Gurren Lagann takes place in a fictional future where the Spiral King, Lordgenome, rules Earth and forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages.

A manga adaptation was published by ASCII Media Works between 2007 and 2013, which Bandai Entertainment licensed and released in English in North America.

Gurren Lagann takes place in a future where the Spiral King, Lordgenome, rules Earth and forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages without contact with the surface world or other villages and are constantly threatened by his Beastmen, humanoid creatures that serve as Lordgenome's army who pilot mechas resembling a face called a Gunmen.

[4][5] Simon, a meek young digger conscripted to expand his home deeper underground, lives in Giha village with his best friend Kamina, an eccentric delinquent who is like an older brother figure to him and dreams of visiting the surface world.

Seven years later, mankind prospers on the surface, with Simon and the other members of Team Dai-Gurren serving as the world's government in their new capital Kamina City.

They have sent the Moon on a collision course with the Earth to wipe out the planet's life and prevent them from evolving to the extent they will risk destroying the universe in a cataclysmic event called the Spiral Nemesis.

Lordgenome was resurrected as a bio-computer and revealed that he was once part of an intergalactic army of warriors who failed to stop the Anti-Spirals and forced mankind underground to protect them.

With his life in battle finally over, Simon hands his Core Drill over to Gimmy and leaves his friends to wander the planet as a nameless vagrant, stating that his destiny was merely to "dig the tunnel to the future."

Simon watches over them as a squadron of Gurren Laganns flies through the night sky to join their Spiral brethren in the stars.

Imaishi had finished writing the main storyline long before reaching the end which facilitated the staff in making the episodes.

[8] In contrast to other popular series, Imaishi decided to include drills as the robot's main weapons despite its impact on the suspension of disbelief.

While the staff acknowledged how people were not satisfied with the sad conclusion, they noted that there were still issues that made her survival difficult for the characters.

[8] In an interview, the writer Kazuki Nakashima cites Ken Ishikawa, co-creator of Getter Robo, as one of Gurren Lagann's influences.

Each of these stages in his development were influenced by protagonists from several previous Gainax anime: Shinji Ikari from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, Noriko Takaya from Gunbuster, and Ken Kubo from Otaku no Video.

Takami Akai, an animation producer of the series and a co-founder of Gainax, announced that he would resign his position effective episode five, which aired on April 29, 2007, over comments that he made regarding posts on the Japanese textboard 2channel.

Akai and another Gainax employee, Keiko Mimori, made disparaging remarks about comments criticizing the animation style of the fourth episode of Gurren Lagann, which was completely directed by guest and friend Osamu Kobayashi.

With regard to reading the fan criticisms, Akai stated that it was "like putting [his] face next to an anus and breathing deeply."

[9] Produced by the animation studio Gainax and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, Gurren Lagann aired in Japan on TXN stations between April 1 and September 30, 2007.

The Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann manga, illustrated by Kotaro Mori, started serialization in the June 2007 issue of MediaWorks' magazine Dengeki Comic Gao!.

Ten tankōbon volumes were published between September 27, 2007, and June 27, 2013, in Japan under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint.

In the manga, Simon attends Dai-Gurren Academy (ダイグレン学園, Dai Guren Gakuen) with his childhood friends Kamina and Yoko.

Simon, who lives in a run down apartment building, wishes for a normal life, and meets the mysterious Nia one day when she trips down the stairs.

[27][28] A game for the Nintendo DS was released October 25, 2007, not only featuring the characters from the series, but also containing a special episode set in the early stages of the story as a pre-order bonus.

For both films, Shoko Nakagawa sang the theme songs: "Tsuzuku Sekai" (続く世界, "The World Goes On") for Childhood's End and "Namida no Tane, Egao no Hana" (涙の種、笑顔の花, "Seed of Tears, Flower of Smiles") for The Lights in the Sky are Stars.

[43] Anime News Network gave Gurren Lagann a full 'A' rating, with reviewer Theron Martin describing it as "one of the liveliest series of the decade" and concluding that "Gainax's paean to boisterous, macho mecha action delivers in triumphant fashion.

[45] IGN gave the series a score of 9.7 out of 10, with reviewer Ramsey Isler describing it as "an inspiring story" and concluding that "overall it succeeds at being a great tale of the indomitable spirit of determined people.

"[50] Guillermo Kurten of Comic Book Resources (CBR) called it one of the "modern classics" of anime, praising the art style and animation, the action, the mechs, the cast of characters and their emotional relationships, the world-building with gradually rising stakes, the "over-the-top and light-hearted" tone, and for dealing with real-world issues.

[53] He also called the series brilliant, as he always finds "new things to admire" and praises the storyboards of the show for being "incredibly energetic, expressive and appealing."

[54] Its director Hiroyuki Imaishi received an individual award for "Personal Best" at the 12th Animation Kobe Festival that same year for his work on the series.

On December 11, 2007, a Gurren Lagann-based design submitted from Norway won the contest, winning by a wide margin of 55% of the votes.