Simon is the very embodiment of the phrase "zero to hero". Well, he didn't start out as a zero per-se, but was greatly overshadowed by Kamina for the first 8 episodes or so. Despite being the only one capable of controlling the Lagann, the Dai-Gurren brigade didn't really pay him any mind until he proved himself, and he did that in one of the flashiest ways possible. Take a look at one of the most badass, influential, encouraging, inspirational scenes in anime (skip to around 18:50, sorry I couldn't find a short clip).
There have been very few scenes that have given me goosebumps like this, and even less since I became an adult. When I see this scene, I think to myself "maybe the world isn't so bad". Even coming from a child, determination like that is contagious. Any anime fan unaffected by a scene so full of energy and optimism can only be a miserable person.
His skills improve greatly as he enters adulthood. Becoming an even more capable captain than even Kamina, Simon goes on to fight the anti-spirals in an epic battle on a scope even greater than that of Dragon Ball Z. Seriously, we see galaxies get thrown around like they're nothing by the end of the series. With his spiral power, Simon is able to do something humans were never thought capable of doing; defeat the anti-spirals.
While Kamina had a part in it, Simon is what caused me to cross into the uncharted waters of the mecha genre, a category I cared very little about if at all before this series. Thank you for giving me the strength to survive college and inevitably graduate (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but who cares!)
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