My bro is dead. He's gone! But he's right there on my back, and here in my heart! He lives on as a part of me! If you're gonna dig, dig to the heavens. No matter what's in my way, I won't stop! Once I've dug through, it means that I've won! ... Just who the hell do you think I am? I'm Simon. I'm not my Bro! I'm me! Simon the Digger!
„
~ Simon
“
Mark my words! This drill will open a hole in the universe! And that hole will be a path for those behind us! The dreams of those who've fallen! The hopes of those who'll follow! Those two sets of dreams weave together into a double helix! Drilling a path towards tomorrow! And that's Tengen Toppa! That's Gurren Lagann!! My drill is the drill... that creates the heavens!!!
„
~ Simon
“
Of course you can. The lights in the sky are stars. The stars where our Spiral cousins await us.
„
~ Simon
“
Breaking through karma and fate, the screams of life echoing through the galaxy! The union of Raging Billows, ARC-GURREN LAGANN!
„
~ Simon
“
Our friends' hopes and dreams are etched into its body, transforming the infinite darkness into light!
Unmatched in Heaven and Earth, one machine equal to the gods!
SUPER GALAXY GURREN LAGANN!
We're gonna show you the power... of the human race.
„
~ Simon
“
Even if we were enslaved in the Galaxy's cycle of rebirth, the feelings we left behind will open the gate! Even if the infinite Universe were to go against us, our burning blood will cut through Fate! We'll break through heavens and dimensions! We'll show you our path through force! TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!
„
~ Simon and his crew
“
We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before. We advance a little further with each turn. That’s how a drill works!
Simon (シモン Shimon?) (pronounced like "Simone" or "sea-moan" in English, and "Shimon" in Japanese), also known as Simon the Digger (Anahori Shimon in Japanese), is the central protagonist of the anime and manga series, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. He begins the story as a short, unassuming and lonely young boy, but grows up into a commanding and well-loved man. Hailed for being like a drill (a dynamic he explains at the top of this article), he became known as a legendary hero who overcame impossible odds both personal and universal and now stands eternally as a beacon for the good of all man and Spiral kind.
Lagann is a Gunman found by Simon in the first episode while digging tunnels in his village. It received its name, Lagann (羅顔), meaning "enveloping face", from Kamina and draws power from the Core Drill, a small golden drill Simon uses similar to an ignition key. In Gurren Lagann Parallel Works episode 8, it's revealed that the first Laganns were found by Lordgenome as a child during the Anti-Spirals' initial assault on Earth long before the series' story begins and as such were used as a basis in the creation of all Gunmen that appear in the show to use against their enemies. However, after Lordgenome's betrayal he seemingly destroyed all of them except for the one that was placed deep underground until Simon finds it.
Gurren Lagann (グレンラガン, Guren Ragan?) is the primary Gunmen of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The head, Lagann, has always been piloted by Simon, while the body, Gurren, was originally piloted by Kamina, who was then succeeded by Rossiu, and eventually Viral in the second story arc.
Dai-Gurren (ダイグレン, Daiguren), originally called the Dai-Gunzan (ダイガンザン, Daiganzan) while under the command of Thymilph, one of Lordgenome's four generals, it is essentially a walking battleship hundreds of times larger than conventional Gunmen, with numerous heavy artillery gun turrets and heavy armor. The arms attached to the control tower serves as the hangar bay launchers for its housed Gunmen. After its infiltration and acquisition by Simon, it is renamed the "Dai-Gurren" and remodeled to accommodate the Brigade members.
The Arc-Gurren (アークグレン, Aku-Guren?), named by Rossiu Adai, is one of Lordgenome's Gunmen battleships, a Dai-Gun, which his armies used when he was a Spiral Warrior during events prior to the series. It is enormous in size and comparable to the Dekabutsu. It is initially used to gather hundreds of thousands of animals and people onto it to escape world-destroying events later in the series. It uses Spiral Power to run and only recognizes Lordgenome as its operator. It is capable of going into space for at least a year, and contains an array of large-scale defensive systems and weaponry.
Arc-Gurren Lagann (アークグレン, Āku-Guren-Ragan), taken from the name Arc-Gurren given by Rossiu Adai, is the combination of one of Lordgenome's Gunmen battleships with Simon's Gurren-Lagann. It is formed when Simon combines the two mechs in order to save the former from destruction at the hands of the Anti-Spirals' attack force, the Mugann. It is later used as the Ultra Spiral Powerplant that powers Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann.
The Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren (超銀河ダイグレン, Chōginga Daiguren), christened by Simon, is a colossal battleship-type Gunmen akin to the Arc-Gurren which first appeared in the prologue of the first episode before being formally introduced near the end of the third part of the series.
The Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann is under half the size of Earth. It is piloted by a cascading control interface. The system goes as such: Simon pilots the Gurren Lagann, which is in turn pilots the Arc-Gurren Lagann, mimicking his moves, which controls the Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann. Because it is too massive to be controlled by a single Gunmen, it contains the bridge originally seen on the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren, in order to alleviate some of the stress in piloting such a powerful mecha (although Lordgenome displayed the ability to single-handedly control it during his reign, as he either killed or ejected anyone else on board during his takeover). One possible explanation is in the fact that while Lordgenome fought the Anti-Spirals where they were, Simon relied on his consistent focus on one single being in the entire universe to compass his way to the Anti-Spiral home.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan?, "Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann"), also known as TTGL is the titular mecha of the anime. Its design is based on the smaller Gurren Lagann and is the strongest mecha in the anime, but the movies give that title to its succeeding form, Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (超天元突破グレンラガン Chō Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan?, literally "Super Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann"), informally known as STTGL, is a large, mecha-like mass of energy formed during the final battle with the Anti-Spirals in the second movie adaptation of the series, The Lights in the Sky are Stars.
Powers and Stats
Tier:Unknown physically, High 6-A with the Core Drill, Varies from 7-B to High 6-A with Lagann, Varies from 7-B to High 6-A with Gurren Lagann, High 6-A with Dai-Gurren | 9-B physically, at least High 6-A with Gurren Lagann, at least 5-A, possibly High 3-A to High 1-C with Arc-Gurren Lagann, at least 3-B, possibly High 3-A to High 1-C with Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann | High 1-C to Low 1-B physically, High 1-C to Low 1-B with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, High 1-C to Low 1-B with Tengen Toppa Lagann, High 1-C to Low 1-B with Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Age: 14 pre-timeskip, 21 post-timeskip, 41 by the end of the series
Classification: Human, Spiral, Digger, Former Commander-in-Chief of Kamina City, Leader of Team Dai-Gurren, Pilot of Gurren Lagann, Supreme Commander of Earth
Reaction Speed:Massively Hypersonic (Can react to Dai-Gurren's bullets) | Immeasruable (Can react to Ashtangas who can move through time and naturally exist in a plane between the 10th and 11th dimension) | Immeasurable
Striking Strength:Unknown physically, Varies from City Class to Multi-Continent Class with Lagann, Varies from City Class to Multi-Continent Class with Gurren Lagann, Multi-Continent Class with Dai-Gurren | Wall Class physically, at least Multi-Continent Class with Gurren Lagann, at least Large Planet Class, possibly High Macrocosmic to High Complex Macroversal with Arc-Gurren Lagann, at least Multi-Galactic, possibly High Macrocosmic to High Complex Macroversal with Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann | High Complex Macroversal to Low Transversal physically, High Complex Macroversal to Low Transversal with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, High Complex Macroversal to Low Transversal with Tengen Toppa Lagann, High Complex Macroversal to Low Transversal with Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Durability:Wall level physically (Tanked a punch fromKamina, who fought equally withViralwho punched a birdman through a wall), Varies from City level to Multi-Continent level with Lagann, Varies from City level to Multi-Continent level with Gurren Lagann, Multi-Continent level with Dai-Gurren | Wall level physically, at least Multi-Continent level with Gurren Lagann, at least Large Planet level, possibly High Macrocosmic level to High Complex Macroverse level with Arc-Gurren Lagann, at least Multi-Galaxy level, possibly High Macrocosmic level to High Complex Macroverse level with Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann | High Complex Macroverse level to Low Transverse level physically, High Complex Macroverse level to Low Transverse level with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, High Complex Macroverse level to Low Transverse level with Tengen Toppa Lagann, High Complex Macroverse level to Low Transverse level with Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Stamina:Very High (Can fight for hours while heavily harmed, can fuel mechs with the spiral power created from his willpower) | Limitless (Via continually creating spiral energy) | Limitless
Range: Standard Melee Range physically, Extended Melee Range in Lagann, Kilometers in Gurren Lagann | Standard Melee Range physically, High Complex Multiversal with mechs | High Complex Multiversal
Standard Equipment: Drill, Core Drill, Lagann, Gurren Lagann, Dai-Gurren | Same as before, Arc-Gurren Lagann, Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann | Same as before, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Tengen Toppa Lagann and Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Intelligence:Above Average (He's a skilled leader) | Above Average | Possibly Nigh-Omniscient (Surpassed the Anti-Spirals via rapid evolution)
Weaknesses: Cares more about others than himself | Same | Same, refuses to revive people
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
*Lagann Impact: Lagann impacts the opponent with its drills which is usually incorporated with its signature assimilating abilities.
Gunman Fusionism: Lagann has the power to assimilate/take over other Gunmen that it drills into. The prime example is drilling into Gurren to make Gurren Lagann, but it does work on other machines such as Dai-Gunzan. Like Lagann's other powers, this is tied to the pilot's willpower.
Giga Drill Break
Giga Drill Maximum
Gunmen Integration: Due to Lagann's influence, Gurren Lagann can spontaneously integrate parts of other Gunmen into itself. This ability gives Gurren Lagann its signature helmet (originally taken from Viral's Enki), and is later used to acquire a set of wings for the Gunmen (by impaling a flying Gunmen with four drills and attaching it to Gurren Lagann's back). In both cases, the stolen parts immediately reconfigured into forms complimenting the main body of the mecha, mostly by changing colors.
Flying Kicks: Gurren lagann can physically fight by doing deadly flared flying kicks. There are many variations of this, from simply calling it "Gurren Lagann Kick", "Burning Man's Fire Kick", "Hinokuma Kick" to "Super Inazuma Kick" (paying homage to Gunbuster).
Man's Anger Bursting Slash: A technique to slit the opponent vertically with the Gurren Boomerang.
Troy Del Burst: A technique to drive a number of drills onto the ground and cause a crack. It was chased by Dai-Ganzun in the seventh episode, and it was used by Simon when he fell into a dilemma. In the manga version, the technique name was displayed when being used.
Superconducting Rifle: The mouth of the Gurren part opens, and Yoko who is getting on as a sub-pilot from there fires a sniper, with "lock on" characteristic. Although it can not secure the stability necessary for sniper, it is unusable after the movement, but since the hit correction is high and the range is long, the thing that can not do anything when counterattacking decreases.
Gurren Boomerang: GL throws sunglasses at opponents like a boomerang. In SRW Second Z Breakout Story, it has the longest range and relatively low fuel consumption, so it will become the mainstay of counterattack.
Glasses Cutter: A real sword worn on the chest. Originally equipped with Gurren, imitating the sunglasses Kamina wore, it is mostly used as an anti-aircraft weapon.
Giga Drill Break: Gurren Lagann pins the opponent, usually a powerful enemy mecha, by throwing its sunglasses as a boomerang. As the sunglasses fly, they split into two. Once they have pinned the mecha in the air, Gurren Lagann creates a giant drill that expands to feature length while screaming the attack's name and plows through the target at extreme speeds. This is then quickly followed by an explosion of the pinned mecha. The sunglasses boomerangs emerge from the explosion, reunite into a single pair, then fly back onto Gurren Lagann's lower face.
Skull Break: A technique to release a punch, activate the drill at the moment the fist hits, destroy only the inside of the enemy gunmen. It was used by Simon at the beginning of the 9th episode when he was desperate destroying the enemy Gunmen.
Full Drillize: A technique to stretch the surrounding enemies by massive elongation of thin long drills from the whole body. To be precise, the condition where the drill protrudes as far as possible from the whole body is called "full drilling form".
Giga Drill Maximum: Gurren Lagann produces the maximum amount of Giga Drills available to the Gurren Lagann at once, covering it much like a porcupine. When energy is absorbed in this fashion, it is released in a massive explosion to do damage to all enemies around it.
Double Boomerang: Gurren Lagann removes its wings and sunglasses, then throws them both as boomerangs at the target. The Gurren Lagann may also use these as swords in close combat when its drills are unwieldy and can configure the boomerangs to restrain the target in preparation for the Giga Drill Break.
Giga Drill Break Team Dai-Gurren Special: Giga drill break of a hot-blooded friendship with the rest of Team Dai-Gurren.
Space-Time Shattering Burst Spinning Punch
Space-Time Shattering Burst Spinning Punch: A punch that tears a hole in reality and sends the target outside of the space-time continuum
Vortex Cannon Maximum: GIGA DRILL MAXIMUM's beam gun version, was released by Artenborough Cortich
Arc-Gurren Lagann Giga Drill Break: A giant drill is manifested and is slammed through the foes at high speeds. It broke the hand of the Cathedral Lazengann.
Super Inazuma Drill Kick: An intense flying kick that crushed the Cathedral Lasengann's punch.
Fingertip Drills
Super Galaxy Mega Cutter
Spatio-Temporal Axis Simultaneous Shooting
Super Galaxy Giga Drill Break
Fingertip Drills: Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann pierces the enemy with finger drills and blows them up.
Choginga Great Cutter: Choginga throws a large boomerang which can cut it's opponents
Full Drill: In the case of Gurren Lagann it itself functioned as an attack, but in Super Galaxy it is the name of an attack. Because the main body itself is huge, each one of the drills is in full drilling mode, and all of them are super spiral cannons. Like the Gurren Lagann, it also has the power to create drills from many points on its body at once.
Multi-Cannon Shot: Multidimensional Probability Variation Control technique with cannons that shoot down omnidirectionally to every single point of space-time
Super Galaxy Giga Drill Break: A much more powerful version of the Giga Drill Break, consisting of multiple Giga Drills tacked on to one another.
*Weapon Manifestation: Manifests a giant sniper rifle which is aesthetically identical to Yoko Littner's that was used to shoot the Anti-Spiral, striking its home planet, and later manifesting a pair of swords similar to Viral's.
"I've Got The Best Wife In The Universe" Swing: Named by Dayakka, the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann uses its Super Dimensional Anchor to swing Granzeboma around and slam them into a galaxy.
Giga Drill Break: An even bigger version of the Giga Drill Break, used to ram the opponent.
Lazengann Overload: Lordgenome, while in Lazengann, sacrifices himself down to the quantum level, allowing him to absorb the energy of the Anti-Spiral's Infinity Big Bang Storm and become one with it, and convert it into a drill that TTGL can use, allowing TTGL to evolve in the show and enabling its transcendence into Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in the movies.
Super Tengen Toppa Giga Drill Break
Super Tengen Toppa Giga Drill Break: Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann forms a drill from Spiral Power out of its right fist (a variant of the Giga Drill Break). This drill is over 180 times larger than STTGL (in terms of cone area). When it collided with Anti-Spiral Giga Drill Break, an equivalent attack from the Super Granzeboma, they caused the very Super Spiral Space the fight was held in to collapse on itself. This attack proved not strong enough to overcome the Anti-Spiral Giga Drill Break, however, and only succeeded because all other forms of Gurren Lagann took its place after it was destroyed. In the end, Simon surpassed the Anti-Spiral's power and defeated him in combat.
