Short Answer: Yoko likes Simon because to her, he is interesting. This led to her starting to have feelings for him but the feeling is somewhat superficial only. She also finds comfort in Simon. However, Yoko’s feelings changed as the series progressed. This may be due to the different happenings and instances that happened in the story.
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If you want to find out the details about Yoko and Simon, keep reading and let’s find out together.
Yoko and Simon before Kamina’s death.
Yoko is the adventurous yet modest type of female in the series. She is confident in her abilities in battle and is seen to be a protective person, especially towards her friends and allies. Yoko met Simon when she was attacking a gunmen that had landed in a subterranean village. During the time she spent with him before Kamina’s death, she noticed that he was quite interesting. She found him shy yet compassionate; cowardly yet finds resolve. Unfortunately for Simon though, Yoko’s feelings for hi, gradually grew less and less. This is because of how Yoko kept getting disappointed in Simon not finding the courage to jump into battle when the need for it arose. Battle after battle, Simon kept getting overshadowed by Kamina and sooner than later, Yoko developed feelings for Kamina leaving Simon as just a friend for Yoko.
Yoko kissed Kamina on the night before the battle. Kamina then kissed Yoko back and promised to return the feeling ten times over after the battle. Simon, seeing the kiss, was devastated and lost focus during the battle. Kamina had to jump over to Simon and punched him hard to regain his focus. This is understandable though in Simon’s case as he never had any good impression of the females from his village and he thought he would have a chance with Yoko.
Yoko and Simon after Kamina’s death
Both Yoko and Simon were devastated when Kamina died but, it affected Simon more as he was the
closest to him. For Yoko, of course, it was more heartbreaking given that Kamina’s promise would not be fulfilled. Yoko’s love for him would not be returned anymore. Yoko coped with her sadness as she was more mature than Simon. She was also seen to be aggressive towards Nia as she loosely mentions Kamina (during a conversation) and she was the daughter of the Spiral King Lord genome. In Simon’s case, however, it destroyed him as he lost his considered “brother” (adopted brother as they were never related). He regressed, to a point, whereby he did some digging type of work (sculpting a Kamina figure using his drill).
At this point in time, Yoko would develop a sisterly bond with Simon to help him recover and cope with Kamina’s death. Simon also gradually noticed Nia and develop feelings for her. Yoko initially had resentment towards Nia and feels competitive towards her but let go of this after the team had defeated Adiane and Elegant. Yoko and Nia became friends afterward.
How do they see each other?
I think we can all agree that both Yoko and Simon, in the earlier part of the series, had the same
interests and feelings for each other. Again, this chemistry did not develop as unfortunately for Simon, Yoko’s feelings towards him grew less and less as she became more attracted towards Kamina. The relationship between the two, however, became like siblings with Yoko as the elder sister helping Simon (initially to recover from Kamina’s death). Yoko understood that she needed to step up and be Simon’s “sister” as Simon is still growing and developing himself.
In a way, Simon unconsciously accepted the fact that Yoko became his sister. It may not be the same vibe as how Kamina was to him but she was a new pillar for him to lean on when he times were rough. He knew that he could always count on her when he was down. It’s not surprising they because as close as siblings though because for Simon, Yoko is one of his most trusted and closest friends.
Their goals
It was never mentioned nor specified what Yoko’s goals were at the start of the series. However, it
was implied that one of her goals was to fight off gunmen. During the first episode, we learn that Yoko was from a neighboring subterranean village and that village fends of Gunmen with their guns they make themselves. This may also be a factor on why Yoko was first seen attacking the gunmen using a rifle (a means for her to engage in combat). As for Simon though, his initial goal (as with Kamina) was to dig deeper into the earth so the space of their village would expand. Simon and Kamina were previously diggers in their village.
Their goals would only evolve from individual to more team-centric as their fates (Yoko and Simon with Kamina) intertwined. And it would later grow exponentially as newer team members and allies were added. This is noticeable as team Gurren-Lagann would initially fight individual gunmens to a small group. Then, it would later be explained and realized that they would have to fight the Spiral King and his vast group of beastmen and gunmens.
You would definitely be amazed at how exponential their goals (and achievements) have become. From dreaming of expanding their subterranean village(s) and fighting of gunmens (and beastmen) to actually forming their large and progressive city named Kamina City. Key characters of the series also have their major roles in running the city – from peacekeeping to politics, to run the military, and even to science, technology and education. In the twist of things, however, Yoko and Simon would have similar thinking on how they would end up doing in their lives (Yoko being seen already during the seven-year time skip). Yoko decides to become a school teacher (later is seen to become a principal) as she may not want to dive into politics and so. Simon, after getting married to Nia and losing her at the same time, decides to leave everything and became a hermit (implied). One of his last line was “… Me, I am Simon, the Digger. There’s someone better suited to go through the tunnels I dug”.
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Our Final Thoughts
Yoko likes Simon but not in the same way as she did when they first met. She even supported Simon’s love for Nia despite the ending. This was a key part of the story so she can help Simon develop himself. Yoko will always be there for Simon (and the team) as she is still deeply caring and protective of her team and allies. This can also be noticed in how she treats her students.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article, you can click here to check out more of our articles about Gundam and Mecha!