Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann



""Go Beyond the Impossible, and kick reason to the curb! That's the Team (Dai-)Gurren way!""

- Kamina

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (roughly "Heaven-Piercing Crimson Face") is what happens when Studio Gainax is asked to create a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

Lonely orphan Simon (pronounced "SHI-mon" in Japanese and "SEE-mon" in the dub) lives in an underground village, digging for ancient artifacts and eating pigmoles. His self-appointed big brother, Kamina, is a hot-headed idiot who dreams of going to the "Surface" as his father did (despite the village elder constantly saying the "Surface" doesn't exist).

Then Simon discovers a strange drill-shaped key -- and, soon after, a pint-sized mecha which responds to the key.

Taking his "brother" to see it, they're interrupted by (in turn) the village elder, the roof of the village collapsing, a massive bestial robotic head, and Yoko, a woman with a very big gun and very little clothing firing at said beast-mecha -- a "Gunmen".

Thus begins a rollercoaster ride of Fan Service, over-the-top fight scenes between mecha, hot-bloodedness, epic sunglasses, massive Badassery, and mind-blowing heroism. The show is loads of fun and doesn't take itself seriously at all. Don't try reading any science into the show; common theory (and near Word of God) says its Universe is governed by Rule of Cool and Rule of Funny. On Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness, Gurren Lagann ranks as one of the softest.

There are two Compilation Movies (with new scenes to help tie things together and provide movie-original climaxes): Gurren-hen ("Crimson Lotus Chapter", titled as Childhood's End outside of Japan) and Lagann-hen ("Spiral Stone Chapter", similarly titled The Lights in the Sky Are Stars). There are also three manga: one is a slightly altered version of the anime, another is a hilariously awesome High School AU, and the third is set in an Alternate Universe focusing on Simon and Nia. A Buddy Cop Show Fan Comic by the name of Double K also exists -- and it is glorious.

Gurren Lagann was originally licensed by ADV Films, but was later lifted from their license list and given to Bandai. The English dub -- under the title Gurren Lagann -- began showing in America on Sy Fy right before Now and Then Here and There and MD Geist.

The entire series is legally available on YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu... at least in the United States and Canada. (On Netflix, it's only available in the US and UK.)

Oh, one more thing: this show is highly quoteable.

Late Arrival Spoiler Warning (PLEASE READ): Gurren Lagann was wildly popular on the Internet during its original broadcast in Japan and the months following its end, and said popularity led to Troper Critical Mass (and the insanely long -- and detailed -- page you are about to read). Most of the spoilers below are marked as such, but quite a few aren't. If you possess any interest in seeing the series for yourself without any spoilers, don't scroll down the page. Don't even Google the series name or check out the subpages. The only way to truly enjoy this show spoiler-free is to watch it using the links above!

A-H

 * The Abridged Series: Of particular note is Gurren Lagann The Satire which somehow manages to make the series even more epic. This is partially due to the fact that the creator has access to what amounts to a book from Gainax called the "Word of God Data Collection" that allows him to take advantage of creator footnotes.
 * Abusing the Kardashev Scale For Fun and Profit: And boy, does it get abused. Thanks to Spiral Power, Humanity starts out as pretty much Type -1, then goes to Type 0 in 7 years. They then go from Type 0 to Type 4+ in a few days! Finally, they "settle down" to Type 1 after the final fight, using more power as necessary but mostly limiting it.
 * Action Dress Rip: Yoko, when she needed to rescue a little kid stuck in a tree
 * Action Girl: Yoko. She starts out being Overshadowed by Awesome but things get better for her soon.
 * Adaptation Distillation: By shoehorning the battles with the Four Generals into the last half hour of the first movie and giving different parts to different characters, the story is more streamlined and the film ends with an epic battle.
 * The second movie crunches twelve episodes into two hours, and somehow makes it work.
 * Adaptation Expansion: The manga adds in a few additional scenes not found in the anime. Such as how Nia wound up in the box that Simon would later find. And a converstation between Thymilph and Adiane thats gives a little insight to their relationship.
 * There's even an additional bit before the final battle of the first half about.
 * Advantage Ball: Prevalent since, thanks to Spiral Energy, confidence is combat ability. Except for wild cards like the Mugann, the Ball is in the court of whoever is delivering a Badass Boast at the moment.
 * Aerith and Bob: For example, there's Simon, and then there's Kamina.
 * Affectionate Parody: Not only are the heroes Determinators, as they would be in a bona fide Super Robot show, but they can also win literally on pure determination.
 * A Form You Are (Un)Comfortable With:
 * After the End
 * All Deaths Final: Spoilers, of course
 * All Men Are Perverts: Played with. Kamina believes voyeurism to be 'the height of the male soul' (and Simon at least goes along ).
 * All Your Powers Combined: The Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
 * In the movie,
 * Animation Bump: Episode 15 (the end of the first half) looks like a movie version compared to everything we had seen before, especially Gurren Lagann's flight-to and fight with Teppelin's hand and the battle with Lordgenome. Add it half the episode is evening colored instead of the usual bright daytime.
 * The movies also have this, and to a larger extent than the TV show. The first film gets a massive animation bump beginning with, which lasts all the way to the film's credits. The second film contains an even better (and more beautiful) Animation Bump when the fight between   elevates into a fight between.
 * The second episode gets an animation bump DOWNWARDS, when Kamina and Simon charge at the Gunzan, which only makes the entire scene even more awesome.

"Simon: You know [Yoko]'s fourteen, right?
 * Anime First
 * Antagonist in Mourning: Viral can't help but feel sad for  death. Or he's just upset that he's been losing to a little kid all this time; he cheers up when he begins to think of Simon as a Worthy Opponent post-timeskip.
 * Anti-Villain: Lordgenome
 * Anyone Can Die: To a more limited degree than other series, though. dies, and so do a bunch of other characters
 * Apocalypse How: Pre-timeskip Earth is a class 2.
 * Apocalypse Maiden:
 * Applied Phlebotinum: Spiral Power.
 * Arc Words: "Yours is the drill that will pierce the Heavens!"
 * Armor-Piercing Question:  insists that she is a virtual lifeform with no emotional ties to her past. Simon counters with: "If that's really true, why are you still wearing that ring?" This brings about the conclusion of the "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight and   transition from Manchurian Agent to Distressed Damsel.
 * Art Shift: Nia's paper-cutout flashback in Episode 11. Also, the animation switches to a light, heavily sketchy style during times of extreme hot-bloodedness along with Lordgenome most of the time, whether the rest of the shot is sketchy or not, . Also, the art style changes noticeably in episode 4 due to having a different director.
 * Artistic Age: Kamina is supposed to be about 17 or 18 (which he does look), but Simon is supposed to be fourteen and Yoko is supposed to be around the same age (likely a bit older than Simon). This is lampshaded in the background material by claiming that, without the sun, most of the villages lost the ability to tell time, so no one really knows how old anyone is.
 * Lampshaded in The Abridged Series:
 * Lampshaded in The Abridged Series:

Kamina: LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!"

""I'm Simon. Dai-Gurren Birgade's Leader, Simon the Digger. If you become a wall that stands in our way, I'll tear open a hole and break through every time! That is...my drill!""
 * Ascended Meme: In Super Robot Wars Z2, you can get Kamina's shades as an equippable item. They give +20 to starting morale.
 * A lesser example: though "Beyond The Impossible" is quite a popular translation of Kamina's catchphrase, no official translation uses it. However, on the blurb for its compilation DVD release of the two movies, Madman Entertainment wrote: "Go beyond the impossible with this Gurren Lagann movie bundle [...]", as a nod to the popularity of that alternate translation.
 * Assimilation Plot:
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: Thymilph, Lordgenome and the all succeed in doing major damage to Team Dai-Gurren.
 * Lordgenome  'nuff said.
 * Autobots Rock Out: Viral's Leitmotif is highly badass heavy metal.
 * Awesome but Impractical: Filled to the brim with this, but it's later played with: Due to the way that Spiral Energy works, the more awesome something is, the more practical it is.
 * Awesomeness Is Volatile: And of course,
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: Kidd and Iraak,.
 * Badass: Just about the entire stinkin' cast! Kamina takes it to Refuge in Audacity levels.
 * Badass Boast: The reputation of Team Gurren echoes far and wide across Giha village! When they talk about its badass leader, that paragon of indomitable spirit and masculinity... they're talkin' about THE MIGHTY KAMINA!!
 * Simon gives us this gem:

"Nia: Even when trapped by karma's cycle,
 * Done by the entire Dai-Gurren Brigade, and one of the series' CMOAs:

Yoko: the dreams we left behind will open the door!

Leeron: Even if the universe stands in our way,

Viral: our seething blood will determine what will be!

Simon: We'll break through time and space...

All: AND DEFY ALL WHO WOULD STOP US, TO GRAB HOLD OF OUR PATH!

Simon: TENGEN TOPPA, GURREN LAGANN!!!

All: WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?"

""Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!"
 * Badass Cape: Kamina, of course.
 * comes with one made of spiral power.
 * Doubly justified as Word of God has revealed.
 * Badass Creed: Just about all of Kamina's catch phrases could qualify.

Kamina:Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!"

"Kamina: A man's stomach knows no limit! Keep 'em on coming!"
 * Badass Grandpa: Father Magin. Though he may be a humble priest the rest of his time on-screen, as Kamina notes he had enough fighting spirit to get an ancient gunman working and used it to defeat the Monster of the Week (though he still manages to be The Stoic). Also, he got the hang of it pretty well, so he's either an Instant Expert, or he's piloted them before. The dub at least implies Instant Expert, as he said that he just did what felt natural.
 * Badass Family: The Black Siblings; Just watch Kittan Zero if you don't believe this.
 * Badass Longcoat:
 * Badass Normal: Surprisingly enough? Kamina. A Word of God book states that when it comes to comparing Spiral Energy levels across the series, Kamina's is one of the lowest of the cast, which is justified by the fact that most of his bravado is a facade that inspires others and is intentionally invoked to keep people from thinking of him as weak. Kamina, having barely any Spiral Power, yet acts brave and inspiring. That in turn raises Spiral Energy in his allies which then strengthens Kamina himself. Whoa, Kamina the party bard coming through!
 * Badass Teacher: Yoko becomes one after the Time Skip. Do NOT threaten her students. She'll show you that she hasn't lost her sniper skills. If you happen to be a student, watch out for flying chalk that can crack concrete.
 * Badass Adorable: Simon.
 * Bad Bad Acting: The group of women who lure Team Gurren into a trap, in episode 9. They aren't gonna win any Oscars, that's for sure. Of course, the Team Gurren being who they are it works perfectly anyway.
 * Bad Export for You: The US release of Lagann-hen. During the final battle, there are several scenes,  where the animation looks different, and noticably inferior, to the Japanese release.
 * Balloon Belly: Briefly happened to Kamina in Episode 6.

"Kamina: Wait. That guy was in the show?
 * Barbie Doll Anatomy: Averted with  It's either cold in space or Simon kicking every single bit of ass possible makes both Nia and Yoko very happy. You may not notice it due to all the awesome though.
 * Bash Brothers: Simon and Kamina. Later . Kidd and Iraak from Team Dai-Gurren count too, even though we don't see them in action until near the end.
 * Batman Can Breathe in Space
 * Battle-Interrupting Shout: Nia does this twice.
 * The Battlestar: The Dai-Gunzan becomes Team Gurren's mobile fortress "Dai-Gurren" after it's seized from the Beastmen army. It gets an upgrade after the Time Skip when
 * Beach Episode: Used straight and subverted: Most of the girls get the usual treatment...except for Yoko and Nia; the former ends up wearing a swimsuit less revealing than her normal clothes, while the latter does even better with a full body swimsuit. However, it's no Filler episode as it features crucial Character Development and.
 * Beady-Eyed Loser: Simon starts off as one.
 * Beam-O-War: Twice. With drills.
 * Beam Spam: There's a reason why Attenborough is known by fans as "Beam Spam McMuppet".
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Kamina and Yoko, very much so. The bickering, the insults, the beating, the denial, the Accidental Perversion that leds to a beating; its all there. A rare example of this trope being Played for Drama due to certain plot developments.
 * Beneath the Earth: Most of humanity had been forced underground by forces unknown a long time ago. The first part of the series revolves around liberating the repressed humans.
 * The Berserker: The entire cast! Exception: Nia,
 * Berserker Tears: Simon in episode 11.
 * Beyond the Impossible: The Trope Namer as shown by the first quote on that page. The Dai Gurren Brigade has no respect for laws even if they're physical laws.
 * BFG: Yoko's rifle. It's clearly based on the Barrett M82 anti-materiel rifle, a Cool Rifle.
 * BFS: Kamina's katana. Possibly lampshaded in Kamina's on-foot battle with Viral; he spends a good ten seconds drawing the thing.
 * Bicep-Polishing Gesture: Bruce Ironstaunch.
 * Big Brother Mentor: Kamina; although he's not Simon's real brother, he considers himself his soul brother.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Happens all the bloody time.
 * Bigger Is Better:
 * The Gurren Lagann just keeps getting bigger... and bigger... and bigger...
 * Then inverted in that.
 * Big "Never!": By the "final boss" himself in the English dub.
 * Bishounen:
 * Kamina to an extent.
 * Post-timeskip, Simon and Rossiu.
 * Cytomander, although in Cytomander's case it can be easily hidden behind what we might call his "enthusiasm".
 * Bilingual Bonus: The name of Viral's Leitmotif, Nikopol? Apparently it derives from the Greek Nikepolis, which means "City of Victory."
 * Bird Run: The Spiral King's Rasengann does this (strangely, the man himself does not).
 * Bishounen Line: As the Team Dai Gurren mechs get stronger, they begin to get more humanoid, yet monsterous. Justified because, as  explains, the human form is the one most conducive to generating Spiral Power.
 * Bittersweet Ending:.
 * Black Box: Every Gunmen, specifically Gurren Lagann (Well, mostly Lagann. It is over 1000 years old, made by an advanced alien species we know nothing about) has these, and mass-production versions of Gurren Lagann made without these are superior to Lordgenome's old clunky Gunmen, right? Hell No. Apparently, if you make a bunch of Gurren Laganns post-timeskip without the inexplicable ability to summon huge drills from nowhere, that odd, presumably appendix-like engine that allows it to run on Spiral Power, and on top of that replace the Gunmen pilots with a bunch of people who weren't in the original (Dai-)Gurren Brigade, all you get is a Redshirt Army. Go figure.
 * The differences between modified, Gunmen and Grapearls (the aforementioned redshirts) are taken to absurd physics-defying heights in episode 22, where the Grapearls are being utterly annihilated by the mugann, then a squad of about 7 Gunmen show up in a massive Big Damn Heroes moment, and Gurren Lagann kills off hundreds of mugann with sheer force of of awesome, to which the rest of the Gunmen also destroy hundreds of Mugann, in all of two minutes without a scratch, while all the Grapearls could do at first was get shot at.
 * This is actually justified in-episode by Lordgenome, who states that the Gunmen were originally designed to fight Anti-spirals like the Mugann. This makes sense, as the Grapearls were originally designed to fight against other Gunmen, based off of imperfect understanding of the technology of the Spiral Races.
 * Blade Brake: The OVA.
 * BLAM Episode: Even the most devoted spiral warriors in the fandom seem to aggree that episode four is just plain bad.
 * The Blank:
 * Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Nia.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Kamina.
 * Bokukko: The not-particularly-masculine and very enthusiastic Kiyal uses the even more masculine "ore", which really stands out in her very feminine voice.
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: At the end, they realize that.
 * Book Ends:
 * Well, sort of, the technique that was used to defeat the Big Bad.
 * Lagann-hen To make it even better,
 * "All The Lights in the Sky..."
 * The shot just before Simon discovers Lagann in the first episode is of Simon's tunnel spiraling down to a fine point and continuing even farther down straight vertically. The last shot of the series is of Gurren Lagann's flight trail spiraling up into a fine point and continuing farther up straight vertically.
 * Simon.
 * Boss Subtitles:
 * When some of the mightier Gunmen are introduced, along with their pilots.
 * Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann has them as well. And in The Movie version of the Anti-Spiral arc, everyone gets one.
 * Brawler Lock: Simon in Lagann vs Lordgenone... WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!! Also Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann vs the Grand Zamboa.
 * Breaking the Bonds: Done by Kamina in the first episode, as well as Lordgenome in the 15th.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Done in the Hot Springs Episode in reference to the censoring blur on the female naked apes of Team Gurren. Kamina points it out, and is overall confused by it. That's right folks, Team Gurren really does live up to their theme and "breaks the unbreakable".
 * From the same episode's Clip Show segment, when it gets to Viral's first appearance...

Simon: Huh? You forgot him already?"

"'Kamina:' "Hey, babe! Come here often?""
 * Painting the Fourth Wall: In the same episode, Darry and Gimmi are notably surprised when the notice Kamina's and Simon's splitscreens appearing above them, and actually begin looking around for where it's coming from.
 * Grand Zamboa does this to end the Dai Gurren Dan's triumphant speech in Lagann Hen.
 * Building Swing: Simon and Yoko do it by sticking the Gurren Lagann's drills on enemy aircraft!.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Several. Leeron is the first to come to mind.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Giga Drill Break is the most famous, but at one point it's parodied as well."HANDS-OFF-MY-BELOVED-LITTLE-BROTHER PUUUUUUUUNCH!" "WHO-THE-HELL-DO-YOU-THINK-I-AM KICK!!!" Also, in the same episode..Finishing Move! PERFECT COMBUSTION OF MANLY SOULS CANNONBALL ATTAAAACK! "MAN ON FIIIIIRE! BLAZING CHARIOT! KIIIIIIIIIICK!!!" MY-WIFE-IS-THE-BEST-IN-THE-UNIVERSE-SWING!!!
 * GIIIHHGAAAAA! DUUUWRIEEEEL! BBBBBRUUUUHEAAAAAKEEEEEEEER!!!
 * Canon Foreigner: The Manga introduces Princess Straea, an elderly abandoned Spiral Princess who runs the all-female village and wants Nia to succeed her post. And had a past with Old Coco.
 * Camp Gay: Leeron. Then we have Leeron's theme tune, "He is so XXX". The following message is spelled out in individual letters: "."
 * Cape Swish: Everyone with clothes past their waist does this at least once. Same goes for any mecha with trailing parts.
 * The Captain: Dayakka, after the team takes command of Dai-Gurren.
 * Cartwright Curse:
 * Cast of Snowflakes: Crowd scenes are impressively detailed, and include quite a few recurring extras. Including Bruce Ironstaunch, if you look hard enough.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: When Yoko makes her first appearance fighting the Gunman that falls in to Jiha Village, what's the first thing that Kamina does? He flirts with her.
 * Cast of Snowflakes: Crowd scenes are impressively detailed, and include quite a few recurring extras. Including Bruce Ironstaunch, if you look hard enough.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: When Yoko makes her first appearance fighting the Gunman that falls in to Jiha Village, what's the first thing that Kamina does? He flirts with her.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: When Yoko makes her first appearance fighting the Gunman that falls in to Jiha Village, what's the first thing that Kamina does? He flirts with her.

"Kamina: A true man never dies, even when he's killed!"
 * Catch Phrase: Kamina has several, all of which border on being Arc Words: "Who the hell do you think I am!?" The Mouth Flaps actually match fairly well from Japanese to English, so WTHDYTIA didn't have to be altered at all. Just so you know, in Japanese it's 俺を誰だと思ってやがる "Ore wo dare da to omotte yagaru?!")
 * Catchphrase Interruptus: WTHDYTIA, the last time it's used in the show.
 * Cephalothorax: The Gunmen.
 * Cerebus Syndrome
 * The Chains of Commanding: Rossiu despairs of them once.
 * Character Development
 * Char Clone: Viral fits this trope, he even  The difference lies in their levels of sheer hot-bloodedness.
 * Chastity Couple: In spite of all blatant Fan Service, Simon and Nia fit this trope perfectly. They just had one on-screen kiss . Although, off screen it has been confirmed that they got it on at least twice.
 * Chekhov's Boomerang: This is even more impressive when you note that  is the same rock that Simon gave Nia in Episode 11.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The Space Gunmen's cascade system, which allows the original Gunman/Grapearl to eject from the larger mech's mouth.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Lagann's ability to combine with other Gunmen crops up several times after it first combines with Gurren. The first time it's used as part of Kamina's plan to hijack the Dai-Gunzan, after which it's mostly forgotten until after the timeskip, when Simon suddenly pulls it out again to
 * It was used during the fight against Lordgenome, who detonated Lazengann's arm to prevent it.
 * It was also used against Cytomander's forces when Gurren Lagann grabbed onto a flying gunman, and spiral-fused it to its back, giving it flight and wings.
 * Also, in the manga, Yoko
 * Chekhov's Volcano
 * Chewing the Scenery
 * Chiaroscuro
 * City in a Bottle: Jeeha, Simon and Kamina's village; Kamina always keeps getting in trouble because he firmly believes in the surface, and the elder doesn't start believing until Yoko and a Gunmen crash through the ceiling.
 * Clap Your Hands If You Believe: The Gunmen, especially Gurren Lagann, pretty much run on the sheer power of belief and hot blood.
 * Clip Show:
 * Episode 16 (and most of 6, in the TV-version), which recap the entire story thus far.
 * The movies are arguably glorified clip shows until the endings.
 * Close-Call Haircut: Nia is being held hostage by an enemy mech, but Yoko destroys it by shooting through Nia's hair.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Nia; at first it seems to come from her sheltered up-bringing but it quite clear she isn't all there in the head when even after 7 years in the outside world she still surprises everyone with her quirky misunderstandings. Simon even remarks he has a hard time understanding what she says.
 * Colony Drop:
 * Combat Breakdown:
 * Simon vs. Lordgenome. Starts with Gurren Lagann vs. Lazengann. Both get trashed.
 * Combat Tentacles:
 * The Anti-Spiral and his personal mech. Naturally, they're drills.
 * Adiane's mech also displays this when she first shows up.
 * Combined Energy Attack: Signified when everyone on Earth sports a Determined Look.
 * Combining Mecha:
 * Parodied when Kamina tries to accomplish this by just sticking Simon's mecha on top of his own, only to have it work anyway..
 * Further parodied in the manga adaptation, where Kamina gets it in his head that Lagann Gurren: Gurren on top, Lagann on the bottom. might work. It doesn't.
 * In the Compilation Movie.
 * In addition to being a combination of every mecha/spaceship it has fused with to this point, the eponymous mecha also includes, each piloted by a team member.
 * In Lagann-Hen
 * Comes Great Responsibility: The last part of the show seems to carry this message to a great extent.
 * Coming of Age Story
 * Commedia Dell Arte Troupe: The entire cast fits just fine in the High School AU. Or in a Buddy Cop Show. Observe.
 * Conspicuous CG:
 * Pay close attention to episode 8 as Dai-Gurren is about to throw Gurren Lagann. It's arms are computer-generated, but they're cleverly blended into the scene in split-second animation.
 * Contrived Coincidence: Needed for the Diabolus Ex Machina moment and lampshaded with little more than the affected character shouting WHAT A TWEEEEEST!. This actually supposed to be part of the thematic development in the show.
 * Conveniently Cellmates: Simon is conveniently put in the same cell as Viral.
 * Cool Big Sis: Yoko to everyone.
 * Cool but Stupid: Kamina is filled with this. In the very first episode he attempts to take on a giant robot, and he only gets cooler and stupider from there. Somehow, though, Word of God confirms that Kamina would have won the battle without Yoko or Lagann.
 * Cool Helmet: Gurren Lagann's, stolen from Viral's Gunman, Enki.
 * Cool People Rebel Against Authority: At least until some of those cool people become the Authority after the timeskip, by then its decidely uncool. After that it depends on whether or not you think the Anti-Spiral was a larger authority.
 * Cool Shades: Kamina's are the champion example -- but even the robots and Boota have them.
 * Cool Ship: The Dai-Gunzan/Dai-Gurren, followed by the Arc-Gurren and finally the Cathedral Terra/SuperGalaxy Dai-Gurren.
 * Conservation of Ninjutsu: The Gunmen in season 1 seem to adhere to this, especially with regard to Yoko's rifle: whenever there's one Gunman, her shots barely faze it. When there's an army of them: like in the battle to capture Dai-Gunzan, they're dropping like flies.
 * Corporal Punishment: Adiane beats up on an already injured Viral for his failure against the heroes. It's rather painful to watch.
 * Corrupt Church:
 * Partially subverted; the religion of Rossiu's village is faked, but only to Shoot the Dog when it's honestly necessary.
 * Though after the Time Skip, Rossiu seems to be reverting somewhat to the patterns of this phony faith, as Simon points out.
 * Crazy Enough to Work: If smashing a small robot into a big robots head, almost impaling the pilot of the big robot (who, by the way, was the one who thought of this) in the process is not Crazy Enough to Work, then nothing is. Oh, and they also run a walking, nonflying battleship up a mountain and jump through the air for a good half a mile just to get a chance to kick an Airborne Aircraft Carrier. This universe runs on Rule of Cool, so it was destined to succeed.
 * And when the flying kick only scratches the side of the Airborne Aircraft Carrier? They at once make the captain fling the wheel over in the most exaggerated way possible, turning the flying kick into a flying roundhouse kick that of course succeeds.
 * Cute Bruiser: While she never actually gets to fight hand-to-hand, Nia is freakishly strong, especially given her small size pre-timeskip.
 * Lamarck Was Right: She's the daughter of a man who took on a Mini-Mecha with his bare hands
 * Cute Little Fang: Kiyal.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: Simon, pre-Time Skip, as well as Gimmy both pre and post-Time Skip.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy:, who not only knows how spiral power works but fights the heroes by using scenarios designed to break their will and determination. Except at the end, which is just an excuse for an AWESOME giant robot fight.
 * Dare to Be Badass: Kamina's whole character is pretty much based around providing this sort of motivation to the other characters. Hell, this could be considered basically the entire message of the series, seeing as all the incredibly awesome stuff they accomplish is caused simply by daring to a Badass.
 * Darker and Edgier: The second movie, Lagann-hen, had a run-in with this trope.
 * Death Is a Sad Thing: Many of the characters express regret at the death of.
 * The entire Dai Gurren team in Lagann Hen fights with unmatched fury after the death of
 * Death Is Dramatic: Played as straight as possible.
 * Decon Recon Switch: Up until, this is a deconstruction. It does not take itself seriously, and mocks most of the tropes comprising it. After that event, it bops us over the head, asking us: "Dude, did you not forget that these things are awesome?"
 * The series also deconstructs the Heroic Willpower and Telescoping Robot tropes present in the Super Robot Genre: . It gets reconstructed in the end, when.
 * Decoy Protagonist: Kamina definitely takes up most of the spotlight during the first act, but  kind of disqualifies him of protagonistship.
 * Delayed Explosion: Happens a lot. Often done to give the heroes time to strike a pose after a kill.
 * Despair Gambit: The Anti-spirals' and Lordgenome's MO. Ultimately backfires.
 * Destructive Saviour: the alternate Team Gurren in Parallel Works 6.
 * Simon, when the muganns appear for the first time.
 * Determinator: The whole cast.
 * Destructive Saviour: the alternate Team Gurren in Parallel Works 6.
 * Simon, when the muganns appear for the first time.
 * Determinator: The whole cast.


 * Special mention must be made of, who manages to walk around delivering his dying words without the benefit of lungs, a heart, or a spinal cord, as they have been removed via drill.
 * Determined Expression: These happen, of course, throughout the series, but the crowner comes in the grand finale, when a stunning "The Reason You Suck" Speech from the Big Bad is countered by Determined Looks from people across the globe, as they send a Combined Energy Attack to the titular mech and simultaneously kick off a Last Episode Theme Reprise.
 * Deus Angst Machina Played for laughs in the High School AU with Simons past
 * Diabolus Ex Machina: see Contrived Coincidence.
 * Diagonal Cut: Although This Is a Drill, Giga Drill Break stylistically resembles one.
 * Gurren Boomerang is a more straightforward example.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Literally, during the final battle of Lagann-hen. Topped off with transforming your own hand into a drill before delivering the final blow.
 * Said drill was also made out of said person's blood.
 * Disc One Final Boss: The Spiral King.
 * Distant Finale: The epilogue takes place many years after the climatic battle, and shows how the survivors have settled into their new lives.
 * Divide by Zero:
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Within five minutes of the first episode's beginning, some girls wonder if Simon's going to drill them. It only gets worse from there.
 * Don't believe it? Attempting to list even a half of the show's examples of this trope would be longer than the rest of the page.
 * It can all be summed up by looking at the Dai Gurren. Hell that thing is this trope embodied.
 * Really though, would you expect any less from the group that made FLCL?
 * Doom Magnet: As mentioned above,.
 * Don't Think, Feel: How to pilot a Gunmen: do whatever feels natural.
 * The Dragon: Both Viral and Guame can be considered Dragons.
 * Dramatic Irony: When Rossiu leaves his village, he tells Father Magin that once they make the surface peaceful and safe for humans, there will be no need for painful laws like the village's population limits.
 * Dual-Wielding
 * The Dulcinea Effect: Simon and Nia's first meeting.
 * Dying Like Animals: The Redshirt Army in the battle against the Teppelin die like Boars until Nia calms them down. After the Time Skip, the population of Kamina City turn into Sheep and Reindeer in the backlash against Simon. Also, thanks to the Beastmen, happens rather literally thanks to the Cannon Fodder they provide to Team Gurren/Dai-Gurren and, after the time skip, the Beastmen joining the ranks of the rest of the population of Kamina City.
 * Dying Moment of Awesome:
 * And of course,
 * Dynamic Entry: inter alia, see below under Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: For everyone not named, who does the most out of the entire cast yet still ends up getting handed a sack of crap.
 * Easily Forgiven: Simon doesn't have any problem forgiving
 * Eat the Dog: Boota serves his own tail to Simon and Kamina when they're too hungry to pilot their Gunmen with HOT BLOOD. It turns out, despite Simon's reluctance, it's actually delicious -- though it might be that he's just a.
 * Ecchi: Mostly confined to Yoko's outfit of choice.
 * Elseworld: Some of the Parallel Works videos.
 * Eldritch Abomination: The Anti-Spirals.
 * Empathic Weapon: The Gunmen -- and especially Simon's Lagann -- are powered by the fighting spirit of their pilots.
 * Near the end of Lagann-hen,
 * Empathic Environment: The weather is rainy and gloomy during the first two-thirds of the Episode 9. After Simon finds Nia, beams of light appear, the rain stops and colour returns to the sky.
 * Emperor Scientist: Lordgenome.
 * The End of the World as We Know It: . Happens in the first episode (an Alternate Continuity) and.
 * Energy Being: Not an actual creature, but it arguably describes the . Possibly the same case regarding.
 * Definitely describes the, which is basically.
 * Enthusiasm Versus Stoicism
 * Mr. Fanservice: Viral and Kamina. And Simon and... a few others as well....
 * It's hard to imagine  being for any other reason.
 * Establishing Character Moment: The show literally starts out with Stuff Blowing Up.
 * Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: Tengen Toppa Gunman in The Movie is a robotic T. rex the size of a galaxy. Thank god for Spared By Adaptation!
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Nia, though she slowly becomes a Hot-Blooded freedom fighter as she hangs out with the Team Gurren. Which makes her a...
 * Rebellious Princess
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: In the form of "Spiral Power", this is a codified law of the universe.
 * Everything Trying To Kill Humanity
 * Evil Counterpart:  to Simon of all people! In the films, you learn of his backstory and find that in many ways they were eerily similar to Simon's. After the   He even had a cute animal for a sidekick and a mini-Gunmen.
 * Evil Chancellor: Post-Time Skip Rossiu is actually a subversion. He's a Well-Intentioned Extremist who  once he realizes what he's done. Luckily, Simon gives him a fist sized dose of Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!.
 * Simon invents teleportation to give him a Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!.
 * Evil Eye: Inverted. Characters with large Spiral power signify this with spirals in their eyes. Strangely, Simon, the one who produces the vast majority of said power, doesn't get this until the Distant Finale, and then only on one side.
 * Evil Is Dumb: Viral.
 * Evolving Credits: Each arc has a different animation for the opening credits, reflecting changes in the cast and the goals. But they don't stop there- the pre-timeskip openers feature the first verse of Sorairo Days, while the post-timeskip openers use the second verse.
 * Explosive Leash: During Rossiu's coup against Simon, he has to rely on him to fight a Mugan that is attacking the Earth. He allows Simon to use the Gurren-Lagann, only with some conditions: 1. Kinon has to be his co-pilot, and 2. she has the Gurren-Lagann armed with explosives to make sure Simon won't try to escape.
 * Expressive Mask: The faces on the Gunmen speak at the same time as their pilots.
 * To go even further, the Gunmen can even mimic facial expressions to some degree. Thought it happens with the majority of the main ones, it's best featured on Enki (particularly in Parallel Works 2, though it happens at various points in the canon).
 * Gurren Lagann does a Jaw drop (with the top head) and blush (both heads) when the towel covering Yoko's chest flies away. That mecha is expressive as hell.
 * Expressive Shirt: Yoko's skull hairpin sometimes reflects her emotions. Most notably when she realizes the men desperately need a bath. Her pin was giving an ">_<" look while Yoko held her breath and pretty much made the same expression.
 * Expy: Kamina acts very much like a successor to Sanson from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.
 * And there's a great similarity between how his actions and those of Gai Daigoji.
 * It wouldn't be a Gainax series without a Shout-Out to Cordwainer Smith. The Beastmen are all too similar to Smith's animal derived Underpeople, and Teppelin shares a structurual design similar to Smith's Earthport.
 * Thymilph is a fat, old one of 777 from Dead Leaves.
 * Look at the Gurren-Lagann, without the sunglasses. Now look at the Gundam Virsago from After War Gundam X. Notice how similar they are?
 * Similarly, the Chouginga Gurren-Lagann's transformation sequence looks quite similar to that of the Gundam Ashtaron/Hermit Crab from the same show as above.
 * Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann itself is very simmilar with Persoenlichkeit from Super Robot Wars Original Generation.
 * Face Fault: This being anime, it happens a few times. What's notable is how Leeron manages to make the aircraft-carrier-sized Dai-Gurren facefault.
 * Face Heel Turn:
 * Fallen Hero:
 * Falling Into the Cockpit: Let's face it, almost anyone who is even slightly a Determinator or Hot-Blooded can and WILL pilot a Gunmen at some point.
 * Simon literally does this in episode 11, before his Heroic Rebirth and Prestige-Classing into Badass. He literally falls hundreds of meters from hanging onto a gunmen, and is caught by Lagann's seat.
 * Fangs Are Evil: until, when Gurren itself sports them.
 * Also, whenever Gurren-Lagann performs a Giga Drill Break, it's teeth in Gurren's mouth are replaced by drills, as if trying to play this trope straight.
 * Fan Service: Yoko wears a flame-patterned bikini, short shorts, stockings and a scarf. At all times. Lampshaded when they visit another village and tell her to cover herself up. (She ends up looking like White Mage.)
 * And again with the Beach Episode: The men are VERY excited that Yoko agrees to put on a bathing suit, but are disappointed when it covers more than her normal outfit (though, really, how much more revealing can you get than her normal outfit?).
 * Yoko actually has two other outfits she wears in the series: one as a  which isn't really revealing, if it wasn't for the fact that there is a significantly long shot that shows her... assets... are not impeded by it.  . Finally, in the last few episodes where Team Dai-Gurren are going off to fight the , she changes into a costume that has some strategically-placed stars... and is arguably showing more of her skin than before.
 * Kittan's three sisters also show alot of this, especially Kiyoh, the eldest with the biggest assets.
 * Not to mention, of course, both Nia and Yoko in the second movie. During the Rousing Speech, the camera pans quite slowly over their inexplicably naked bodies.
 * Kamina also has his fair amount of Shirtless Scene, a whole episode of full nudity. and is a good example of Mr. Fanservice.
 * Fastball Special: Kamina chucks Lagann at two Gunmen (against Simon's will the first time), and it soon becomes a staple of their combat tactics.
 * For all of two battles. After that, they tend to go with Giga Drill Breaks as Finishing Moves.
 * repeats this in the battle against the, though it stands to reason that he probably learned from watching Kamina. And then Lagann does it too.
 * Father to His Men: Kamina is close, though he's more of a terrifying older brother.
 * Lordgenome is a literal father to his men! In that he built them, anyway.
 * Thymilph is another example, but you have to really pay attention to his dialog.
 * Femme Fatalons: Adiane, of course. Her entire character is feminine to the point that she has the most titular Gunmen of the series; sporting ample breasts and speaking out of its crotch.
 * Fighting From the Inside:
 * Fill It With Flowers: In the movie, after the Time Skip Nia states that she wants to plant flowers across the world. In the Distant Finale, Simon is shown digging a well for a small village and, when offered thanks, demands that the chief cover the hillside with flowers.
 * The Final Temptation
 * Final Speech: Lordgenome.
 * Finishing Move! Giga! Drill! BREAK-AAAAAHHH!
 * First Time in the Sun: The first episode.
 * Five-Bad Band: the Beastman generals and their creator.
 * Lordgenome = Big Bad
 * Guame = The Dragon
 * Cytomander = Evil Genius
 * Thymilph = The Brute
 * Adiane = Dark Chick
 * Viral = Sixth Ranger (though not an actual general, he's a high-ranking Beastman and is with Lordgenome at the end)
 * Five Stages of Grief: Simon's reaction to . He only goes through four of them, however: Denial (saying   name over and over again), anger (killing beastmen by the dozen with no regard for his own safety), depression (Lagann refuses to work), and acceptance (his World of Cardboard Speech).
 * Foreshadowing: In the first 2 minutes of the series, we get a look at the initial battle fought with the, and the ship which was used in it. It goes even further to show that  . The series is in love with history repeating itself (with everything from personalities, fighting techniques, and deaths), and just repeating itself in general by way of having an episode and two movies dedicated to clips; but they have moved to show us that the same thing has been in the course of happening for over.
 * Rossiu's society as a child fuels his future decisions to the point where he does exactly what he'd been so horrified to learn of in the past.
 * And while on the topic of Rossiu,
 * About the whole relationship between Rossiu and Simon is made of these, really. Starting after Kamina's death, when Rossiu takes over the piloting of Gurren Rossiu acts similar to Simons old self and constantly tries to save Simon who gets nearly suicidal and reckless "like" Kamina. As the story develops Rossiu is the one that needs encouragement like Simon did, and Simon is the brave, inspiring big bro like Kamina was. The whole resemblance goes on to the Get a Hold of Yourself Man punch from Simon to Rossiu exactly copying what Kamina did to Simon, and ultimately Simon entrusts the leadership and everything to Rossiu, just like Kamina chose Simon to lead the Dai-Gurren Team.
 * There was also Kamina
 * Kamina stealing Viral's helmet and lecturing him on how he'll never know what combining is.
 * Kamina is well known for his line, "Don't believe in yourself, believe in me who believes in you" but what is perhaps a more significant line, as well as one that foreshadows his fate, is the exact opposite: "Don't believe in me who believes in you, believe in you who believes in yourself." He is essentially foreshadowing that he will no longer be there to be Simon's moral support so Simon has to learn to stand on his own, which he eventually does, signified by his own famous lines, "I am not my big bro, I am Simon the Digger!"
 * The Arc Words "Yours is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" foreshadow
 * The Four Gods/Four Is Death: the Four Generals of the Spiral King; their Gunmen are named after the Chinese gods..
 * Four Philosophy Ensemble: (Early episodes): Simon as Cynic, Kamina as Optimist, Yoko as Realist, Leeron as Apathetic.
 * Later it becomes: Simon as Cynic, Nia as Optimist, Yoko as Realist, Leeron as Apathetic.
 * At the beginning of season 2 is was: Rossiu as Cynic, Kittan was Optimist, Simon was Realist and Viral is Apathetic, then it turned into Gimy as Cynic, Simon/Kittan as Optimist, Leeron/Yoko as Realist and Lordgenome as Apathetic. Maybe. Hard to say since everyone is pretty single-mindedly optimistic through sheer force of will at that point.
 * Full-Circle Revolution: Once Lordgenome has been defeated and it's time to rebuild, it turns out the protagonists aren't very good statesmen: while the Idiot Heroes are still as (un)reliable and (trying to be) helpful as usual, an Obstructive Bureaucracy is created in the shadow of Lordgenome's tyranny, and the only competent official in the bunch (Rossiu) is slowly growing into Spiral King 2.0.
 * Funbag Airbag: The male-on-male version happens in the very first episode between Simon and Kamina; later, you see a straight version between Simon and Yoko, who reacts with a smile. Almost a Looks Like She Is Enjoying It, except
 * Happens again in episode 6, when Simon leaps over Leeron, but his crotch doesn't quite clear him and Leeron gets smacked in the face by Simon's junk. He responds simply by going "So warm.~"
 * Future Badass: Gimmy, Darry, and Viral.
 * In the Distant Finale, it's just those 3. But don't forget, this show does have a 7-year timeskip, where pretty much everybody counts as a Future Badass. If they started Badass, then they got more Badass. Future Loser? In Gurren Lagann? What the hell do you think this is?!
 * Gainax Opening: Apparently, it was supposed to foreshadow the ending but the writers lost that story thread somewhere. Fans have taken it as an alternate reality where that foreshadowing references a bad ending. The Word of God ended up being "Sure Why Not?"
 * The TV series ending does have several elements that come out of nowhere. However, Lagann-hen retailors the story with foreshadowing. Gainax... learning from its mistakes?
 * Gainaxing: So, so much.
 * Taken to an extreme in Lagann-Hen, where
 * Generation Xerox
 * Genki Guy: Attenborough. Just try to find a scene not involving this guy missing the target or a certain shocking twist in which he is calm. Go on. I dare you.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: "Clench those teeth!" Kamina punches Simon to help him get over his Wangst at . Later on in the battle, Kamina throws the damaged Gurren's arm at Lagann to snap Simon out of it again. After the Time Skip, Simon pays it forward by.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Listen closely to Leeron's theme song, and in particular the letters being sung in the background. They spell out
 * Girl in a Box: Nia.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals
 * Glory Days: subverted/inverted.
 * Godiva Hair: Yoko, briefly, in The Movie.
 * Nia in the second movie.
 * Goggles Do Nothing: Inverted. Entirely. Simon's goggles are used as light sources, and later  Even the Gurren Lagann has sunglasses
 * Gonna Need More Trope: You mean we're gonna need to use an even bigger drill?
 * Gondor Calls for Aid: At least partially subverted when a motley crew of bit players from previous episodes show up to join the heroes' cause without being asked by anyone, least of all the heroes themselves.
 * Good All Along:
 * Gossipy Hens: in the first episode.
 * Gratuitous English: The attack's names.
 * And zig-zags in the music: while most lines make grammatical sense, one wonders what a "microphone phenotype" is...
 * Gratuitous Japanese: The names of the mechs tend to be untranslated from Japanese (Mugann is better translated as Faceless, Chouginga as Super-Galaxy/Galactic, Tengen Toppa as Heaven Piercing, Lazengann as Spiral Face, etc.).
 * Green Lantern Ring: Spiral energy is one of the ultimate examples of this.
 * Grievous Harm with a Body: Kamina smacks some sense into Simon with the arm of his own mech. Gurren Lagann has a habit of fastballing it's own head at enemies.
 * Grin of Audacity: a hallmark of the series. Delivered with panache, like everything else.
 * Groin Attack: During their battle with Adiane, the Dai-Gurren ends up getting it's main underside cannon destroyed, resulting in EVERY MALE except Leeron to grab their crotch in pain.
 * Somewhat realistic, as the hole started to flood the ship, suddenly increasing cabin pressure. This sudden pressure leads to some *ahem* mild discomfort on the men's part.
 * Later in the same battle, Simon pushes the Dai-Gurren out of the water by ramming his drill into the hole left by the destroyed cannon. Instead of a repeat performance by the men, we see Leeron gasp and suddenly hop upwards.
 * Gundamjack: How Team Dai-Gurren got just about all its Gunmen besides the Lagann.
 * Gut Punch:  is a mild example - while the series did get notably darker afterwards, it still stayed pretty light.
 * Half Human Hybrids: The Beastmen.
 * Ham-to-Ham Combat: There may have been one or two brief scenes of thi-- OK, can't do that with a straight face. Happens every two minutes, like clockwork.
 * Handy Cuffs: The entire Gurren Brigade got once handcuffed with good ol' wooden boards, but that didn't deter Simon from digging with his Core Drill until recovering his Lagann.
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * "Hell Yes!" Moment: Nia has this reaction when she realizes her ring has started glowing.
 * Heroic BSOD
 * Simon also gets a brief one after before realising that this isn't Neon Genesis Evangelion and quickly snaps out of it.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Several -- all the others' completely eclipsed by, and.
 * Heroic Second Wind: Completely justified and part of the theme of the series--
 * Hero LFG: The lead and secondary cast joined Kamina just after a little talk. The rest of them joined just because they were told about his awesomeness.
 * He's Back: Simon... One of the most awesome examples ever seen on television.  EVER EVERRRR
 * Hidden Depths: Kamina is actually a much more complex character than he seems,
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Several -- all the others' completely eclipsed by, and.
 * Heroic Second Wind: Completely justified and part of the theme of the series--
 * Hero LFG: The lead and secondary cast joined Kamina just after a little talk. The rest of them joined just because they were told about his awesomeness.
 * He's Back: Simon... One of the most awesome examples ever seen on television.  EVER EVERRRR
 * Hidden Depths: Kamina is actually a much more complex character than he seems,


 * High-Speed Missile Dodge
 * His Quirk Lives On:
 * Hive Mind:
 * Homage Shot: The scene where Chouginga Gurren Lagann rises out of the space ocean is an almost exact replica of Gunbuster's first appearance.
 * Honor Before Reason: in episode 13 (he needs a little push, though)
 * Hope Spot: Invoked repeatedly, by the Anti-Spirals, in order to turn them on their heads with the intention that this will sap the will of the humans to fight. At best, it works only momentarily.
 * The most touching of these is Viral:  What's even worse is, he knows when it's about to end that it was All Just a Dream.
 * Hot-Blooded: ...Where do we START?!.
 * We start at the Village Chief, if only because this happens within 40 seconds of the initial title screen, and the first 3 minutes of the entire series.
 * Even  becomes this during the final fight after
 * In the same fight,, wholeheartedly admits it while talking with the others in a Badass Boast.
 * Hot Springs Episode: featuring Lawyer Friendly Cameos from other famous Gainax characters -- in Playboy Bunny costumes.
 * There was even a 3-frame shot of Rei snogging Kamina: The only other GAINAX anime he's familiar with is NGE, but Rei was almost exactly the same in cameo form and Asuka's only difference was her hairstyle.
 * Haruko from FLCL is also spotted in that episode. As were Lal'C Mellk Mal and Nono from Diebuster: seen here behind Kamina. Nadia shows up as well.
 * How Do I Shot Web?: Played straight in the first episode.
 * How We Got Here
 * Humongous Mecha: The Gunmen and Grapearls, which range from Mini-Mecha to extremely huge. At the end of the show, the . See here and [[media:ttgl.jpg|here]] for just how big the damn thing is. The second movie features the 52.8 billion light years tall, which can be seen here. That thing inside its head? That's   .  .   At this point, the only larger known mecha are Demonbane, and possibly the Getter Emperor, both of which are ridiculous.
 * How We Got Here
 * Humongous Mecha: The Gunmen and Grapearls, which range from Mini-Mecha to extremely huge. At the end of the show, the . See here and [[media:ttgl.jpg|here]] for just how big the damn thing is. The second movie features the 52.8 billion light years tall, which can be seen here. That thing inside its head? That's   .  .   At this point, the only larger known mecha are Demonbane, and possibly the Getter Emperor, both of which are ridiculous.

I-P

 * I Am Legion:
 * Icon of Rebellion: The Team Dai-Gurren symbol and flag.
 * I Feel Angry: Nia.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each arc uses a line from one character -- first Kamina, then Nia, then Rossiu, and finally Simon -- as the title for each episode. Also, to follow suit, the title cards for each arc have their own typeset.
 * Idiot Hero: At first glance, Kamina screams this trope. However, he is actually a good planner and Combat Pragmatist when the time is right.
 * I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight: Simon gives a particularly good one to
 * I Like Those Odds: The very first scene.
 * Immortality:
 * The Ageless: Lordgenome has this, as do his Four Generals. It's possible that all Beastmen have the same trait.
 * Healing Factor: Viral is explicitly given an immortal body, but it's not clarified what this means; however, he demonstrates a Healing Factor at one point, and is the only character in the Distant Finale who still looks the same.
 * Immortality Immorality: Played straight with Lordgenome.
 * Important Haircut: Nia in ep. 13. The show being what it is, she gets hers from a sniper rifle. (See the trope page for more details)
 * Impossibly Cool Clothes: Just about everyone.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Using as weapons, of course.
 * Incendiary Exponent: If something is about to get badass, it lights on fire. End of story.
 * Indy Ploy: Every single fight with just one exceptionColon Cancer.
 * Innocent Innuendo. Sorta. When Guame kidnaps Nia, he's explaining why her father's ordered her death, but then comments that she may be "far too lovely" to kill- and in the rest of the scene looks like he's coming on to her!
 * Intentionally Awkward Title: Do not mispronounce Kamina's name around Hokkien-speakers, especially not if you're saying it enthusiastically or loudly.
 * In the Future We Still Have Roombas: Leeron uses them.
 * In the Name of the Moon: Simon and his current co-pilot do this at dramatically or thematically appropriate moments.
 * Which, ironically, includes the time they went to attack the moon.
 * Inventing the Wheel: Averted - The new high technology used after the timeskip is all influenced by Gunmen designs, so all civilian vehicles move on legs or have hoverpads attached with nary a wheel in sight. Basing everything on Gunmen also results in skyscrapers with faces...
 * Even mundane appliances like clothes irons, TV sets, and doors have faces!
 * It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Simon is pronounced "Sea-moan" rather that "Sigh-mun", and Viral's name is pronounced "veer-al".
 * Juggling Loaded Guns: When Kamina is first given a gun he pretends to know how to use it, even though he doesn't know what it actually is. At first he uses it as a hammer, and after narrowly missing shooting himself in the gonads he proceeds to hold it upside down. Well, he already held it upside down when using it as a hammer; but of course, it was pointing towards him then.
 * Kangaroo Court:
 * Keigo: Nia speaks like this. It leads to her version of Kamina's phrase: "ARE YOU AWARE OF WHO EXACTLY I AM!?".
 * Killed Off for Real: not only straight-up, but arguably subverted, with the same character: try seeing how well most people survive
 * Large Ham: Kamina, to ridiculous levels. In fact, most of the cast are somewhat ham-like at one point or another, but Kamina really takes the cake. The cake made entirely of ham. And badass. In fact, in the same way the series is supposed to be the Rule of Cool personified, Kamina is Large Ham personified.
 * The  brings forth truly preposterous amounts of ham when   are fighting in the final battle.


 * Killer Yoyo: Not in the main series, but in Parallel Works: Kittan Zero, Kiyoh uses one of these. Not surprisingly, the tricks she pulls with it are powered by Rule of Cool
 * Last Episode Theme Reprise
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: If you value being free of spoilers, do not so much as Google this series. Heck, you shouldn't even have reached this far down the page. You shouldn't have even looked at this page, for crap's sake. In fact, you should probably have spent all time between starting and finishing the series away from the Internet entirely.
 * Trying to watch the series on Manga Entertainment's YouTube channel can be a bit of a problem, since a banner displayed there and TTGL's thumbnail under the "Shows" tab display . Though it isn't immediately obvious it's him, after watching a couple of episodes it isn't too hard to figure out.
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Several Gainax characters as bunnygirls; also, Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants, along with Gunmen resembling the Autobot and Decepticon symbols have been seen briefly. Also, Yoko rides a yellow hovering scooter/moped..
 * The eyecatches have even more, with Gunmen resembling Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda characters.
 * Pikachu himself appears in the last Parallel Works video as one of Lordgenome's toy animals.
 * And the Enki and Lazengann look... strangely familiar...
 * Did we also mention that there is a parody of Dexter's Laboratory in Yoko's music video? Because there is.
 * Layman's Terms: Leeron's long explanations require this to make sense.
 * On the other hand,
 * Before the final fight Dayakka snaps at Lordgenome 'demanding' them.
 * Leader Forms the Head: Played with in various ways throughout the series; see the trope page for details.
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Damn near everyone. Kamina and Attenborough are especially good examples.
 * Lensman Arms Race: It goes from the compact car-sized Lagann, to the tens-of-meters Gurren Lagann, to the aircraft-carrier-sized Dai-Gurren, to the multi-kilometric Arc-Gurren Lagann, to the ..
 * Also, the
 * Not to mention,.
 * Lethal Chef: Nia, although Simon and Boota sincerely like her cooking. Anyone else who eats it gets knocked out, though.
 * Well of course, he digs in.
 * Literal Minded: Nia. Watch the first post-Time Skip episode in case of doubt.
 * Living Forever Is Awesome: If the girls on his throne are any indiction, Lordgenome enjoyed eternal life.
 * Load-Bearing Boss: With Lordgenome's defeat, not only does the capital city (itself a giant robot) start to break apart and explode, but his army's mecha all simultaneously lose power, thus assuring victory for our heroes.
 * Possible justification:
 * Longing Look
 * Long Title: Not the series itself, but rather Kamina/Team Dai-Gurren's theme song. Taku Iwasaki sure had a lot of fun making up titles for the tracks on the soundtrack. The Team Dai-Gurren rap theme's title is very, very, very long. The Japanese title is "ラップは漢の魂だ! 無理を通して道理を蹴っ飛ばす! 俺たち大グレン団のテーマを耳の穴かっぽじってよ~く聴きやがれ!!": Rappu ha Otoko no Tamashii da! Muri wo Tōshite Dōri wo Kettobasu! Ore-tachi Dai-Guren-dan no Tēma wo Mimi no Ana Kappojite Yo~ku Kikiyagare!!. The OST cut of the song adds "(Short Start Edit)" to the end, since the 60 second-ish orchestral opening is cut. One translation of the title, "Rap is a Man's Soul! We Kick Reason to the Curb to Make the Impossible Possible! Open up Your Ears and Listen to Our Team Dai-Gurren Theme!!", is so long that when used as a filename, "(short start edit)" is cut off at "(short ", and the length of the title caused all sorts of weird bugs to happen to Windows Explorer until he finally cut "(short start edit)" to "(SSE)". Oh, and to make it worse, the most common English translation uses wording that makes the title at least two words longer.
 * Losing the Team Spirit:
 * Lost Technology: The Gunmen; also, Yoko's gun comes from the cache of ancient weapons her village was built around.
 * Machiavelli Was Wrong: After the Time Skip, Rossiu starts Shooting The Dog over and over as things deteriorate.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: Attenborough loves to do this. It generally accomplishes very little.
 * A massive one is delivered in the Compilation Movie.
 * For future reference,
 * That's nothing. How about when the Chouginga Gurren Lagann fires missiles to attack every point in space ten seconds into the past and eight seconds into the future? Honestly, it was pretty close to being enough Dakka.
 * Made of Explodium: In accordance with the Rule of Cool, there are lots and lots of explosions, particularly in the second part.
 * Quite literally in the case of
 * Magic Skirt: Nia. Especially in episode 15.
 * Male Gaze: Ubiquitous throughout.
 * The camera explicitly tracks Kamina's gaze as he tries to chat up Yoko -- from the gun, to the boots, along the thighs, to the breasts.
 * The Man Behind the Man:
 * The Man Behind the Monsters: Lordgenome.
 * Manly Tears: Simon at episode 11, after a hell of a Rousing Speech.
 * Manchurian Agent:
 * Manly Tears: Several times during the series. Often mirrored by THE VIEWER THEMSELVES.
 * Marked Change:.
 * Marshmallow Hell: Simon has just the perfect height for this. Kiyoh even says so when she smothers him.
 * Mauve Shirt: Gimmy and Darry usually end up as the last survivors of the Redshirt Army.
 * A Mech by Any Other Name: Sort of: there are Gunmen and Grapearl, but the (very infrequently-used) generic term is "mech". On a single occasion, "Gunmen" is also used as if it were the generic term.
 * Meaningless Meaningful Words
 * Meaningful Name:
 * Simon's name apparently comes from a Japanese word relating to digging and we all know how much Simon loves to dig.
 * Naakim, the kid in Yoko's "during the time skip" episode, climbs a ridiculously tall tree to retrieve a satchel that bullies had hung from the top branches. This impressed the bullies so much that they told him they couldn't just call him Naakim anymore. Naakim is an anagram of Kamina.
 * Meet the New Boss: Village chief, then Lord Genome, then Anti-Spirals etc.
 * Meganekko: Yomako, Yoko in Gurren-Hen during the Time Compression Montage, Kinon
 * Megaton Punch: In possiby the ultimate example of this, Simon uses Arc Gurren Lagann to punch an enemy so hard it rips a freaking hole in the fabric of space and time.
 * He punched that ship so hard it hit NOTHING, and broke through it!
 * Meta Mecha: More or less the signature power of the Lagann, taken to ridiculous levels when in the finale you have
 * Milking the Giant Cow: Frequent and intense.
 * Mind Rape:
 * Mini-Mecha: Lagann
 * Mirror Match:
 * Lordgenome's Spiral Power readouts and drills also turn in the opposite direction of Gurren Lagann's, aswell as having straighter grooves.
 * As does
 * Mix-and-Match Critters: Grapopotamus is a key example; though this trope fits for every animal and most of the Beastmen in the series.
 * Monstrosity Equals Weakness: Averted. The most powerful gunmen tended to be really bizarre and monstrous, and the more animalistic beastmen, while minor characters for the most part, weren't portrayed as any less powerful than humanoids. For a series that flat out states that the human form has more spiral power than any other, that's a pretty surprising aversion.
 * Mood Whiplash: as a direct consequence of several character deaths.
 * Also, the above-mentioned Sci Fi Channel scheduling.
 * Frequently switched between humour, drama, and action. "You're Gonna Do It!!", for example, starts with dramatic closeup shots as Kamina and  snipe at each other while Simon, Yoko, and the Black sisters look on. Then the camera switched to a wider angle, and, reminds the audience that, oh, right, our heroes are still pretty much naked from the last episode.
 * Motivational Kiss: Both Kamina and Kittan
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous:
 * The idea behind Viral's mech at the Enkidudu stage. Doesn't work; Simon pretty much pwns him without really paying attention, and eventually it gets shot up by Grapearls.
 * Multicolored Hair: Nia and Kittan.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Yoko.
 * And the Black sisters too.
 * My Name Is Inigo Montoya: "I'm Simon The Digger!!!"
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Rossiu, known by Kamina as "Dekosuke": "Forehead Guy".
 * Narrator All Along:
 * Never Tell Me the Odds: Played straight when
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
 * Gaume's televising his fight with Lagann and broadcasting it to humans everywhere..
 * Later on, He goes on to realise that she subconsciously did this on purpose.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:.
 * More directly, Lordgenome says that the moon shall become the "messenger of hell" when there are 1 million humans on the surface. So what does Rossiu do? He forces everyone onto the surface to conduct a census. As it turns out, at that time there were 999,999 of them. And then Kiyou has her baby. Whoops.
 * In the Compilation Movie, to simplify the plot Lordgenome simply says the trigger will be humanity reaching the moon. So Rossiu sends a rocket to the moon. Brilliant.
 * Noble Demon: Viral.
 * No Conservation of Energy: Actually a plot point.
 * No Dub For You: The movies. Aniplex has stated that while they are releasing the movies in the United States, they aren't going to dub them because they don't see a need to spend the money unless someone desires to show them on TV. Looks like the ball is in Sy Fy's court now for that.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The battle against Lordgenome, who beats the ever-loving crap out of Lagann bare-handed.
 * Non-Human Sidekick: Boota, later.
 * No Ontological Inertia:.
 * Normally I Would Be Dead Now: Kamina, after being epically blasted, seeming dead to everyone and making Simon have a Heroic BSOD, comes back and Bright Slaps him out of it, then leads the Dai-Gurren Brigade to victory.
 * Apparently, Word of God said . Truly a man of legends.
 * No Sell: Lordgenome effortlessly managing to block a Giga Drill Break.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Leeron gets a little too close to Simon and Kamina for their comfort when he first appears; and then repeatedly with various others through the rest of the series.
 * Not Brainwashed:, according to herself after she learns she's The Mole..
 * Not So Stoic:.
 * The Obi-Wan: Kamina and Yoko fill this role together: Kamina takes it upon himself to guide Simon on his path to being a man, and Yoko acts as their guide on the surface, as well as fulfilling the role of The Herald.
 * Obi-Wan Moment:.
 * Off-Model: Episode 4 had a guest director, and is considered to be a visual low-point in the series.
 * Done intentionally, if That Other Wiki is to be believed.
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: See One-Woman Wail. Interspersed with a rap song, and is just as awesome as it sounds.
 * 108: Pay very close attention, in episode 24, 13 minutes and 21 seconds into the episode, Gimmy says something to the effect of "108th unit destroyed!" after blowing up a few anti-spiral mooks. Then, that's when everything goes bad. Given the obviously Buddhism- (or Hinduism?) inspired ships, this was wholly intentional. If you really want to get into the symbolism here, what's 13 minutes in seconds? That's right, 780 seconds, plus the 21 seconds, and you get 801, which is ONE HUNDRED EIGHT BACKWARDS!!
 * Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has 27 episodes. 27 times four is 108.
 * One-Woman Wail: "Libera Me From Hell", the track played during.
 * Only Sane Man: Rossiu in episode 6.
 * Orcus on His Throne: Lordgenome.
 * The Other Marty: Before ADV Films lost the license, several episodes of the dub had already been recorded.
 * Out of the Inferno:
 * Earlier pulled by every one of the three battleships involved in episode 14.
 * Parental Abandonment: The parents of everyone that wasn't born during the course of the series are all dead . Except for one case, where it simply was literal parental abandonment - though her father dies anyway.
 * Lordgenome had Nia and her sisters before her . Even Daddy Had a Good Reason For Abandoning You is cranked Up to Eleven.
 * Parrot Pet Position: Boota is often seen on Simon's shoulder, pre-Time Skip.
 * Passing the Torch: There is a chain of these, mixed with Take Up My Sword. Notably, and . Not including other predecessors. The.
 * People Jars:.
 * Pet the Dog: Viral in mourning. Then comes a Double Subversion later in the same episode, where.
 * Viral also has a second Pet the Dog moment after the Time Skip., Viral is shown protecting a migrating group of humans.
 * Petting Zoo People: The more humanoid Beastmen.
 * Physical God: The only category that
 * And the Anti-Spiral King.
 * Pixellation: Subverted for laughs in episode 6 (uncut). When the villain kidnaps the women and children and displays them on a monitor, pixels covering the necessary areas. She offers to remove them if Kamina exits Gurren. The girls were wearing towels underneath; only Gimmy needed to be censored.
 * Please Put Some Clothes On: After the heroes end up naked after being ambushed at the hot springs, Viral shows up looking for a fight. He is outraged at their lack of attire and gives them time to get dressed before he fights them.
 * The Adai villagers also give Yoko a robe to wear over her bikini top and daisy dukes.
 * Poe's Law: Started out as a parody of the Hot-Blooded Super Robot shows that inspired it, but after Episode 8, it gradually became more and more the reconstruction we all know and love.
 * Population Control: Applies both to Adai Village's population limit of 50 (enforced by randomly-selected exile to the surface) and the "1,000,000 apes" prophecy.
 * Of course, the latter was supposed to cut the population down to 0, were it not for Team Dai-Gurren being incredibly badass.
 * Post Dramatic Stress Disorder:  gets  hurt, but not without opening a huge can of whoopass on Thymilph's Dai-Gunzan and comandeering it as the Dai-Gurren..
 * Power Gives You Wings: Power gives you Cool Shades and drills.
 * The Power of Love: One of the main themes of the show; on a more literal level, without, humanity and the beastmen would've been annihilated.
 * Product Placement: In a few closeups you can see the Gurren Lagann's joints look suspiciously like those of the Revoltech toys.
 * Psychoactive Powers: Spiral Power. Fear and despair kill it, hope and optimism increase it, and Hot Blood blasts it sky-high.
 * Pun-Based Title: The Japanese titles of the movies use kanji that read Guren and Ragan (i.e. "Gurren" and "Lagann"). The English titles eschew this in favor of the Idiosyncratic Episode Naming, and go with quotes just like the series episode titles.
 * Punk Punk: The entire first season and a little on is in the style of Desert Punk to the letter. Plus giant robots.
 * Pure Awesomeness: Simon, arriving just in time to save the day in the Gurren Lagann, use it to destroy all nearby enemies.

Q-Z
"Viral: Why was I dreaming of Kamina!? Well, I guess I'm allowed to have sweet dr-NO, NO! NOT SWEET! NOT SWEET!"
 * Rated "M" for Manly
 * Readings Are Off the Scale: Literally. As in, when, the readings go off the scale and float in midair.
 * The Scale also only uses White and Green normally. When the Reading literally go off the scale, they also turn into a rainbow.
 * Real Robot: Although the show as a whole falls squarely into Super Robot territory, Grapearls represent the Real Robot genre: They are produced in large quantities (mostly identical in appearance) for the use of military personnel, they use more mundane guns and swords as opposed to the Gunmen's (especially Gurren Lagann's) more physics-breaking weapons, and most notably, in contrast to Gunmen, they don't run on the pilot's fighting spirit, which is one of the key differences between the two genres.
 * Debatably, the Beastman-controlled Ganmen can be considered a type of Real Robot; they are mass-produced (though there are many types), they use mundane weaponry like clubs and greatswords, and they run on solar power.
 * Arguably, every mecha in the show are actually real robots with the exception the "Lagann" type mecha. Though, anything the the Laganns "hack" into turns into a Super Robot, including the moon. It is also the sole reason why the "improved" Grapearls were never able to surpass the original.
 * May be the reason why they couldn't mass produce the Lagann types along with the Grapearls.
 * Reckless Gun Usage: see Juggling Loaded Guns.
 * Reconstruction: This show is pretty much the polar opposite of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Reversed: uber-Hot-Blooded Simon and Kamina wear blue, while the level-headed Yoko is a redhead.
 * Played around with in regards to Jorgun and Balinbow (each twin wears red and blue shades respectively, but have the same basic Hot-Blooded personality).
 * And played straight Post-Time Skip
 * Also, compare capes. Simon is just a tad more restrained than Kamina and wears a blue Badass Longcoat. Kamina's Badass Cape is crimson.
 * Redshirt Army: The motley crew at the battle against Teppelin, then the post-Time Skip Grapearl army.
 * Said motley crew? Entirely identical and all bright red.
 * Refrain From Assuming: No, the song is not called "Row, Row, Fight the Power". There are three main versions of it; Rap is a Man's Soul! We Surpass the Impossible, and Kick Reason to the Curb! Open Your Ears Wide and Listen to Team Dai-Gurren's Theme, Rap is a Man's Soul! Open Your Ears Wide and Listen to the Great Kamina's Theme, the Man Who Believes in Himself and Surges at Heaven!, and, most famously, "Libera Me" from Hell.
 * Refuge in Audacity: The show's gung-ho attitude makes it difficult to tell whether it's taking refuge in audacity or just goosing the censors. Remember, this was aired at 9 a.m.
 * If nothing else, Parallel Works #5 puts a whole new spin on the 'goosing' part.
 * Retired Badass:
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Boota!
 * Rocket Punch: Subverted -- the one and only example is less "rocket" than it is "pull off my arm and throw it at you," and it is less "punch" than "the most epic Bright Slap in human history."
 * Rousseau Was Right:
 * Rule of Cool: The show pretty much relies on this for everything it does.
 * Kamina lives strictly by the Rule of Cool to the point of rejecting anything useful, plausible, practical, survivable, etc, if it isn't cool enough.
 * Obscurus Lupa sums up the series as incredibly stupid when you analyze it, as there's a ton of plot holes, a Deux ex Machina nearly every episode, and nothing about it makes any real sense. But the show is just so much fun to watch, the heroes are so awesome, and there was obviously so much passion, intensity and love that went into the production, that you really don't care and just enjoy the ride.
 * Running Joke: The Old Man.
 * Yoko having kids.
 * A meta-example: Any time any question is asked about anything in this series, the first answer is always "spiral energy." Even when--no, especially when there's a better answer.
 * Satellite Character: Kinon after the time-skip.
 * Scarf of Asskicking: Yoko's.
 * Also although this is possibly a subversion, as his scarf defies all laws of gravity and refuses to blow in the wind.
 * Scavenger World
 * Scenery Porn: When Simon first broke through to the surface with Yoko and Kamina, he shot up so high he saw the earth pretty much split in two between night and day, with the moon and sun on opposite sides of the sky going over a vast exapanse of earth. Photographers would kill to get that kind of shot in real life but because this show runs on Rule of Cool, that's more than likely impossible.
 * Even more breathtaking after the Time Skip when Yoko and a student see the same view (inexplicably from a treetop this time) over the fucking ocean.
 * Schmuck Banquet: Lampshaded heavily with the Japanese inn, banquet, and hot springs all being called into question
 * Schoolmarm:.
 * Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale:.
 * Also,
 * Also (ignoring Word of God for the moment), if we are to presume that the planet on the  is taken from "real space", and noting that when the fabricated universe rips and the Earth appears, it is just the right size , the final mechs are probably "only" around the size of the Earth-Moon system when translated into real space - a reasonable level of growth stepping up from  , and just small enough to avoid breaking the light-speed barrier provided they don't move too fast (although still large enough to break most other laws of physics).
 * Screaming Warrior: Every time someone is Hot-Blooded; read: all the time!.
 * Screw Destiny: The entire point of "We go Beyond the Impossible" basically. Just listen to their Rousing Speeches during the last part of the series.
 * Alternatively, Screw Physics.
 * This could be taken literally: the dominant motifs are drills, spirals and other screw-shaped implements with which they dig right through their confines and break them to pieces.
 * Self-Made Man: Completely subverted with Kamina, who built himself up to team leader from nothing and yet relies on Simon for everything.
 * Senseless Sacrifice:
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Simon and Kamina.
 * Serial Escalation: No matter how cool the last fight was, no matter how big their current mecha are, and no matter how Hot-Blooded and Badass they are, the next episode will top it all in mind-blowing fashion.
 * Keep in mind, this series is what happens when Studio Friggin' Gainax makes a Saturday Morning Cartoon. They can't really help it, it's just what they do.
 * And the fact that Gainax more or less compiled nearly every well-known Japanese studio for this series as support possibly counts too.
 * Series Continuity Error: Kittan is shocked by the notion of Kamina's hijacking of a Ganmen, claiming it's impossible. Parallel Works 9 shows Kittan actually stealing it. The problem? It's set before he meets Kamina, back when the Black Siblings were independent from Dai-Gurren. Note that the majority of Parallel Works videos (though not necessarily this one) are set in parallel universes.
 * Shallow Love Interest: Kiyoh for Dayakka, Kinon for Rossiu. Still, this is Character Development for them since before they had little characterization.
 * Kiyoh and Dayakka's relationship is given a little more attention in the manga.
 * Share the Male Pain: In a particularly memorable scene, the Dai-Gurren takes a shot to the crotch. Every man (save for Leeron) immediately winces.
 * Shoo Out the Clowns: signified the shifting Affectionate Parody to Reconstruction, and the show became more serious in tone.
 * Shoot the Dog: Rossiu is forced to do this a lot, and suffers for it.
 * Shoot the Hostage: Brought up by Adiane to Yoko when she takes Nia hostage,
 * Shout-Out: Aberrant Anti-Spiral units are called irregulars.
 * Shoulders of Doom: Most of the Gunmen, epitomised by Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann's.
 * Showy Invincible Hero: Basically every main character, but subverted
 * The Siege: Combined with Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?.
 * Single-Minded Twins: Jougan and Barinbou.
 * Single-Stroke Battle: While not a literal case of this, GIGA DRILL BREAKAH is genuinely shown as such, complete with landing in a crouch before the enemy mech explodes.
 * Sissy Villain: Cytomander provides the page picture.
 * Sixth Ranger:.
 * Slap-On-The-Wrist Nuke:.
 * For the Chouginga Gurren-Lagann: Having thrown planets at yourself? Less of a problem.
 * Slipknot Ponytail:
 * Slouch of Villainy: Lordgenome's preferred method of sitting. Naturally.
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: Yoko and her sniper rifle.
 * Snot Bubble
 * Soft Water: During the Beach Episode, it's OK to use the hundreds of feet tall Dai-Gunmen as a springboard.
 * Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Viral, then the Four Divine Generals, then Lordgenome,.
 * Space Is an Ocean: There really is an ocean in space, and a watery one at that. . There's also the movie's.
 * Spared by the Adaptation: In the second film,
 * Spell My Name with an "S": official Japanese Gulaparl vs. Fanon Grapal; which one is used depends on the fansub group, and neither is the official English name, "Grapearl;" Gunmen/Gammen/Ganmen/Gunman, Rossiu/Roshiu, Giga Drill Break(er); Giha/Jiiha; pronouncing Simon SHE-Moan or SEE-Moan (or as the usual Anglo "Simon"); Lord Genome/Lordgenome.
 * Also, the Anti-Spiral's Tengen Toppa-class mecha, the Granzaboma, is usually seen written as "Grand Zamboa."
 * To add a theoretical dimension to this, Matt Greenfield of ADV Films once said that they would've dubbed Simon's name as the typical English Sai-mon.
 * "Ritona" was pretty rampant as Yoko's last/clan name, being the direct Romanization. Bandai standardized this to "Littner".
 * And then there's the series title itself. It has been alternatively spelled as Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's an EXTREMELY widespread usage.
 * Sphere of Power
 * Split Screen: Taken to splintered screens wrestling with each other's borders during arguments and Ham-to-Ham Combat.
 * Spoiler Opening: the third intro is notorious for this:, among others...
 * Spring Coil: the Lagann has them
 * Start of Darkness: Parallel Works #8 for Lordgenome.
 * Stating the Simple Solution:
 * Stepping Stones in the Sky: The last chapter features
 * Stock Footage: The Giga Drill Break-animation. Which gets kinda jarring in episode 15 and The Movie, as the Gurren Lagann's wings just spontaneously disappear for one shot as the attack is carried out.
 * Storming the Castle
 * Stripperiffic: Yoko, especially her outfit for the final arc. Not to mention Simon's waist cincher and posture collar. And Kamina never wore very much either.
 * Strong Family Resemblance: As the 8th Parallel Works video shows.
 * In the Distant Finale, Rossiu now has a striking resemblance to his own father.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: Has an explosions-per-minute quotient that would put any Michael Bay movie to shame.
 * Stupid Sexy Flanders: If the short "Viral's Sweet Dream" is anything to go by, even his sworn enemies can't help but have ...thoughts about Kamina.
 * Stupid Sexy Flanders: If the short "Viral's Sweet Dream" is anything to go by, even his sworn enemies can't help but have ...thoughts about Kamina.

"Kittan: "Damnit, let me finish talking!""
 * Supernatural Aid
 * Super Prototype: The Grapearl mecha are mass-produced versions of the Gurren Lagann. Of course, being Real Robots based on a Super Robot, they're inferior. Gimmy Lampshades this in one episode. Also, the Custom Gunmen of Lordgenome's Four Generals.
 * Super Robot: Hell yeah.
 * Super Robot Wars: We bet you'll all be happy to know it's making it's long-awaited debut in Super Robot Wars Z 2.
 * Supporting Leader: Kamina of course; though Kittan assumes the role, even getting two days in the limelight in the second arc.
 * Supporting Protagonist: Subverted with Simon.
 * Surprisingly Good English: Quite a few of the songs on the soundtrack have legitimate, understandable English lyrics. Examples include Viral's theme Nikopol, all versions of 'Rap Is A Man's Soul' (commonly referred to by its famous lyrics, "ROW ROW, FIGHT DA POWAH!", and it's surprisingly good rap to boot), and 'To Hell With Gattai!'
 * Talking Is a Free Action: Played straight most of the time, except in episode 25.

": "It's no good! Our drill can't penetrate it!" [paraphrase]
 * Team Mom: Yoko.
 * Team Pet: Boota.
 * The eighth Parallel Works video suggests that  This is hinted at in the canon, as   justifies taking more liberties   than the others by stating that they were old friends.
 * Technicolor Eyes: Nia, to the point where she provided the page picture.
 * Notably, her eyes became flat and monochrome while she was under the control of the Anti-Spiral.
 * Telescoping Robot: Taken to the extreme: making weapons larger than the rest of the mech. Handwaved with Spiral Power,
 * Testosterone Poisoning: Kamina, especially in episode 6.
 * That Cloud Looks Like...: Done in episode 4 by Simon, Kamina and Kittan with the usual food variety.
 * That's No Moon:.
 * Which is thereafter corrected by
 * Theme Music Power-Up: Repeatedly. Culminating in.
 * Theme Naming: The Beastmen, their leaders, and a good chunk of the core group of Team Gurren.
 * The four generals are named after a sort-of-portmanteau of the DNA base pairs and pagan elemental spirits. Guame = guanine+ Gnome, spirit of earth; Adiane = adenine+ Undine, spirit of water; Cytomander = cytosine+ Salamander, spirit of fire and Thymilph = thymine+ Sylph, spirit of air. Their Gunmen are also named after The Four Gods, Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakkou, and Genbu.
 * The four Beastman flagships are all named "Gun(something about the ship)". There's the ground-based Gundo: "do" means "earth", air-based Gunten: "ten" is "heaven", sea-based Gunkai: "kai" is "ocean", and for the Gunzan: "zan" is a phonetic variant of "san", meaning "mountain."
 * "Simon" contains "shimo", "below"; "Kamina" has "kami", "above"; "Yoko" is "yoko", "beside", and her alter-ego Yomako is from "mayoko", "directly beside"; Nia has "near" (of course); Kittan is from "tanki", "quick-tempered"; Leeron is from "riron", "theory"; Gimmy and Darry are from "migi" and "hidari", "right" and "left"; Kiyoh is from "youki", "cheerful", and her infant daughter Anne is from "annei", "public peace"; Kinon is from "nonki", "easygoing"; Kiyal is from "yaruki", "eager"; Dayakka is from "odayaka", "gentle"; Kidd and Ailak are from "kidoairaku", "human emotions"; Zorthy is from "souzoushii", "noisy, boisterous"; Jorgun and Balinbow are from "ganjou", "solid" and "abarenbou", "rowdy"; Makken is from "kenma", "grinding, polishing, studying"; Leite is from "teire", "maintenance"; Attenborough is from "awatenbou", "hasty". Jeeha Village is from "haji", "end"; Littner is from "tonari", "next door"; Korehana (the school Yomako taught at) is from "hanare kojima", "small island of isolation"; Bachika is from "chikaba", "nearby place"; Adai is from "aida", "distance; Koiiga (no official romanisation, the village Kidd and Iraak are from) is from "gaikoku", "foreign country"; Nakai (from whence Zorthy hails) is from "inaka", "countryside"; Bakusa (Jorgun and Balinbow's home village) is from "sabaku", "desert"; Jouken (Leite and Makken's home village) is from "kenjou", "neighbourhood"; Koachichi (Attenborough's home village) is from "acchikocchi", "somewhere". Memusu (Viral's daughter) is from "musume"'', "daughter". Phew.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Most battles, including the very first, are completed by utterly anhilating the enemy. "GIGA!!! DRILL!!! BRRRRREAKER!!!!!"
 * The Giga Drill Break in Episode 8 Almost takes an entire chapter in the manga... or at least 11 PAGES FOR A 30 SECOND LONG ATTACK SEQUENCE!
 * The Virus: The heroic Lagann is arguably this
 * They Should Have Sent a Poet: at the end of the first episode. The three main characters launch themselves through the earth's surface and high into the air, getting an overview of everything.
 * This is repeated with Yoko and  post-time skip.
 * It's actually repeated earlier than that with Simon and Nia.
 * This Cannot Be!: Actually exclaimed by heroes and villains alike whenever physics go out the window in favor of what's coolest.
 * The final battle is basically one long contest of this, with the Anti-spirals losing HORRIBLY. Needless to say physics was found brutally murdered in a dark alley.
 * This Is a Drill: The Animated Series. They come in many shapes and sizes and are the weapons of choice for many characters. They also represent the series' theme of continuously moving forward.
 * This Is Sparta: GIGA!!! DRILL!!! BREAAKEEEERRR!!!!!.
 * Taken to the logical extreme by combining 300 and TTGL, which arguably makes for an even more awesome trailer than the original. Beware of Spoilers and keep a towel ready to wipe off the testosterone from your monitor afterwards.
 * Three-Month-Old Newborn: In a manner of speaking- the daughter of Dayakka and Kiyoh is born with a full head of hair and generally looks many months old from the first.
 * Time Abyss: While receiving reports on the evacuation, Rossiu glances at a display showing a world map. The shapes of the continents are just recognizable enough to deduce that tens of millions of years' worth of continental drift has occurred.
 * Or
 * Time Skip:
 * Tim Taylor Technology: How else do you explain the Gurren's spontaneous fix up after combining with Lagann?
 * Title Drop: The biggest mecha in the series is called "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann"; chapters are also named after a dramatic line said by one of the characters.
 * As the title in America is simply Gurren Lagann, this was lost when the finale was aired. There's also confusion after episodes having to be renamed as the line they're named after are slightly different.
 * It should be noted that, translated, the biggest Mecha of the series literally reads Heaven Shattering Gurren Lagann. Guess what it does.
 * Too Dumb to Live: The reinforcements in episode 14. Your commander dies because he charged straight into a tornado of energy? Go ahead and try it en masse. You'll break through it in no time.
 * The problem he had was that all the robots are powered by determination, and it's hard to tell between that and Suicidal Overconfidence.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Simon. Only in the universe of Gurren Lagann can something like this happen.
 * You mean a human being turning Super Saiyan? Because that's what it looks like to me. That's right, being in Gurren Lagann makes you so badass that it turns you into a Saiyan.
 * Seven years, some good Character Development, and  will do that to you.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Yoko and Nia
 * Tragic Bromance:
 * Transformation Sequence: Invoked by Kamina in the fourth episode. He just would not combine with Simon until he did it.
 * Tron Lines: These appear on many things related to.
 * They're also on.
 * Trope Overdosed: Because lots of tropers watch this show, and it's just that awesome.
 * Troperiffic
 * Troper Critical Mass: Read the above entry.
 * Tropes Are Tools: The creators intentionally evoked the classic tropes of Mecha anime from 70s on, with each arc covering the different sets of tropes from eras in Mecha as noted above as a Shout-Out. Taking ques from Getter Robo (this one is worth mentioning the first, have you seen what they do in Shin Getter Robo - Sekai Saigo no Hi???), Mazinger Z, Mobile Suit Gundam, Evangelion, as well as many more,the series was a love letter to all that was good and great about those tropes, as well as using the last arc to set up what they hope would become a new Trope for the future of the Mecha genre.
 * True Companions: Team Dai-Gurren.
 * Tsundere: Yoko shows some characteristics of this when it comes to Kamina.
 * Tunnel King: Simon the Digger
 * Ubermensch Kamina is one of the straightest heroic examples in fiction. He defies the existing morality (wich is similar to the "sheep" morality described and despised by Nietsche) and makes his own code, and inspires others to follow him.
 * All of Team Gurren is this to some degree, and most of the leaders who oppose them (Lordgenome, ) are Last Men.
 * Unstoppable Rage: Simon gets these a lot, especially after episode 8. Of course, special mention must be made for Kamina's unstoppable rage in episode 6. It was freakin hilarious. "MAN'S WRATH ERUPTION SLASH!"
 * Up to Eleven: The entire series revolves around taking every Super Robot trope up to eleven. The movies take it up to twelve.
 * The Usual Adversaries: For the first half, Beastmen. Later on becomes Anti-Spirals.
 * Vagina Dentata: Adiane's mecha has its mouth in its crotch, with fangs.
 * Vague Age: Virtually everyone's age is uncertain due to the whole "living underground with no sun or moon" issue, but Leeron is especially notable: One can start to wonder if he's actually human…
 * Vapor Wear: It's obvious that Nia in the High School AU goes commando.
 * Villainous Breakdown:
 * Villain Opening Scene: In the Movie.
 * Villain Pedigree: From Beastmen to Anti-Spirals.
 * Visual Innuendo: The Dai-Gurren - for God's sake just look at it!
 * This is actually pointed out at one point. When something smashed through the observation deck, all of the male crew members, minus Leeron, grabbed their crotches and cringed.
 * Shortly thereafter, an equally Freudian weapon nails the Dai-Gurren from below...causing Leeron to hop out of his seat with a startled "iya~n."
 * 's black Latex Space Suit has red Tron Lines going about it. The concentric circles on her breasts easily remind you of something.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: The most obvious example is Kamina. Lordgenome could also count, depending on whether or not his (very manly) torso can be seen as Fanservice.
 * Walking the Earth.
 * The War to End All Wars: One of these is a major part of the backstory; it ended with humankind forced to live underground in a misguided attempt to save it from the Anti-Spiral.
 * Wave Motion Gun: Powered by.
 * Weapon Tombstone:
 * Weird Moon:
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Kamina; much of his personality is arguably because of his regret that he didn't accompany his father to the surface when he was a child.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Lordgenome, post-Time Skip Rossiu and
 * Knight Templar: The is too far down the Slippery Slope to be a regular Well-Intentioned Extremist.
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 8:.
 * Netflix used to have the episodes out of order, which made this even worse if you were watching it for the first time there. They are all fine and then skip that particular Wham! Episode leading newcomers to believe
 * After a certain point in Episode 24,
 * And another one in Episode 17, after
 * What Could Have Been: If ADV had finished the dub, Simon would've been voiced by Josh Grelle and Viral would've been voiced by Vic Mignogna!!
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Parallel Works 2 -- a pachinko mecha. Seriously.
 * Libera Me From Hell wasted on nature shots. And it's an official Parallel Works video.
 * HACKING!
 * It has been scientifically proven that if you listen to many of the show's theme songs during menial tasks, said menial task will multiply in awesome.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: as elaborated in Simon's World of Cardboard Speech, the concept of spirals detailing the struggles of the humans up to that point.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: The justification for
 * When All You Have Is A Drill

Simon: "So we need a bigger drill!?" [paraphrase]"


 * Relatedly, When All You Have Is Your Car Keys --
 * Who Are You?: Inverted or...something. The hot-blooded heroes were rarely actually asked, but often answered their opponents preemptively and at great length, always ending with the series' Catch Phrase / Arc Words, "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?"
 * Who Is This Guy Again?: The secondary members of Team Dai-Gurren tend to go unnamed, even if they get large amounts of screentime.
 * The entire crew of Dai-Gurren is actually named; as are their Gunmen (though this may just be a trait of the manga). They announce names at a few points in the canon, and resources exist with all the characters labeled. None the less, it's incredibly easy to forget that they are all indeed named, as these characters are rarely identified despite having substantial screen time for minor characters.
 * Happens to Viral at the end of episode 6. Kamina actually asks "Wait... Who is he again?", though Kamina does this for various people and facts. He actually does this a lot more than one would think for a character.
 * Subverted in the most awesome way in Lagann-hen.
 * A Wizard Did It: Spiral Energy can do pretty much whatever the hell's coolest.
 * The Worf Barrage: Poor Viral seems to fall victim to this a lot, especially any time he draws his swords. Apparently drills > Katanas.
 * In Lagann-Hen,
 * Not to mention Attenborough's Button Mashing all the Humongous Mecha-du-jour's guns on every enemy, usually to little effect: see his Fan Nickname. This is pointed out to him at one point.
 * Despite this, he actually does kill Adiane with it, and mooks now and then.
 * And it's not just Attenborough. Before that there was Yoko's BFG.
 * The Worf Effect: If you pay attention, you'll notice that Kamina almost never won a fight without Simon. The funny thing is, Kamina is fully aware of that trend. It's just that no one - especially Simon - believes him. And this is about a guy with insane stamina, Genius Bruiser tendencies and some Instant Expert skills thrown in one.
 * This is mostly due to the fact that the super robot Lagann IS THEIR ENTIRE FIGHTING FORCE and without it, the real robot Gurren is just one big ass target. The Lagann is also the only mecha powered by Spiral Energy (aka manliness) and only Simon can pilot it.
 * Also, the final battle.
 * Deliberately invoked by the Anti-Spirals, as this is the only way to induce total despair, which in turn will destroy any trace of spiral power.
 * Wasted Song: While Dai-Gurren's Theme and the like are used often throughout the series, Kamina's Theme is used maybe once for all of five seconds.
 * World of Badass
 * World of Ham: Does anybody notice that it can be said the Spiral Power is actually powered by hams?
 * Spiral Sliced Ham?
 * Wrench Wench: Leyte, a.k.a. "The Professor".
 * Does Leeron count?
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Rossiu. Acts like he's in real-robot anime.
 * A very, very cynical one. Though, considering the studio we're talking about here, his assumption is understandable.
 * X Meets Y: Mazinger Z -or Great Mazinger- meets Getter Robo meets Gunbuster.
 * Yaoi Fangirl: Kinon in the AU manga.
 * For that matter, note Yoko's reaction to "they're going to combine".
 * Yonkoma: The Internet has created the "Dai-Gurren-Koma", a collection of photoshops of the "Gaijin 4-Koma" corresponding to each episode that aired, which was updated within days of airing. This YouTube video uses the pictures to punctuate a montage of the entire series. Warning: spoilers.
 * You Are Already Dead Simon does this with
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Some characters, such as Kamina and Nia, have obviously blue hair; others, like Simon and Kiyal, have dark blue hair which is less noticeable.
 * You Killed My Father: In the second episode, Simon realising that tremors caused by the Beastmen-piloted Gunmen led to his parents' deaths motivates him to fight.
 * Younger Than They Look: Zig Zagged. Yoko starts the series at 14 in-universe years. It's claimed that Word of God states that in actual years, she's about 18.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Yoko wears a grade A with short shorts. Ironically, this means her legs are by far the only decently-covered part of her.