Kamina Legend

Lore & Background

Kamina is introduced as a rebellious youth from Giha village who dreams of leaving his underground home and going to the surface world. He is known for his unwavering confidence and charisma, serving as a foil for the more timid and weak-willed Simon. Simon greatly admires Kamina and refers to him as his brother despite them not being related by blood. Simon's discovery of the Core Drill and the Gunmen Lagann set the events of the series in motion. Simon spends much of the first quarter of the series in Kamina's footsteps, but over time gradually acquires his own fighting spirit and determination, acting independently more often until his personality mirrors that of Kamina. Throughout the series, Kamina primarily pilots Gurren, which can combine with Simon's Lagann to form Gurren Lagann. Simon pilots Lagann (Japanese for "head/face"), which can produce drills from his body when reacting to Simon's Spiral energy, and can use this ability to take control of other Gunmen. Kamina meets his end when he is struck by a beam attack from Lordgenome's Gunmen, a pivotal moment that cements his legacy as a martyr for the human resistance.

In Their Own Story

Kamina is a rebellious youth from Giha village who dreams of leaving his underground home and going to the surface world, which he saw as a child. His passionate and confident personality serves as a foil for the more timid and weak-willed Simon, and serves to instill courage in Simon. He is known for wearing sunglasses and a tattered cape that belonged to his late father. He wields a nodachi he stole from the chief of Giha village and his catchphrase of "just who the hell do you think I/we am/are?!" becomes the battle cry of his group. Although he dies early on in the show, his actions are greatly influential, as he founds Team Gurren, later renaming it Team Dai-Gurren, and acts as its leader to combat Lordgenome and the beastmen. Early on in the series, Kamina hijacks a Gunmen he names Gurren (Japanese for "scarlet"), which he pilots while combined with Simon's Lagann to form Gurren Lagann.

Reader's Guide

Kamina's story begins in Giha village, where he is best friends with Simon and dreams of visiting the surface world. One day, Simon unearths a drill-shaped key called a Core Drill, and then finds a small Gunmen. Soon after, a giant Gunmen crashes through the ceiling and begins attacking the village. It is pursued by a woman named Yoko. Simon uses his Core Drill to activate the smaller Gunmen (which Kamina names Lagann) and its drilling-based abilities. He successfully uses it to destroy the more prominent Gunmen and break through the ceiling, allowing him and Kamina to reach the surface world. Along the way, Kamina hijacks a Gunmen and names it Gurren, combining it with Lagann to form the mecha Gurren Lagann. Their actions inspire other humans to steal their own Gunmen and join Team Gurren, leading Kamina to rename it Team Dai-Gurren. Eventually, Team Dai-Gurren captures an enemy Gunmen fortress to use as their base of operations, but one of Lordgenome's four generals kills Kamina in the preceding battle.

Did You Know?

• Kamina is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in Japanese and by Brett Weaver (A.D. Vision dub) or Kyle Hebert (Bang Zoom! dub) in English.
• Kamina's catchphrases are "Just who the hell do you think I am?!" (singular) and "Just who the hell do you think we are?!" (plural).
• Kamina wields a normal-sized sword (often called a katana or longsword) he took from the chief of Giha village.
• Kamina is killed by a beam attack from Lordgenome's Gunmen, not directly by Lordgenome's hand.
• Kamina's father's tattered cape is part of his signature look.