Gember

Gember (ゲンバー, Genbā?) is the personal Gunmen of General Guame. It first appeared in action on the deck of the Dai-Gurren as its owner retreated to it to personally perform his public execution of the captured members of Team Dai-Gurren.

Appearance
Gember is the second Gunman (after Sayrune) shown featuring a transformation. Its normal form has the appearance of an orange-armored gorilla, sporting long, insectoid antennae. Its alternate form resembles a massive mechanical wood louse, with a face on its back and needle-like legs.

Characteristics and armaments
The controls of the Gember are unique among Gunmen seen in the series; instead of a chair and dual handles, a curled-up Guame pilots the Gember by resting in a round indentation (presumably channeling his Spiral Power into the Gunmen somehow) flanked by a pair of mechanical hands. These hands appear to control the Gember's movements, as well as helping Guame enter and exit the cockpit.

True to Guame's title "the Immovable", Gember is a heavily armored Gunmen relying on brute force to overwhelm opponents. Its antennae are extremely flexible and capable of stretching incredible distances, allowing them to bind enemies and drag them around. In its alternate form, the Gember's back-mounted face can bite - and possibly devour - enemies; however, it can be forced to let go by damaging its eyes. Presumably the ultimate attack of the Gember is its "Gember Press" (called "Desperado Engrave" in Childhood's End), wherein the foe is caught in a bearhug hold and crushed by the needles that are released from the machine's arms.

Role in the show
Initially, Gember held the advantage against Team Dai-Gurren, shrugging off Yoko's rifle fire and almost devouring Gurren. However, Simon's return in Lagann quickly turned the tide; a reinvigorated Rossiu was able to flip Gember on its back, and the newly-formed Gurren Lagann forced the enemy off of it by striking both of the eyes on its back. Guame attempted to fight back with his mecha's Gember Press technique, but the comeback was short-lived, Gurren-Lagann broke free and used a Giga Drill Break to destroy the Gember. However, its pilot ejected himself before his Gunman exploded, retreating to the capital and using Dai-Gundo as his mobile base from then on.

Eytmology
The Gember's name is based on Genbu, the Black Tortoise of the North, one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations in Japanese myth.

Trivia

 * Gember is the only one of the Four Generals personal Gunmen to lack white as its predominant color; most of its body is orange.
 * Gember is the only Four Generals Custom Gunman to be destroyed without its pilot, as Guame ejected before it exploded.

Gallery
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