Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - Tumblr Posts
not dumb, just inarticulate
That title basically describes Kamina. There's an episode in Gurren Lagann where he compares his old village chief to Rossiu's village elder. Kamina recognizes that the two are similar but can't describe what they share in common. In fact, their village leader and Rossiu's priest are both close-minded. They harm their followers by stringently adhering to false beliefs and are too frightened to challenge them. Kamina notices they resemble each other, which demonstrates his perceptiveness. However, he can't pinpoint what links the two leaders because he hasn't been taught how to criticize his beliefs. On a more meta level, Kamina's lack of articulation can explain how harmful traditions are perpetuated by a lack of education.
You know you want these cards BOTH just like I do. >.>
“Just who the hell do you think we are!?”
Been feeling kinda sad and anxious lately... mix that with a little nostalgia and you get me drawing one of my favorite sad and anxious baby boys (to... cope!?!?)
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Korre....
(and his baby bro Seamoan)
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Also...
I tag baby 1 and baby 2, but, for some reason I didn’t tag this little fella?!?!
I’m a huge disgrace 😂😂😂
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Korre....
(and his baby bro Seamoan)
[DO NOT REPOST/REUPLOAD, MODIFY/EDIT, OR USE MY ART WITHOUT MY PERMISSION]
Here, have a really quick drawing I made of Kamina while on classes!
Didn’t use any references and I did him soooo dirty :(((
Really need to practice my digital art...
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My son! My son! My son whom I love very much!!! 😫😫😫
Don’t worry bb, the awesomeness glasses will fit you in no time! I promise...
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(My Instagram: @its.cheesecake1311 / My Twitter: @cheesecake1311)
Found this baby on my art school sketchbook’s last page... Why did I forget about him??? 😖😖😖
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(My Instagram: @its.cheesecake1311 / My Twitter: @cheesecake1311)
I abruptly woke up in my sleep with the sweetest thought in mind: “What if Kamina and Simon were actual blood brothers???”
Sure, nothing wild, but it surely is a concept worthy of my smile! (and also something I’d been wanting to take out of my system for too long 😂)
If you want to expand on this take, feel free to do so (and don’t forget to tag me! I want to see what you come up with!!!)
[DO NOT REPOST/REUPLOAD, MODIFY/EDIT, OR USE MY ART WITHOUT MY PERMISSION]
(My Instagram: @its.cheesecake1311 / My Twitter: @cheesecake1311)
Mecha's "I'm Not Like the Other Girls" Problem
Preface: I'd like to apologize to everyone who reads this post. Normally, my posts are pretty lighthearted and informative. This one, however, is not lighthearted.
I feel it is important to talk about this topic though, as this is a problem that has been plaguing mecha shows for a long time now. It bothers me when people dismiss the things that I like *gestures at G Gundam*, so it should be of no surprise that I have strong feelings about this topic. It's pretty adjacent to the reason why I don't like the "Real vs Super Robot" dick-measuring contests that happen between fans, especially as someone whose favorite mecha show gets a lot of heat because of that stupid debate.
Part of what makes it worse is that I don't dislike these shows a whole lot. Okay, two of them I don't like a whole lot, but one is because its second season really drops the ball on things while the other is, in my opinion, a pretty mediocre show that is being propped up as the hottest thing since sliced bread by its fans.
I'm also going to be talking about gen:Lock, a show that I hate from pure pop cultural osmosis. So content warning: suicide, children getting killed, and gen:Lock, among other things.
Stop me if you've heard this one before:
"Evangelion's not like other mecha shows because it focuses on the character drama instead of the robots."
If you've ever watched any mecha show ever, you'd realize just how bizarre this line really is. There's always some variation where it'll be the favorite series of the person saying this and, when confronted, will bare their ass out for the world to see by showing that they have not watched any other mecha show. If you're lucky, they might have watched one or two other mecha shows, and chances are likely that it will be one of the other "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.
So today, for something a bit lighter in comparison to my soul-crushing Abbreviated History of Mecha, I'm going to take my turn dismantling this braindead take. Really take my turn at this dead horse, because it is something that plagues this genre of stories.
Context: Evangelion's Legacy Is Exaggerated
Thank you, cast of the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. I felt brave just saying that.
Jokes aside, I feel it is important to get this out of the way now. And, to be fair, Evangelion is critically acclaimed for a reason. Eva's success did leave an impact on the rest of the industry. A whole generation of anime shows have tried to capture the same energy that Eva had, leading to the rise of the extremely nebulous sekai-kei trend. This isn't even touching on the fact that Eva is also one of the most popular mecha franchises of all time.
That being said, the problem with Eva's legacy is that people in the west exaggerated its legacy. So instead of it being an important series that builds off of the legacy of the shows it was inspired by in order to create something new and just as noteworthy as its forebears, it is now this transgressive series that brutally deconstructs mecha on top of everything mentioned prior. Evangelion became a series that was more than most mecha shows, since it really spends a lot of its time with its characters, particularly the Eva pilots and their handler. Evangelion was different because it was about the characters and not the giant robots.
...Except, that's not true.
This is Ideon Erasure
One of the shows that inspired Evangelion, Space Runaway Ideon, is about as serious as they come. It's a story about the horrors of war, and the characters have to contend with this and press on. And while it might not be as introspective as say Evangelion, the difference is what both had as inspiration: Ideon only had shows like Space Battleship Yamato, Voltes V, Zambot 3, and Mobile Suit Gundam as reference points. Evangelion has all four of those shows as well as other shows like Fang of the Sun Dougram, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes among other shows to reference
I'm not saying that those shows also influenced Evangelion. I'm just pointing out that, in the history of mecha, Eva has more things to be compared to. And to be fair to the people who kickstarted the "Eva's not like the other girls" mentality, the west's experience with mecha prior to Eva was either shows like Transformers, which existed largely to sell toys, or shows like Gundam Wing, where a lot of the show can be seen as "Wow, cool robot." So along comes Evangelion with its esoteric Christian imagery, brooding protagonists, and eldritch antagonists. It's really nothing anyone in the west has seen before, and so the "Not Like the Other Girls" meme is born.
And now, I'd like to go into debunking this line of thinking with a lot of the big offenders. Because it turns out that Evangelion is not the only show to get this treatment. And if you thought Eva was a bad example of "Not Being Like the Other Girls," then oh boy are these examples somehow worse.
Case Study 1 - Code Geass: Casval Lelouch of the Rebellion
Code Geass is probably the closest example to in terms of being "Not Like the Other Girls" that isn't Evagenlion itself. Like Evangelion before it, Code Geass has more of a focus on its characters than its mech action. A fair bit of screen time is spent focused on the politicking and strategizing and brainwashing (with actual, factual magic) of our main character, Lelouch Code Geass Lamperouge, with all of the shenanigans that ensue. It's a series with a unique spin on the military robot shows of old due to its inclusion of magic (namely the titular Geass) and advanced super materials like Sakuradite (based off of the mythical metal hi'hiirokane or scarletite).
The problem with Code Geass being a "Not Like the Other Girls" show is twofold:
The robots of Code Geass, here known as Knightmare Frames, play a pivotal part in the story. The Knightmare Frames are what allow Britannia to take over the world as well as they do, and a big focus on the series is just how advanced the latest Knightmare Frame, Lancelot, is compared to the other Knightmare Frames. Season 2 exacerbates this problem when the elite Knightmare Frames like Lancelot are constantly getting exponentially more upgrades throughout the season.
It's also hard not to ignore the similarities between this show and Mobile Suit Gundam (the original, not the franchise as a whole). Consider that Code Geass' main character is, for lack of a better word, a Char clone. He wears a mask and oftentimes hides his true motives, which helps when it comes time for politics. He's even got a special power that helps him with his core skills. The only thing Lelouch is lacking is the piloting skill, which is where Kallen Kouzuki comes in (and fun fact: her signature Knightmare Frame, the Guren MK II, is red).
Oh, I should also mention this here: before working on Code Geass, Goro Taniguchi worked on Gun x Sword, which is unabashedly a giant robot anime. Does this really add anything to my point? Not really. I just think it's interesting to point this out due to Gun x Sword's proximity to Code Geass in terms of release dates.
Case Study 2 - Tengen Toppa Getter Robo Gurren Lagann
Probably the single most insane version of this is when people treat Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as being "Not Like the Other Girls."
Y'know... Gurren Lagann. The show where the giant robots grow as large as the known universe. A show where one of the major thematic elements is a celebration of giant robot shows that's reflected in the four major story arcs representing a distillation of the four decades of giant robot shows from as early as Mazinger Z. A show where the main character draws a lot of his self worth from, among other things, how well he pilots his mini robot (a gender-swapped Noa Izumi, if you will).
Oh, and most important of all: this is also the show written by, and I'm not making this up, a man who refers to himself as Getter Robo's number one fan.
This doesn't even touch on other shows that one could argue also had a hand in influencing Gurren Lagann like Mobile Fighter G Gundam and The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar. Look me in the eye and tell me that Kamina wasn't written with characters like Domon Kasshu and Guy Shishioh in mind. Or the fact that Simon the Digger is less Ryouma Nagare and more Domon Kasshu by way of Guy Shishioh.
In the case of Gurren Lagann, though, it should also be of no surprise that this is the series brought up the least amongst the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows. A big part of this stems from, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that Gurren Lagann is a celebration of giant robots.
...What's that? Why does it sound like an axe is being sharpened in the background? No, reader, you're hearing things. I clearly don't have an axe to grind with the next show.
Case Study 3 - Armored Trooper 86: Eighty Six
Part of what I hate about the modern seasonal anime release schedule is that it's created an entire generation of anime fans who refuse to watch any series that released before 2010. This line of thinking can be pretty dangerous, and this is coming from a guy who's always saying the newer Pokemon games are generally better than the older ones. The difference is twofold:
Pokemon isn't anywhere near as old as all of anime. Like it's not even close to being that old.
This only really applies to core game mechanics in the mainline non-Legends games. It doesn't really take into account things like story elements, Pokemon rosters, or generation design differences (read as: is the game pre- or post-Physical/Special split).
I'm bringing this up because I feel like the seasonal anime format is the reason why 86: Eighty Six became a "Not Like the Other Girl" show. As someone who watches a lot of mecha shows, 86 is just...
...it's there. It exists. In my opinion, 86 doesn't really have a whole to say outside of racism is bad and look at how much Shin and company suffer because of it. Everything 86 does has been done before in some fashion by literally every military robot series that existed prior to 86's first publication in 2017. Heck, two years prior to it's publication was the first airing of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, the then-latest entry in the Gundam franchise. And that series is all about how unfettered capitalism makes it almost impossible for the marginalized to survive without having to resort to violence.
But I think it's folly to suggest fans of 86 to go watch Iron-Blooded Orphans. Not because it's bad, which I'd argue that it's not. No, it's more because IBO is too recent. Part of the problem with the "Not Like the Other Girls" mentality is that people will limit themselves into only watching one show, oftentimes failing to see that part of what makes their favorite show so special is the fact that it is inspired by other works. For people who like 86, it would be better to recommend shows like Armored Trooper VOTOMs, Fang of the Sun Dougram (or really any military robot series directed by Ryousuke Takahashi), or even the original Gundam from 1979. But as harsh as I may be on 86, it's not the worst offender. I'd even go so far as to say that 86 is, at worst, a symptom. I think the real problem lies with the next series I'm going to talk about.
The Worst Offender - gen:Lock
If you thought I disliked 86 because of how its fans hype it up as being better and so much different than the rest of the canon, at least 86 is a pretty entertaining watch.
gen:Lock makes me turn into AM from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. To describe the enmity I have towards gen:Lock is not something I want to fully unload on this blog, as it is this series that really kicked the "Not Like the Other Girls" mentality into overdrive. gen:Lock was once described by one of its executive producers as being about the characters and not the robots. Which kind of spits in the face of the canon of mecha in its entirety, as the entire genre has almost never really frontlined the machines as being the main character. And when mecha stories are about the machines, the machine tends to be a character in its own right.
And if I'm being honest, part of what makes me so livid about gen:Lock is how this series basically funneled away funds from other projects at Rooster Teeth. That's what got series creator Gray Haddock fired, after all. So you can't even say that season one, which I've been told is a pretty decent season, is okay in comparison. So even if the "It's not about the mecha" line is supposed to be marketing speak, the behind-the-scenes nonsense still sullies the show. I don't even think I need to touch on the mess that is gen:Lock season 2; between the poorly animated sex scene, the sudden killing of a recently-outed queer character, and the fact that one of the main characters, and later the entire main cast, get rewarded for committing suicide... Yeah. Let's just move on before a blow a fuse.
Magic Knight Rayearth Is Actually Not Like the Other Girls
I think part of what makes all of this so absurd is that there is a series that can actually be considered "Not Like the Other Girls."
It's Magic Knight Rayearth.
A lot of what helps in this case is that Rayearth is, primarily, a magical girl series. That is not to say that Rayearth is not a mecha show though, as the Rune Gods play a pivotal role in the series. Not helping things is the fact that the Rune Gods are literally an extension of their magic knight's personalities, which is true of pretty much every giant robot ever. But, by being a magical girl series first and foremost, Rayearth approaches giant robots from a unique angle due to the world of Cephiro being similar to that of a fantasy JRPG setting where willpower determines everything. So the Rune Gods end up being real, living creatures that take the form of giant robots, as opposed to just being giant robots that exist in the setting.
Except it's still a giant robot series. Everything I just said doesn't suddenly mean that Magic Knight Rayearth is no longer a mecha show.
Conclusion
Look. I get it. These shows are great. Okay, gen:Lock isn't, but the other four are. I get it. The people who trot out this line do it because they love the series they're putting up on a pedestal. My issue comes with the putting it up on a pedestal part. It has a tendency to displace other shows that are just as worthy of praise, and in some cases maybe even better depending on the viewer, than the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows. So, to close this rant out, I'd like to suggest some shows for people whose only experience with mecha are one of the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows.
If you like...
...Neon Genesis Evangelion, you might be interested in checking out Ultraman, Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon, Aura Battler Dunbine, Patlabor (either the TV or OVA timeline), or Gargantia on the Verduous Planet.
...Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, you might be interested in checking out Mobile Suit Gundam (again), Fang of the Sun Dougram, Patlabor (the OVA timeline this time), Gun x Sword, or Psalm of Planets Eureka Seven.
...Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, you might like Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Gunbuster, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, Back Arrow, SSSS.Gridman, SSSS.Dynazenon, and Gridman Universe.
...86: Eighty Six or gen:Lock, you might like Mobile Suit Gundam (pretty much any series that isn't G or Build), Armored Trooper VOTOMs (or really anything related to Ryousuke Takahashi), Metal Armor Dragonar, Patlabor (See Evangelion above), or Full Metal Panic!.
...Magic Knight Rayearth, you might be interested in Aura Battler Dunbine, Panzer World Galient, Patlabor (the TV timeline), Mobile Fighter G Gundam (yes really), or The Vision of Escaflowne.
And thanks for reading my rant. Next time, something else!
I made these and I love them :)
So, in addition to Etsy cards, I made a Redbubble so I can practice using GIMP. I’m particularly proud of these few designs. If you like them, please check out my shop at yeetagreet.redbubble.com. :)
Simon, Tengen Toppa Gurren mother fucking Lagann
Simon, Tengen Toppa Gurren mother fucking Lagann
Simon, Tengen Toppa Gurren mother fucking Lagann
I finished gurren lagann the other day and may or not have a new stan
“peridot has dirk glasses” I mean fair but consider: they both stole them from kamina
I see you know the “drill”...
Yoko Time!!!
