Kamina (カミナ Kamina) is a young man that born from Giha Village and the founder
of Team Gurren. A central character of the story, Kamina is the first leader of
Team Gurren. After his death, his legacy would live on in Simon.
Background
Kamina is a refractory youth from Giha village who dreams of
leaving his underground home and going to the surface world, which he saw as a
child. His extremely passionate and self-confident personality causes him to
act as a foil for the more timid and weak-willed Simon, and serves to instill
courage within Simon. His actions greatly influence the entire series, as he
forms Team Dai-Gurren and acts as its leader to combat the threat of Lordgenome
and the beastmen. Early in the series, Kamina hijacks a Gunmen he names Gurren,
which he pilots while combined with Simon's Lagann to form Gurren Lagann.
Appearance
Kamina is tall and well built, and
prides himself on being "manly and tough". He has light blue, short,
spiky hair and is frequently seen wearing his trademark sunglasses that cover
his red eyes. His skin is peach, like Simon's. but with a little tan, and
he has tattoos along both of his arms which extend to his shoulders and near
his upper back.
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, "Who the Hell do you think I
am?!" He is an idealist with tremendous determination, sometimes to the
point of ignorance. Yoko 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.
Kamina is also extremely determined;
he never lets anything keep him down for long. Even discovering that his father
was dead only solemned him for a night or two. 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 great feats and almost Single-Handedly setting
the foundations of Team Dai-Gurren.
Despite his often-insane actions,
Kamina has a fairly insightful personality. He tells Yoko that his war against
the Beastman is not for personal glory or vengeance, but a desire to give
future generations a world in which they can live without worry. His bravado
and fearlessness is also little more than a facade to mask his own worries and
support others; he personally admitted that people like Simon are the real
heroes. Despite his often moronic moves, he has a level of common sense,
pointing out that if they fled from Dai-Gunzan, they would be wide open for
attacks. This suggests Kamina has a more complicated personality than shown in
the show.
Weapons
Kamina originally had a nodachi (his
sword), that he had stolen from the Giha village chief. In episodes 2 and 3,
Kamina used a pistol given to him by Yoko, and he also used her rifle to hunt
animals. During his fight with Viral, he used his Nodachi, and a hidden arrow
that he had picked up from an animal Viral shot, as well as some assistance
from Simon and Yoko. Kamina's most valuable weapons were the Gurren and Gurren
Lagann. {C}Originally, Kamina couldn't pilot the Gurren as well as a Beastman,
which put him at a disadvantage: Viral could easily beat him one on one until
Gurren Lagann was formed. However, thanks to training with Simon, by Episode 8,
he had mastered the controls and was an ace pilot.
Skills
- Expert Physical Fighter: As shown a number of times, Kamina's fighting skills are well above those of normal humans. He was able to fight Viral one on one with his Nodachi and, while injured, landed a blow on Viral. He also is shown to be a good fist fighter: one of his punches caused Simon to almost flip over in his seat.
- Quick Learner: Although not very obvious, Kamina is shown to be a quick learner. By episode 3, wherein he begins using ranged weapon, Kamina's accuracy impresses even Yoko, an extremely skilled Sharpshooter. Having stolen his nodachi from the village chief in the first episode, he was able to use it rather well, pushing even Viral, an expert in combat (being a beastman and well trained soldier). By the last episode in which he appeared, he has also become a very skilled gunman pilot, able to rival Viral in his piloting skills, despite having only used Gunmen for a short time.
- Mastery of Planning: Kamina, though masked by his hot blooded personality, is a good tactician, contributing to his ability as a leader. His battles often involve a development of new fighting style, unpredictable and well planned moves. He is able to see his opponents' weak points, 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. Compared to the way the Brigade fights after his death, battles during his leadership involved more complex planning.
- Enhanced Endurance: Kamina's skill in a fight relies heavily on his stamina. Kamina has been shown to be able to take blows that would kill most people, and continue fighting. The greatest example of this is shown when he is stabbed twice by Thymilph, yet manages to recover and kill him. This extreme endurance isn't enough to defy death entirely, however: he succumbs to his wounds and dies soon afterwards.
- Fighting Spirit: His 'fighting spirit' is an extremely powerful force in the show. His charisma and bravado inspire his teammates to perform at the top of their ability, and allow him to support the underconfident Simon when his willpower flags.
It's also stated that Kamina was
killed by Thymilph's first assault, implying that his fighting spirit allowed
him to temporarily come back from the dead to ensure the success of the mission
and avenge himself.
Kamina is shown to have great
reflexes, at one point dodging an arrow Viral aimed at him
