…no…”

Kiyoh kneeled down, hugged her child, gasping for breath in between cries of sorrow. She planted her face into her child’s hair, her tears matting the hair upon her face. Glancing up to the sky again, she saw the largest star in the sky fade away. And in her mind, she saw the greatest star, the King Kittan, slowly fade away as well. - Anonymous

Being the first part of Gainax’s now infamous 40% arc a.k.a Final Arc, it would seem after holding back so long, they finally pulled out their trademark genocide card and killed off several characters, all at one go. The team ventures into no man’s territory, which turns out to be a segment of space which they have total control over(oh shi-)

WTF?!

Oh.

Right after the encounter with a 3D projection of a very nude Nia who is obviously being tortured(drool), our heroes engage in a battle against the Anti Spiral’s main forces, consisting of human-ligament-shaped airships that have faces on them. Spooky.

Mankind’s only hope.

And then, the inevitable. After experiencing a suspiciously easy bout with the enemy, the team was caught off guard and some of the Gurren Brigade’s finest were killed in combat, excluding the Grappal rookies of course, since they’re essentially cannon fodder >_> Despite knowing they were going to die anyway, Zoushi, Kidd and Ailac never once faltered and faced their fate without an ounce of fear. As for Makken, and the twins Jougan and Barinbou, they sacrificed themselves to save the rest of the crew. Manly tears were shed.

RIP Gurren Brigade’s Finest.

Of course, their sacrifice was not in vain and Simon took the time bought, to gather enough spiral energy to merge with the Cathedral Terra. Unfortunately he could not unite with the latter in time, as a sudden attack from the Anti Spirals sent the entire vessel crashing…into…an ocean…in…space? Wow.

Obligatory manly power-up scene.

WTF?! (Again)

That concludes part 1 of 40%. Although it was sad to see the some of the crew perish like that, I guess it was unavoidable. Also, I was really impressed with the way they portrayed the Anti Spirals; enigmatic sentient beings that can bend time and space itself. Woot. Shin out.