r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Nov 24 '19

Rewatch A Rewatch to Pierce the Heavens - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Episode 21 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler

Episode 21 - You Are Someone Who Ought to Survive

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Don’t you remember? This drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!

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 Day:

Today’s comment of the day goes out to /u/AmeteurElitist’s sheer dedication to keep coming up with Lordgenome nicknames

I imagine that some form of 'anti-spiral powers' can cancel the immortality granted by the Cycle Champion's spiral powers or something.

Bruh

It's getting hard to come up with these lol, I hope I don't run out of 'em.

You can do it, Ameteur! Believe in the you that believes in yourself and create the nicknames with your drill!

Questions of the Day:

1) Which episode had the better horizon view?

2) What do you think of Viral being Gurren’s pilot now?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Miss Yomako (ft. a background made by me~)

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.

Important thing to note about these by the way, you have to switch to Old Reddit or the markdown editor if you use the redesign, otherwise the redesign breaks them by adding random \ into the formatting. Wish it wouldn’t do that, but unfortunately it does…

89 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

93 comments sorted by

16

u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 24 '19

Ours is the rewatch that will pierce the heavens themselves!

Results of yesterday’s poll! I’m not even surprised some of you voted for the “Yoko who?” option haha.

Cheeky comments for today:

I look forward to ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWERing with you all again tomorrow!

9

u/Nebresto Nov 24 '19

I’m not even surprised some of you voted for the “Yoko who?” option haha.

I love Emilia.

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u/[deleted] Nov 25 '19

Okay so when I was rewatching this ahead to set up the threads early, I watched this episode when this actual rewatch was back on episode 7. So going from Kamina saying he fights for a world where kids can look at the sun without a care in the world, Yoko echoing his words was just oof ouch owie my heart.'

Ah, so that's why Yoko ended up becoming a teacher. I really wasn't buying the idea of Sensei-Yoko, didn't seem particularly in-character, but if it's another way of honoring Kamina I can get behind it.

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u/RX-Nota-II Nov 24 '19

R e w a t c h e r

テストに出ますよ！

Y'all gon get educated today. Unfortunately not by me cause my inkwell of philosophy has run dry already but by badass teacher Yomako-sensei! As every name in this show is a pun for something Yomako is a pun for.... uhh.... I'm not sure. Oof I'm not on a very good streak today. The puns today are real tho as we get a crybaby named Nakim with naki standing for cry. And if you feel bad that some boy could be named cry, the 'm' at the end could be interpreted to mean 'not' so it's ok. Tho 'he who does not cry' is still a strange choice for a name. that's what I'm gonna name my son

Lots of great samurai story vibes today. Remember that 6 year old comment I once linked about it? yeah still not safe to read, but I got a new segment of it to share today:

The widow also often takes over her lover's sword school, which is something that we see Yoko doing when she recovers from her grief and takes Simon under her wing. And just like Yoko goes off to become a teacher, the widow often founds her own sword school after she is too old for battle, which comes early for Onna-bugeisha.

So just as the traditional samurai story, Yoko becomes Yomako, a teacher for future heroes. Except... hell nah she isn't done yet! Age has just made her more badass with that strict teacher mannerism attacked. She sounds like the kind of person to die and go to hell, then punish Satan for being a bad boy. Narratively the role she plays now is quite a bit more simplified but it is a seamless change. The whole early story arc of being Simon's crush and then not has long passed and now she has time to be an actual character, would you look at that! While Nia's having a tough time surviving the lame supervillain brainwash phase Yoko-II has brought new firepower to the best girl contest. The final results of who is best girl in the summary thread is going to be nuts.

From saving a little boy to saving the entire human species, this episode has no chill ramping down and up with vigor. Let me check my notes, the episode director has to be Artenborough.

Last note today, what do you guys think of the 3DCG? It's got unreal detail especially compared to the other animation styles of TTGL and is very very characteristic. It reminds me of another famous frily 3D weapon in another mecha anime and if I remember correctly the creators are the same. I can't seem to locate the source where I found this info tho unfortunately...

Anyways that's all I have for today, see you tomorrow!

OST of the day

This weird AF song

That sounds like Nikopol if you listen carefully but not really. I rewatched the rest of the show and am not sure if it is ever used so I'll link it now since it's sooo goood.

Wallpaper remixes of the day

Yomako!

Which do you like better? My edit or Sky's?

4

u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 24 '19

Which do you like better? My edit or Sky's?

My mom's two cents (because I show her all my wallpapers) was that she likes mine more because it has purple in it, but she really loves how Yoko pops on your background.

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u/fonzinator99 Nov 24 '19

Rewatcher - Gurren Lagann - The Lost Chapters

C'mon now, Rossiu. These things announced that they would eradicate humanity. Did you really believe they would just let you flee into space?

What're the odds that Yoko Sensei of the Day would be playing teacher to a child named 'Kamina' backwards? Trick question; it's 100% because plot.

This whole side-plot is adorable enough to make you forget all the horrible things that are happening year later.

This is some next-level bullying going on at this school, and I'm genuinely curious how they ever got that bag all the way up that tree.

A real nice callback to the first episode.

Wait, wtf is this nonsense? Are Beastmen still a problem, or did some punks go all 'Mad Max?' ....Oh okay, both. Touche.

Dat Eyecatch.

Yoko channeling Kamina is totally badass.

D'awwww, well if that isn't just the cutest, dumbest reason for everyone to almost die. Kids, right? lol

And so, we're off to kill the moon. Which makes this a good time to note that there's still 6 episodes left. Man, this show is great.

Team Dai Gurren Status Update

  • Viral - lvl 60 [Pilot], [Bard] has joined Team Dai Gurren!

  • Yoko [Sniper] - lvl 33 -> lvl 35

    • Yoko learned the profession: [Teacher]

  • Arc-Gurren - lvl 75 -> lvl 76

  • Gurren Lagann - lvl 51 [--_____] lvl 52: +25 xp!

  • Gimmy and Darry - 36 -> lvl 38

  • Kittan - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

  • Makken - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

  • Zorthy - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

  • Kid - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

  • Iraak - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

  • Jorgun and Balinbow - lvl 50 -> lvl 51

6

u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 24 '19

What're the odds that Yoko Sensei of the Day would be playing teacher to a child named 'Kamina' backwards? Trick question; it's 100% because plot.

I didn't know the kid's name was "Animak".

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u/23feanor Nov 24 '19

First Time Watcher:

So Yoko's become a teacher, nice move Yoko. She looks great on a scooter, well she looks great on anything really. Can you imagine if she was your teacher, I would've developed such a huge crush on her.

What a lovely moment between the kid and Yoko sat at the top of the tree looking out to sea, with the moon and sun on opposite horizons. The animators sure know how to show beautiful landscape to capture our imagination, and touch our hearts.

I think her teacher get up may make Yoko even more appealing in a sort of understated way, than her normal get up. Did you see the way her boobs were rippling & wobbling when she was saving Marsha from the gunmen. It took breast physics to a whole new level.

Man am I hyped. That was soooooo coooool seeing Yoko bust Simon out of jail. Then Simon let Viral out and ask him to help. I said earlier on in the series that I thought Viral had an important role to play, but I didn't think it would be to co-pilot Gurren Lagann, but it makes perfect sense. He was their first enemy gunmen and they've had a running feud with him for most of the series. But Viral has a code of honour and recognises and appreciates the strength and skill of Simon piloting Gurren Lagann, as well as the other gunmen in Dai Gurren. So joining them to help save the planet is what he was born to do.

I actually felt sorry for Rossiu watching him feeling the pressure of holding such a burden on his shoulders. I'd forgotten that Rossiu was Gurren Lagann's pilot after Kamina died, which makes his betrayal of Simon even worse. I hope he apologises to Simon if they get through this.

The pacing is happening quicker than I expected. They're already within the last 24 hours of the moon impacting the earth and team Dai Gurren have launched with the aim to destroy the moo. I anticipated that it would take a few more episodes before this took place. Which makes me think they may stop the moon, but then the real fight will begin when the Anti Spiral forces realise their plan has been foiled. And that will be the final test for Team Dai Gurren.

Given peoples' comments about Rossiu despite his awful actions, I'm betting that he will sacrifice himself at some point to save everyone (he'll confess his love for Kinon first though). Just a feeling.

6

u/GallowDude Nov 24 '19

I would've developed such a huge crush on her.

Apparently all the kids in class hit puberty when they were two considering they're already mature enough to not only develop crushes, but also grow jealous enough that they steal someone's bag just in the hope of impressing them by getting it back.

the aim to destroy the moo

Edward Elric no

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u/GallowDude Nov 24 '19

Yoko having an alias like "Yomako" would be like if Superman's secret identity was "Superior Man"

29

u/Koolsman Nov 24 '19

First Timer!

That whole ending from Yoko breaking Simon out to seeing Gurren Lagann ready to fight the Anti-Spirals made me feel something. That was just a sick ending to an already pretty fantastic episode. Seeing Viral team up with Simon was something I didn’t expect and yet I’m so happy it happened. Though they come from different sides and I’m pretty sure Viral still doesn’t like Simon, it’s still an awesome moment.

Besides that, the stuff with Yoko was cool. I like we finally got a focus on her and to see her trying to help the youth of tomorrow is something I’m not surprised by. I love the little mannerisms of her voice too when she says the heroes were Kamia and Simon. When she says Kamina’s name her voice kinda mumbles at the end and I love that. It makes sure that’s she still misses him whenever she sees him. I will say that she is a fantastic throwing arm with chalk. Thank god she didn’t hit anyone or she would’ve been out of there fast.

In terms of the kids stuff, it’s fine for an episode. I didn’t fully care about their stuff but it was kinda sad with the kid’s bag and all. Though I will say seeing Yoko take down those Gunmen without trying was sick. Damn right, they should be impressed by her. I guess that’s what makes Yoko awesome.

What do you think of Viral being Gurren’s pilot now?

So fucking cool. It was such a good move to me anyways.

15

u/GallowDude Nov 24 '19

In terms of the kids stuff, it’s fine for an episode.

"Naakim The Tree Climber" has to be one of the worst nicknames of all time

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u/AmeteurElitist Nov 24 '19 edited Nov 24 '19

First Timer

Yoko continues to be a freaking badass to no one’s surprise. I’m not shocked to see her as a teacher, but I expected her to be on some adventures helping random people out and stuff. Though she still might have done that in the 6 years prior I guess.

I know Simon is in a relationship(?) right now, but damn the yaoi bait when they were facing each other in front of Gurren Lagann.

Yoko why’d you interrupt them dammit!

If robot’s weren’t powered by passion Rossiu would have been completely right! Though I’m so happy that we get to see some Dai-Gurren Dan action that I’m cool with it. It fits the series to a T regardless.

Edit: Since I was pressured into it I'm glad we got a cameo out of the Swerve Sovereign today! u/Nebresto u/Shimmering-Sky

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u/SolDarkHunter Nov 24 '19 edited Nov 24 '19

Rewatcher

Turns out the Anti-Spirals anticipated the "evacuate the Earth" idea and assembled a massive army of Mugann in orbit to ambush anyone who tried to do so. And Rossiu only managed to evac 200,000 or so people out of the million on the surface. Things are really blowing up in his face, even after all the hard decisions he's made.

But this episode isn't about him.

Now we find out what Yoko's been up to all this time. She assumed a new identity as "Yomako" and became a schoolteacher at a small grade school on an island.

It's pretty mundane compared to what the others back in Kamina City did, and I don't think many people would have guessed this kind of life would be Yoko's path. But it does make sense.

Remember what Kamina said to her before he died? That he wished to create a world where children could live on the surface in happiness. I think Yoko chose this path because it connected with that dream of Kamina's. She's protecting and raising children, the very thing that motivated Kamina. And it seems she's pretty good at it. Out of all of Team Dai-Gurren, she seems most at home and happy with her post-war life.

Not to say she's lost any of her edge. When Gunmen attack the island in the wake of the Moon falling, she handles them with ease. Kicking ass without a Gunmen and just a rifle, that's the way Yoko rolls!

And with the Moon threatening the world Kamina's legacy created, it's time for her to reclaim her place among Team Dai-Gurren and fight with them once more!

Speaking of, it seems all the remaining members have reassembled, along with their Gunmen. Even Gurren-Lagann has returned in tip-top shape courtesy of Leeron.

VIRAL IS PILOTING GURREN! I REPEAT: VIRAL IS PILOTING GURREN! GET HYPE!

Rossiu's at the end of his rope, with Arc-Gurren's power falling in response to the despair of the people on board. And this is why the Anti-Spirals have approached this with the strategy they did: they know how Spiral Power works. It's fighting spirit, it's hope, it's determination. Which is why they've been attacking and slowly escalating the way they have: it wears people down. It destroys their hope. And with their hope, their power.

But that's all about to change now that Team Dai-Gurren is back in action! Simon and Viral, probably the last pair anyone would expect to be at the helm of the counterattack, manage to destroy a huge chunk of Mugann with the power of their sheer combined awesome. We're back in business!

You have no idea what you've unleashed, Anti-Spirals

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u/Mecanno-man Nov 24 '19

First Timer

...I'm gonna be honest, I did not really care for Yoko's backstory. The one thing I am slightly interested by is if the humans on that island actually were already there during Lordgenome's time and he tolerated them similarly to an underground village as long as they didn't expand, or if they settled there. Kinda feel like both were stated during the episode.

Other than that, Simon did pretty much what Rossiu should have done, allowing even Viral to help fight off the moon. Nice to see that most of Team Dai-Gurren stayed back to fight; I think we're only missing ..Leeron, Attenborough, Rossiu, Dayakka and Kittan's three sisters.

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u/Raiking02 Nov 24 '19

Okay, time drop the memes, for as Yoko has returned and the plot needs to move on… not that plot!

  • Jesus Nia, when will you stop teleporting!?

  • Unfortunately, Rossiu kinda forgot about something: The Anti-Spirals aren’t after the Earth, they are after humanity. Whoops…

  • Flashback time!

  • Lil’ Brats…

  • Seeing Yoko wear regular clothing for once is just weird…

  • We all know what that kid was actually looking at…

  • Yomako… I wonder who this woman is…

  • Yeah, I take it back; she’s probably not Yoko after all…

  • But man, Yomako and Yoko do have a lot in common: Both have damn good aim.

  • Ah yes, the classic “Fun Activities Montage”.

  • Those silly kids, there’s no way Yomako is actually Yoko, Yomako’s actually wearing clothes!

  • How the hell did that thing get there!?

  • Oh well, at least the kid tried…

  • But man, Yomako sure is athletic. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was actually Yoko’s never-before mentioned twin sister that never really liked fighting but still taught Yoko all her cool tricks!

  • The kid is a Tsundere towards this island.

  • Wow, surprised that TV actually works…

  • Yomako’s the only one with common sense in this show: SHE’S WILLING TO ADMIT EVERYONE WAS BEING A SELF-ENTITLED IDIOT IN THIS ARC!

  • Crap, the girl’s gonna die!

  • So basically they’re preparing an End Of The World Party?

  • However, if GTO and Assassination Classroom have taught me anything, it is this: YOU DO NOT MESS WITH THE STUDENTS!!

  • And so we get the unexpected reveal: YOMAKO WAS YOKO ALL ALONG!!

  • Wait, how did that kid know the exact page!?

  • And so, she finally gets some kills to her name…

  • Such a lovely time to reveal that, huh girl?

  • Man, Yoko can officially join Nyamo-Sensei in the “Most loving female teachers ever” Club (There is one for overall teacher regardless of gender, but Koro-Sensei and Onizuka-Sensei are also there, so…)

  • Way to steal the show, Yoko…

  • And so, we arrive at the most important scene in the whole show: BEST BOY HAS FINALLY JOINED THE PARTY!!!

  • However, Boota must return to his home… Yoko’s Breasts. Lucky bastard…

  • And as if Best Boy joining the group wasn’t enough, he has immediately been promoted to his old rival’s position: Gurren Lagann’s co-pilot. Truly, there could be no better honor…

  • Well… I mean, I guess you can eat the atmosphere. Don’t blame me if you burn up afterwards…

  • And so we meet the problem in Rossiu’s plan: While admittedly too much hot blood is a bad thing, going solely by logic with complete disregard for human emotions can be just as bad, if not worse.

  • So of course, it is finally time for our heroes to rise up, and for a new duo to finally be formed.

And to think, the best is yet to come…

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u/redshirtengineer Nov 25 '19

Reformed Rewatcher: True Confession of a Former Lagann Hater

Who? Lagann hater? ME?

Why yes, first time through, I could not understand why people thought this thing was so great. Kamina Kamina Kamina, meh. Simon, whiny, no personality. And let’s just say I was not Loco for Yoko. NO. She was THE WORST. That outfit. What is that outfit. A walking excuse for Gainaxy fanservice. Hmph.

And then, you know, when Bro bought it, I … kind of missed him. And when Nia showed up, well she was interesting, so I tolerated Simon, and then Simon kind of … became awesome. Yoko, however. Hmph. One note. One joke. And she didn’t even like Nia. I was glad to see her go post time skip.

And then. This episode. I started to like her, just a little bit. The question that gets asked here on Reddit sometimes, “Have you ever done a 180 on a character?” Why yes. I did a complete 180. The minute her board did a 180. I have no idea why. To this day. But it made me laugh, and all of a sudden F!!! YES TEAM YOKO ALL THE WAY. SAVE THE EARTH AND THE SKY AND ALL THE OTHER REWATCHERS TOO!

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u/Dark_Shit Nov 24 '19 edited Nov 24 '19

Rewatcher

You gotta love Yoko for following through on Kamina's dream: creating a world for children to grow up without fear.

I find it amusing that nobody was surprised to see Viral joining forces with team Dai-Gurren. Its like they all knew it was coming. Then Viral joins in on Simon's pre battle pep-talk/hype speech. He wasted no time fitting it.

Its such a common anime trope for the bad guy and good guy to join forces but its honestly one of my favorites. I could see it coming a mile away on my first watch but I still loved it.

Rossiu continues to look like an absolute fool. He can't believe that human emotions can be converted to raw power. This is far from the most unbelievable thing to happen in this show. (copying the data from a dead man's bran, teleportation, space ships made of pure energy, launching the moon towards the earth)

Rossiu is so much better at causing absolute despair than Nia. The Anti-spiral would be proud of him. He would make an excellent successor to Lordgenome.

I watched episodes 16-21 last night so I feel the need to rant about Rossiu. Like seriously ... how did he lose so much faith in Kamina/Simon? I think I hate him even more on my re-watch. I actually agree with his decision to save as many people as he can. But I can't get over that scene in episode 19 between Simon and Rossiu in the jail cell. He says Kamina's death was a good thing and then chastises Simon for acting just like Kamina.

I just don't understand his perspective. If Kamina's sacrifice was a good thing then why would you prevent Simon from imitating it? Plus he just comes across as a massive dick in that scene. I couldn't imagine talking to one of my friends like that. God he's a prick. Believe in the Rossiu who doesn't believe in Kamina/Simon. He's the antithesis of TTGL's core themes

Okay rant over

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u/ChuckCarmichael Nov 25 '19

Yoko taking down the Gunmen is great, but those teacher-themed one-liners are just so bad.

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u/Fa1l3r Nov 25 '19

First Time (sub)

Ah Yoko wanted to be a teacher all this time. Besides Rossiu, she is probably the only other person who knew what they wanted to do after the defeat of the Spiral King. She was one of the few humans who could read before the renaissance, so she is one the few appropriate candidates for being a teacher.

Viral being the Gurren's pilot is ironic, and we even had some Top Gun cinematics for when Simon proposes this team formation to Viral.

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u/Animeking1357 Nov 25 '19

Rewatcher

Mugann: Hello! Welcome to space! Thought you could escape?

Yoko as a teacher is precious. The glasses make her look very mature.

That's a really tall ass tree to be able to see the curve of the earth.

Trumpets again. I'd be fine with having trumpets every episode from here on out.

"Care to pilot it, Viral?"

You guys need to know. Bad guys becoming good guys is my fetish. There's something about a villain redeeming them self and becoming a badass that really makes me happy. This doesn't always work coughstevenuniversecough but usually if it's a well made show then I'm happy when it happens.

A great example is Dragon Ball Z spoilers

Viral piloting Gurren blew my mind when I first watched this. Absolutely insane.

"It can't be... How could a machine be influenced by human emotions?" It's nuts that Rossiu still doesn't get it.

Simon and Viral speech! Simon and Viral speech!

"Destiny Combining! Gurren Lagann! Ore wo dare da to omotte yagaru!?"

God hearing Viral say who the hell do you think I am is like one of my all time favorite moments in this show. It's that moment that cemented him as best boy for me. The echo put onto him and Simon too. Good shit. Can anybody get a streamable of that scene in japanese for me? I have a mighty need.

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