Hello everyone and welcome to my tumblr triggered SJW blog! Yes, today we will be discussing why Gurren Lagann is problematic. Go ahead and roll your eyes at the "hypersensitivity" if you must, but it's hard to deny that Gurren Lagann has some serious issues (and if you do roll your eyes you might want to reflect a little on your own life). The problems present in Gurren Lagann are prevalent in many, many anime. Usually we dismiss it, I know I do, but it's good to examine the problematic nature of things we enjoy. While I'm being very critical of Gurren Lagann in this blog, I don't actually think it's a bad show. Personally, I didn't enjoy it much, but if you did I'm not saying you have shit taste. As this analysis will be in-depth, there will be many spoilers and not too much summary. If you haven't seen the series read at your own risk. So without further ado, it's time to roast this anime.

:warning: Spoilers ahead :warning:

Gurren Lagann is a 2007 mecha anime series much loved by fans and critics alike. It focuses on two teenage boys living underground and their fight to free and defend humanity. The vast majority of the series's characters are male and the target audience is men. As we all know, anime targeted at men and women alike feature ecchi, usually in the form of scantily clad women with exaggerated breasts and men ogling them. Gurren Lagann is certainly no different. Repeatedly in Gurren Lagann the female characters are sexualized and defined by men.

Additionally, Leeron Littner, the main mechanic of Team Dai-Gurren, is hyper sexualized as a gay man and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about homosexuals. While most would probably commend Gurren Lagann for including an LGBT character, accurate representation is everything. Leeron is constantly flirting with a myriad of male characters. Even if it is in a joking manner, it normalizes the idea that homosexuals are attracted to every member of their gender. If you can't see the problem here, apply the stereotype to real life. Many people feel uncomfortable sharing locker rooms with homosexual people. Their worry comes from the idea that gay people will target any and all people of the gender their attracted to. Additionally, many people act coldly to homosexuals because they are worried they might "hit on them." The idea that homosexuals hit on everyone encourages homophobia. While a good and lovable attempt at diversity, Leeron's character is actually harmful representation.

The main female lead, Yoko Littner, typically wears a bikini top and short shorts. When she is first introduced, Kamina (a hero in the series) immediately flirts with her, saying "surface girls are a breed apart." The fact that Kamina comments on her body even though she just dropped from the sky to save them from a giant monster speaks volumes to how the sexualization and romanticization often takes precedence over having a good character. While Yoko is regarded as a strong female lead, she is still defined by men. At the beginning she is Kamina's romantic interest. After his death she is driven by his memory. Later in the series she comes back and is immediately Kittan's romantic interest. During the seven year period of peace she leaves the city because "government isn't really her thing." While this is a valid choice and completely true, none of the other characters make this decision. Most of Team Dai-Gurren are not government types and yet they are officials. Instead of taking a position of power, Yoko becomes a teacher on a remote island where she doesn't reveal her identity as a hero. Although Yoko is fierce and strong during the action part of the series, she leaves to pursue a stereotypically feminine job as a teacher of young children. Singling out Yoko as the only person in Team Dai-Gurren to leave and not get recognition just goes to show how different women are treated in this series.

The Black Siblings are four orphan siblings who fight gunmen on the surface. The oldest and only boy is Kittan. The next oldest is Kiyoh, then Kinon, and finally Kiyal. Kittan is presented as a more significant character than the sisters from the start. While Kittan is a strong personality that stands on his own, his other siblings are presented as a unit and split lines between them. They are shown as either Kittan's sisters or Kamina's arm candy. In the second half of the series their characters are stripped of power much like Yoko. Although they're members of Team Dai-Gurren none of them have high ranking jobs in the government. Kiyoh gets married and has a child, Kinon has a position under Rossiu in the government, and Kiyal is only shown taking care of her eldest sister. Kinon is probably the worst treated in the second half of the series. She is a loyal servant of Rossiu and abandons her individuality for him. As Kittan says, her "personality does a 180." Kinon goes against her family and puts all her faith in Rossiu, showing just how little women in Gurren Lagann stand on their own.

Nia, the second female protagonist of Gurren Lagann, is the series's resident idyllic, distant dream girl. The strange girl who falls from the sky and captures the protagonist's heart is a painfully common trope in anime. As with many similar characters, Nia's contribution to the anime is in how she inspires other characters. She arrives after Kamina's death just when Simon needs a motivation boost. The rest of Team Dai-Gurren also rallies behind her. Yoko soon follows after. Nia pulls the anime out of the post-Kamina slump. In the second half of the series, Nia is a messenger for the antagonists and is subsequently taken by them. She provides additional motivation for Team Dai-Gurren to defeat the anti-spirals, as if saving humanity wasn't enough. At the end of the series she disappears once no one needs to be inspired anymore. Nia is no more than a damsel in distress, a classic position for women that robs them of power. The damsel in distress is a perfect metaphor for Nia's character throughout the series. She motivates other characters, usually men, without doing much herself. More than a character she is a figurehead.

Each of the prominent female characters in Gurren Lagann are defined by men in some fashion. Lacking independent female characters is a huge problem; however, the sexism in Gurren Lagann runs much deeper. While women on Team Dai-Gurren fight, they aren't key elements in the battle. The women don't get to make heroic sacrifices. Even Yoko, the strongest female character, becomes less and less important as Team Dai-Gurren grows. Despite participating in battle, female characters in the show are never large sources of spiral power. When Kinon and Simon go to find Rossiu before he attempts suicide, it's a perfect opportunity to show how Simon isn't the only powerful source of spiral power and create more depth in Kinon's character. However, they teleport solely because of Simon and Kinon is only there for moral support. Even the pig mole Boota displays more spiral power than any female character. In the beginning of the series Kamina, the one who inspires spiral power in every character, often talks about masculinity. He describes himself as "A paragon of total masculinity," and bases many of his morals on masculinity. Many of his speeches that inspire Team Dai-Gurren for years to come are based in the idea of being a man. Those speeches later become sources of spiral power. At its core, spiral power is for men. At no point in the series do we see women producing massive amounts of spiral power, taking positions of power, or making dramatic sacrifices.

At the end of the series the future of earth is in the hands of a new generation. With this new beginning we see that, for women, nothing has changed in the Gurren Lagann universe. Simon gives Gimmy the core drill, rather than his sister Darry who has been equal with Gimmy every step of the way. Viral leads the ship going to the Galactic Spiral Peace Conference. Yoko's male student Naakim is selected for the Grapearl squadron while we hear nothing from her other highlighted student Maosha. The sweet taste of a happy ending and hope for the future is soured by the uneven achievements of men and women, as with the whole series. Although Gurren Lagann is a good show, it is certainly problematic.