Japanamania: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It’s easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it’s being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here’s our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Licensed by ADV

Giant mechs, cute girls, and not one but two badass heroes- it would have been tough for Gainax to go wrong on this one, but they didn’t slack off. Instead they created a genuinely fun, visually stunning series with more heart and soul than any other that aired in Japan in 2007. ADV has licensed the series and fast-tracked it, setting a release date of February 2008 for the first volume.

The series is set on a future Earth where humans live in clans underground and never see the sun. A young boy named Simon is content to dig with his clan, but his elder brother-of-the-heart Kamina has a loftier goal: to drill through to the surface of the Earth. Despite the misgivings of the clan chief, they succeed in their plan.

But what they find on the surface exceeds their wildest expectations— starting with the buxom, bikini-clad sniper Yoko and a “Beastman,” a species of, well, slightly furry-esque anthropomorphic beings who wage war with humans over territory on the surface. Simon and Kamina join the fight for human survival, and try to solve the mystery of how our race came to such a dire situation.

Below: The opening titles to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Gia Manry is a Portland, OR-based professional writer specializing in pop culture/entertainment writing. Read up on more of her work at giapet.net or hire her at GiaManry.com.