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Gurren Lagann

Japanese anime television series

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ4277 ↗
Source-derived summary

Gurren Lagann, known in Japan as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Japanese: 天元突破グレンラガン, Hepburn: Tengen Toppa Guren Ragan; lit. "Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagann"), is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and produced by TV Tokyo, Konami Digital Entertainment, Dentsu and Aniplex. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo and its affiliates between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi with series composition by veteran playwright Kazuki Nakashima. Gurren Lagann takes place in a future where the Spiral King, Lordgenome, rules Earth and forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages. The plot focuses on two teenagers, Simon and Kamina, who live in a subterranean village and wish to go to the surface. Using a mecha known as Lagann, they reach the surface and start fighting alongside other humans against Lordgenome's forces before fighting the forces of their true enemy.

In North America, although initially announced to be licensed by ADV Films in 2007, the license was transferred to Bandai Entertainment in 2008 and then to Aniplex of America in 2013. In the United Kingdom, it was licensed by Manga Entertainment in 2007, then transferred to Beez Entertainment in 2008, and then to Anime Limited in 2013. The Sci Fi Channel acquired the broadcasting rights of Gurren Lagann and began airing it in July 2008, as part of Sci Fi's Ani-Monday anime block.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Gurren Lagann” as japanese anime television series. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gurren, Lagann and Japanese.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2007, 2008, 2013—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Gurren, Lagann and Japanese providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Gurren Lagann”, the useful work is to connect “japanese anime television series” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4277. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2008 and 2013.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Gurren Lagann”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Gurren Lagann primary sources, Gurren Lagann archive and Gurren research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gurren Lagann”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Gurren Lagann” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.