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Gurren Lagann takes place in a fictional earth where humans
are forced to live in underground cities for fear of the beastmen who
rule the surface world with their mecha known as Gunmen .
Simon is one of the underground dwellers living in the Jiiha
Village. He is one of the diggers who labor away everyday in
order to expand their city deeper underground because the actions of
Gunmen often causes earthquakes. Simon lost his parents
during one of the violent quakes, but has since then gained a role
model in the brash young man known as Kamina. Kamina is an
orphan as well, but unlike Simon, he is eccentric and a natural leader.
He
recuits Simon into his Gurren Brigade in order to dig a way to the
surface, but their attempt is stopped by the village elder and they are
punished.One day, Simon discovers a large face in the tunnel he was digging and discovers that it is a small Gunmen. Simon has also found a small golden drill piece earlier and somehow the Gunmen seems to react to it. Simon hurries to show Kamina his discovery, but the village is suddenly attacked by a beastman Gunmen that falls through the
ceiling. A young girl in a bikini top and shorts also shows
up and fires on the Gunmen with her rifle. Her name is Yoko
and while everyone is hiding, Kamina and Simon try to help her beat the
Gunmen. Simon remebers the small Gunmen he had found and
discovers that the small drill is actually the key to activate it.
Through courage and some luck, the trio manage to destroy the
enemy Gunmen and also, in the process, reach the surface.Spoilers
The beastmen of the surface
world are the creations of Lord Genome, a powerful being who has
harnessed the power of the Spiral. Lord Genome forced the
humans underground in order to control their population, however, it is
his way of actually saving humanity from extinction. Lord
Genome was once a Spiral Knight of the Spiral Empire who fough against
another alien race who called themselves the Han-Rasen or Anti-Spirals.
The Gunmen were originally created to battle the
Anti-Spirals; with Gumen powered by Core Drills, such as the one Simon
possessed by Simon, being the most powerful. But the Spiral
Empire eventually lost and the
Anti-Spirals gained control of the universe.
The people of the Spiral Empire fled to many planets,
including Earth. Rather than completely eradicating their
enemy, the Anti-Spirals set up a Human Extermination System for Earth.
The trigger for this system's activation was if the human
population on the surface ever reaches 1,000,000 people. Although Lord
Genome's methods of suppressing the human population was cruel, it was
one way to ensure the survival of the species.