(no subject)
Personality
Kamina is manly and gar. He's loud, spirited, fiery, loud, hot-headed, confident, loud and steadfast. He speaks of himself in very high regard, takes it upon himself to lead others into battle and does everything he can to keep his shoulders squared, his back strong and straight and a grin on his face. He has a short temper, and doesn't hold back his words in the least; he doesn't hesitate to speak his mind when the matter is important to him, he doesn't trip and stumble over words and he never pulls his punches. He considers the people he knows as family, and strives to protect them at any cost.
Because of his usually boisterous attitude, it's easy to forget that Kamina has a serious side, and does question himself and his decisions. Because of a poor choice he made when he was much smaller, he strives to be strong, confident and powerful like he remembers his father being, but there are times when he can't do much in the situation. This almost never stops him though; the times he spends panicking or afraid are few and far apart, and he almost immediately recovers with the strength of his incredible will. It's nigh impossible to break a spirit as strong as his.
However, what a lot of people don't know is that Kamina draws much of his strength from Simon. He sees in the younger boy potential that nobody else acknowledges until much later; he trusts Simon with everything and anything, and will do everything he can to support him. When Simon is unsure of himself, Kamina backs him up with a strong voice and even stronger resolve, putting every last scrap of faith into Simon, that he'll somehow make it work when Kamina couldn't. He can even be cited in the series saying, "Simon always saves me," referring specifically to a time when they were caught in a cave in. All Kamina could do was grin and act confident and strong for the frightened victims, and he encouraged Simon, who eventually dug them out. Kamina trusts Simon with everything he has, and when Simon loses faith in himself or slips, Kamina is there to right him again, with an inspiring speech or, if necessary, a punch to the jaw and a slap to the back.
Kamina is also perhaps a bit more thoughtful than he lets on; there are rare occasions -very rare- where he doesn't say exactly what he's thinking, or does something that doesn't make sense. An example of this is his submission to the Chief of Jiha when he's beaten and locked away. Kamina shows that he can easily break out/defend himself, and yet he doesn't. Why is this? My personal theory is that Kamina understands that it is for the greater good if he accepts his punishments from the Chief without much of a battle. It gives the Chief an outlet, and perhaps spares the other villagers -particularly Simon- of his ire. This -along with Kamina's insistance on protecting his comrades from harm- fuels the theory that perhaps Kamina subconsciously accepts the role as the martyr; dying for the good cause, being the scapegoat because he can take the brunt of the blows and still roll with the punches well enough to get back up with a grin.
History
Kamina is from the underground village of Jiha during a time when all humans lived underground, and the surface was merely a rumor. When Kamina was very small, his father brought him to the surface and asked him to go with him. However, because he was afraid, he chose to remain underground, a choice he lives to regret as he grows older. So he spends his time in Jiha causing trouble, recruiting the other kids into his "Gurren Brigade" and finding ways to break out of the village and to the surface world above. He is constantly getting into trouble with the village Chief, who takes out his frustrations on Kamina and even beats him occasionally. Kamina never lifts a finger against the Chief in retaliation, though, and his patience pays off when one day the ceiling collapses and two things fall in that change his life forever; a giant mech called a "ganmen," and a pretty girl with a huge, electric-powered sniper rifle.
After that, with Simon’s power Kamina, Simon and the girl -Yoko- break up into the surface world, and the struggle to remain above ground begins, plagued by frequent attacks from their enemies, “Beastmen.” Kamina takes control of an enemy mecha that resembles a devil’s face, renaming it “Gurren,” and combining with the mecha Simon found underground -“Lagann”- to create a champion team that fights for the freedom of humans. Along the way he encounters several times a semi-rival beastman named Viral who pilots his formidable ganmen, Enki. He also makes allies, such as Kittan and his three sisters and Rossiu.
Kamina and his comrades learn of the beastman’s base, the Dai-Ganzan via the homing device inside of Gurren and decide to take over the walking fortress. Leeron -a mechanic of questionable gender- Yoko, Rossiu, Dari, Gimi, Simon and he head off to take it over, and receive reinforcements in the form of other humans stealing ganmen, just as Kamina had done before. With their new allies, they launch a full-scale attack on the Dai-Ganzan, aiming to distract their forces long enough for Simon to connect his Lagann and take over the Dai-Ganzan’s systems. Simon, however, lacks the confidence necessary and can’t concentrate, so Kamina rushes to his side and punches some sense back into him. Shortly thereafter he is attacked by Thymilph -the commander of the ship- and Viral and mortally wounded. Simon, thinking Kamina had died, goes berserk, his Spiral power flying out of control and even going as far as making a nearby volcano erupt. Kamina returns to talk some sense into Simon and they combine into Gurren Lagann, killing Thymilph and successfully regaining control of the Dai-Ganzan. However, the strain is too much and just as the battle is concluded, Kamina dies.