First off: Minor apology for getting distracted with other things and not keeping up with watching. I guess that's kind of the benefit of online shows though, they're always available when you wanna go back to them, and you don't need to eagerly anticipate the next episode every week. This post is gonna be a bit longer 'cause it requires a bit more back story into where I'm coming from on some of this.
Back in Episode 1 I likened their situation to that of the D'ni from the Myst series. In the novelizations, which were written by the creator of the game, specifically the second book, this race of underground dwelling people were trying to drill to the surface, and it was a very long and methodical process. Eventually their council decided that it was too risky to reach the surface and shut down the project altogether. While in the first episode of Gurren Lagann, they weren't exactly trying to reach the surface, it was Kamina's goal, so there was some mild association there.
I didn't really piece it together about how interesting some of this could be until I reached episode 5 though, which I just finished watching. First of all, bravo for the stylistic decision to make the episode mostly in gray scale. Seeing how this civilization (and formerly Yoko's people) was trying to thrive and survive in these very oppressive times is very fascinating and interesting. The different ways of life that adapt in harsh environments is something very interesting.
I made some jokes to my friend that was wanting me to watch it about how similar the plot and characters have been to Final Fantasy XIII in some regards, a game which I actually greatly enjoyed despite the fact that everywhere I seem to go on the internet it's completely despised and hated on. In any case, the quick associations I made off the bat was that Kamina was a lot like Snow, and Simone was a lot like Hope. These associations haven't really changed as of yet, but it does help that I can now draw further connections between the two. The very religious and devout people that were dealing with their population problems by drawing lots and calling the Gunmen dieties and such, just shows this great disconnect between all the cultures that are sprouting up. It's very reminiscent of how different the societies of Cocoon and Pulse were, and how each of them had their own branching and divergent paths and how they ended up.
In any case, that sort of stuff fascinates me, and I'm really disappointed that I watched so much in a row to try and "get through it" to get to when it gets good. I need to just start watching them at my own pace when I'm in the mood.
Then again, the next episode is the hot springs one.
