Well, the reason we're really extreme on how we like the show is probably because there's just so much dang passion that was put into it.
Everything ranging from its incredible soundtrack, animation, and pacing.
The characters may not be super deep or anything, but that's not what Gurren Lagann aims to be. It aims to be a tale of how you can accomplish anything by believing in yourself. And it embraces that concept and goes all out with it. It's in your face about everything, sure. But it does that on purpose to help go along with its themes.
I don't think there's anything wrong with someone who dislikes the show. It's people who call the show terrible that I don't understand.
For me, a terrible show is either a show that tries to do something and fails, or a show that doesn't try at all.
Gurren Lagann I feel succeeds at doing what it tried to do and I feel it deserves every bit of the praise that it gets. It's just a well put-together, fun, show. And if you don't like it, that's one hundred percent fine. But really think about it before you call the show terrible because it's style doesn't appeal to you.
Yes, and I'm fine with people feeling that way. I tend to get passionate about certain things, too. But I think you can do that without trying to shout down people who feel otherwise (this is also something that I've probably been guilty of in the past, so I'm not going to say that it should never be done, but sometimes people just need to take a step back from the computer screen if they get so worked up about something like that).
As far as what makes a show terrible, that's a perfectly fine direction, but I don't necessarily agree that the opposite is true, and that a show that tries and succeeds at doing something can't be terrible. Personally, I think that if something succeeds at doing something, but that something wasn't worth doing in the first place, then it can be considered "terrible" just as something that failed at its goals is.
Now, to some extent my opinions on Gurren Lagann are a bit extreme, and I recognize that. But I can honestly say that there is no show in the history of television that I dislike as much as I do Gurren Lagann. And that is why I consider it to be "terrible". That's not to take a swing at anyone who likes it, but I just really, really don't like it. Part of that is that it was just the moment where I realized that Gainax was dead and never coming back (as opposed to just being in a creative rut for a few years), part of that is that the fanbase for the show acted obnoxious back in 2007, but a lot of it is that I just found the show unappealing on every level.
It feels like a show made for the purpose internet memes, rather than actually having anything to say. All of the discussion around the show just seems to center around how "hype" it is, and how manly the characters are, without really discussing anything of real substance. And it's fine if people like that, because maybe there is something everyone else but me can see. But I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at something that seems, to me, to be unappealing on every level, and saying that it's terrible.
The moment that we start deciding what can and can't be describe as terrible, or in the reverse, as amazing, is the moment that we lose the ability to have any civil discussion of differences of opinion and instead devolve into tribalism. You're free to disagree with my opinions on the show as fervently as you want, but I don't think it's fair to decide what can and can't be called terrible.
