Gurren Lagann is as good and relevant today as it was almost two decades ago. It’s one of those anime that is so easily quotable, that it’s hard to pick a favorite line. Every episode of the anime could have a dedicated list to showcase its best quotes. That’s how good the writing in this is.
This is true for both the subbed and the dubbed versions of the anime. Whatever version viewers prefer is fine. For this list though, quotes will be taken from the English dub to make things simpler. There will be spoilers for Gurren Lagann too, so now is the time to start watching before the sharing begins.
8 “Believe In The Kamina That Believe In You.”
This is one of the best quotes in the entire anime. In fact, it might even be one of the best quotes in the entirety of anime as it has led to many spinoffs and memes.
Kamina says it to Simon in episode one to inspire him to drill their way to freedom. Things go south at first, but, eventually, they make their way to paradise more or less. This quote gets reused a lot throughout Gurren Lagann and gets reworded as well. The first time is the best though.
7 “Just Who The Hell Do You Think I Am?”
This is another early quote that gets reused and rearranged throughput Gurren Lagann. More so than the previous quote, almost every one of the main cast says something to this degree in the anime. It is an absolute knockout.
One of the best instances, besides the first with Kamina, is when Simon and Viral team up for the first time piloting Gurren Lagann together. It’s when they’re about to take out the Anti-Spiral army blocking their way to the moon toward the end. Those two coming together is just a great moment altogether even without the quote.
6 “Yoko I Didn’t Know You Had Children.”
Kiyoh, one of the Black Siblings, says this to Yoko in episode six. That episode is about the main crew stumbling upon a bathhouse in the middle of nowhere. This is the first time Kiyoh and the other girls see Kamina again after their first encounter a couple of episodes prior.
Darry and Gimmy are new additions at this point, so Kiyoh naturally assumes that they must belong to Yoko since she is the only girl in Kamina’s crew. The best part about this scene is Yoko spitting wine on Rossiu when she hears it. Needless to say, Yoko isn’t quite ready for children just yet.
5 “Sorry, There Are Just Some Things A Man Has To See.”
This quote was also from the spa episode of Gurren Lagann. Half of the episode is about Kamina’s lust to see Yoko and the other girls lose their bathing suits. Kamina even gave up his mech in the hopes of seeing them uncovered, which led to a big fake-out. That’s why he says this line to Yoko.
Her comeback is even greater, however, implying that Kamina could see her anytime as long as he asked. The blank stares across the room are priceless. Again, this is one of the funniest episodes of the anime.
4 “Welcome To Prison Life Supreme Commander.”
This is one of the best lines used to close out an episode of the anime. It comes at the end of episode 19, which focused on Rossiu bringing Simon to court and then imprisoning him. Viral is waiting in Simon’s cell to greet him with a wicked smile and that retort.
It’s easy to tell that Viral was relishing in Simon’s suffering. As toxic as he meant his words to be, this also leads to the two fighters getting along in prison. It also eventually leads to Viral joining Simon’s forces and even piloting Gurren Lagann with him. Viral really does have a great arc as an anime villain in Gurren Lagann.
3 “So I Don’t See You For A While And You Have To Go And Turn Into A Real Boring B**ch.”
This quote was said by Yuko to Nia. It’s in episode 20, also used to close out the anime like Viral’s words in the previous episode. After the time skip, Yuko disappears from the crew to find herself. During that time, she became a teacher.
Her coming back to deliver the line was a hype moment in Gurren Lagann. She prevents Nia from tampering with Simon and Viral as they were still rotting away in jail. It was obvious Yoko was going to come back in the anime. The writers weren’t going to ditch her like that. Fans would have gone wild otherwise. It was obvious, but still fun to see Yoko return with a badass line like that.
2 “Let’s See You Grit Those Teeth!”
Kamina is the first person to say this line in Gurren Lagann. It’s the same episode where he dies. Kamina says it before punching Simon to knock him back to his senses. It’s a great moment, but the delivery is even better in episode 23.
Rossiu is about to kill himself because he feels guilty about what he did to Simon. Simon has no ill will towards him, however, and uses the newfound time warp ability to transport Gurren Lagann to Rossiu’s location. He jumps out of the mech and punches Rossiu while screaming that line. Thankfully, Rossiu was able to snap back to reality, dropping all notions of self-harm. Kamina is still cooler, but Simon does have some killer lines.
1 “This Isn’t Goodbye, You’re Always Here.”
Simon says this to the ghost of Kamina in episode 26. Kamina is sort of like a ghost at least. Simon and the others are imprisoned by the Anti-Spiral King to live out their days in bliss across a multiverse of possibilities. Somehow, Kamina is able to rescue Simon and snap his mind back to reality. This time, however, he doesn’t need to punch Simon.
Kittan and the other fallen warriors were there to send Simon off as well. Even though it was goodbye in person, Simon corrects Kamina because he knows Kamina and the others will always be in his heart. It’s a bittersweet moment to be sure.