Spiral Commanders

Lore & Background

Simon is the series' protagonist, a boy who initially suffered from low self-esteem due to being an orphan, with his parents having died in an accident/collapse, and a fear of earthquakes. Despite being physically underdeveloped, Simon is a valued digger in Giha Village. Kamina eventually befriends him and inspires him, giving him the confidence to muster his courage and take action. After finding Lagann during a dig, Simon accompanies Kamina to the surface. When Kamina dies during the formation of Team Dai-Gurren, Simon falls into a depression that causes him to be overly aggressive in battle while isolating himself from the team. However, his meeting with Nia helps him come to a revelation about his own nature, leading to him overcoming his fears and doubts as he succeeds Kamina as Team Dai-Gurren's leader. In the second half of the series, Simon grows into a young man who is able to exercise caution when necessary. Simon proposes to Nia, but the Antispiral uses her to begin their attack on Earth, causing the moon to descend. The government sends Simon to jail to ease the people, and he later breaks free with help from Yoko to take back Cathedral Terra as he leads Team Dai-Gurren to save Nia and destroy Antispiral. Managing to marry Nia before she fades away, Simon gives Lagann's key to both Gimmy and Darry as he leaves his friends to wander the planet as a wanderer still known and recognized. In the epilogue, Simon is now an old man and watches his former comrades set out to contact other races throughout the galaxy to help prevent the Spiral Nemesis and ensure the universe's safety. It is revealed that the narrator at the beginning of most episodes is an older Simon.

In Their Own Story

Kamina is a young man from the subterranean village of Giha, who dreams of leaving the underground and going to the surface, which he believes he saw as a child with his father. His father went on, but Kamina was hesitant to join him; as a result, Kamina swore that he would eventually return to the surface and reunite with his father. He is arrogant and passionate about his goals, willing to pursue them without fear or hesitation. Kamina forms 'Team Gurren' and convinces Simon, who he considers his 'blood-brother,' to help him with his plan to drill through the village's roof and reach the world above. However, the plan fails, with him willingly taking the blame for disrupting the peace and the village chief jailing him. At night, Simon breaks him out to show him an extraordinary artifact he unearthed, only to be interrupted when a large Gunmen crashes through the village's ceiling. Yoko descends from the surface and ends up joining Kamina (now carrying a nodachi that he stole from the village chief) and Simon as they pilot the newly unearthed Gunmen, which Kamina names 'Lagann'. Together, they defeat the invading Gunmen and reach the surface in the process. Kamina eventually gets his own Gunmen, which he names 'Gurren'. During a fight, Kamina discovers a skeleton that turns out to be his father. After burying him, Kamina takes his tattered cloak and a small piece breaks off at the end. Simon grabs this piece and ties it around his arm, signifying their bond. Over time, 'Team Gurren' expands to the size of a resistance force aiming to overthrow the Beastman Empire, which Kamina leads and names 'Team Dai-Gurren'. Kamina's largest battle involves the capture of one of the enemy’s moving fortresses belonging to one of the Four great Generals, Thymilph. The mission is successful, as Kamina combines with Simon to form Gurren Lagann and defeats the Beastmen General with his signature move, 'Giga Drill Breaker.' However, he dies in the process, with his dying words being 'Listen up, Simon, and don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the me who believes in you. Not in the you who believes in me. You should believe in yourself!' These words are long remembered after his death, giving Simon the confidence to uphold his destiny as the 'one whose drill will pierce the heavens.' Kamina's signature pose, in which he sticks his index finger up into the air, along with his catchphrase, 'Who the hell do you think I am?' (俺を誰だと思ってやがる, Ore wo dare da to omotte yagaru?) is mirrored by several characters as a tribute to him and as a symbol of confidence in Team Dai-Gurren. Kamina is buried in the battlefield where he died, his nodachi stabbed into the ground and his cloak tied to its sheath. After the fall of the Beastmenn Empire, a new city is built from the ruins of the former capital, Teppelin, and named 'Kamina City.', with a huge statue of Kamina at the center of the city in his honor. However, the monument is destroyed after the citizens discover the truth about the Human Annihilation System and revolt against the government. He reappears when Simon, under the influence of the Anti-Spirals, witnesses visions of a false childhood where Kamina urges him to drill into banks and jewelry shops to steal valuables for him. He is shown groveling at the feet of beastmen atop of a hill, begging for his life and urging Simon to do the same. As Simon reaches for his Core Drill, he finds it missing. Then, the true Kamina appears, wearing his cloak and holding his nodachi, asking Simon if he lost his Drill. Kamina then reminds Simon that his drill is his soul, that he and his fallen comrades will live on in him, and that he is the one whose drill will pierce the heavens. Simon is reminded of what he is fighting for: for the sake of Nia and the fate of the Spiral Universe. This breaks the Alternate Multiverse Labyrinth, allowing Simon to reassemble Team Dai-Gurren and face the Anti-Spirals. In the epilogue, Kamina's grave is seen surrounded by other swords representing the members of Team Dai-Gurren who sacrificed themselves in the final battle.

Reader's Guide

Yoko Littner is a young woman from the village of Littner. She has considerable combat experience even before her chance meeting with Kamina and Simon. When a Gunman crashes through the roof of Giha village and prepares to attack the populace, Yoko, who had been tracking it, intervenes and attacks it with an electromagnetic rifle, disabling it and allowing Kamina and the villagers to flee. However, Kamina chooses to make advances at Yoko and initially diminishes her combat qualifications because of her gender, yet acknowledges 'that lady's spunk'. She decides to accompany Simon and Kamina on their quest. Despite their constant banter, Yoko soon becomes infatuated with Kamina, with Simon also having feelings for her until he discovers the two kissing. She is stated to be the same age as Simon, but it is implied that Littner measures time differently, as all humans live underground and may have a differing number of days in a year. She is mature for her age and the most rational member of the group, traits which helped her to cope with Kamina's death. After the war of liberation, in which she plays a major role, Yoko eschews taking part in politics at Kamina City. Desiring to distance herself from her warrior past, she takes the name Yomako and moves to remote Koreha Island, where she becomes a teacher at its elementary school. However, after learning of the events occurring at Kamina City and two gunmen attacking her, she temporarily leaves the island and breaks into Rinkane Jail to release Simon. After leaving the prison with Boota, Simon and Viral, she joins the other members of Team Dai-Gurren and pilots the Dayakkaiser to pursue the war against the Anti-Spirals. In the epilogue, an older Yoko is seen at the school, now in the role of principal. Nia Teppelin is a mysterious young girl Simon finds sleeping in a capsule amidst a dump site when he was still distraught over Kamina's death. She is later revealed to be Lordgenome's daughter, who abandoned her. She had no prior contact with humans except her father, though she is very curious, pure and innocent.

Did You Know?

• Simon is voiced by Tetsuya Kakihara in Japanese and by Jessie James Grelle in the A.D. Vision dub and Yuri Lowenthal in the Bang Zoom! dub.
• Kamina's dying words to Simon are: 'Listen up, Simon, and don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the me who believes in you. Not in the you who believes in me. You should believe in yourself!'
• After the war of liberation, Yoko uses the pseudonym Yomako while working as a teacher at an elementary school on remote Kiyal Island.
• Nia Teppelin is Lordgenome's daughter, who abandoned her, and she had no prior contact with any humans at all, including her father, until Simon meets her.
• In the epilogue, Simon is an old man and watches his former comrades set out to contact other races throughout the galaxy to help prevent the Spiral Nemesis.