Spoiler:
-Watching it right after the first movie really highlights how better the second movie actually is. Maybe it is that it was like 20 minutes longer, but it honestly feels more wholesome and less rushed.
-They dealt with Lord Genome rather quickly. It's a nice climatic action sequence with some new animation, but it doesn't feel as epic as it did in the TV show because they were clearly holding back for obvious reasons.
-I wouldn't say the movie is a "romance", but there is a marked focus Simon & Nia and their feelings. I personally felt the movie was more about Simon and Nia rather than about Simon and Nia's romance, even if Simon and Nia's romance plays a big part in Simon and Nia's development.
-The Kamina City time-skip montage serves pretty nicely to open the movie: it's cute to see Simon, Nia and Rossiu and the rest of the gang growing up together and Nia's narration also serves to flesh-out her character. The movie makes sure it is accessible for people new to the franchise, I felt they aren't really expecting the audience to like Nia, or any other character, just by familiarity to their TV counterpart: they make a real, honest effort to define and set-up the characters almost from scratch.
-The story, after the montage introduction, opens-up with Simon's marriage proposal to Nia. Nia gives the same NOPE she gave in the TV show. It looks different because since it isn't a flashback it doesn't have the flashback filter they used in the TV show. Nia's final answer is different, though. To make their relationship stronger, building-up from their cute scenes in the OP montage, Simon and Nia get a heartfelt talk under the moonlight. This scene is pretty romantic and is also used to make Nia's transformation into the Messenger more dramatic as she transforms right in front of Simon. Simon's shock is more notorious, and you can tell he is state of mind when fighting the first wave of mugann is seriously altered by what just happened to Nia.
-The way in which Kamina City works and deals with crisis is explored in the movie: we're able to see Gulapars that serve as firefighters, Gulapars that serve as cops and stuff. The scenes in which they're shown are brief, but it really helps Kamina City feel more alive
-The way in which the population turns against Simon and Gurren-Dan is strengthened in the movie. Messenger Nia's, well, message in which she blames Simon for the activation of the Human Extermination System gets a more dramatic reaction and leads to many scenes that really add to Simon's struggle. The scene in which Kittan fights a mugann armed only with a gun was removed, but we get him and gang getting into a fight with people in a bar due to the enmity from the population towards the original Gurren-Dan.
-Simon being thrown into prison was the part from the "Extermination Machine" arc that was given the strongest impression. In Lagann-hen the prison Simon is sent to is located "in the depths of the underground" so the idea of "Simon, who once pierced the heavens, is now being pushed back underground" is now more visual and easy to understand. Simon being tormented by the prisoners in prison, and he refuses to fight back because he is afraid that Nia's words are going to become a reality and he will become a monster like Lord Genome. He doesn't get angry at people talking shit about him and honestly thinks that he is no longer needed and that it would be better for Rossiu to take care of things from that moment on. The fact that Messenger Nia's actions were forcing Simon to become stronger in order to help her and fight against the Anti-Spiral is clearer since she arrives to prison right as Simon has given up on life and forces him into getting angry. Viral, that already protected Simon from the abuse of the other prisoners, tries to defend Simon and fight against Messenger Nia but is defeated. Yoko arrives like she did in the TV show, except the whole gang is with her this time and the process of launching against the moon is sped up.
-So, this battle is almost the same as the TV show but also pretty different. It isn't as exciting as the TV show but it is more fun and has a better emotional climax to the Messenger Nia thing. Cathedral Lazengann's transformation was insanely well-done, but it didn't do much and was defeated not in battle but rather by Genome's head taking over. This was the funniest sequence in the whole movie, no contest. And then then Messenger Nia's conversation with Simon in front of Cathedral Lazengann's core had the same animation but different dialogs, it makes Messenger Nia's feelings and the whole situation clearer. And then Nia gets taken away, leading to...
-Directly, right after Nia gets taken away, Simon decides to go after her. They start sending ships with Kamina City's population back to Earth, they get the moon out of the pocked dimension it was trapped in... everything without getting off the newly renamed Chou Ginga Dai Gurren. There is a sense of urgency in Simon's actions that wasn't in the TV show. The gang drinks farewell to Earth, Viral gets welcomed into the Brigade and Kittan flirts some more with Yoko. Kittan and Yoko are pretty much flirting the whole movie.
-Speaking of Yoko, so far she has been used pretty nicely in the movie: her banter with Kittan is cute and funny and she serves as an effective older-sister figure for Simon and Nia. She doesn't feel as a protagonist, Viral feels more like a protagonist than her, but I never felt they were wasting her character.
-Right after they warp into the Anti-Spiral dimension they're send into Spiral Sea of Death stuff and there is a pretty cool large scaled aquatic/space action sequence. Then comes Kittan's sacrifice; that was pretty much the same as the TV show but Chou Ginga's transformation was re-animated and it looks, really, really, really cool.
-The SPIRAL NEMESIS illusion sequence was different, it feels more ominous and it actually made me get some chills. Anti-Spiral's incredible voice is even more incredible in the movie.
-The stuff they added with Nia enduring the Anti-Spiral analysis was nice, intense and weird. It really made you feel Nia's struggle to keep herself alive and that added a sense of urgency to Simon's fight to get here, but it was a little bit too erotic near the end... with Anti-Spiral's tentacle-like arms and Nia's naked body and her screams.
-Dream sequence is pretty much the Simon, except Kittan actually interacted with Kamina this time around.
-FINAL BATTLE TIME, WOO. Starts pretty much the same, I think music was different, though.
-When Anti-Spiral reveals to everyone that Nia is going to die, everything is turned around and the REAL climax of the movie begins. It has fucking everything: awesome super-robot Dead Leaves-like crazy action, awesome characterization for Simon and Nia, awesome human struggle with Simon and Nia's relationship at the middle of it all, AWESOME, orgasmic, voice-acting from Anti-Spiral's VA and it was just fucking epic. There is nothing I can say about the final battle that hasn't been said already: it's long, tiring and very satisfying.
-Wedding feels more poignant that it did in the TV show, knowing that Simon and Nia are going into it knowing that Nia will die gives it a sense of dignified tragedy that really sits well with me. The before the wedding scene with Nia giving her diary to Yoko made me teary eyed.
-They dealt with Lord Genome rather quickly. It's a nice climatic action sequence with some new animation, but it doesn't feel as epic as it did in the TV show because they were clearly holding back for obvious reasons.
-I wouldn't say the movie is a "romance", but there is a marked focus Simon & Nia and their feelings. I personally felt the movie was more about Simon and Nia rather than about Simon and Nia's romance, even if Simon and Nia's romance plays a big part in Simon and Nia's development.
-The Kamina City time-skip montage serves pretty nicely to open the movie: it's cute to see Simon, Nia and Rossiu and the rest of the gang growing up together and Nia's narration also serves to flesh-out her character. The movie makes sure it is accessible for people new to the franchise, I felt they aren't really expecting the audience to like Nia, or any other character, just by familiarity to their TV counterpart: they make a real, honest effort to define and set-up the characters almost from scratch.
-The story, after the montage introduction, opens-up with Simon's marriage proposal to Nia. Nia gives the same NOPE she gave in the TV show. It looks different because since it isn't a flashback it doesn't have the flashback filter they used in the TV show. Nia's final answer is different, though. To make their relationship stronger, building-up from their cute scenes in the OP montage, Simon and Nia get a heartfelt talk under the moonlight. This scene is pretty romantic and is also used to make Nia's transformation into the Messenger more dramatic as she transforms right in front of Simon. Simon's shock is more notorious, and you can tell he is state of mind when fighting the first wave of mugann is seriously altered by what just happened to Nia.
-The way in which Kamina City works and deals with crisis is explored in the movie: we're able to see Gulapars that serve as firefighters, Gulapars that serve as cops and stuff. The scenes in which they're shown are brief, but it really helps Kamina City feel more alive
-The way in which the population turns against Simon and Gurren-Dan is strengthened in the movie. Messenger Nia's, well, message in which she blames Simon for the activation of the Human Extermination System gets a more dramatic reaction and leads to many scenes that really add to Simon's struggle. The scene in which Kittan fights a mugann armed only with a gun was removed, but we get him and gang getting into a fight with people in a bar due to the enmity from the population towards the original Gurren-Dan.
-Simon being thrown into prison was the part from the "Extermination Machine" arc that was given the strongest impression. In Lagann-hen the prison Simon is sent to is located "in the depths of the underground" so the idea of "Simon, who once pierced the heavens, is now being pushed back underground" is now more visual and easy to understand. Simon being tormented by the prisoners in prison, and he refuses to fight back because he is afraid that Nia's words are going to become a reality and he will become a monster like Lord Genome. He doesn't get angry at people talking shit about him and honestly thinks that he is no longer needed and that it would be better for Rossiu to take care of things from that moment on. The fact that Messenger Nia's actions were forcing Simon to become stronger in order to help her and fight against the Anti-Spiral is clearer since she arrives to prison right as Simon has given up on life and forces him into getting angry. Viral, that already protected Simon from the abuse of the other prisoners, tries to defend Simon and fight against Messenger Nia but is defeated. Yoko arrives like she did in the TV show, except the whole gang is with her this time and the process of launching against the moon is sped up.
-So, this battle is almost the same as the TV show but also pretty different. It isn't as exciting as the TV show but it is more fun and has a better emotional climax to the Messenger Nia thing. Cathedral Lazengann's transformation was insanely well-done, but it didn't do much and was defeated not in battle but rather by Genome's head taking over. This was the funniest sequence in the whole movie, no contest. And then then Messenger Nia's conversation with Simon in front of Cathedral Lazengann's core had the same animation but different dialogs, it makes Messenger Nia's feelings and the whole situation clearer. And then Nia gets taken away, leading to...
-Directly, right after Nia gets taken away, Simon decides to go after her. They start sending ships with Kamina City's population back to Earth, they get the moon out of the pocked dimension it was trapped in... everything without getting off the newly renamed Chou Ginga Dai Gurren. There is a sense of urgency in Simon's actions that wasn't in the TV show. The gang drinks farewell to Earth, Viral gets welcomed into the Brigade and Kittan flirts some more with Yoko. Kittan and Yoko are pretty much flirting the whole movie.
-Speaking of Yoko, so far she has been used pretty nicely in the movie: her banter with Kittan is cute and funny and she serves as an effective older-sister figure for Simon and Nia. She doesn't feel as a protagonist, Viral feels more like a protagonist than her, but I never felt they were wasting her character.
-Right after they warp into the Anti-Spiral dimension they're send into Spiral Sea of Death stuff and there is a pretty cool large scaled aquatic/space action sequence. Then comes Kittan's sacrifice; that was pretty much the same as the TV show but Chou Ginga's transformation was re-animated and it looks, really, really, really cool.
-The SPIRAL NEMESIS illusion sequence was different, it feels more ominous and it actually made me get some chills. Anti-Spiral's incredible voice is even more incredible in the movie.
-The stuff they added with Nia enduring the Anti-Spiral analysis was nice, intense and weird. It really made you feel Nia's struggle to keep herself alive and that added a sense of urgency to Simon's fight to get here, but it was a little bit too erotic near the end... with Anti-Spiral's tentacle-like arms and Nia's naked body and her screams.
-Dream sequence is pretty much the Simon, except Kittan actually interacted with Kamina this time around.
-FINAL BATTLE TIME, WOO. Starts pretty much the same, I think music was different, though.
-When Anti-Spiral reveals to everyone that Nia is going to die, everything is turned around and the REAL climax of the movie begins. It has fucking everything: awesome super-robot Dead Leaves-like crazy action, awesome characterization for Simon and Nia, awesome human struggle with Simon and Nia's relationship at the middle of it all, AWESOME, orgasmic, voice-acting from Anti-Spiral's VA and it was just fucking epic. There is nothing I can say about the final battle that hasn't been said already: it's long, tiring and very satisfying.
-Wedding feels more poignant that it did in the TV show, knowing that Simon and Nia are going into it knowing that Nia will die gives it a sense of dignified tragedy that really sits well with me. The before the wedding scene with Nia giving her diary to Yoko made me teary eyed.
Spoiler:
Solvernia is a pretty great design. It looks stylish and looks feminine without looking girly. It fights mostly through acrobatics and uses its spear like you would expect a spear to be used. It gets the best action sequence, IMO, it's the most "dynamic" of all the Tengen Toppa mecha.
Enki Durga is Enki with more arms. It fights like you would expect an eight-handed robot that uses swords to fight.
Yoko's mech has two forms: Yoko W Tank and Yoko SP. Yoko W Tank is a heavy artillery machine with tons of beam cannons and boob-missiles. Yoko SP is essentially a sniper-type robot that is lighter than the W Tank but not as acrobatic as Solvernia.
Gimmy and Darry get Baron Ashura Lagann, it uses a heavy rifle(Gimmy) and a spiral shotgun(Darry).
The twins robot uses a dual-rocket punch. Makken uses SD Samurai Gundam with some neat Samurai-like moves and Kamina-like impromptu attack naming. Zorthy just uses, cool-looking, beamspam. Kidd's monkey robot is pretty neat. It moves like a gorilla and uses martial arts and uses a pole like the one the Goku from Journey to the West would use. Ailack's robot is a mix between a mechanic T-Rex and a velociraptor and attacks like... well, a mix between a T-Rex and a velociraptor. Chou-Ginga Dai Gurren is like a mix between Dai Gurren and CG Dai-Gurren, complete with phallic imagery. It spams missiles at Anti-Spiral courtesy of Beamspam Mc Muppet and has grapple-hooks that Dayakka uses to "MY WIFE IS THE BEST WIFE OF THE UNIVERSE" throw the Anti-Spiral. Simon's Tengen Toppa Lagann is like Lagann, but for some reason it looks cuter and kinda reminds me of Stitch.
Enki Durga is Enki with more arms. It fights like you would expect an eight-handed robot that uses swords to fight.
Yoko's mech has two forms: Yoko W Tank and Yoko SP. Yoko W Tank is a heavy artillery machine with tons of beam cannons and boob-missiles. Yoko SP is essentially a sniper-type robot that is lighter than the W Tank but not as acrobatic as Solvernia.
Gimmy and Darry get Baron Ashura Lagann, it uses a heavy rifle(Gimmy) and a spiral shotgun(Darry).
The twins robot uses a dual-rocket punch. Makken uses SD Samurai Gundam with some neat Samurai-like moves and Kamina-like impromptu attack naming. Zorthy just uses, cool-looking, beamspam. Kidd's monkey robot is pretty neat. It moves like a gorilla and uses martial arts and uses a pole like the one the Goku from Journey to the West would use. Ailack's robot is a mix between a mechanic T-Rex and a velociraptor and attacks like... well, a mix between a T-Rex and a velociraptor. Chou-Ginga Dai Gurren is like a mix between Dai Gurren and CG Dai-Gurren, complete with phallic imagery. It spams missiles at Anti-Spiral courtesy of Beamspam Mc Muppet and has grapple-hooks that Dayakka uses to "MY WIFE IS THE BEST WIFE OF THE UNIVERSE" throw the Anti-Spiral. Simon's Tengen Toppa Lagann is like Lagann, but for some reason it looks cuter and kinda reminds me of Stitch.