List of Gurren Lagann Characters - Kamina

Kamina

Kamina, also referred to as Aniki (meaning elder brother)

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

Personal Gunmen:

• Gurren
• Gurren Lagann

Kamina (カミナ?) is a young man from Giha, a subterranean village, who dreams of leaving the underground and going to the surface, a place which he alone believes he saw as a child. Possessing a seemingly arrogant personality, Kamina is very passionate about his goals and will pursue them without a trace of fear, hesitation, or sometimes sense. This attitude often manifests itself in dramatic speeches which have the power to rally all those who hear them to his call. As his first act of notoriety, Kamina forms "Team Gurren" and convinces his "soul-brother," Simon, to help him with his plan to drill through the roof of the village and get to the world above. However, the plan fails. Kamina willingly takes the blame for disrupting the peace and is jailed by the village chief. At night, Simon breaks him out to show him an extraordinary artifact he unearthed, only to be interrupted by a large Gunmen that crashes through the village's ceiling. A young girl sharpshooter named "Yoko" descends from the surface and ends up joining Kamina and Simon as they pilot the newly unearthed Gunmen Kamina names "Lagann". Together, they defeat the invading Gunmen and reach the surface in the process.

After the trio breaks through, they meet many enemies and friends as they continue forward. The once two-member "Team Gurren" expands to the size of an entire resistance force aiming to overthrow the Beastman Empire. Kamina leads this force and names it "Team Dai-Gurren". Kamina's largest battle involves the capture of one of the enemy’s moving fortresses belonging to one of the Four Divine Generals, Thymilph. The mission is a success, but not without cost. Heavily wounded, Kamina combines with Simon to form Gurren Lagann and defeats the Beastman General with his signature move: "Giga Drill Breaker." Kamina dies in the cockpit, leaving Simon with this: "Don't believe in the you who believes in me. Don't believe in the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself." These words are long remembered after his death, giving Simon the confidence to uphold his destiny as the "one whose drill will pierce the heavens." Also, Kamina's signature pose, in which he sticks his index finger up into the air, along with his catchphrase, "Who the hell do you think I am?" is mirrored by several characters during the show as a tribute to him and as a symbol of confidence in Team Dai-Gurren. Kamina is buried in the battlefield where he died, his nodachi stabbed into the ground and his cloak tied to its sheath.

After the fall of the Beastman Empire, a new city is built from the ruins of the former capital, Teppelin, and is named "Kamina City." A huge statue of Kamina stands at the center of the city in his honor. However, the monument is destroyed after the citizens discover the truth about the Human Annihilation System and revolt against the government.

Kamina died in episode 8 and reappeared in episode 26, although in completely different character. Simon, under the influence of the Anti-Spirals, witnesses visions of a false childhood where Kamina eggs Simon on to drill into banks and jewelry shops to steal valuables for him. He is shown groveling at the feet of beastmen on top of a hill, begging for his life and urging Simon to do the same. Simon reaches for his Core Drill and finds it missing. Then the true Kamina appears, wearing his cloak and holding his nodachi, and asks Simon if he lost his Drill. Kamina then reminds Simon that his drill is his soul, that Kamina and his fallen comrades will live on in him, and that he is the one whose drill will pierce the heavens. Simon is reminded of what he is fighting for: for the sake of Nia and for the fate of the Spiral Universe. This breaks the Alternate Multiverse Labyrinth, allowing Simon to reassemble Team Dai-Gurren and face the Anti-Spirals for the final time.