With the casting changes of Episode 8 and 9 behind us, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Laggan is back out of its transitional phase with episode 11. Time for us to settle in and watch the young man face up to his destiny.

With the discarded princess Nia now the focus of attention amongst the Dai Gurren Dan, and apparently amongst slathering fanboys across the blogosphere and *chans, the original core trio of Simon, Kamina, and Yoko (with Simon looking in with envy at the other two’s budding romance) is now Simon, Nia, and Yoko.

Poor Yoko. Hard on the heels of a great personal loss, she kept a stiff upper lip in front of her peers and provided no help to Simon in his hour of need. Now a pretty young princess fallen from the ranks of the enemy has taken her place. Episode 12, “Miss Yoko, I Have Something to Ask of You,” finally has given Yoko a chance to work out her issues a bit, something I figured Gainax wouldn’t bother doing. The first half of the episode focuses on a one-sided rivalry with Nia, with Yoko losing at every turn. After the obligatory fight between giant robots starts up, Yoko gets a chance to take the reins and show the bad guys, her comrades, and the viewing audience what she’s really made of.

Aside from the obvious fanservice draw, episode 12 brings one of my favorite characters back into the foreground where she belongs, and not just as a couple of boobs and thighhigh stockings.