Anime GGG Forever.
I watched Gao Gai Gar... roughly two years ago. That's when I really began watching 'nerdy' things (Anime, Tokusatsu, etc) en masses, although I had started with Gurren Lagann, out of mere curiosity. If I had watched something sub par after GL, like, Mazinkaizer or something, I wouldn't have gotten into Mecha or Tokusatsu in general, since obviously, nothing could be better than Gurren Lagann.
Instead, I watched Gao Gai Gar. And it was better than Gurren Lagann. In that way, it really propelled me into watching more nerdy stuff.
Gao Gai Gar holds a special place in my cabinet of nerddom, and is, quite simply, my most favorite thing ever. This is hardly even going to be a review, since I'm so biased. But quite simply, if you consider yourself a mecha otaku, an anime fanatic, or a nerd in general, if you haven't watched Gao Gai Gar, completely and utterly revoke the first title, reaffirm the second title by watching it, or if you're just a nerd, watch it because it will probably propel you into either of the first two titles. That sentence made no sense but watching GGG makes me delirious with awesome.
The series works in a format that is absolutely brilliant, yet could be offputting at first: The first 30 episodes are like the rest of the Brave Series: Silly, comedic, yet somehow simply charming in that kids show way. The characters are all amusing, and through their antics, you become attached to them. And then episode 30 hits, shit hits the fan, and those characters you previously saw being so silly and comedic suddenly are suddenly thrust into dark and dramatic situations that you aren't sure they can make it out of. But that seemingly silly COURAGE AND GUTS that is so prevalent in the first 30 episodes continues to pull through and save the day, no matter how dark it gets.
It's just so indicative of the super robot genre in general: No matter how dark the situation, no matter how bad shit gets, and no matter how damaged they become, the super robots in GGG absolutely refuse to give up and, through sheer COURAGE AND GUTS, always manage to win. It's idealistic, beautiful, and uplifting.
Are there flaws? Yes, probably. Those flaws are, in my opinion, get the shit hell and heavened out of them by Gao Gai Gar's positive points.
Watch it. You won't regret it, unless you have no soul.
Anime First Impression
After watching just the first episode (which, due to sub-standard internet, was all I could get at the moment), I was left with the impression that this anime is basically the Spiritual Predecessor to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann... but set in a world more like Neon Genesis Evangelion. Huge monsters with little or no explanation of where they come from or their purpose, Elaborate Underground Base for the good guys (NGE elements), but The Hero is Hot Blooded, with a first impression bordering on Knight In Shining Armor, or even The Cape (TTGL elements). While this troper is nowhere near the mecha anime connoiseur he'd like to be, from those he IS familiar with, Gao Gai Gar appears to be The Mario between them all, and while it (seemingly) doesn't get enough exposure to be a true Gateway Series, Gao Gai Gar feels like it would be the best anime for getting newbies into giant robots in general. Now to find a decent wi-fi hotspot and watch the rest of the series....
EDIT: Having now seen the first half of the series, this has been upgraded to So Cool Its Awesome on the same level as Gurren Lagann. It has the best qualities of the various mecha anime I like (some of which came after, granted), mixes them all together in one of the most epic shows I've ever seen. WATCH IT.