Recap: Does Having Many Faces Make You Great?

Hello again. It's been a little while since my last recap. I say it's time I've done another.

Today, I think I'll do something a little different. Normally, I tend to recap bad episodes of

anime, save for the occasional positive recap, piece of anime news, or Top 13 list. This time,

however, I intend to dispute an episode of anime that is regarded as bad; but I actually found

very entertaining.

It's an episode of my favorite anime, Gurren Lagann. Gurren Lagann is a production

of Studio Gainax, a studio that has produced many memorable works in anime. One of their

most notable is Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is essentially a deconstruction of the

mecha genre. Gurren Lagann, on the other hand, is an homage to that same genre. If

Evangelion is the cynical side of the mecha genre, then Gurren Lagann is the optimistic

side of it. It is also by far the best-animated series of its genre I've ever seen, and one of the

best in the entire medium of anime. Battles are animated with great fluidity, colors are all around; and by the end of the series, entire galaxies become backdrops for the series.

Imagine one's surprise then, when an episode early on didn't turn out so well. Yes,

the episode that is my subject today became infamous among fans for how off-model it was.

The episode had a different director than it normally did; and characters were drawn rougher,

animation was stiffer, and colors were all washed-out. You know something, though? I actually

didn't find this episode as bad as some people say it is. In fact, I rather enjoyed it; and I'm

going to tell you why. So, let's open up “Does Having Many Faces Make You Great?” and

see one of the strangest-drawn things ever committed to anime.

We first get the theme song, “Sorairo Days”. It is one of my favorite anime theme

songs. I feel that so much works with it, that I'm posting a link of it.

We then get our title card for the episode. The title card looks very minimalist, and I like

it like that.

We open on Simon (pronounced like in Raven-Simone, not Simon Belmont)

complaining that he's incredibly hungry while Boota looks on.

As the Gunmen walk along the surface of the earth, we see that the color scheme is

indeed very washed-out. So far, this episode is setting up for its reputation.

Kamina reminds Simon about how they combined, and says they have more special

training on how to do that. Kamina feels embarrassed about it. As he says this, he's drawn

in a much rougher style. The infamy this episode gained among fans because of its off-model

artwork from having a different director; which is why I chose to recap this episode.

The pencil marks on my face demand masculinity!

Kamina asks Simon to climb onto his shoulders, but Simon claims it's pointless when

they're not in their Gunmen.

Kamina responds by throwing a rock at Simon, and Simon tells Kamina to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cPvN6XF58U

Yoko and the team mechanic, Leeron, observe the situation. Leeron states that Simon

and Kamina seem to be enjoying themselves. Even in this rougher art style, this scene is

pretty well-conveyed. One more thing: Leeron is voiced by Steve Blum (pronounced like

“Bloom,”, not “Plum”). This is a hilarious departure in casting, as Blum is known more for

playing masculine characters like Spike from Cowboy Bebop. Seeing him voice one of the

most obvious gay stereotypes elicited much laughter from fans.

Leeron puts on a pair of white gloves, and gestures for some small robots to bring up

a Heads-Up Display so he can inspect Lagann. He sings a peculiar song as he works, and Yoko

dismisses the robots as “creepy toys.” If you think that's bad, you should see what some fans

have done with the Revoltech custom figures. The results are...disturbing.

He also pulls out a small device to check on Lagann further, and Leeron is amazed at

Lagann. Just to drive the gay stereotype further, the device looks a bit like a makeup mirror.

How's my eye shadow? I need to go record lines for Starscream after this, so I need to look the part!

I must also point out the copy of the episode I'm using to write this recap was from

Sci-Fi's Ani-Monday block; before the channel started misspelling itself and running wrestling

because they're under the impression women don't like science fiction.

Kamina is not pleased with the admiration The Scorpion King gets.

Simon is still running from rocks being thrown at him, and doing so in the most

exaggerated way possible due to the art style. I don't know how to make animated .gif files,

but if you decide to watch this episode, play this music over the episode and you should get

the idea.

Suddenly, a figure in a cloak appears over the cliff. He is flanked by three more

cloaked figures, and they mock Simon's predicament.

Simon complains again that he is hungry, but Kamina replies that a man's growling

stomach cannot match his fighting spirit. At that moment, his own stomach growls.

Firing at Gurren, the people in cloaks come barreling down the mountain.

A female voice comes from one of the cloaked figures as they surround Simon.

Kamina tries to give Gurren a good tap to start it, but he has gone without food for so

long that everything shuts down around him.

Another one of the cloaked figures attacks Kamina, accusing him of being a Beastman.

Kamina does not take this and punches him.

The people all take their hoods down at that moment. Kamina and the man exchange words,

talking over each other comically.

Simon is ecstatic that there are girls in the group. The girls then race to Kamina instead.

The eldest sister is Kiyo. Second is Kiyon, and third is Kiyal.  

The brother is Kittan. Together, they form the Black Siblings.

Just look at that cross-hatching and that inked nose.

Yoko, Kiyo, Kiyon, and Kiyal then go out to hunt for food. Kiyo, Kiyon and Kiyal

all comment on how great Kamina is.

Kittan laughs at Kamina's plan to travel to Beastman Headquarters. The girls come

in and present the animal they caught.

As the others wonder what the food is, Simon just sticks his fork in it. At that moment,

the food gets up and talks! One by one, the fuzzballs gather. As they flee, it turns out the

fuzzballs are Beastmen. Kittan then vows to go after them.

Kamina leaps into action, and encourages Simon to do the same. The Beastmen are

after Kamina, as they have their own Gunmen.  

Simon jumps into Lagann, and prepares to combine with Kamina in Gurren.

Kamina just knocks Simon aside, and reminds Simon of the training they did.

The Beastmen combine into a 16-faced Gunman, and Leeron expresses surprise at this.

Kamina still insists on a special way of combining; and Boota encourages Simon to

do it Kamina's way.

At last Simon realizes what must be done, and he runs up to Kamina. Once again,

I recommend that this music be played at this running animation.

Simon still struggles to combine, as he gets knocked on his back by the enemy Gunman.

Life...signs...faint. Animation...budget...running...out.
Can't...talk...in...complete...sentences.

Just then, Kittan and Yoko come running up and start throwing bombs at the Gunman.

This gives Simon the opening he needs. Simon then bounces up and down, bobbing and

weaving at the Gunmen get thrown around.

With a leap into the air, Lagann finally combines with Gurren; giving us the

eponymous Gurren Lagann. Gurren Lagann gets ready to face the Gunman.

Simon and Kamina lament that with no food, they have no energy to fight. Boota then

tears off his tail and part of his rump for the two to eat.

With meat in their stomachs, Simon and Kamina now have the strength to fight.

Kamina then calls out the Gunman, saying having many faces doesn't make you great

(it's common for episodes of this anime to have a paraphrasing of the episode title

somewhere in the episode).

As he continues his speech, Simon notices drills coming out of their mecha's arm.

They drill through all their faces, and the fuzzball feels royally screwed.

I don't know how I'm conveying this situation, but I'm doing it as hard as I can!

He rolls forward to attack, only for him to get skewered on the drills. So that's all

16 faces on a Gunman kabob.

With their mecha destroyed, the fuzzball makes one of the biggest faces of disappointment in this episode.

This is a really bad day for him.

Kiyo, Kiyon, and Kiyal narrowly escape being buried, and Kittan expresses his joy that

his sisters are safe. Leeron dryly says that he needs to make repairs again.

As the sun sets, Kamina remarks that he liked the taste of Boota's rump meat, and wants

more. Simon says what he had will have to do, since he's not getting anymore.

We end on Kamina chasing Simon because he wants to eat Boota. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qBK4RRpouQ

Also, the ending theme, “Underground”, is played over a pre-Network Decay Sci-Fi

advertisement. I don't really appreciate one of my favorite anime endings being fast-forwarded

and squished, so I'mposting a link of it. I'm also not fond of how these cheesy monster movies

are one of the few things to survive from the decay.

Now we're talking! A commercial for this show! Ever since I first saw it in 2011, Gurren

Lagann is my favorite anime. The DVD is on my list of titles to pick up.

“Does Having Many Faces Make You Great” is better than its reputation lets on.

While the art may be rather crude in comparison to the rest of the series; the story is

actually pretty well-done. Even so, a lot of unintentional humor comes from the off-model

animation. This episode became so infamous even within Gainax that the manga adaptation

completely rewrites/redraws the story from scratch; and Gainax's next anime, Panty and

Stocking with Garterbelt, contains an episode which may have been meant to invoke a similar

reaction; “Vomiting Point.” That is all for now. I probably won't do another recap until after I move. Later.