Gurren Lagann's Ending, Explained

gamerant.com:

When anime fans think of Gurren Lagann, the description «over-the-top» is often thrown around, and not without good reason. The simple life of Simon the Driller gets changed when he discovers Lagann and shoots up from below the ground to eventually, and quite literally, «pierce the heavens».

Along the way, viewers are treated to many grand speeches, epic battles, and a cast with a lot of heart. The ending, however, wasn't the big happy-ever-after that fans expected it to be. Looking back though, it may have the most logical and powerful endings.

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The first half of the final episode was a mech battle of epic proportions with guns blazing and heavenly bodies thrown around like shuriken. After Simon finally drills through the Anti-Spiral form, all seems to end well, and he brings Nia back home safely. Viewers are then treated to their marriage, with the whole gang cheering as they enjoy what would be their final kiss.

In artful Gurren Lagann fashion, Nia begins to fade out as they say their final goodbyes. The shock of Team Dai-Gurren, except Simon and Viral, is the show's way of being cognizant of how fans would react to the whole scene. However, the audience forgets that Nia's presence without the Anti-Spiral maintaining her existence is a big hole in the narrative. Simon and Viral know this would happen to Nia, explaining to the crew — and the audience — that Nia is a just virtual life form created by the Anti-Spiral; without them, Nia wouldn't exist.

Gimmy asks about bringing Nia back to life with Spiral energy, a sentiment that fans share in saying that Nia shouldn't have to disappear. But Yoko makes the logical argument of saying that Simon is