TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN

Is probably the most epic thing you'll ever get to see in your lifetime.

Okay, anyone who's seen a Miyazaki movie knows what great animé can do. Now place this greatness in a mecha-based genre and watch it trample on clumsy, dumb predecessors like Voltron and Daimos.

Remember, as kids, that feeling of despair when our favorite robot gets beaten up and dragged around on-screen? And remember that feeling that follows, when we gasp in awe as it slowly stands up and proceeds to beat the crap out of the enemy? This is what Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is all about, that feeling that the best fights in Voltes V merely gave us a glimpse of in its attempt.

Gurren Lagann (which is actually the name of the main robot; Tengen Toppa translates to "Pierce the Heavens") is made by Gainax, the animation studio that did Evangelion. The story's more mainstream (less cerebral, more humorous) than Eva, the animation's top notch and colorful, and the characters endearing and inspiring.

Just 27 episodes long (around 20 mins each ep.), this series just finished wrapping up in Japan, so there still aren't any DVD copies out there, and the ones I've DLed are only fansubbed. If you're interested and want a copy, just text me and I'll burn you one.