Simon

Appearance

Simon's wild dark blue hair, small stature, deep azure eyes, and powerful lean physique are his most distinguishing physical characteristics, although this was not always the case. Earlier in the series, he was quite short for his age, even shorter than Nia, Rossiu, and Yoko, who were all in the same age group. He stood about 5 feet tall at the age of 14, and his body was not as defined as the rest of the males in the brigade. He had a lightly tanned baby face that wouldn't have been so horrible if it weren't for the rest of his body, which made him appear much younger than he was. As a guy, he was dissatisfied with this. Despite this, some ladies were drawn to his appealing looks.

Simon, who is 21 years old in part two, appears to be a completely different person. He's grown in stature, now standing at an astonishing 6'2" (taller than both Kamina and Kittan) and with a much more defined physique. His features have developed, and his jawline has stiffened, and his voice has dropped an octave or two. He is also more level-headed than he was previously.

Simon wore a brown robe to protect himself from rocks and minerals while he dug for concept extension in his native village early in the first episode. Brown shorts, white socks, and brown boot-like shoes completed his usual ensemble. His abdomen was surrounded in white bandages, and the Core Drill was usually hung around his neck. After the official accession of the Littner village residents to the gang, his cloak was changed with a dark blue jacket with red stripes along the shoulders and sleeves, given to him and modified by Leeron with the Gurren Gang's logo on the back. He thereafter starts wearing a red wristband.

After the time jump, Simon's wardrobe undergoes a significant transformation. He wears grey, low-rise pants, a matching black neck brace and haramaki, and a long, navy blue trench coat with gold studs during the expedition to reclaim his fiancée and save the universe with the newly reunited "Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren Brigade." The Team Dai-Gurren insignia is emblazoned on the back of this coat, exactly as it was when he was a teenager.

Simon wore digging goggles with built-in light systems in both seasons. When he was excavating, he wore them on his forehead and lowered them over his eyes. Simon's goggles changed into red sunglasses, identical to Kamina's, but with three extra points to make them resemble a star, after converting the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren (presumably a tribute to the recently-deceased Kittan). During the climactic battle against the Anti-Spirals, these goggles were destroyed.

Simon's elder self was seen in the epilogue wearing a huge brown cloak with a hood to hide his face. He also wielded a staff with a huge drill attached at the end. He wears Nia's wedding ring as a choker in the film.

Personality

Simon is courteous, humble, caring, and courageous. He was a shy, introverted youngster at the start of the series, seeking solace mainly in digging tunnels for the expansion of Jiha village. After losing his parents in an earthquake, he developed a fear of earthquakes, which he overcame until he realized that the earthquakes were caused by the Gunmen. He began to come out of his shell after finding Lagann and facing a Beastman for the first time, but he still feared the pressure to be bold and battle for the rest of the squad.

Despite his timidity, Simon has shown an incredible talent for combat and has even enjoyed himself on the battlefield, as demonstrated during the first battle against Thymilph. He's also capable of bravery, as evidenced by his refusal to stand by and watch Kamina kill himself. Simon is also quite level-headed, and he has frequently prevented the impetuous and irresponsible Kamina from making bad judgments; Kamina has even stated that his level head is the only thing that has kept him alive.

Simon was prone to jealously and heartbreak as a teenager among similar-aged ladies. This was proved when he saw Yoko Ono, his target of affections at the time, kiss Kamina. During the crucial battle against Thymilph, the vision was seared into Simon's consciousness, and he was unable to fight adequately until he was encouraged to fight by Kamina, who died in the battle. Simon was greatly affected by the loss of the latter, and he sank into a deep despair as a result. He initially cut himself off from the rest of the team, even lashing out at Rossiu and criticizing him for formerly believing in a fake religion. These similar thoughts prevented him from properly operating Lagann.

Despite his timidity, Simon has shown an incredible talent for combat and has even enjoyed himself on the battlefield, as demonstrated during the first battle against Thymilph. He's also capable of bravery, as evidenced by his refusal to stand by and watch Kamina kill himself. Simon is also quite level-headed, and he has frequently prevented the impetuous and irresponsible Kamina from making bad judgments; Kamina has even stated that his level head is the only thing that has kept him alive.

Simon appears to have become lazier in part 2, as Gimmy has pointed out, having fallen into the monotony of bureaucracy, despite his desire to return to his hot-blooded life. Simon appears to reconcile himself to his fate after Rossiu imprisons him after protecting Kamina City from the Mugann, but he demonstrates that he still wants to fight, as evidenced by his intense combat with Viral in the prison showers. Simon has his last transformation after he and Team Dai-Gurren travel to space to rescue Nia. He's a lot more gregarious and fired up now than he was when he was the mayor of Kamina City. He is ecstatic to be able to fight alongside his friends once more. Simon develops a hybrid personality between himself and Kamina in the final battle against the Anti-Spiral, leading the team in a hot-blooded assault against the Anti-Spiral with the bravado once displayed by Kamina but without the arrogance or foolhardiness that frequently landed Kamina in trouble against tougher opponents.

One of Simon's most prominent characteristics is that he prioritizes the well-being of others over his own, as evidenced by his order to Rossiu to plant a bomb inside Gurren-Lagann to ensure that he cannot flee to save himself before going off to fight an incoming group of Mugann during his trial in order to save Kamina City.

History

In the far future, Simon was born in Jiha Village, one of several subterranean civilizations on Planet Earth. Jiha Village, unlike other settlements, has access to freshwater, food (Mole pigs), and lighting (electric generators). Despite this, the village head used diggers from the active and maneuverable youth to develop new channels for the city to expand due to the constant fear of cave-ins from earthquakes. Simon became one of them, swiftly establishing himself as one of the village's greatest diggers.

Simon's parents were crushed in a cave-in during an earthquake when he was seven years old. He was traumatized by the incident, and he developed a severe phobia of earthquakes as a result. Simon then got down to business, significantly outperforming his peers and garnering their derision. Simon was only contacted by Kamina, the local gang leader and juvenile delinquent. Kamina "recruited" Simon and co-founded Team Gurren, enlisting the help of a motley crew of misfits along the way. Kamina practically dragged Simon along on ridiculous ideas, pleading with him to give his abilities and assist them in escaping Jiha Village and reaching the surface, which Kamina said he had visited as a child.