Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Gainax, 2007, completed) So the other day, I decided to give this show another shot. Reason being, I overheard some loser at college talking about it last week, just going on and on about how awesome he thought it was, and that it's the greatest show of all time, et cetera. And with every word he spoke, the larger the pit in my stomach grew. It genuinely upsets me when people have shit taste in public, to the extent that I had fleeting thoughts of just going up and slapping him across the fucking face, just to let him know what's what.

To fuel my hatred, I started watching the show from the beginning again, just to remind myself of why I hated it so much, because it had been awhile. And while, by the time I finished, I had fully intended to write up that big long hatepost I've been promising for some time now, I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that I actually can't do such a thing anymore.

Because after having finished my rewatch last night—and I can't bullshit you guys, that's not what I'm hear to do—something just... clicked. I seriously don't know what the fuck I was missing the first couple times I watched this, but for whatever reason, it all just makes sense to me now. This is, by far, one of the deepest, most intelligent, and honest-to-god entertaining shows I've ever seen. A complete turnover from what I used to think of it in the past.

Trust me, if you need help understanding just how this change of heart happened, look no further than episode 4—my personal favorite, and the episode where things really start to pick up, in my opinion. Not only do we have some immaculate art and animation in this episode, it's also the part where the characters really start becoming more fleshed out and likable, and you really start feeling like you're part of the team. It's like you're actually there and stuff. And uh, HELLO? Can we talk about those fucking EPIC giant robot fights? I dare you to spell "epic" without mentioning any of those fights. My favorite thing about them is that they're all VERY cool and VERY epic.

But of course, you guys know me—I'm not just into the mindless action. I need my clever writing, smartly-designed characters, and philosophical food for thought, too, because I need to fool myself into thinking I'm smarter than I am sometimes. And upon further inspection, this show offers that in spades. Just LOOK at this characterization.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of Tolstoy eating his heart out.

I know I've always said that Yoko has always sort of been the postergirl for literally everything I hate about not just anime, but life itself? But I think you guys could all tell that was bullshit. Deep down, she was always my favorite thing about the show, by far, and she's honestly the primary reason I even kept watching in the first place. And can you blame me? She's just such a great character, with one of the coolest and—dare I say—sexiest designs of all time.

My absolute favorite thing about her is that Imaishi demanded the animators to draw her (a 14-year-old girl, canonically) as erotically as possible, which leads me to my biggest overall complaint about the show—I don't think there was enough boob gags. That's really something that this show needed a lot more of. More boob gags. I feel like if there was just three or seven more, this really would've been the first show to get a perfect rating from me. But alas, I suppose I can't ask for too much. Still an amazing show, and my new favorite.

Peace out, Devilman. You were just a passing fad anyway. ROW ROW, FIGHT THE POWAH!

9/10

Spoiler

you April fools