This third set brings the adventure-comedy Gurren Lagann to an appropriately zany, high-energy conclusion. Seven years after the defeat of Lordgenome, the Spiral King, mankind has returned to the surface of the Earth. But when the human population passes the one million mark, Lordgenome"s dire prophecy comes true. The Anti-Spiral forces arrive and try to crash the Moon into the Earth. Simon rallies his mecha-pilot friends to join him in a fantastic battle that will determine the fate of the universe. In the best sci-fi anime tradition, Simon fights to protect the Earth and to rescue his girlfriend, Princess Nia. The war between the Spiral and Anti-Spiral fleets takes the familiar cast across space, time, and other dimensions they weren"t even aware of. But their dedication and fighting spirit triumph, even when the fabric of space itself distorts.Director Hiroyuki Imaishi pushes the visuals over the top, using Day-Glo colors, wonderfully off-beat designs, jazzy CG effects, and rapid-fire cutting. Simon, who began the series as a nerdy teenager, grows with each challenge until he resembles Kamina, his beloved, outrageous "Bro." The sleeper hit of 2008, Gurren Lagann combines the madcap energy of FLCL with the escalating metamorphoses of a Gundam epic and the self-reflexive parody of Martian Successor Nadesico. The story may not make much sense, but when the adventure is this much fun, who cares? (Rated 13 and older: violence, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon