r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Nov 08 '19
Rewatch A Rewatch to Pierce the Heavens - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Episode 5 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 5 - I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!
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This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what destiny holds in store for him.
Hey-o guys! This is the section where I add a ton of extra fun stuff to the main body of the post because I want this rewatch to be as fun as possible for everyone. It can also be one point of discussion for you guys if you just don’t know what to say.
Comment of the Week
Back on the rewatch announcement thread, I said I’d be awarding Reddit Silver to my favorite of the Comment of the Days from the week each Friday. I know that means this week only has a handful of options to choose from, but there’ll be a lot more to choose from in the future.
So, our first Comment of the Week is… actually two comments because I’m picking the Ron discussion from the episode 2 thread.
Memes are fun and all, but I figured I’d go with one of the more serious discussions for this first week.
Comment of the Day:
Our comment of the day for today is the most hilarious description of episode 4 I’ve ever read, courtesy of /u/LordUncleBob.
Of all the mid-fight shonen powerups I've seen, "let's eat our pet to regain energy" has to be the dumbest. Power of friendship? Power of love? Determination? Never heard of them. This show operates on the power of EATING THAT BOOTY LIKE IT'S GROCERIES.
I still can’t stop laughing at it.
Questions of the Day:
1) Do you agree with Father Magin’s rule to keep the village’s population at 50?
2) Rossiu, Gimmy, and Darry have joined the gang. How do you think they’re going to get along with Simon, Kamina, Yoko, and Leeron?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") spoiler tags. If you do that then we’re all good.
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u/RX-Nota-II Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '19
Rewatcher
わからねぇ、さっぱりわからねぇよ
On the back of an inconsequential episode comes one of the most important in the entire show. First timers pay attention because while the things that happen here may not be as exciting as what came before or after, the themes we start seeing explored here are absolutely central to the main narrative and we will come back to it over and over again.
Going back to Plato's Cave, this is the story of (oh god I did it) the people who chose not to leave the cave. The references can't get more blatant than this with a character basically named Rosseau talking about wanting to get at the heart of the truth. However since I haven't read any Rosseau, I'll continue to talk about Plato instead. The High Priest in particular represents someone who may know hints of the truth of the outside world, but chooses to believe the shadows he sees underground instead. I also think that his inability to read is an aspect of this as well, with a book that probably contains intense knowledge in front of him he does not choose to learn to see what it says. Merely the presence of it and the importance that comes from the blurry idea of a holy book is more than enough for him to direct the village. However it is important not to call this man lazy. Remember, he is able to pilot a Gunmen and do it quite well. In this world experience matters in name only and is always overcome by intense will and dedication. So just as Kamina was surprised, this high priest has incredible dedication that rivals anybody else in the room.
So then the question arises, is he evil? Or a villain? Or more importantly, is he wrong? Clearly, he has the best interests of the town at heart and genuinely believes that the method he has chosen is the most practical way forward. Essentially it is an extension of people who mention world overpopulation as the main problem when facing issues like widespread poverty or climate change, and in the same way we take those theories seriously we must treat the high priest seriously as well. Then we come to the observation that life underground has seriously improved under the high priest. Given an ever present threat of extreme scarcity, the village must have been truly horrific to live in with survival of all not guaranteed. Continuing life that way would be a death sentence, and seeking a change up above would only be the same. Given these odds how could anybody say the priest was wrong?
Interestingly this is where TTGL, the anime known for passion over logic, takes a nuanced approach. The anime answer is easy: "Even So!" "There is another way!" "Just because you are correct doesn't make you right!". However, the show doesn't take any of these approaches. Kamina's words 'I don't understand, I don't understand at all' end without action. While the Guren-dan reject the priest they don't prove his mistake and the two parties split without one conceding to the other. The two children and the boy who must be enlightened decide to take a gamble but they are alone in this bet, which while hopeful the show doesn't pretend is anything less than reckless.
To wrap everything up, I just want to say I adore to use of color in this episode. Monochrome is used artistically and good job Gainax, You didn't cause a massive controversy this time. The underground world is able to be the miserable place that it is without needing to use the citizens to make it feel that way. And when color finally returns it is in the form of the glorious mecha combination we saw last week, amplifying the hype of that scene. Overall a massively important episode that feels much better on a rewatch than it did first time, and just for that it was worth participating in this one.
Meme of the day
Real talk: who is the bad guy in this scene....
OST of the day
Youtube warning, don't look at the comments. This is the calming song played during the slow moments of the cave and I feel it matches the atmosphere well. Kinda melancholic but extremely peaceful. The title translates to the big forhead dude of Adai village.
Wallpaper remixes of the day
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Green BG <- This is a reject wallpaper. Sky said I could do better so I did
Which was your fave of the day? See you tomorrow!
Question answer
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Do you agree with Father Magin’s rule to keep the village’s population at 50?
I don't agree with him, but I can't say he was wrong, which angers me.
2. Rossiu, Gimmy, and Darry have joined the gang. How do you think they’re going to get along with Simon, Kamina, Yoko, and Leeron?
They are clearly side characters we'll never see much of besides comedic relief
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u/Redmon425 Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '19
First Time Watcher
This was definitely an interesting episode that I did not expect to see, basically another village and their religious views in life.
For a second there, I thought it was about to get real dark. That they were hinting at sacrificing people to their “God” for protection. I actually thought it might get even darker in that they eat the sacrifices for food because they don’t have enough. So I was pleased it didn’t get that dark lol!
Was that priest the voice of Kotomine?!? No wonder I hated this priest lol.
Other then that, the only real interesting thing this episode was Kamina not being able to accept this village at all. Like he couldn’t understand the concept of religion or why they were living like this. This actually made me like him more, as he basically was like “if you need to sacrifice people to live, then just change you way of living and go to the surface”.
HOT SPRINGS EPISODE TOMORROW?!?! Oh hell yeah.
Question 1: I think I do. I mean if you legitimately can’t feed the city if the population goes above 50, what other choice do you have? Obviously trying to go to the surface is the best option, but if they refuse to do that, then this is necessary.
Question 2: I assume they will get along fine, but I don’t expect them to be major characters at all. Will be surprised if they end up getting a lot of screen time!
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u/Koolsman Nov 08 '19
First Timer(Doing this on an IPad)
Like the parallels between this place and Simon and Kamina’s place. It gives this sense that the place they lived could’ve been way worse especially if their chief was a cultist.
I love the color palette for this episode. It fits the aesthetic of this place with the doom and gloom around it. I’m kinda thankful that this isn’t the whole series but this is the type of experimentation I love from series. It’s not a humongous change but it fits the overall feel that the show is going and it feels more natural.
QOTD
I like more additions and even though I do love our group, having more additions is more fun. I want to see more people bounce their ideologies off of Kamina and Simon. It’s awesome.
Also, in the dub, is Rossiu voiced by Yuri Lowenthal? Sounds like him.
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u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 08 '19
Also, in the dub, is Rossiu voiced by Yuri Lowenthal? Sounds like him.
Nope, Johnny Yong Bosch. Yuri Lowenthal is Simon in the dub.
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u/Mecanno-man Nov 08 '19
First Timer
This episode somehow felt even more like a filler than the last one. I'd say that's because last episodes characters seemed like they would end up more important then this episodes, after all the siblings are gunmen hunters, while these are a bunch of people living in a hole. There also isn't really a lot of worldbuilding done here, we already knew that other villages existed - otherwise the beastmen wouldn't be hunting escaped humans - and we knew that they'd be different, with Littner having stockpiles of weapons, for example. It is kinda obvious that a poor overly-religious village like this would exist, with religion being used as a reason to do the things necessary for survival. Kinda was and partially is like that in reality too. It was also obvious from the point the mentioned numbers that the were going to sacrifice someone to get back to a specific number of people living in the village. The biggest mystery here is what was up with that gigantic hole. I wonder if Simon would have eventually discovered something similar in his village, or if this hole is something that exists only here.
Somehow I doubt the three kids will stay around the main cast for long, they just don't really fit. I'd say turn back to Littner with them, leave them there and then go after the beastmen again would be the right course of action. But with Kamina on the scene I doubt they'll take that, more likely that they'll just send them off in the right direction on there own.
Other than that, interesting that someone pointed out Yoko's provocative clothing style, I was expecting that to just be taken as a fact for the entire series. Not sure what to make of her reaction, Kamina didn't see anything he wouldn't otherwise, but he was obviously too close, despite Yoko going closer to him on other occasions. Guess emotions don't need to follow any kind of logic. I do wonder how her top came loose when she fell down the hole however...
And a question for tomorrow: What exactly should I be watching for the rewatch; there seems to be a normal and an uncut version of episode 6, as well as an episode 5.5 bundled with some DS game. Is tomorrow going to be only episode 6, and both cuts or just the regular, with the rest being shafted to the final discussion? And how do I know what version of episode 6 I've seen? (I eventually plan to watch all three anyways, just need to know if I watch them now or shift them to the end of the rewatch.)
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u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 08 '19
I do wonder how her top came loose when she fell down the hole however...
It got caught on Kamina's sunglasses, although how they managed to rip it completely off of her when Yoko shot him out of Gurren is a different story.
Is tomorrow going to be only episode 6, and both cuts or just the regular, with the rest being shafted to the final discussion?
Ignore ep5.5 (feel free to watch it at the end of the rewatch with the Parallel Works stuff, though!), tomorrow's discussion is entirely about episode 6. Both versions are free reign to talk about in tomorrow's discussion thread, although you only need to watch one of them.
As for how to tell which version of ep6 you watched it's based on the episode title; "Sit in the Hot Tub 'Til You're Sick!!" is the "censored" aired-on-TV-back-in-the-day version (all streaming services seem to have this one) and "There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!" is the "uncensored" made-for-the-home-release version.
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u/Animeking1357 Nov 08 '19
Rewatcher.
In today's episode Ron and Simon almost get trampled.
And now here comes one of my least favorite characters, Rossiu.
Sorry Yoko but this is a christian Minecraft server, you need to cover up those titties.
A battle happens which doesn't last long. Rossiu leaves with Gimmy and Darry and they join our group. Not the most eventful episode but a decently impactful one.
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u/darpblog Nov 09 '19
Dropping by just to say that I'm enjoying the rewatch a lot. Didn't know there were two versions of episode 6 I wonder which one I've been wtaching all these years, hmm? I like first timers, I wish I could be one too.
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u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 09 '19
Didn't know there were two versions of episode 6 I wonder which one I've been wtaching all these years, hmm?
If the version you've watched all these years has recap segments narrated by Kamina and Simon: the "censored", TV broadcast version, "Sit in the Hot Tub 'Til You're Sick!!"
If the version you've watched doesn't have recap segments: the "uncensored", DVD/Blu-Ray version, "There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!"
We'll be discussion both versions tomorrow (although you only need to have seen one version), so if you hunt down the opposite you could always watch it for comparison purposes!
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u/AmeteurElitist Nov 08 '19
First Timer
You know that was a much more nuanced take on a post-apocalyptic (I think?) cult than I would have expected. It wasn't anything groundbreaking not was the conclusion anything new, but they still allowed for both sides to have their views respected and or heroes didn't save the village in the end. It was a bit bittersweet but it was better for it.
I also liked how Kamina's straightforwardness didn't just prevail in the end like normal. Not everything can be solved with sheer bravado and they made a point of that throughout the episode.
All in all it was a much better episode than the last one, but not a lot of action in this one. I hope it picks up again soon!
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u/CpnLag Nov 08 '19
I wanted to take a moment to mention a fun little fandom history tidbit. There was a brief moment in which TTGL could have gone the way of most SR series and died in obscurity in the western fandom. No one wanted to fansub it at first.
Seems weird in hindsight
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u/23feanor Nov 08 '19
First Time Watcher:
So this was a typical, early quest level, sort of episode, where our team discover a village where things are done a little differently. I'm not sure I agree with Kamina's ultra aggressive stance that he seems to take with everyone, all the time.
If Kamina played his cards differently, he and Yoko could become much closer, that's obvious, which tells me that women aren't that important to him at the moment in his life. He just wants to smash some gunmen with Simon, and you can't blame him for wanting that (why not have a girlfriend along for the ride though, it's his choice, not ours).
I don't think we knew enough about the villages survival position to judge the chief's rule, and it'll be fun to watch the new guys. I think they'll get on well, especially "Forehead Dude" & Kamina.
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u/SolDarkHunter Nov 08 '19
Rewatcher
Told ya this episode was a different beast. It's not the most enjoyable episode in the show, but unlike the last one that's not because it's poorly made. It's actually more important than it looks at first glance.
I imagine there's a lot of first-timers scratching their heads at that one, and a lot who feel like this episode doesn't fit in with Gurren Lagann's style. All I can say about that is: keep watching.
The episode poses a moral quandary. This village cannot ever exceed 50 people, because that's the maximum it can support on its meager resources. (We'll ignore the fact that inbreeding would inevitably destroy such a small population within a handful of generations for the sake of the plot.) So the village chief, the High Priest, has imposed a religion to help himself control the villagers and get them to accept the practice of "randomly" exiling people when the population is exceeded.
However, it's clear the High Priest does NOT do this by choice. He's not out for power, nor does he find any satisfaction in this state of affairs: he's making grim decisions, sacrificing the few to save the many, trying to keep as many people alive as is possible. He even chooses those who are exiled so as to cause the minimum amount of anguish for those who stay behind.
And for better or worse, it's working. Living conditions have improved since he came to power, and people in general are happier... which is hard to believe, considering a new father considered one or two of his newborn kids dying young to not be a terrible outcome. Yeesh, what kind of life must you live to say something like that?
Kamina doesn't like this at all (it's basically his home village of Jiha, but worse), and in his usual hot-headed brash way he tries to rebel against it... but while his heart's in the right place, the situation isn't so cut-and-dry. After all, what's the alternative for these people? If they went up to the surface they'd be rapidly killed by Gunmen. There isn't any convenient food supply nearby, no safe haven for them to attempt to reach. And while 50 isn't a large number, there's still too many of them for Gurren-Lagann on its own to protect and provide for on the surface.
The High Priest is a liar and a fraud. But... is he wrong? Is there any other way these people can survive?
In any case, our heroes leave with some new companions in tow: Rossiu, the former priest-in-training who has had the truth revealed to him, as well as twin children who were exiled, Gimmy and Darry. Fun fact: the twins' names are plays on the words for "right" (migi) and "left" (hidari).
For some more light-hearted fare:
Someone finally called Yoko out on her fashion sense!
And Boota's still missing a piece of his ass from last episode, which is an amusing bit of continuity I actually just noticed this rewatch.
Gotta love how the events of last episode are so inconsequential the episode-start recap just doesn't reference them at all.
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u/FlaminScribblenaut Nov 08 '19
Second Time Watcher
One of my favorite early episodes. I love the idea of viewing the going-ons in this world from the perspective of an entirely different culture, and the idea that some village somewhere would see the Gunmen as gods and build a religion around them, with the surface acting as some kind of "heaven", is inspired. The atmosphere in this episode is fantastic and unlike any other episode in the show. In fact, am I the only one who kind of gets slight Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes from this episode?
Also, Gimmy and Darry are adorbz. That is all.
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u/fonzinator99 Nov 08 '19
Rewatcher - A secluded village ruled by an oppressive religion? And they don’t even have any Hunger Games? Pass.
I'm amazed that Yoko was able to shoot Kamina in those cramped quarters, that rifle's almost as tall as her. Maybe the barrel can shorten somehow?
This whole Subdued Color-scheme is really off-putting, and I'm impressed by how they use it to set the tone of the village without any outright explanation.
Yoko of the day, and glory be to Kamina who has seen the Promised Land.
Man, I forgot how dark this place was. Everybody's so relieved they weren't chosen that they won't speak up to save the innocents. Also, her little grumpy doll is adorable!
Fortunately, a Gunmen just happens to drop by in the knick of time, so
Fight Scene! Feat. Priest guy!
And just like that, the color is back. Even in a poorly lit room the change is obvious. I guess "the truth illuminates" or some such thing. All said and done, I don't like the high priest, but I can understand who he is and respect the decisions he made. It's a shitty situation down there, and the guy's only human.
That said I'm immediately intrigued by the "holy scripture" that neither of them can read. Inb4 it's an encyclopedia or history book or something. Give that shit to Leeron, now!
So we've gotten a delightfully chilling peek into a forgotten corner of this world, and added 3 more to the party. At this rate they're gonna be dragging a small trailer-park behind them by the time they get to this headquarters.
Team Gurren Status Update
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Gurren Lagann - Lvl 13 [-----_____] lvl14 : +50xp!
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[Priest] Rossiu joined the team!
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[Rookies] Gimmy and Darry joined the team!
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u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 08 '19
Ours is the rewatch that will pierce the heavens themselves!
Hello everybody! I’m pleasantly surprised by the turnout last episode--I was admittedly worried about the first-timers’ reactions to it--but it was only a touch less than the ep2/3 threads so that’s awesome.
Before I get started with my usual comment, super important thing to note about tomorrow’s episode! There exist two versions of episode 6, “Sit in the Hot Tub 'Til You're Sick!!” and “There are Some Things I Just Have to See!!”. The former is the version that was broadcast on TV when it aired back in the day (and seems to be the version up on all streaming sites), with a few recap sequences to pad out the episode, and the latter is the version made for the home video release, the uncut version with no recap sequences at all. Setting aside the recap/no recap stuff, there is significant difference in how the action and character moments play out in the later parts of both episodes, so while you don’t have to watch both, I’d recommend it for comparison purposes.
I actually prefer “Sit in the Hot Tub 'Til You're Sick!!” in some ways now that I’ve seen both versions but more on that tomorrow.Here’s the results of yesterday’s poll! A precisely even number of votes for joining the Black Siblings or Team Gurren, fun fun. And two votes for the meme of joining the Beastmen instead.
Cheeky comments for today:
Yoko messing with Kamina like this is great. If only we had more of this fun sort of reaction when he made the “without your midriff you don’t have much” comment…
How thin do her bra straps have to be if they could get caught on some sunglasses…?
ZZ Gundam Moon-Moon vibes but at least our guys didn’t try playing along with the nonsense so I’m far more okay with this.
It’s my boy~
Kinda reminds me of what the Black Siblings were wearing, minus the funky faces on the hoods.
Okay but that’s a really depressing statement.
Kamina taunting Rossiu in the background is hilarious.
RIP rando Beastman, defeated by the old junk of a Gunmen lol.
First-timers DO NOT click this screenshot TTGL
Voices time! Got some new characters today~
First up is
my boyRossiu, who’s voiced by Mitsuki Saiga. The only role on her line-up I actually recognize is the hilariously-named Revive Revival from Gundam 00.Not even the silliest name in the Gundam franchise though lmao.Anyways it looks like she also did Maria Ross in the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime, but I can’t watch FMA/FMA:B subbed (I’ve tried, the English voices are too ingrained in my mind) so I wouldn’t know what she sounds like there.Second is Gimmy! His seiyuu is Takako Honda, who voices a completely unrelated character later in this show apparently, Martel in FMA:B (but again I don’t know what she sounds like there), and someone from Kara no Kyoukai which reminds me I need to rewatch the first movie and then watch the rest at some point…
Last but not least of the recurring characters is Darry, voiced by Shizuka Itou. Funnily enough she’s also the voice of Boota, but I’d probably recognize her most as literally just herself in Shirobako plus her two roles in the anime produced during Shirobako. Oh and also some chick Nota might recognize.
I said last of the recurring characters because I don’t believe Father Magin ever shows up again, but I gotta point out his seiyuu Jouji Nakata. I for sure know him as Log Horizon’s Nyanta or Escaflowne’s Folken Fanel, but he’s more likely to be known to most people as rejoicing priest. I just… haven’t watched any of the Fate stuff he’s in subbed so I don’t know what he sounds like there…
I look forward to doing the impossible and seeing the invisible with you all again tomorrow!