Gurren Lagann - disc 2 impressions

I guess I picked the absolute best time or worst time to write up my impressions of the first disc of Gurren Lagann.  You read my complaints about the series thus far, and I was holding final judgment for when I finished the entire series.  While I still reserve judgment of the series until the end, I can say that this second disc has completely done away with any complaints I had.  It's funny how just a handful of episodes can flip an opinion.

I was afraid that the first disc of Gurren Lagann was nothing but filler for the series.  I thought we were setting off on a journey that was going to hit a few key points along the way, but many of the episodes inbetween wouldn't mean anything in the entire series' scope.  With this second disc of content, I saw that I was pretty much completely wrong.

Those early episodes served as a way to build up a cast of characters that would indeed come into play later in the series.  Not only did those episodes set up important details for future episodes, they also introduced us to characters that would circle around the main cast.  I'm very happy to see that those early episodes didn't create throwaway characters, but instead planted seeds for roles that would grow in the future.

I also felt that there was far too much yelling in the series up to the end of disc 1.  While there's still yelling to be had in disc 2, the storyline path helps to lead us in a different direction.  I guess the first disc was all about fun and getting into the action.  The second disc is clearly more about developing stories and showing us more than one side to a character.  There are also some major story events that help pave the way for a different range of emotions.

As for the gunman battles (mechs), they are starting to grow on me.  I think it has to do with the context of the series itself.  Earlier in the series, the battles were pretty much for the sake of battling.  Now I feel like the series is showing me battles that actually matter.  These are opponents that are important to the future of the characters and what they fight for.  From here on out, the team is going to be battling with major players in the game rather than random henchmen.  That definitely helps get me more into the mood for mech jousting.

I'm very happy to see that the series took a turnaround for me.  I can only hope that disc 3 continues this trend.  There are some big plot points being set up, and hopefully the story will be able to sell them to me.  From disc 1 to disc 2 I have started to see why so many people really enjoy this series.  Count me in as a much more engaged viewer from here on out.