Gurren-Lagann: The Final Arc, the Current Decade

Apologies to Shiro for posting this before his episode review.

There’s a hypothesis going around that each arc of the recently-finished Gurren-Lagann pertains to an era or decade of giant robot animation. I subscribe to this belief in a rather loose manner, seeing as how actual time tends to bleed and blur the borders and that people don’t all of a sudden decide to start thinking differently when a 9 becomes a 0, but the basic layout is this.

Episodes 1-8: The 70s, the original super robot era. (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo)
Episodes 9-15: The 80s, when things got more serious, when characters became deeper. (Gundam, Macross)
Episodes 17-22: The 90s, when perception was changed, things brought into question. (Evangelion)

If this is the case, then the current decade is the basis behind episodes 23-27. However, with nothing for Gainax to “reference” they can only instead try to give their own message, teach their own lesson, show their own influence.

I think what Gainax is trying to say with these final episodes is that giant robot animation, and perhaps animation in general, should not stagnate, should not feel content simply looking to the past or paying reverence to it.

The Anti-Spirals were a race with Spiral who decided to stop their own evolution for the sake of preserving the universe, preserving what already existed. They decide to remain forever unchanging, afraid of what it might do. This is why they lost to Simon and the rest of the Dai-Gurren-Dan. They were able to kick reason to the curb, they were able to pierce the heavens, they were not afraid of change. This is Gainax’s message to everyone, both viewers and creators.

Factor on top of this the Anti-Spiral’s drawing-like appearance, clearly designed to make the viewer aware that it is in fact a drawing.

And yes, I know it seems odd for Gainax to be leaving us this message while they’re redoing Evangelion yet again, but even that’s not over yet. We may very well be seeing the perfect compliment in Renewal of Evangelion for the message given here in the final arc of Gurren-Lagann.

by SDS