About this article
You are about to read... facts... on the internet. Not just that, they are facts about Anime, and its littered with information not even present in the show. "But wait, how are they facts? Doesn't the fact that they aren't in the show make them speculation, or worse... opinions?"
Wrong! Back in the year 2007, shortly after the original run of
Gurren Lagann
completed, several of the key staffers from
Gainax
got together to pacify their adoring public. In a Q&A session that would go down in legend, these heroes answered fan questions left and right, giving us canonical insight into the world of our story. From there, the transcript was taken to the desert of
2 Chan,
until a band of pirates shipped it to the murky swamps of
4 Chan.
It was at this point that the infamous writer,
God Len,
found the information, and brought it to the safer sections of the internet, for all to appreciate. Thanks to his noble sacrifice, we can
definitively
know that Viral was a shark-cat-person.
Read on for yourself, but note that the modern day internet archeologists have managed to preserve (and artificially enhance!) what might have otherwise been lost to the flow of time.
What animal is Viral?
Viral is a shark with feline genetics. If you pull out his teeth they grow back.
Why did
Adiane
seem so familiar with
Nia?
Adiane used to play beach volleyball with Nia.
Could
TTGL
exist in normal space?
TTGL could exist in normal space as it creates the Super Spiral Space within itself.
[Editor's note: Wait, what does that mean?]
Why a drill?
Drill is just symbolism for your “soul” and pretty fitting with the theme of the show.
Did
Simon
and Nia 'do it' during the 7 year timeskip?
During the seven year timeskip Simon and Nia did what had to be done.
Is Nia
Genome's
biological daughter?
Nia is the Helix King's biological daughter with a genetically modified beautiful girl from Guamu's harem village.
Why was Kittan in
Yoko's
wedding scene instead of Kamina, even though they were both dead at that point?
We had to be discrete about showing Kamina. And would those two really be happy getting married traditionally?
What happened to Simon after the show ended?
Simon is the current strongest Spiral Warrior in the Universe, he obviously needs to keep his own abilities in check.
Why the star sunglasses?
Star-sunglasses are Simon’s homage to Kittan’s sacrifice.
[Editor's note: YES!]
Was
Kamina
popular with the girls back in Jiiha village?
Just like a high school debut, he's the type to become popular once he gets to the surface. Maybe he realized that instinctively and that's why he wanted to get out. [Fans' conclusion: Kamina died a virgin.] (pwned) The girl with the ponytails in Jiiha village now works as a waitress.
Simon and Nia had some together time before the wedding after the final battle right?
Simon and Nia had exactly 7 days to enjoy time together before the date of the wedding. They went to an island. (Fangirls squee in the back)
[Editor's note: This was confirmed by Nia herself at the end of the
second Gurren Lagann movie]
What age is
Kittan?
Kittan is the same age as Kamina.
Did Simon call the
Helix King
"father"?
In the Helix King's last moment, Simon did think of him as a father figure.
What was Nia doing the seven years time skip?
Nia did nothing other than traveling around the world during the timeskip; pretty much what a real princess would have done.
[Editor's note: Also covered in the second movie. She traveled some, acting as a princess, and attempted to make flowers grow all around the planet.]
How was the final episode?
We thought to conclude it as Simon's story of growing up. Have him be an adult and grow old. We tried to write it to the point that there's nothing else to continue beyond that.
Where does the beginning scene in episode 1 fit into the story?
It hasn't all been written down. Perhaps it fits into everyone's hearts?
(from the audience) A movie?
I'd be happy if someone made it.
[Editor's note: Oh 2007, if only you knew what we do]
Does
Leeron
not age at all?
It looks that way because you're looking at him from a distance. If you get closer, you'll see that he has small wrinkles. And he's that technologically talented. If he could do maintenance on mecha, he can do maintenance on his own face.
Will there be a continuation after this?
The manga is still continuing, there's the novel, and we're thankful that it's being rebroadcasted. It would be nice if someone made it, but it would come to adult talk if the DVDs sell well.
[Editor's note: Shesh, adult talk is boring]
Please tell us about Simon and
Boota's
20-year travels.
Maybe you should ask Simon himself.
On Nia's death
Nakajima (Scriptwriter): In the one week after coming back to Earth, Nia held in her tears and put up with it. As long as she thought "I am Nia!" she should be okay, like if she achieved a recognition of her own existence in the world. Still, after the Anti-Spiral disappeared, it became more like "Huh...? I...am Nia?" as she started doubting her own existence.
Kubota (Key animator): Honestly speaking, I was really depressed after reading the script for the final episode. I thought to my self, "They went through so much just for this?! Isn't it just unfair?!"
Imaishi: "It was still rather hopeful... She should have disappeared right away but she was able to hold on."
Kubota: "I still think they deserved better..."
Nakajima: "Nia decided to let herself go, it was painful for her to keep on living. Besides she didn't wanted Simon to extend her life as it would only bring forth what she fears as the Spiral Nemesis."
"Both Simon and Nia agreed to it and kept to their conviction, so there's no bitterness or sadness."
Ootsuka: "You would feel a lot of empathy for Nia near the end. Nia tried her best the whole time, and thanks to that they were able to defeat the Anti-Spiral, and on top of that, when she was supposed to disappear, she tried her best to continue living up to the wedding ceremony to fulfill her promise (marriage) to Simon from the beginning of the 3rd arc. We understand that everyone wanted to see Simon and Nia have a happy conclusion, but we want you to know that Nia tried really hard."
Originally Gurren Lagann was supposed to be a much more 'loose' sort of show, with more stories like episodes 4 and 6, but they realized it wouldn't be such a big hit like that, and as they continued writing, it got more serious.
Because it's Gainax, they had a scenario planned for a live broadcast version similar to Evangelion just in case. They would all move wooden chopsticks around and have Kamikawa Takaya add a voice.
When Imaishi & Nishigori first thought of the star glasses, they got excited like "Uooo this will surpass Kamina!! He's won!!" but then they saw the comments on Nicovideo and felt cut down.
The epilogue didn't have any character designs and Nishigori just drew it all firsthand.
On Nia & Simon's one week before their wedding.
Nakashima: "She held on with fighting spirit, but any more than that, like one month, and things like her nose or hand would start to disappear and, you know, various things would start to wither."
Also, Simon made Kamina's statue by himself with his own drill.
[Editor's note: Both are brought up in the 2nd movie. While knowing he made the statue makes sense, seeing it in the film just flows wonderfully.]
And done. Feel any different now? Does this knowledge change how you saw any of the characters?
(Thanks again to the hard work
Len
put in, even if it was 2 years ago)
Still hungry for more? Check out these other, lovingly created Gurren Lagann features
But come back tomorrow for when we debate gender swaps in Gurren Lagann: Hot or hot?
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