Nia Teppelin

Infobox animanga character
color = #CC3300
name = Nia Teppelin
series = Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann


caption = The Spiral Princess/The Irregular
voiced by = Yukari Fukui (Japanese) Hynden Walch (English, Young) Bridget Hoffman (English, Old)
gender = Female
species = Human/Virtual Life-Form
occupation = Team Dai-Gurren Member Princess Anti-Spiral Messenger
aux1 = Lord Genome (father) Simon (husband) Old Coco (tutor)
aux1 name = Relationships
aux2 = Lagann Gurren-Lagann Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
aux2 name = GunmenNihongo|Nia Teppelin|ニア・テッペリン|Nia Tepperin is the lead female character of the anime and manga series, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann. A mysterious young girl found sleeping in a capsule in the middle of a dump site by Simon, one week after Kamina's death. She had no prior contact with humans, except her father, who is also the sovereign of the Beastmen, the Spiral King. She is very curious, pure and innocent, due to growing up sheltered in a peaceful environment, away from all the battles occurring in the outside world. Despite early misgivings, she is quickly accepted by Team Dai-Gurren, much to the (initial) irking of Yoko. [Gainax (2007). Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann anime, Episode 12] During her journey, she develops a strong empathy towards Simon and grows to be his fiancé.

Etymology

Nia's name comes from the English word "near", referring to her tendency to be close to Simon.

Description

As a young girl, Nia showcased a petite body. Her most defining features are her flower-shaped red pupils on her blue irises and her cloudlike blue and yellow hair.

History

After her encounters with Divine Generals Adiane and Guame, she comes to an understanding of the reason Simon found her outside the palace, being forsaken by her father after she started attaining her own will and self-consciousness, as he considered his offspring merely toys to play with as dolls, and decides to join The Team Dai-Gurren as a cook (even though her cooking is unbearable to anybody but Simon) in order to confront her father. In the final battle with Lord Genome, she boards Lagann with Simon and aids him in the destruction of Lord Genome.

Seven years after the war with the Beastmen, Nia receives a marriage proposal from Simon. She refuses at first, after her bubbly contrived logic causes her to misunderstand his words, but after receiving counseling from Kiyoh and Kiyal, she decides to accept. As predicted by Lord Genome, when the population limit is reached, a mysterious force takes control of her body, and her hidden identity as the Anti-Spiral's messenger awakens. Appearing before the population of the planet, she broadcasts the intention of the Human Extermination System, proclaiming that the moon will collide with the Earth in three weeks, bringing the city to a panic. Her body is entirely unchanged, with the only differences being a black skin-tight suit and her narrowed, menacing eyes with dark irises. She reveals to Simon that her memories as a human still remain, but after realizing who she really is and seeing the pointlessness of human progress, her entire personality radically changes and she declares her past as long lost fiction.

According to her, the Anti-Spirals purpose is to bring mankind into ultimate despair by letting them struggle to the very end, right before their inevitable destruction. Nevertheless, by still wearing the engagement ring Simon gave to her from her own will, she comes to the discovery that unconsciously her original feelings always remained as strong as ever. When Simon points out that the true intention of the trial she set up for mankind was to create a resistance against the Anti-Spirals, she reverts to her old self. However, just as he catches a glimpse of the old Nia, she is teleported to the Anti-Spirals' homeworld, and Simon vows to rescue her.When Nia becomes an Anti-Spiral, her body structure changes to be the same as the Anti-Spiral mecha, meaning that if she is harmed, her body could explode just like the Mugens. Unfortunately, it is her Anti-Spiral structure that seals her destiny. After the Anti-Spiral homeworld is destroyed, her body fades away soon after, during her wedding ceremony with Simon. In the epilogue, a memorial site is seen in her honor, located right next to Kamina's burial ground.

One small inside joke that happens to present itself during the series both before and after the time-skip was that during the two times she is captured (first by Guame and then by the Anti-Spiral) she will keep a fiercely optimistic attitude (saying with a straight face that she won't die even though Guame has a gun pointed at her face or courageously declaring Simon won't fail in saving her as the Anti-Spiral starts dissolving her structure) only to tear up the moment Simon comes to save her.

References