User Profile

Name: Simon
Age: He probably wouldn't know, but 14ish? Looks pretty young for 14, though; could easily be mistaken for a kid.
Appearance: Simon has blue eyes and blue hair. He's very short for his age and looks young. He usually wears goggles, shorts, and open shirt, and some bandages. In canon he also wears a drill around his neck, but it's his missing item.
Missing Item (for memento_eden: Drill

Personality: One of the central concepts of TTGL is that of Spiral Energy, a force that exists in the DNA of some creatures including humans. Spiral Energy is best described as determination or will to fight-- it's the tendency human beings have of evolving, advancing, and pushing forward against all odds. Of all the humans in the world, it's likely that Simon has the most spiral energy around, although at this point in his life he hasn't fully tapped into it. Still, when it comes down to it, Simon is willing to work hard and do whatever he has to to accomplish what needs to be done. Even Kamina is impressed with Simon's determination and tenacity in difficult situations, and this aspect is the source of Simon's power.

However, Simon is still very young, and he's also sort of a shy, under confident boy. Simon isn't a coward, but he isn't particularly brave either, and he certainly doesn't possess the bravado Kamina has. When Simon is attacked by dangerous giant robots out to kill him, his first instinct is to run and hide, not stand and fight, although he will do so if there isn't another choice or if Kamina makes him. Simon also doesn't think of himself as a hero or a fighter, but rather sees himself as an ordinary digger and sometime sidekick to Kamina. Simon is able to believe in Kamina who believes in him, but he still sometimes has trouble with the believing in himself part, though he is certainly getting better at it.

Simon is really a kindhearted person who likes people, hates injustice, but really prefers simple pleasures like digging and exploring than grand adventure and huge battles. He'll fight when there's a battle that needs to be fought because it's the right thing and it's what Kamina would do, but he's unlikely to ever pick a fight on his own. However, when he's provoked, Simon can fly into a rage that is incredibly powerful and destructive. This happens rarely, and requires a major upset to take place, but Simon isn't always in control of his emotions. He also can have a tendency to angst if not forced to snap out of it. If he doesn't have something to angst about, though, Simon is usually a happy if somewhat awkward and spazzy kid. He acts young for his age and is shy, especially when it comes to girls. He also has a fear of earthquakes dating back to his parents' death by one as a child.

(Spoilers; memento_eden)Still, since Kamina's death and meeting Nia, Simon has grown. He now understands that he needs to be a leader and that he can follow in Kamina's footsteps while remaining Simon. Simon is able to combine his mostly level head and his determination to inspire the Dai Gurren Brigade and lead the fight to reclaim the surface.

Background: Simon was born in Giha village, a small, poor underground village that had ceased believing in a surface. When Simon was seven, an earthquake in the village caused a cave-in, and both Simon's parents were killed in front of him, leaving him an orphan. Simon was looked after by the chief of the village, who had him work as a tunnel digger in exchange for mole-pig steaks. However, Simon didn't really dig for the food-- drilling and digging were hobbies of his, and he enjoyed finding treasures and artifacts buried underneath the dirt. Simon was also incredibly talented as a digger, and was always able to instinctively find the best place to dig.

One day, while out drilling in a tunnel (with fellow village-member Kamina along with him), an earthquake caused a cave-in. Due to his fear of earthquakes stemming from his childhood trauma, Simon froze, and would have died if Kamina hadn't been able to inspire him to keep digging. Simon, encouraged by Kamina, found the right places to dig and saved himself and Kamina. After this incident, Simon came to deeply admire and trust Kamina for giving him the courage to go on despite his fear. Kamina, in turn, took an interest in Simon as a person who could help him eventually reach the surface, and inducted him into his gang of village delinquents, the Gurren Brigade. He also encouraged Simon to call him aniki ('bro' is the English translation, but I've never liked it) and think of him as an older brother. Because he's such a good digger, Simon was really the only member of the Gurren Brigade who never got in much trouble, and the village chief persisted in letting Simon off the hook because he was so skilled and obedient while punishing Kamina and the others. However, Simon was very loyal to Kamina and would stick by him no matter what trouble he was in.

Later, while digging one day, Simon discovered a small drill buried in a tunnel. He wore it as a necklace, but was surprised when, later, it began to glow green. Digging further, Simon discovered a giant face buried underground. He wasn't aware at the time, but this was an ancient Ganmen powered by the drill and spiral energy. Simon immediately went to tell Kamina, who was currently locked up for an attempt at escaping to the surface. He helped Kamina break out so he could show him the face, but a massive earthquake broke the ceiling of the village, and an enormous Ganmen appeared. Simon was terrified, but Kamina on the other hand leapt out to fight it with only a katana. Fortunately for him, a girl with a big gun appeared at the same time to help fight. Simon, Kamina, and the girl escaped and headed to the Ganmen Simon found. Simon suggested Kamina use it to fight, but Kamina insisted that as Simon had found it, Simon would pilot it. Simon's ganmen was dubbed 'Lagann' and the three of them piled inside to fight. Through a combination of Simon's spiral power and dumb luck, they both defeated the enemy ganmen and also erupted out of the ceiling to the surface above. However, more enemy ganmen immediately appeared.

At this time, the girl introduced herself as Yoko from the neighboring Ritona village. At Ritona, an ancient armory caused a gas leak that had forced the villagers to the surface. Once on the surface, they were regularly attacked by ganmen piloted by beastmen. However, the armory had given them the weapons to fight, and though it was difficult, they'd managed to survive. Simon and Kamina return with Yoko to Ritona's base, and help her and the others fight. During a battle, Kamina managed to capture an enemy Ganmen as his own, and dubs it Gurren. Eventually, Simon and Kamina discover that their two Ganmen are able combine into one far more powerful Ganmen, the Gurren-Lagann. Now with this ability to guide them, Simon, Kamina, Yoko, and the village mechanic Leeron head out to find the base of the ganmen so as to defeat them and make the surface safe for humans.

(Spoilers for Episodes 8-11, Simon is taken from 11 in memento_eden and prior to episode 8 for dizzy_landAfter many battles, the group reaches a massive ganmen called the Dai-Gunzen. Kamina decides that they will defeat and capture the Dai-Gunzen to use to fight the beastmen. The odds against them are long, but a band of humans from neighboring villages arrive to help fight. Kamina declares this group the Dai Gurren Brigade, and forms a plan to capture the Dai-Gunzen. That night, however, Simon happens to see Yoko kissing Kamina. During their travels, Simon had developed a crush on Yoko, and he becomes upset and jealous. During the battle the next day, his mood causes his spiral energy to fail, and Kamina has to rescue him. Kamina climbs out of Gurren and punches the angst out of Simon, inspiring him to fight again. But in the ensuing battle, Kamina is fatally wounded. He helps Simon capture the Dai-Gunzen, and then dies.

Simon is deeply and truly devastated by the death of his aniki, to the point where he barely has any will to live, and is no longer able to pilot Lagann because his spiral energy is so low. He resolves to become like Kamina in order to carry his burden, but is further discouraged by the belief that he is incapable of becoming like Kamina. Not long after Kamina's death, however, Simon finds a discarded box with a keyhole that fits his drill. He opens it and inside finds Lord Genome's abandoned princess, Nia. Simon is immediately touched by Nia's kind personality and her beauty, and he brings her back to the Dai-Gurren. It's soon revealed that she's Lord Genome's daughter and the Dai Gurren Brigade treat her like an enemy, but are unable to resist her sweetness either. Nia is finally accepted into the brigade when the Dai Gurren is attacked while Simon is still unable to pilot Lagann, and Nia bravely orders the attacker to leave humans alone.

Nia begins to revive Simon's fighting spirit slowly-- when she is in danger, he is the first to rush out to save her even though he would be unarmed against a massive ganmen, and her constant belief in him and insistence that he is good enough without being Kamina slowly begin to get through to him. Finally, when she is kidnapped, Simon's spirit returns, and he finds himself able to pilot Lagann in order to rescue her. At this point, Simon finally understand's Kamina's message to believe in himself, and he becomes the new leader of the Dai Gurren Brigade.

Abilities: Not too much, really. Simon can fight and will if he really needs to, be he's not such a great fighter so much as a pilot, and he doesn't have his mecha Lagann with him. However, he's good at digging and sensing the perfect places in the earth to dig, and he's also a very resilient and hard worker.

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