Thymilph

Thymilph the Crashing One (チミルフ, Chimirufu) (The Raging Wave in the Dub) is the first of the Spiral King's Four Supreme Generals introduced in the story, representing the classical element of fire. He is Viral's initial superior officer and the commander of the Human Annihilation Army's Eastern Theater, which he monitors from the deck of his flagship, the Dai-Gunzan. He is good friends with Adiane, though Guame insinuates a closer relationship. He is a skilled tactician and a proud warrior, but was ultimately killed when Kamina and Simon destroyed his personal Gunmen, the Byakou, with the Giga Drill Break.

Appearance
Thymilph appears as an imposingly large, well-built, armored warrior with gorilla features. He wears blue metallic armor with pointed shoulder pads and a skirt, blue metal gauntlets, blue metallic shows, and a blue hat. He also wears a red armored covering on his left arm. He is impressively strong, almost always seen in the company of a large iron hammer he presumably uses in close-quarters combat.

Personality
A seasoned and confident war veteran, Thymilph is cautious and shrewd, but like Viral, possesses a warrior's code of honor. Guame implies that Thymilph was idolized by many Beastmen throughout the Beastmen Empire. He greatly despises humans due to his role exterminating them over the years and seems them with utter contempt. Despite his shrewdness, he is considerably hot-blooded and can be easily infuriated when thwarted too many times.

Beastmen War Arc
During a fight between Viral and Kamina, Viral calls for help, resulting in Thymilph arriving in Dai-Gunzan. Despite Gurren Lagann's strength, the size of Dai-Gunzan makes the battle stretch in Thymilph's favor. However, Gurren Lagann is freed from the Dai-Gun's grasp by Dayakkaiser, and Simon manages to send Thymilph's forces toppling into the canyon with clever use of Gurren Lagann's drills.

When Team Dai-Gurren attacks the next day, Thymilph sits in the cockpit of Dai-Gunzan, throwing his troops into the battle (literally) and providing support fire. However, the attack is a diversion-Simon emerges in Dai-Gunzan's blind spot and hijacks the massive machine-nearly hitting Thymilph with the Lagann Impact technique. Infuriated at the human's gall in trying to steal Dai-Gunzan, Thymilph gets into his personal gunman-the Byakou-and enters the battle, attacking Kamina from below the ship's bow. With Viral's aid, Thymilph overpowers Kamina, and mortally wounds him by driving Byakou's spear straight through Gurren's cockpit.

Immediately after his victory, Thymilph is nearly hit by the Dai-Gunzan-driven berserk by Simon's despair-but Viral takes the hit and is sent flying. When Kamina, who survives Thymilph's attack, combines Gurren and Lagann one last time, Thymilph orders his remaining troops to attack, determined to regain his flagship or destroy it in the effort. When his soldiers are destroyed, Thymilph attempts an attack of his own, but Byakou's Condemn Blaze attack is blocked by the Gurren Lagann's hand. Kamina then uses the mech's sunglasses to hold Thymilph's Gunman for his first (and only) use of the Giga Drill Break technique. The attack hits and Thymilph is killed, his Gunmen exploding a second after.

Despite his death, Thymilph still makes his mark on Team Dai-Gurren. His attack on Kamina kills him immediately after his victory.

Etymology
Thymilph's name is based on the DNA chemical thymine and the elemental Sylph. His Gunmen, Byakou, is based on the mythical White Tiger, Byakko. In the anime, his name is pronounced "Tim-elf", not "Theye-meh-liff".

Trivia

 * Thymilph's relationship with Adiane is most likely related to the relationship between their respective DNA chemicals; thymine and adenine are always bound to one another in a DNA strand.
 * Thymilph's name is somewhat conflicting with his character, as Sylph is a wind elemental while Thymilph himself is the General of Fire. This oddity is shared with Cytomander, who seems like a better fit for Sylph (being an effeminate General who prefers aerial combat). It seems to be a purely stylistic choice, as the alternatives are more bizarre and cumbersome.
 * True to his title as the General of Fire, Thymilph is battled near a volcano, which erupts during the final battle for Dai-Gunzan.
 * Thymilph is the first victim of the Giga Drill Break.