7.8/10598 votes#1 - Bust Through the Heavens With Your Drill!!
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 4/1/2007
Living underground in Giha Village, Simon and Kamina dream of a life on the surface. When their home is invaded from above, it is up to them to activate the mysterious mecha Lagann and save their village.
Director: Masahiko Otsuka
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
7.7/10526 votes#2 - I Said I'm Gonna Pilot That Thing!!
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 4/8/2007
Now that they've made it to the surface, Simon and Kamina must join together with Yoko and her village to defeat the Beastmen pursuing them.
Director: Shouji Saeki
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.0/10505 votes#3 - Who Do You Think You Are, Having Two Faces!!
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 4/15/2007
Kamina and Simon must work together to defeat a dangerous new Beastman threat.
Director: Son Seung-hui
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
6.5/10494 votes#4 - Having Lots of Faces Doesn't Make You Great!
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2007
Team Gurren must work together with the eccentric Black Syblings to take down a Beastman foe on empty stomachs.
Director: Osamu Kobayashi
Writer: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
7.4/10463 votes#5 - I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 4/29/2007
Team Gurren must find their way out of a strange underground village where Gunmen are worshipped as divine beings.
Director: Hiroaki Tomita
Writer: Shouji Saeki
7.0/10470 votes#6 - Sit in the Hot Tub 'Til You're Sick!!
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 5/6/2007
Continuing to the Gunmen rallying point, Team Gurren finds themselves on a strange hot springs getaway.
Director: Shin Itagaki
Writer: Masahiko Otsuka, Kazuki Nakashima
7.8/10439 votes#7 - You're Gonna Do It!!
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 5/13/2007
Thymilph, one of the Four Divine Generals of the mysterious Spiral King, arrives to support Viral's Enki, with the massive mobile Gunmen fortress, the Dai-Ganzan. Kamina and Simon pilot the Gurren-Lagann against seemingly overwhelming odds.
Director: Katsuichi Nakayama
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
9.2/10795 votes#8 - Later, Buddy
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 5/20/2007
Having temporarily stalled Viral and Thymilph in the last skirmish, the Team Gurren and their newly arrived allies join forces as "Team Dai-Gurren" and launch a decisive strike against the regrouping Gunmen force.
Director: Masahiko Otsuka
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.0/10427 votes#9 - What, Exactly, Is A Human?
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 5/27/2007
Team Dai-Gurren managed to take control of the enemy fortress, but is still mourning the death of one of their own, especially Simon. After falling off a cliff, he notices a Gunman throw a capsule into a deep valley. Simon inspects it and finds he is able to open it with the same drill key he uses to pilot Lagann, and inside is a young human girl named Nia, but their introduction is cut short when an enemy Gunman appears.
Director: Tarou Iwasaki
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
7.7/10417 votes#10 - Who Is This Bro?
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 6/3/2007
Nia true identity is revealed, as she flaunts her authority to get rid of another one of the Four Divine Generals, Adiane. The members of the Great Gurren Brigade are now suspicious of Nia and her true intentions, but she is only concerned about the depressed Simon. Adiane later returns to finish them all off, with Lordgenome's blessing.
Director: Hiroshi Kurimoto
Writer: Shouji Saeki
8.5/10493 votes#11 - Simon, Hands Off
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 6/10/2007
Team Dai-Gurren falls into a trap set by the third member of the Four Divine Generals, Guame. The Team is taken captive and stored underground to await execution. While digging an escape path, Simon finally understands Kamina's last words to him and after having a discussion with Guame, Nia finds out the reason why she was thrown away.
Director: Takayoshi Morimiya
Writer: Shouji Saeki
7.4/10397 votes#12 - Yoko, Will You Do Me A Favor?
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 6/17/2007
Team Dai-Gurren are now on their way to Beastmen's capital city, Teppelin but there's a vast ocean in their way. The only way for them to get across is for the Dai-Gurren to be modified, so while they wait everyone goes to chill out at the beach. Once preparations are complete, the Great Gurren Brigade begins their cruise, but there's an ambush waiting for them.
Director: Hiroshi Kurimoto
Writer: Kurasumi Sunayama
7.8/10389 votes#13 - Eat Up Everyone!
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 6/24/2007
Trying to do her part in Team Dai-Gurren, Nia decides to become a cook, but just before the crew have a taste of her dishes, Cytomander, the fourth member of the Divine Generals, launches an aerial attack on the Dai-Gurren. Simon leads the counter-attack on the Gurren-Lagann, this time accompanied by Yoko, who replaces a sick Rossiu.
Director: Akitoshi Yokoyama
Writer: Kurasumi Sunayama
8.1/10399 votes#14 - Well Met, Everyone
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 7/1/2007
At last, Team Dai-Gurren arrives at the outskirts of Teppelin, but before aiming to the city, they must face a combined full-scale attack of Cytomander and Guame's forces.
Director: Katsuichi Nakayama
Writer: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
9.0/10543 votes#15 - I Will Head Towards Tomorrow
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 7/8/2007
The last of the Divine Generals fall, and the city of Teppelin collapses, revealing a Gunman of gigantic proportions. Simon and Nia struggle to pass through it in order to confront her father, the Spiral King himself.
Director: Masahiko Otsuka, Ayumu Kotake
Writer: Kurasumi Sunayama
5.2/10283 votes#16 - Compilation Episode
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 7/15/2007
A recap of the story's events from the previous episodes.
Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga
Writer: N/A
8.1/10399 votes#17 - You Don't Know Anything!
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 7/22/2007
During the following seven years, a new civilization rises and prospers under Simon's leadership. However, these peaceful times come to end when the threat mentioned in Lordgenome's last words starts to reveal itself.
Director: Masahiko Otsuka
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.1/10384 votes#18 - Tell Me The Secrets of This World
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 7/29/2007
After the Anti-Spirals' first attack and Nia's astonishing announcement, Simon looks desperately for her, while Rossiu finally completes his secret project.
Director: Toshiya Shinohara
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.0/10374 votes#19 - We Will Survive By Any Means Necessary
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 8/5/2007
To soothe the public opinion, Rossiu overthrows Simon and puts him under arrest. But when the Anti-Spirals launch a large-scale attack on Kamina City, he is left with no option but to let Simon engage the enemy using the Gurren-Lagann, not before resorting to extremes to put him under his control.
Director: Yorifusa Yamaguchi
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
7.9/10371 votes#20 - How Far Will God Test Us?
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 8/12/2007
As Simon arrives in prison, he unexpectedly meets Viral, who comments on how far he has fallen. Meanwhile, the truth about Rossiu's emergency plan and the consequences for those left behind on Earth are revealed.
Director: Yasuhiro Geshi
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.1/10388 votes#21 - You Are Someone Who Ought To Survive
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 8/19/2007
One year earlier, Yoko starts working as a schoolteacher on an island until she learns of the situation at Teppelin and returns to break Simon free. Once again reunited, Simon and the members of Team Dai-Gurren launch themselves into space to protect the Arc-Gurren from the enemy forces, now accompanied by Viral as co-pilot of the Gurren-Lagann.
Director: Shouji Saeki
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.5/10416 votes#22 - This is My Final Duty!
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 8/26/2007
The Gurren-Lagann and the Arc-Gurren join together to form the massive Arc-Gurren-Lagann and stop the Human Annihilation System.
Director: Hiroshi Ikehata
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
7.9/10378 votes#23 - Let's Go, This is the Final Battle
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 9/2/2007
The members of Team Dai-Gurren make their preparations for the imminent war against the Anti-Spirals, but Rossiu is missing. However, when Kinon tells Simon about what he really intends to do, both start to look desperately for him.
Director: Ryuichi Kimura
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima
8.3/10419 votes#24 - I'll Never Forget This Minute, This Second
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 9/9/2007
Guided by Simon and Nia's feelings for each other, Team Dai-Gurren break through dimensions in search for the Anti-Spirals' homeworld. But after falling into the enemy's trap, they end up losing some of their most precious members, due to its vicious offensive.
Director: Katsuichi Nakayama
Writer: Kurasumi Sunayama
8.8/10489 votes#25 - I Accept Your Last Wish!
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 9/16/2007
Team Dai-Gurren struggles to escape from the ocean of despair created by the Anti-Spirals without success, until history repeats itself, as another irreplaceable member of the Team sacrifices himself to save the others.
Director: Tooru Yoshida
Writer: Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Kazuki Nakashima
The Best Episodes of Gurren Lagann Season 1
Every episode of Gurren Lagann Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Gurren Lagann Season 1!
In the distant future, mankind has lived quietly and restlessly underground for hundreds of years, subject to earthquakes and cave-ins. Living in one such village...
Genres:AnimationAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Bust Through the Heavens With Your Drill!!" is the best rated episode of "Gurren Lagann" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 598 votes. Directed by Masahiko Otsuka and written by Kazuki Nakashima, it aired on 4/1/2007. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "I Said I'm Gonna Pilot That Thing!!".