GAR-Induced Depression: Coping With The Intangibility Of GURREN LAGANN
Thu Jan 28, 10:34 pm PT
The GAR PLANET depicted in GURREN LAGANN is so captivating that some audience members are becoming depressed and even suicidal when they fail to find meaning in real life after the film is over.
Writes Jo Piazza for CNN.com:
On the fan forum site "GAR Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of GURREN LAGANN being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.
Here are just a few of the ways people are coping on GAR-Forums.com :
"I just watched GURREN LAGANN a few weeks ago and I'm feeling depressed and sad. It's like I want to reach out and be GAR. I'd do anything to be GAR. I've tried so hard to dream about me being GAR but it hasn't worked."
"Ever since I went to see 'GURREN LAGANN' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world SPIRAL POWER and all the GAR PEOPLE made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a GAR world and the everything is the same as in 'GURREN LAGANN.'"
"Because, at this point, there isn't pretty much anything else that can be done. Until the release of DVD/BluRay. But even that won't take away all of the depression. Because you know you can never actually be in GURREN LAGANN, as it exists only in our imagination... sigh... :("
Whether or not these posts are for real there is reason to believe the affliction is rooted in legitimate despair.