Kamina

""Who the hell do you think I am?""

- Kamina

Kamina (カミナ) was a young man from Giha Village, the founder and first leader of Team Gurren and deuteragonist of the first arc of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Appearance
Kamina is tall and well built, and prides himself on being "manly and tough." He has short, blue, spiky hair and is frequently seen wearing his trademark red sunglasses that cover his red eyes. His skin is tan, and he has blue-ish tattoos along both of his arms which extend to his shoulders and his upper back. As he holds his sword with him, his symbol of rebellion.

Personality
At first glance, Kamina is boisterous, hotheaded and arrogant. He demands recognition and seems hungry for greatness, illustrated in his tendency to call himself "the Mighty Kamina" and his signature catchphrase, "Just who the Hell do you think I am?!" He is an undeterred idealist, often to the point of ignorance; Yoko has described him as "a man of unlimited stupidity." Kamina is also very perverted, declaring that the urge to stare at beautiful women is the definition of a man.

However, Kamina is also extremely determined and never lets anything keep him down for long. Even discovering that his father was dead only made him solemn for a night or two (visibly at least). He is also devoted to defending and supporting his friends and loved ones, fighting with all his strength to protect them. In turn, he is very charismatic in the heat of battle, able to inspire even the timid Simon to accomplish great feats and almost single-handedly set the foundations for Team Dai-Gurren.

Despite his often brazen and practically insane actions, Kamina is fairly insightful, as his bombast and seemingly blind confidence usually mask his true intelligence in planning and combat. He even personally admits that his bravado and fearlessness is mostly a device he uses to hide his own worries and to support others, and that he thinks people like Simon are the real heroes. He has stated that his drive in the war against the Beastmen was not started for personal glory or vengeance, but a desire to give future generations a world without fear. Despite his often moronic actions, he does have some level of common sense, pointing out that fleeing from Dai-Gunzan would leave them wide open to attack. All this confirms that Kamina has a much more complicated personality than his usual behavior would insinuate.

Before Beastmen War Arc
As a child, Kamina's father managed to reach the surface, and although he wanted his son to come with him, Kamina was too scared of the strange world awaiting him, so his father allowed him to stay behind, promising him they'd meet again someday. This is likely what motivated Kamina to become strong and determined. Years later, Kamina decided he was old enough and began to aim for the surface.

At some point in their lives, Kamina, Simon, and a few others from the village were trapped in an unfinished tunnel due to a cave-in. Kamina kept everyone's spirits up with his usual charisma and optimism, but it was Simon that dug them out by tirelessly drilling through the blockade of rocks. Watching Simon, Kamina vowed that he would emulate his "bro"'s determination by never giving up and never showing fear, no matter how scared he was on the inside. He also determined to always have Simon's back, encouraging the younger boy's skills no matter what.

Beastmen War Arc
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 Littner" descends from the surface and ends up joining Kamina and Simon as they pilot the newly unearthed Gunmen that 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 (Thymilph not only stabbed him through the chest, almost tearing him in two, he also shoots a beam through him, causing severe blood loss), but Kamina also combines with Simon to form Gurren Lagann and defeats the Beastman General with his signature move: "Giga Drill Break." Kamina dies in the cockpit, leaving Simon with this: "Don't believe in the Kamina who you believe in. Don't believe in the Simon that I believe in. Believe in the Simon who believes in himself." 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." Kamina is buried in the battlefield where he died, his nodachi stabbed into the ground and his cloak tied to its sheath.

Anti-Spiral War Arc
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. Later, Simon, under the influence of Antispiral, had his consciousness drifted into a reality where Kamina has Simon drill into banks and jewelry shops to rob them. He is shown groveling at the feet of some Beastmen holding them at gunpoint, begging for his life and urging Simon to do the same. Upon seeing a box identical to the one he first found Nia inside, Simon reaches for his Core Drill to open it and finds it missing. This is when 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 Multiverse Labyrinth, allowing Simon to reassemble Team Dai-Gurren and face Antispiral for the final time. Before he leaves, Simon shares one last moment to talk to Kamina, who is surprised to see that Simon has grown taller than him. The two share a last laugh before Simon leaves. Kamina also makes a brief appearance to Yoko when she shuts off the TV that would be her future. She thanks him as they both look out and she returns to Simon and Gurren Lagann.

Simon
Kamina and Simon are extremely close, which shows within the first few minutes of the first episode. Kamina serves as something between a foster father and brother to Simon, insisting that Simon call him 'Bro' ('Aniki', a form used by yakuza). Kamina was the only one to realize Simon's potential, always encouraging and supporting him stubbornly and being the only one to side with the small, ostracized digger. Due to a previous near-death experience, the two developed a bond that allowed them to pull incredible stunts and always come out triumphant. Simply put, Kamina's bravado and Simon's power prove to be unstoppable. Kamina always considered Simon as his 'partner,' both in crime (in their antics in Jeeha Village) and in battle, which at the beginning basically meant Kamina dragging Simon into dangerous situations. When offered to pilot Lagann, Kamina refuses on the grounds that he would never take his little brother's belongings. Kamina appears to be Simon's role model of courage and manliness, and his influence is what primarily crafted Simon's views on a lot of things about life later on. Being a huge reliance to Simon, Kamina also strongly relies on the boy and believes him to be the "method to his madness." He also confesses to Yoko that he believes Simon to be the true source of his power and reason for his victories, and he is not afraid to tell that straight to his brother when they meet in the Extradimensional Labyrinth. Simon and Kamina loved each other dearly and refused to bid farewell to each other, as they both state that Kamina lives on in Simon's heart.

The official Gurren Lagann relationships graph (found in the Basic Drill', the initial guide-book to Gurren Lagann and in Final Drill guide-book, covering the latter part of the series) sets their relationship invariably as '相棒' ( "Partners" in japanese), and the two remain partners even after Kamina's death. By the end, it is abundantly clear that Kamina's ultimate goal, besides making the surface habitable for humans, was to motivate Simon to recognize the greatness he saw in him.

Yoko Littner
Due to her looks, Kamina is instantly attracted to Yoko and starts to make advances on her even in chaotic situations. He is severely disappointed upon discovering that Yoko was born underground which leads him to make several snide comments about Yoko’s figure and her place on the battlefield. This usually leads to a lot of bickering, but they remain very protective of each other during combat against the Beastmen. Kamina is very tolerant of Yoko’s beatings and scoldings, letting most of them fly and even apologizing to her for his behavior in episode six (after a punch to the face). It's a belligerent relationship due to both of the characters' unyielding personalities, yet it's also full of reliance, trust, and genuine affection. Yoko states that she was holding onto the thought that no matter what, Kamina would always think of something and pull through; likewise, Kamina entrusts his safety to Yoko in the battle against Thymilph.

Yoko also appears to be the only person to whom Kamina can reveal his true self, as shown in their late-night conversations in episodes 7 and 11, when Kamina reveals his intentions behind the revolution and his hidden fear and doubt. When Yoko kisses him in a confession in episode 8, he accepts her in an embrace and the two kiss again. Kamina makes an oath to return her love tenfold after the battle, which prompts Yoko to laugh and state that she'll be looking forward to it; unfortunately, Kamina dies during the fight and thus his promise remains unfulfilled. Gurren Lagann's first theatrical feature provides a detail that Kamina rose from his fatal blow upon hearing Yoko’s voice over the intercom.

In Part 2, Kamina appears in Yoko’s dream maze with a television set that shows her possible future. However, Yoko turns it off, and they are shown smiling at each other before she thanks him and shoots off to join Simon to rescue Nia. The meeting takes place in the same area as their last romantic encounter suggesting that Yoko’s inner desire was to be with Kamina once again.

Kamina's comment is derived from the '10倍返しの恋' ("Tenfold return of love") as told in Basic Drill and '恋' (Love) in Final Drill.

Nia Teppelin
Although Nia has never met Kamina, she gains a great care and respect for him through the stories told to her by Simon. Through her belief in Simon she comes to believe in Kamina's philosophies, and in the Gurren Lagann movie is shown to address him while writing in her journal. In the Otoko series and in others where she does know him, they get along well. Kamina is also one of the few who can stomach and enjoy her cooking, the others being Simon and Boota.

Powers and Abilities
Spiral Power: As a Spiral Being, he is capable of evolving with the use of Spiral Power, becoming more capable as he retains his willpower or "fighting spirit". In the manga, Kamina towards the end of his life, he had gained Spiral Eyes, alluding to him fully awakening his Spiral Power, and so he should be just as capable without the use of Gunmen as well; additionally having every capability of every Gunmen he piloted, has shown, similar to Lordgenome and Simon.


 * Gunmen Piloting: Gunmen were created by the Spiral King, Lordgenome, for Spiral Warriors to pilot, using their Spiral Power to power and control mecha. Additionally, the condition of the Gunmen is reflected upon the pilots; ie, the pilots feel the pain and retain the injuries. Spiral Power doesn't just power the Gunmen, it also assists the mecha in producing abilities for the user to adapt to certain situations in battle.

Superhuman Strength: Immediately after his introduction, Kamina presumably broke the lock holding the Pigmole. After he was held for breaking the Pigmole out, he easily ripped the rope that held his hands together. In the movie version, Kamina broke off steel cuffs, rather than the ropes. He handled himself well with Viral in a sword fight, being able to handle direct cuts from his blade; Viral himself is a powerful Beastman who could kick large Beastmen through concrete walls. In episode 8, Kamina's punch managed to knock and flip over Simon in his seat.

Superhuman Speed: In episode 3, right before Kamina meets Viral, he dodges a point blank arrow. After that, he dodged Viral's cleaver at the last moment. In episode 6, Kamina could briefly run away from Itamirūpu (the Bath House Gunmen). which is a bigger mech than Gurren Lagann.

Supernatural Willpower: When Kamina attempted to take over Gunzar in episode 2, he was unable to get control of it. Regardless of his circumstance, he refused to be rejected by the Gunmen, and with his will to move forward, he managed to override its systems to allow him to take control. In the battle for Dai-Gunzan, Kamina had taken a blow to his upper body, around the heart region, by Thymilph. Despite this, he got back up to continue the fight when he heard that his team needed him.

Extrasensory Perception: The novelization revealed that Kamina was able to dodge Viral's cleaver at the last second, because he sensed Viral's killing intent.

Presumably Air Slashes: Kamina with his Nodachi was capable of cutting through a large swath of grass, even beyond the swords length. Logically, this could be due to the slashes of wind Kamina created with the swing.

Skills
Martial Arts: As shown a number of times, Kamina's fighting skills are well above those of normal humans. An incredibly impressive feat is in episode 6, where Kamina handled a large army of toad Beastmen all by himself.


 * Viral fighting Kamina in sword battle.gifSword Fighting: He was able to fight Viral one on one with his Nodachi and, while injured, landed a blow on Viral with an arrow he had with him. When he would have a rematch against Viral in episode 7, he managed to fair better than he did in their first encounter, especially on a much quicker pace. Their final one on one would happen in episode 8, where Gurren and Enkidu commit sword play once again; this time, Kamina is the one that is giving his opponent a hard time, as opposed to their first time, where the pressuring was done by Viral. The novelization goes more in-depth, and states that Viral was always looking for openings in any fight, but couldn't manage to find one in their latest altercation, because Kamina was consistently attacking in the most efficient way possible.

Gifted Fighter: Although not very obvious, Kamina is shown to be a quick learner. By Episode 3, wherein he begins using ranged weapons, Kamina's accuracy impresses even Yoko, an extremely skilled sharpshooter. His first time around, actually using his Nodachi in battle, he was able to fair well against even Viral, an expert in armed and unarmed combat. By his last episode, he had also become a very skilled Gunmen pilot, able to rival Viral in his piloting skills, despite having only used Gunmen for a short time.

Strategist: Kamina, though masked by his hot-blooded personality, is a good tactician, contributing to his ability as a leader. His battles often involve development of new fighting styles, unpredictable and well-planned moves. He is able to see his opponents' weaknesses, or the most effective way to beat them - such as hijacking Dai-Gunzan and the Gunzar on the field (which later became Dai-Gurren and Gurren respectively) rather than fighting them and taking note of the field condition when fighting against Dai-Gunzan for the first time.

Piloting: Kamina in his first days of piloting Gurren, he didn't have truly notable feats of skill in Gunmen, even noted by Viral to need more practice to be able to pilot efficiently. As mentioned before, in episode 7, he is now capable of fighting equally against Viral's Enkidu, becoming just as able as the latter. Most importantly in episode 8, where he puts the pressure onto Viral instead of the other way around, having become more skilled than even Viral, who trained hard, as a part of Lordgenome's army, to become a high-ranking solder.

Equipment
Nodachi: A sword stolen from the Chief of Giha Village. It is a disproportionately long sword, which was only notably used once against Viral in their first encounter. With the right wielder, it is capable of cutting through things even beyond its physical reach, evident when Kamina managed to cut through a large swath of tall grass, all the way through.

Pistol: A firearm given by Yoko, which its functionality may likely be inspired by the Welrod; a bolt-action pistol. In episode 2 where Kamina first uses this gun, he wields it incorrectly, and ends up almost getting himself shot. Though, this is solved later on, evident in the succeeding episode. This pistol was only shot 3 times, before Kamina ditched it completely. Perhaps he was unaware that firearms can be reloaded.

Gurren: Kamina's first and only personal Gunmen.


 * Glasscutter: Gurren's sunglasses, officially known as the Glasscutter are a pair of sharp black sunglasses, that can be separated from the mech's face to be used as a sword. When combined with Lagann, the Glasscutter has more tactical use, whereas on its own, it is used only as a sword and to pin other Gunmen down. The Glasscutter was shaped from the two blades it had when it was Gunzar.

Outfit
Kamina's outfit, although not complicated, is flashy and expresses his personality; he wears long, dark-brown pants with two red rings on the bottom, a double-grommet belt tied around his waist, a traditional Japanese sarashi (a protective bandage on the abdomen and forearms), sandals, and he later started wearing his father's red and orange cape, which he then added the Team Dai-Gurren logo to. He also usually donned a pair of flashy, red, triangular sunglasses that were smashed to pieces during Thymilph's assault. . After his death, his sword was stuck in the ground with his cape tied to it in order to mark his grave.

Etymology
Kamina's name comes from Kami meaning 'above' in Japanese. This references his desire to go to the surface. Kami could also be read as God, a reference to his unending self-confidence and ability to influence others to pursue greatness.

Trivia

 * Kamina's catch phrase, "Just who the hell do you think I am?" (Ore wo dare da to omotte yagaru?/俺を誰と思ってやがる？) has been said by many of the show's characters. Simon was the first to start saying it, followed by Kittan, and eventually every single protagonist present during the final battle.
 * The first 8 episodes are titled by a line Kamina says within the episode with a font that looks like a carving. He narrates the episode previews for episodes 2 to 7.
 * Despite dying in the eighth episode, Kamina is mentioned (whether directly or indirectly) in almost every episode of Gurren Lagann.
 * Of all of Kamina's dynamic actions, his famous "Towards-the-Heavens" pose (with him pointing his finger to the sky) has become extremely popular; so much so that it has even been done by Simon, Nia, Kittan, and by Gurren Lagann and King Kittan when doing the Giga Drill Break.
 * Of all of Gurren-Lagann's characters, Kamina is considered by far to be the most popular, even after his death.
 * Kamina's parents official names are Joe (ジョー) and Wenny (ウェニー).
 * Kamina is also an expy of Sanson, a character from another Gainax anime called Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.
 * In the movie adaption Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars, it is revealed that Simon himself carved the statue of Kamina in Kamina City.
 * Kamina or at least someone greatly resembling him makes a cameo appearance in Episode 2 of a fellow Gainax series, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. Simon, Viral, Nia, Yoko ,and Attenborough make cameos in the same scene.
 * Also, Mahibi Moji from the anime adaptation of Medaka Box, which was also produced by Gainax, greatly resembles Kamina, and is also voiced by the same voice actor. Furthermore, his hair color is dark red in the manga, while it has been changed to blue (like Kamina's) in the anime.
 * While Kamina and Nia never meet in the official series, they get along quite well in the Otoko series. Furthermore, he is the only person besides Simon who enjoys her cooking.
 * If anything, Kamina gets into even more trouble in Super Robot Wars Z2: Hakai-Hen: Arm-Wrestling Kallen Kozuki over the fact that they both have Mechs named Gurren, trying to get Zero's helmet from a cat to force Zero into owing him a favor (and dragging the entire gang plus Kouji Kabuto (Mazinger Z) into a fight with the Black Knights), and other shenanigans.
 * The staff have stated that the Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is actually a reincarnated Kamina.

Quotes
""Don't believe in yourself! Believe in me! Believe in the Kamina who believes in you!""

- Kamina

"I’ll Pay You Back, Ten Times Over" "How long are you going to keep running, Simon? Now is the time to cast off the boy you used to be."

- Kamina "Who the hell do you think I am?"

- Kamina "Kick reason to the curb and surpass the impossible! Isn't that the way of our Gurren Brigade?!."

- Kamina "KICK LOGIC AND DO THE IMPOSSIBLE !! THAT'S HOW TEAM DAI GURREN ROLLS !!"

- Kamina

"Let's see you grit those teeth"

- Kamina "We brawlers are sustained by willpower! Even when mocked as reckless and crazy!"

- Kamina

"The magma of our soul burns with a mighty flame! Super Ultra Combining: Gurren Lagann!!"

- Kamina and Simon

"In the hell...!"

- Kamina

"DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?"

- Kamina and Simon

"Listen, Simon. Never forget. Just believe in yourself. Not in the Simon that I believe in; not in the Kamina that you believe in. Have faith in the Simon who believes in you."

- Kamina