Simon is just another one of your humble residents of Giha Village, an underground village where he spends everyday digging tunnels to help expand. One day, he comes across a drill-shaped amulet and also a big robotic head. Not long later that night, a giant mechanical beast breaks into their village from the surface and starts attacking them. Working together with Yoko, a girl with long crimson hair who lived in an adjacent village of Littner, they try to repel the enemy but their attacks aren't enough. Just then Simon remembers the big robotic head he found and rushes to it, discovering he could activate it with the amulet. Making an effort to fight off the beast, Simon, Yoko and Kamina one of the other residents who had always strived to reach the surface, end up finding themselves defeating it with the help of the robotic head Simon had found who Kamina names "Lagann".

As the trio burst onto the surface, Simon and Kamina find it has its dangers too as it is riddled with similarly giant sized invaders known as "Gunmen" piloted by Beastmen who hate humans. And so Simon and Kamina starts their new surface lives as Team Gurren. During one of their daily fights against the Beastmen, Kamina manages to take over one of the Gunmen, naming it the "Gurren" and after discovering he could combine it with Lagann, a new Beastman is born as the "Gurren Lagann". It appeared the Lagann when activated by Simon using his amulet, could take over anything it ends up drilling into. Now Kamina makes the initiative to take the fight to the Beastmen to protect their new home while in search of his principles of "manliness".

I decided to watch this show because I often see it hyped as another Gainax classic. The show starts off quite a sleeper with its sarcastic and terribly silly jokes. If you can get pass the first seven episodes things do get a little more interesting as the show focuses more on character development. Jokes remain horrible and doesn't stray away from the group of ruffians doing stupid things and charging into battles without any tactics or skill. Fight scenes are dull, mostly each side screaming at each other before throwing an attack. There's little witty dialogue, enemies are a joke and mecha designs are nothing impressive to look at apart from the star itself Gurren Lagann. The still sketches look great. I think it's just barely watchable up to this point with little else to stand out unless you count the fan service with your usual scantily clad ladies and a lot of emphasis on bouncing chests.

That is, until you reach half way through the show when things start to take on a more serious tone and epic scale as we follow the growing up characters (with a bit of romance too). The pacing gets ramped up and the direction gets so much better it manages to redeem itself. Not many shows follow through the character's lives as far as this show. There are also two movies that recap the series but I haven't watched them to comment.

So, "Who the hell do you think I am? Believe in the you that believes in yourself. Row! Row! Fight da pawaa!"