The Blue Fox Alley

When it comes to the discussion of bravado, or GAR, in Gurren Lagann, Kamina claims the spotlight (and Simon occasionally). The man himself is a pot brimming with courage, and is very much capable of maintaining an undaunted stand when faced with adversity. Boasting of manly fortitude, he claims a spot in the pantheon of manly man like Dr. Faustus Guy Shishioh and Co.

But I like Gurren Lagann not because it features Kamina the generally acknowledged epitome of manliness, because I beg to differ when it comes to considering him as the sole individual who upholds all that is courageous and spirited. Well, he is brave all all, but I think he has only demonstrated a third of the aspect of having courage. Putting it simply, there are other ways to be GAR; and Kamina’s GAR is complemented by the GARness of his esteemed colleagues in the show. And finally, by their powers combined, we can imagine the quintessential concept of GAR.

At this point, do pardon me if I am meandering in my attempt to profess that Gurren Lagann is awesome, or excellent. However, the treatment of the various GAR facets in TTGL excites me greatly because it is a far more efficient way to preach on GARness than when there is just one person who is quintessentially GAR. In other words, why is it better not to have one character who has all the aspects of GARness in him? Why must we bother having characters who are all individually fragments of what it is to be truly GAR?

Well, in a story, how should one go about revealing a characteristic of a character? The common approach (I use the word “common”  because I cannot help but imagine someone offering a different opinion, for certain reasons) is by putting a character in a scenario and let that character respond accordingly to his/her given nature. Put a cowardly person in a dangerous predicament, and his/her fleeing will revealing that cowardice. Kamina stands firm in the face of danger, revealing courage. Suffice to say, characters have to be given a chance to show what they are made of. Conflicts, interaction, and recounts do that.

This is where the danger lies. Imagine if Kamina were made of Simon GARness, Roussiu GARness, Kittan GARness and all. In addition, let us imagine the situation if the anime strives to reveal every single aspect of Kamina’s all rounded GARness. Given my proposal, you can consider how all that can be presented to the viewers: the show would have to dedicate a significant lump of events that revolves around the unveiling of Kamina’s perfect GARness. I cannot help but consider that a great hindrance to the flow of the story. Of course, I speak of an awfully extreme and unlikely consequence. Splitting up the perfect personification of GARness into various aspects smooths out the development of the story, reducing the need to pay too much focus on a certain character at the expense of other story aspects. So Kamina is not all GAR, but he is diet pepsi GAR. So are the others. Looking at Simon, you can understand an aspect of Kamina without having the story explicitly reveal it to you through the insertion of some scenario, which might be considered trivial for the advancement of the story (I sound vague, I know). I call it Division of Labour.

So I now end my highly boring and silly rant by attempting to describe the different ways of being GAR, as shown by Kamina and other GAR characters. But my main interest lies in Simon and Roussiu, who both, I believe, are comrades in GAR in TTGL.

The concept of being GAR does not belong to anyone, GAR owns you!

KAMINA

• He is generically courageous?

I find it hard to classify Kamina’s GARness. That is perhaps he does what we would expect a courageous one would do. He is not afraid of a lot of things (most of the time). He faces his challenges despite great odds. He is uh… courageous, ergo GAR.

SIMON

• Possesses the courage to change

Crossing over one’s comfort zone is never an easy affair. Simon, despite his inclination towards timidness and all that is not like Kamina, is driven by his love for his friends to mature and assume a role of great responsibility.

It is never easy to change. Can you ask Shin to stop fapping to pictures of little cartoon girls (remember, fanarts have to be credited)?

ROUSSIU

• Possesses the courage to do the right thing, even when general opinion believes otherwise.

In this case, the general opinion lies in the viewers of TTGL, who have totally been inoculated into the awesomeness of being GAR. Roussiu’s stern adhering of policies causes us to frown upon his disposition. He made painful decisions, and upholds logic more than his emotionally capricious comrades from the Dai Gurren Dan. But that does not make him any less GAR than the boisterous rest.

Roussiu embodies the courage to uphold what he believes is necessary, even if he is a lone wolf in his quest, subjected to the scrutiny of disapproving opinions. GAR? Aye.

So what happens if they all combined into one entity? Simple. GaoGaiGAR.