Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars: A Review

Tags: Anime and Manga Reviews, Gurren Lagann

The Lights in the Sky Are Stars

Simon and the Dai-Gurren brigade must go to the far reaches of space seven years after the Spiral King was vanquished in order to confront a new menace and rescue the universe. Simon and his team are poised to engage in their final pivotal conflict.

What is Gurren Lagann?

The series mainly centers on two kids. Kamina and Simon, two boys who were reared in the same underground hamlet, are the subject of Gurren Lagann. While they shared a common origin, they had very different personalities.
Simon was timid and introverted and had no ambitions, whereas Kamina was outgoing and ambitious. They discover an ancient relic one day that had the code to a war device, which they call Lagann.

Who are the Main characters in Gurren Lagann?

Simon
Kamina
Yoko Littner
Nia Teppelin

Who Created Gurren Lagaan?

Tengen Toppa, also known as Gurren Lagann in Japan is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Aniplex and Konami based on the manga series of the same name. The manga series had a total of 10 volumes divided into Gurren Lagann 65 chapters. (Japanese:, Hepburn: Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan, lit. “Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann”) is animated by Gainax. 27 episodes were aired between April and September 2007 on TV Tokyo. Veteran dramatist Kazuki Nakashima wrote it, and Hiroyuki Imaishi directed it.

The plot is as follows:

In the imaginary future, Lordgenome, the Spiral King, commands people to live in solitary underground settlements. Simon and Kamina, two teens who reside in a subterranean hamlet and long to leave it, are the main characters of the story. Simon and Kamina use the Lagann mecha to travel to the surface, where they join forces with other people to battle Lordgenome’s armies before facing their real foe.

The series produced two animated films:

Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End
Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars

Who Created Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars?

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars (known in Japan as 劇場版天元突破グレンラガン螺巌篇 (Gekijōban Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan Ragan Hen) or Film Version Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: The Spiral Stone Chapter), or simply Lagann-hen, is the second Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann movie and the sequel to Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End. It is based on the second half of the series, from episodes 15 through 27.

That plot is as follows:

Simon the digger, who is still young, has already accomplished a great deal: he has left his deep settlement, taken control of the enormous robot Gurren-Lagann, and vanquished the oppressive Spiral King. The planet’s surface is once more a secure place to dwell, and the inhabitants of the underground move quickly to populate it by erecting enormous cities equipped with cutting-edge technology.

But seven years later, humanity suffers an unimaginable catastrophe as a result of the mysterious Anti-Spirals, whose advanced technological development has awoken.

Nia, Simon’s sweetheart, is abducted by the Anti-Spirals without prior notice, and they also threaten to wipe off all life on the planet by raining disaster down on its surface. Simon, who is now in prison and discredited, must get over his remorse, reunite with some of his former foes, and go beyond Gurren-Lagann’s capabilities in order to save the Earth, if not the entire universe.

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars Official Trailer

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars Movie Info

Genre: Sci-fi, Animation
Original Language: Japanese
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 7, 2017
Runtime: 2h 21m
Production Co: Gainax

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars Cast and Crew

Masayuki, Voice
Hiroyuki Imaishi, Voice
Osamu Kobayashi, Voice
Tadashi Hiramatsu, Voice
Yasuyuki Honda, Voice
Shin Itagaki, Voice
Ryuichi Kimura, Voice
Tetsu Kimura, Voice
Ayumu Kotake, Voice
Tetsuji Nakamura, Voice
Katsuichi Nakayama, Voice
Ken Ootsuka, Voice
Masahiko Otsuka, Voice
Kikuko Sadakata, Voice
Hiroyuki Imaishi, Director
Kazuki Nakashima, Series Composition
Kazuki Nakashima, Masahiko Otsuka, Shouji Saeki, Kurasumi Sunayama, and Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Script
Shouji Saeki and Hiroyuki Yamaga, Unit Director
Taku Iwasaki, Music
Atsushi Nishigori, Character Design
Yuka Hirama, Art Director
Yoh Yoshinari, Mechanical design
Toru Nakano, Sound Director
Toyonori Yamada, Director of Photography
Takami Akai, Eiichi Kamagata and Yasuhiro Takeda, Producer
Bandai Entertainment, License

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars: Review

Scenes

In the first scene of the second film, Lord Genome’s previous adventures as a spiral warrior are briefly reviewed. Although this was not covered in the original series, a music video from one of the parallel works gave it a more in-depth examination.

There isn’t much to say about this because it merely illustrates what is previously known about Lord Genome. It’s also not all that dissimilar from the battle with Lord Genome and Simon/Nia. When a montage of human evolution takes place, the genuine disparities begin to become apparent.

A few new scenes that have been included here help to further explain how far humanity has come. It conveys a positive message that now the spiral king has been vanquished, everything is well. It’s amazing how quickly humanity was able to advance, developing new technologies here and there. Naturally, this illusion is busted not too long after, but before that, something interesting occurs.

Characters

Writing letters to the deceased Kamina greatly enhances Nia’s character. After Kamina, who had just passed away, was introduced to the show, Nia took her place as Simon’s new source of inspiration. She motivates Simon in a unique way because she is someone that only he is familiar with.

Because Nia didn’t know Kamina, her letters to him are so distinctive. We get to see the famed Kamina from the viewpoint of an outsider. In her first letter to Kamina, Nia mainly summarizes what happened, but this also reveals her perspective. She is unsure if the city that bears his name lives up to its moniker.

Nia describes how wonderful everything is in the city, but she is unsure if it is sufficient. She was never acquainted with Kamina, never saw him suffer, and was never aware of the boundaries of humanity. She has no choice but to aim higher.

After the battle, Nia accepts her fate in a final letter to Kamina. She informs him that she will wed Simon. Simon and she have a kiss, but shortly after, Nia pixelates and perishes. While Nia took Kamina’s place, she developed into her own individual.

She almost managed to hang on long enough to have one last happy moment before realizing the limits of humanity. Nia has gone a long way, but that is all she can do. It is up to humanity as a whole, not just any one person, to advance.

General Appreciation

Gurren Lagann is a world where death is permanent, despite the fact that life can be restored. In life, some things shouldn’t be changed, regardless of how far humanity has advanced, and Simon in particular is aware of this.

More people survive in the film, but that’s okay because they didn’t perish. This time, they lived organically, so they continue to exist. Although they die and are not revived in the original series, there is no issue with them surviving now. There is no reason to modify how things organically transpire because that is how they are.

There isn’t anything new to discuss in the remaining portions of the film because they are so similar to the original series. Despite having the same main plot, Gurren Lagann’s themes are greatly enhanced by the small deviations.

Although the notion of Nia sending letters is fantastic and helps to further develop her character, it is not necessary to watch the movie before the series. However, because they follow the series, the other modifications go further with the themes.

TTTGL and Less Character Deaths both build on ideas from the original series, which is why they succeed so well. This is the real reason Gurren Lagann is unbeatable because it surpasses itself.

How Should You Watch Gurren Lagann?

TV Series

Gurren Lagann (2007)

II. Movies

Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End (2008)
Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars (2009)

III. OVAs

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ore no Gurren wa Pikka-Pika!! (2007)

IV. Specials

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Parallel Works (2008)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Mitee Mono wa Miteen da!! (2008)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Kirameki★Yoko Box – Pieces of Sweet Stars (2009)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Parallel Works 2 (2010)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Movie: Lagann-hen Special – Viral no Amai Yume (2018)

Where Can You Watch Gurren Lagann?

You can watch on:

Where to Watch Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars

Where to Watch Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End

You can watch Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End on:

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Published on: October 1, 2023

Author: Lolita Rogers

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