I'm gonna compare Mistborn to my favorite anime here, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who made these connections.
Anyone else think this series is structured a bit like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann? Especially the first two books, but also the third.
First, I see parallels with the characters.
Kelsier :: Kamina
This one is easy to explain. Both die relatively early in the series and become mythical figures to their peers and followers. Both are bigmouthed, and this is a good thing. Both will continue to laugh and boast and postulate, no matter what kind of trouble they're in. But most importantly, their plans include doing the impossible, breaking the unbreakable, kicking reason to the curb and just DOING it.
Vin :: Simon (kinda, also a bit of Nia)
This is a bit harder, but it fits, too. Vin is Kelsier's protege, just as Simon was Kamina's, after a fashion. She ultimately is the driving force. the one who learns from her mentor (as Simon learns from his) to survive, to trust and believe, and to apply her (his) power to the situation.
Rashek :: The Spiral King
This was the easiest, as the parallel is almost perfect. The Lord Ruler is a tyrant, as is the Spiral King, but both are (were) actually protecting humanity, albeit in twisted ways, from harm and the ultimate end. Both conceived of sanctuaries for their people, hidden underground, so that they might survive the possible and probable future calamity. But for the most powerful similarity, see the Plot Elements below.
Ruin :: Anti-Spiral
This one doesn't actually have any basis in plot or plot devices. Whenever I read about Ruin taking form, I always envisioned the Anti-Spiral.
Spook :: Kittan
A second leader, after The Survivor (Kamina). Largely forgotten and ignored until the end, he invokes the same kind of mystical imagery that Kelsier did, obtaining a following. Though clearly just secondary characters, both gain the opportunity to clearly shine by displaying the power of their predecessors.
Sazed :: Rossiu
Discounting the final chapters of Hero of Ages, Sazed fits Rossiu to the letter during most of his appearances. He is faithful, but though he is logical and very intelligent, he loses sight of that faith due to a combination of significant events and his own faculty of reason. Both Sazed and Rossiu, however, regain that faith, the ability to trust in another, higher power to make things right.
Plot Points
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
Specifically, I'm talking about Vin's victory in the Lord Ruler's throne room. It almost precisely mirror's the Spiral King's defeat at the hands of Simon. The Spiral King, in oppressing his fellow humans, had kept them from incurring the wrath of the Anti-Spiral - or in the case of the Mistborn trilogy, empowering and, in the next book, being able to free Ruin - an altogether more powerful and shocking demonstration of this trope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xhwa0rrFscThe Storage Caches
Analogically, Arc-Gurren. A sanctuary for the people, a place of protection from the disasters and possibly the end of the world.
The Survivor's Death
Kamina's memory long survives his death and becomes a guiding beacon to his allies, friends, and even a few foes. This fits Kelsier's death exactly.
What do you think? Those who have seen/read both series, let me know what you think, or if I've left anything out. If you haven't seem Gurren Lagann, can you think of any other series you can relate to Mistborn?
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