When anime fans think of Gurren Lagann, the description "over-the-top" is often thrown around, and not without good reason. The simple life of Simon the Driller gets changed when he discovers Lagann and shoots up from below the ground to eventually, and quite literally, "pierce the heavens".
Along the way, viewers are treated to many grand speeches, epic battles, and a cast with a lot of heart. The ending, however, wasn't the big happy-ever-after that fans expected it to be. Looking back though, it may have the most logical and powerful endings.
Gurren Lagann: This Over-The-Top Mecha Anime Is Smarter Than You Think
Drilling The Path For The New Generation
The first half of the final episode was a mech battle of epic proportions with guns blazing and heavenly bodies thrown around like shuriken. After Simon finally drills through the Anti-Spiral form, all seems to end well, and he brings Nia back home safely. Viewers are then treated to their marriage, with the whole gang cheering as they enjoy what would be their final kiss.
In artful Gurren Lagann fashion, Nia begins to fade out as they say their final goodbyes. The shock of Team Dai-Gurren, except Simon and Viral, is the show's way of being cognizant of how fans would react to the whole scene. However, the audience forgets that Nia's presence without the Anti-Spiral maintaining her existence is a big hole in the narrative. Simon and Viral know this would happen to Nia, explaining to the crew -- and the audience -- that Nia is a just virtual life form created by the Anti-Spiral; without them, Nia wouldn't exist.
Gimmy asks about bringing Nia back to life with Spiral energy, a sentiment that fans share in saying that Nia shouldn't have to disappear. But Yoko makes the logical argument of saying that Simon is not God to bring back people from the dead. And if he did, Simon would be doing exactly what the Anti-Spiral has been afraid of -- abusing the Spiral power for selfish reasons. If he did, it would put all their sacrifices to naught and be in the way of progress.
And it's not only Simon who stepped out of the scene to make way for the younger generation to push forward. After 20 years, viewers see that Kamina City has progressed even further with the leadership of President Rossiu. He is discussing the Galactic Spiral Peace Conference with Leeron. Rossiu is now mature enough to realize how each has different ways of thinking, showing that he has grown from his past as a better leader. Leeron, who most likely has had a hand in the city's technological progressions, also acknowledges that none other than Rossiu would have achieved it.
Meanwhile, Yoko returned to her quiet life as a school teacher and is now the school's principal on a remote island. While she is very much part of the core team, she decided to stay away from politics and chose to teach the younger generation instead. One of her former students, Nakim, tells her he's part of the Grapearl Squad that would represent the human race during the conference and ensures her that they won't let Spiral Nemesis happen.
Leading the Grapearl Squad are Gimmy and Darry who are about to lead the team to the conference. Gimmy, who has inherited Lagann, continues to fulfill the promise he made to Simon of moving forward. Viral, who will accompany them to represent Earth, is waiting for them in space.
One of the prevailing themes that Gurren Lagann has is the hope that comes with moving forward. While Simon and the rest have paved the way, they also knew they would need to step aside for the newer generation to walk through it. Each of them understands that they can only watch over the younger generation to continue what they started and continue towards the peace they strived for.
Letting Go
Despite the losses along the way and the challenges that he had to face, Simon always had Nia as his guiding light. It gave him -- and the audience, in general -- a glimmer of hope that all will work towards a happy conclusion. After everything he has been through over the course of his life, the traditional ending would be to give him the happiness he deserves which is to finally be together with Nia in peace.
Some fans felt that Simon not getting his happy ending was too much of a downer, considering all he has lost along the way. Perhaps to appease the audience, Gainax stated that Mia and Simon spent time together for a week on an island off-screen before their wedding. However, some fans are still disappointed and convinced that Gurren Lagann got the Gainax ending it didn't deserve. However, what's important to note is that it wasn't a matter of punishing Simon more with loss that he didn't deserve to gain more drama; it was simply being faithful to the story.
Unlike Kamina's passing, Simon takes his loss of Nia quietly and without struggle. Even if there's a lot of pain to be had, he understands that he has to let Nia go, which makes the scene all the more bittersweet as he takes off his wedding coat and walks away into obscurity.
Until the final episode of Gurren Lagann, Simon was hugely depended on to steer Lagann, take control of other Gunmen, and lead each battle into victory. During the 7-year time skip, he also established Kamina City and sits at the helm as its Supreme Commander. With everything achieved under his belt and still losing Nia, you'd think that he would at least have an ending that is befitting of a war hero. Instead, he leaves the city to Rossiu and hands over the key to Lagann with Gimmy to let them lead the new generation towards peace.
While Simon could have stayed in charge until the end of his days, he is fully aware that he has to step down. After all, there's no need for a war hero during a time of peace. And while he isn't the type to go looking for a war to make himself useful (after all, he did sustain a comfy desk job for seven years and led the improvement of their civilization), he realizes that he has to hand it over to the next generation to "go through the tunnels that [he] dug".
And while he may have dug out that future for everyone, Simon knows that leading the way while being in the spotlight isn't his nature. Like he did when he finally accepted Kamina's death, he decided to be true to himself and go back to becoming "Simon the Digger". Although the memory of his exploits has faded after 20 years, his legacy remains with Gimmy and Darry as they blast off to other galaxies with Viral as representatives of Earth as he watches over them.
Gurren Lagann is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Reddit