Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann/Characters/Secondary Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Kittan Bachika

Voiced by: Kissho Taniyama (JP), Christopher Corey Smith (EN)

"What's that bozo Kamina gotten himself into now...?
"I'm not about about to let my cute little niece die in some alleyway! Go on without me, Dayakka! Look after Kiyoh for me.... GO!! IT'S ABOUT TO OPEN FIRE!"

A Beastman hunter and eldest of the Bachika siblings, an encounter with Kamina and Simon inspires him to unite a group of stolen Gunmen pilots to join their revolution. Despite not having their charisma or gift with words, he grows to become an excellent field commander. Kittan acquires a red, star-shapped Gunmen in a battle against the Beastmen long before meeting Team Gurren, stealing from its original pilot in similar to how Kamina jacked the Gurren. The moment he took over the Gunmen, the Spiral Power of his fighting spirit morphed it into King Kittan.

Rossiu Adai

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (JP), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN), Michael McConnohie (EN, epilouge)

A boy from another underground village, in which the people worship Gunmen as gods. When Gimmy and Darry are chosen the leave the village, Rossiu decides to go with them and they join Team Gurren. Rossiu has a curious and inquisitive nature, often as a result of being sheltered for most of his life by Father Magin in Addai Village, having listened to spiritual preachings that were meant to keep him at ease. His innocence begins to slip away over time, though. It starts when he discovers Father Magin has been preaching lies to protect his people: he made his mother leave Addai Village so its capacity would stay at 50, allowing them to survive. This time around, Gimmy and Darry must leave, but Rossiu leaves the village as well, knowing someone must look after them. Father Magin gives him a book to remember him by as a keepsake- and perhaps one day, learn what the language it's written in means. Rossiu and the kids join Team Gurren on the journey to stop the Spiral King. As he enters more battles, he gains a greater sense of determination, but Kamina enjoys calling him "Forehead Boy" nonetheless. Unfortunately, Kamina's tragic death forces him to take his place as pilot of the Gurren, while watching Simon slip into depression, even being called out for his so-called "god" not saving Kamina from being killed. Eventually, Rossiu goes into battle to face Lordgenome, and ends up watching on in stunned silence.

Following the aftermath of the battle and a time skip, Rossiu is now Simon's advisor as he runs the government in Kamina City. However, the arrival of the Anti-Spiral and the panic of the public turn him into a Well-Intentioned Extremist willing to sacrifice everything in order to preserve humanity.

  • Bishonen: Post timeskip.
  • Break the Haughty: Seemingly invoked but ultimately subverted. For several episodes after the timeskip he appears to be the controlling force of the government with Simon is a figurehead, and he criticizes Simon's recklessness while justifying that his extreme and morally-ambiguous actions are necessary, including sentancing Simon to death. However he was really broken up and unhappy about doing what he was doing and wasn't at all proud of it. He just did a good job of concealing it from others. Thus, Rossiu broke himself, but he wasn't as haughty as it seemed at first.
  • Butt Monkey: In the first arc.
  • Driven to Suicide: With Kinon's help, Simon stops him.
  • Evil Chancellor: More of a Well-Intentioned Extremist Chancellor.
  • Face Heel Turn: Though only briefly.
  • Fan Nickname: "Lulussiu", since his dub actor is also Lelouch vi Britannia, as well as having the same attitude.
    • That also led to Simon's nickname, Spinsimon or Simonzaku, since he has Suzaku Kururugi's dub voice and similar traits and interactions with Lelouch that mirror those with Simon and Rossiu.
    • There's also "Forehead Boy," Kamina's nickname for him.
  • Forehead of Doom: Noted by Kamina. Levels out after the time skip.
  • Foreshadowing: When he pilots Gurren in the Hot Springs Episode, foreshadowing his stint as Gurren's pilot after Kamina's death.
  • Grumpy Bear
  • He Is All Grown Up: Similar to Simon's case, he gets much hotter and less goofy-looking after the timeskip.
    • Don't forget he also wins the heart of Kinon.
  • Heroic BSOD: Post timeskip. The realization that his actions to try and save the world, including sentencing Simon to die, triggered one on its own. Then when Simon and company came back and saved the world by acting in a manner he condemned, thereby proving that not only were Rossiu's actions futile but also plain wrong, it just got worse. This lead to him being Driven to Suicide, though Simon stopped him.
  • The Lancer: To Simon.
  • Mr. Fanservice: To those he isn't The Scrappy to, at least....
  • My God, What Have I Done?: See Heroic BSOD.
  • Meaningful Name: Rossiu comes from "ushiro", or "back". He represents the characters who don't believe in blindly charging forwards and is ultimately shackled by his origins.
  • Non-Action Guy: He pilots Gurren Lagann with Simon for awhile, but when we meet him after the timeskip he's become this.
  • Nonchalant Dodge: When his composure is level, he can defend himself easily. He effortlessly dodges Kittan's attacks as he tries to take out his frustration on him. However, it's all an act to hide his suffering. He doesn't even try to dodge an attack when despair takes root. Instead, he looks on in absolute terror at Gurren Lagann as it flies toward him, so stunned he doesn't realize Simon has leapt out of the cockpit until taking a sharp punch to the cheek that he never saw coming.
  • Official Couple: With Kinon.
  • Only Sane Man: Deconstructed.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Simon's red - he is more intellectually-driven and professional compared to Simon.
  • Rossiu Was Right: He was even named after Rousseau himself.
  • Shoot the Dog: What he does in the second half in terms of Simon is this in his mind.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: During his attempted suicide, his hair falls around his face when Simon punches him.
  • The Spock: Insists on emotion and reason as the tools to lead and govern.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Becomes one after the time skip.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: As humanity's primary strategic planner, most of his decisions would be fairly reasonable in the real world. However, he lives is a universe where a sufficient amount of Heroic Willpower is capable of breaking the laws of physics.
    • Then again, he is in a Gainax series, so you can't really blame him.

Leeron Litner

Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (JP), Steven Blum (EN)

"Attaboy, attaboy! You can do it! Way to go! Attaboy, attaboy! You can do it! Way to go! Attaboy!"

Leeron, or "Ron," is the flamboyant village mechanic of Littner Village. After taking an interest in Simon's mech he joins Simon, Kamina and Yoko in their quest to defeat the Beastmen. Leeron is astoudingly brillant and innovative, able to whip together his own legion of helper robots and invent ingenious technology with a little tinkering. However... Leeron is also a cross-dresser... figure that one out.

  • Badass Labcoat: This is the one guy who is almost never even mildly anxious about life threatening danger and every weapon of war he's ever macgyvered together usually winds up kicking ass right off the assembly line. Besides, after the time skip, he becomes the head scientist of human civilization. The only time he does take interest is in the Final Battle with the Anti-Spiral collective.
  • Beauty Mark
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Yes, he's a flaming gay stereotype. He's also the best mechanic and engineer in the world. This is the man who made Gurren out of three broken mecha overnight, complete with a finished coat of paint.
  • Camp Gay: Turned up so much that he's practically the Memetic Badass of Flaming Queens.
    • In-universe its Played for Laughs, aside from his voice the Camp Gay angle is only played up when he wants to freak out other characters with it.
  • The Engineer: The guy basically maintains all the friendly Gunmen, including the MASSIVE Dai-Gurren without help from anyone except Leyte!
  • Expy: of Tekkaman Blade's Levin.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: His theme song spells out this subliminal message: "Leeron is so gay. He is so gay. He loves my asshole. Asshole." Are you retching yet?
  • Meaningful Name: His name is either "riron" for "theory," or "ronri" for "logic".
  • The Medic: Yes, he's ALSO the Dai-Gurren's medic as well as its head engineer, this guy is just that awesome.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: Gets a little too close to his teammates at times. See above.
  • Older Than He Looks: Leeron shows hardly any signs of old age in the Distant Finale except for a touch of gray hair. Knowing him, he's probably figured out how to preserve his youthful looks and beauty all this time- or resorted to plastic surgery.
  • The Power of Love: When he talks about evolution and reproduction and nobody gets it, he sums it up by saying that love is what keeps the universe going.
  • Running Gag: Two astoundingly creepy ones. He constantly creeps Gimmy out with his perverted attitude, even after the time skip, and his "advances" onto Kamina cause him to threaten to kill him. When Kamina dies, the joke vanishes... only for it to resurface when Viral has to listen to his fruitcake-level comments and ask Simon permission to kill him.
  • The Smart Guy: Make that super genius.
  • Stalker With a Creepy, Same-Gender Crush: Tries to put the moves on Kamina twice, causing him to draw his Katana, back away a good hundred yards away, and yell, "DIE!!"
    • Leeron then moves on to Gimmy, scaring the crap out of him each and every time he gets a little... too... personal.
    • And then he moves on to Viral, who reacts the same exact way Kamina does.
  • Subtext: He loves to add this in his speech.
  • Techno Babble: It's actually pretty easy to understand him when he talks like this, although almost all the other characters are absolutely bewildered, so he has to put it in Layman's Terms for them.
  • Undying Loyalty: Leeron is the only member of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, other than Kamina, to never doubt Simon. When Simon comes back from his Heroic BSOD after Kamina's death, while everyone cheers, Ron just nods as if knowing he'd be back all along. He did, too.
  • You Gotta Have Teal Hair: Though it does turn a twinge grayer in the Distant Finale.

Dayakka Littner

Voiced by: Daiki Nakamura (JP), Doug Stone (EN)

The chief of Littner Village, who later becomes the captain of the various Dai-Gurren ships. He's a dedicated protector of his loved ones, a family man, and the initial pilot of the Dayakkaiser, a Gunmen he hijacked in battle against the Beastmen, until Yoko (and once, Kiyoh) decides to commandeer it. Seven years later, he falls insanely in love with Kiyoh Bachika and marries her, then proceeds to get busy with her and have a baby girl named Anne. Unfortunately, Anne's birth brings the human population to the deadly number one million- which sets off a defense system to attack Earth the moment it detects the new life.

Attenborough

Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)

"When it comes to spacey interruptions, I'm your man!"

The gunner of Team Dai-Gurren and Comic Relief. Attenborough actually isn't an official member of the team- he hid in some guy's suitcase and snuck onto the crew unnoticed- until he got behind the control panel of a weapons system. Only knows one tactic: FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!


Darry and Gimmy

Darry: Shizuka Ito (JP), Mela Lee (EN)
Gimmy: Takako Honda (JP), Brianne Siddall (EN)

Gimmy and Darry are twin siblings of Rossiu. When they were children, they were removed from their village due to limit population because they were orphans. However, Rossiu joined them along with Team Gurren(later known as Team Dai-Gurren).

After the timeskip, they both became pilots of the Grapearl mass-production mecha, serving as the faces of the new generation that was pushing Team Dai-Gurren aside... only to discover they need to re-think their positions...

Balinbow and Jougan

Balinbow: Kouzou Douzaka (JP), Paul St Peter (EN)
Jougan: Go Shinomiya (JP), Tony Oliver (EN)

Jorgun Bakusa and Balinbow Bakusa are the towering, twin brothers of Team Dai-Gurren, piloting the two-faced Gunmen, Twinboekun, and also Space Twinboekun. They are extremely loud and exuberant brothers who love to beat stuff up- but seem to have the minds of cavemen. That, and they think staggeringly alike. The brothers often speak in monosyllabic bursts, but their battle prowness is terrifying. Somehow, they end up with government positions after the time skip. Sadly, they don't live to the very end. To keep the Anti-Spirals from wasting Gimmy and Darry, they put their own Gunmen in the line of fire to throw their disabled Grapearls to safety, which leads to their deaths- but the following explosion takes out a good number of enemy mecha. A memorial is erected in their honor. The second movie, however, spares them the shaft and they get to square off in the Final Battle.

  • The Big Guys: They are big, they are strong, and not too bright.
  • Cool Shades: One pair per brother, though the colors do not correspond to Red Oni, Blue Oni- it's just to tell them apart. They lose them seconds before they die when they shatter.
  • Crouching Morons, Hidden Badasses
  • Died Laughing: They mock death right up to the very end.
  • Dumb Muscle: They even use Hulk Speak sometimes.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: To rescue Gimmy and Darry from the wrath of the Anti-Spiral forces, the throw themselves into the line of fire and then throw the kids' Grapearls to safety. Then, just to top it off- they died laughing- in a HUGE explosion.
  • Large Ham: BOTH OF THEM!!! HOOOOOOAAAAHH!!!
  • Gonk: They fit the bill quite nicely.
  • Single-Minded Twins: We're only one step away from "Jorginbow." Just add purple glasses.
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps
  • Real Men Don't Cry: Averted as hell in the second movie at Nia's wedding, at which the two are seen crying like babies.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: They survive in the second movie.
  • Too Dumb to Live: At first... YES. They effectively prove to be a pair of buffons who can barely talk- but fight like gladiators. Yet out of all jobs the two could get in the future, they end up partly in charge of government and human affairs. When the populous starts complaining, one twin's reaction is to shout "QUIT BITCHING!!" over the phone, and then both twins smash the phone booths to pieces. In fact, when Rossiu put together a Kangaroo Court, Balinbow was Simon's lawyer. OUCH.
    • Here comes the tragic subversion: The twins pull a Heroic Sacrifice to save Gimmy and Darry, boasting that their Twinbokkun will hold up to the Anti-Spiral's firepower. It turns out they knew their Gunmen would be torn apart by the lasers- so they laugh at their foes in death. However, Twinboekun explodes in such a spectacular fashion, it wipes out a good chunk of Anti-Spiral fighters.
  • Use Your Head: If a wall is in the way, their hollow skulls are the first weapon they use.

Makken Jokin

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (JP), Keith Silverstein (EN)

"Sorry- it took awhile for me to find a sitter for the kids."

The stout, often silent member of Team Dai-Gurren, and pilot of Mo-Shogun, and later, Space Mo-Shogun. Makken is keen to the art of the samurai, having a very deep sense of honor. Much like Kamina, he's very profound with swords, and shares a love for building machines with Leyte. After seven years go by, he falls madly in love with her and gets married, having three kids, acting as a humble mechanic in his retirement from the team- until he has to spring to action again against a new threat. Fortunately, he and Leite were entrusted with the team's former Gunmen but instructed to scrap the due to the presence of "superior" Grapearls. Luckily, they refused to do so, instead improving the Gunmen to new heights. However, while Makken lives up to the name of "samurai," the poor guy also goes out like a samurai. When the Anti-Spirals unleash a volley of deadly missiles on the Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann, one appears in its blind spot on direct collision course with the starship. After heavily struggling to stop the previous missles, Team Dai-Gurren can't stop this one- so Makken charges in and plunges his Space Mo-Shogun's sword deep into the warhead, detonating it seconds before impact, but killing him in the explosive inferno. A memorial pays tribute to him afterward. Lucky for us, he lives in the second movie and displays even more badass swordplay.

  • Bald of Awesome: Has a badass shaved head.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Once to protect Kittan, once to protect Team Dai-Gurren from a planet-sized missle. The latter marks the final act of his life.
  • BFS: Mo-Shogun has a Wakizashi Blade, and Space Mo-Shogun has two.
  • Chekhov's "Gunmen": He and Leyte take care of Team Dai-Gurren's Gunmen over the seven years they remain unused, instead of disposing of them when told to do so. Better yet, they designed much stronger versions of the Gunmen- the Space Gunmen.
  • Cool Hat: Wears a red cap while working as a mechanic.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: Charges a missle at full-force, screaming at the top of his lungs, without even flinching!
  • Heroic Sacrifice: To save Team Dai-Gurren from a fatal missile impact. Made even worse knowing that Leyte will have to go home and tell his kids daddy isn't coming back. Thankfully, the second movie dodged that bullet- err... missile.
  • Everything's Better with Samurai
  • Knight in Shining Armor: When piloting the samurai-esque Mo-Shogun.
  • Mr. Fixit
  • Odd Couple: It's surprising to see him paired up with Leyte.
  • Retired Badass: Post time-skip up until the first Mugann attack.
  • Scarf of Asskicking
  • Silent Bob: Makken doesn't speak so much as he sports a determined look on his face, but always has something interesting to say whenever the moment comes up.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: Stays alive in the second movie and gets to pilot a cool new mech, too!
  • Talking to Himself: In the Japanese dub, Makken has the same voice actor as Kamina, though he is credited as "Reo Kaminaga". Reo Kaminaga, when written in hiragana, is an anagram for "ore ga Kamina," or "I am Kamina."
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Not so much ugly as scruffy-looking, but his little boys share his looks. His girl, however, is a cutie.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Pre-time skip, but not as evident as Kamina.

Leyte Jokin

Voiced by: Takako Honda (JP), Laura Bailey (EN)

The chief mechanic of Team Dai-Gurren. She's a compassionate and dedicated worker who can concoct amazing new weapons and implement new technology seamlessly. Soon after Dai-Gurren defeats the Spiral King, she gets married to Makken and has three kids. Following the disbanding of the team, she and Makken are tasked with dismantling the old Gunmen- but the two of them aptly refuse to do so, and instead keep them in top condition. Even better- when she's able to harness the production facilities of the Super Galaxy Dai Gurren, she helps create the massive Space Gunmen fleet. However, Makken ends up giving his life to protect her and the starship- but she stays strong and continues fighting to avenge him, despite going home to her heartbroken children. Fortunately, Makken lives in Lagann-Hen, and the family lives happily ever after.

Kiyoh

Voiced by: Rina Satou (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)

The eldest of Kittan's younger sisters, and by far the most developed. Kiyoh is a sly blonde with a sassy attitude, and a champion at using a yo-yo in ways that would make your jaw drop to the floor- if her curvaceous figure didn't already do that. Eventually, she discovers Dayakka is crushing on her. After the timeskip, she marries Dayakka and gives birth a little girl named Anne- the one millionth human.

Kinon

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)

The second oldest of Kittan's younger sisters. After Team Dai-Gurren's capture of Dai-Gunzan, she takes up a position within its control tower, monitoring the radar. She seems to be the calmest and smartest member of the Black Siblings. She hardens up after the time skip, becoming harsh and drastic in response to Rossiu's actions. However, it only serves to reveal she's doing it out of pure, unrestrained love for him- and after a very, very horrible experience where he tries to take his life, she has a meltdown and ends up right in his arms. We can only assume this led to marriage.

  • Blue Eyes
  • Bob Haircut: Pre-timeskip. Post time-skip, she's let it grow out down past her neck.
  • Break the Cutie: Rossiu's actions break her heart- but then it's promptly healed and strengthened when his sorrow comes out.
  • Cooldown Hug/Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: She bursts into tears when she sees Rossiu hasn't committed suicide, then dashes right into his arms and gives him a tender hug, while sobbing in his chest. Afterward, she cuddles up on top of his lap the whole ride back to Kamina City with a gentle smile, blushing nonstop.
  • Cry Cute: She falls to pieces when she sees her beloved Rossiu is okay- and this actually ignites a full-fledged love interest between them.
    • Hold Me: She runs up and leaps into Rossiu's arms while spilling tears and whimpering, not even stopping to shed the glasses and wipe her eyes.
  • Extreme Doormat: Deconstructed: Kinon is forced to do unthinkable things just to prevent Rossiu from taking everything too far, culminating in having a gigaton of explosives strapped to her chest in case Simon tries to escape custody. Rossiu was deeply sorry for this.
  • Mission Control
  • Gainaxing: Mostly post-timeskip.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Orihime and Hinata!
  • Meaningful Name: Her name is an anagram for "nonki", or "carefree".
  • Meganekko: Treasures her glasses to the point she won't take them off in a hot spring.
  • Official Couple: With Rossiu.
  • Out of Focus: Sadly, after Episode 23. Gainax couldn't expand on her relationship with Rossiu due to budget constraints stopping them flat at the final episode. However, we pretty much understand it's a happy ending.
  • Shallow Love Interest: Subverted. This is one of the few times that becoming a possible love interest is actually a genuine form of Character Development, as she's the only one who can decipher her boss/possible boyfriend Rossiu's motivations and helps Simon reach for him when Rossiu is about to commit suicide.
  • Shipper on Deck: In the high school AU manga, Simon and Nia catch her in the middle of drawing a picture of Kamina and Kittan.
  • Shrinking Violet: Pre-timeskip.
  • Relationship Voice Actor: Once again, one of Stephanie's characters is in love with one of Johnny's characters.
  • Subordinate Excuse: Possibly, to Rossiu.
  • Tears of Joy: Seeing Rossiu (fairly) unharmed sends her into a crying wreck, pouring out tears of relief.
  • Three Faces of Eve: The Wife (pre Time Skip).

Kiyal

Voiced by: Kana Asumi (JP), Gina Bowes (EN)

The youngest of Kittan's younger sisters. She's quite the tomboy. Kiyal is the playful little sis of the Black Siblings, often joking at the situation and keeping a bright but forceful attitude about her. She pilots the Kiyalunga, a suprisingly adorable pink Gunmen with a big smile on its face.

  1. ↑ including two of his sisters, his niece and his brother-in-law
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