Gunbuster

Original Title: トップをねらえ! GunBuster
Romanized: Toppu wo Nerae! GunBuster
Literal: Aim for the Top! Gunbuster

Plot Synopsis

In the very near future, a race of huge, insect-like aliens is discovered traveling the galaxy. These aliens seem dedicated to the eradication of the human species as it takes its first steps away from the solar system, and they are getting closer and closer to Earth. Humanity has responded by developing space-going battleships and giant fighting robots (original idea there). These robots are piloted by the best and brightest of Earth's youth, picked from training schools around the world.

Our story begins in the year 2023, not long after the first battles with the aliens, and centers on young Noriko Takaya. Although Noriko's father was a famous Captain in the space fleet who was killed during one of the first battles of the war, her own talents as a pilot are questionable. Nonetheless, she has entered a training school. Joined by the beautiful and talented Kazumi Amano, Noriko will fight to overcome the trauma of war, the doubts of her peers, and her own lack of confidence.

Quick Review

Rating: 4 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2005-11-15

Gunbuster is an unusual but impressive anime classic. It is often overlooked in favor of Gainax's later Evangelion, for which Gunbuster served as something of the prototype. It starts out as a mostly-silly parody of girl's sports anime, but develops into so much more that it is worth seeing through to the end. If you look past the unevenness, melodrama, and occasional experimental failure, the characters are emotionally involving, the story is exciting and substantial, the attention to sci-fi detail is commendable, and the whole thing just works as both entertainment and sly war drama.

Those who can't stomach shoujo-like style should probably stay away, but it is a must-see for both mecha anime fans and anyone who can appreciate a creative twist on a classic genre.

US DVD Review

No US-release DVD exists as of this writing, but Banidai has one planned for early 2007.

There is a UK-only DVD available from Manga, which unfortunately uses the low-quality video masters from the VHS release, and has a small edit in episode 2.

Content Guide

As a whole the series would rank 13-up, even if it doesn't look like it at first, although the extended bath scene in episode 2 probably pushes it into 16-up territory.

Violence: 2 - Never graphic, but there's a great deal of death and destruction.

Nudity: 2 - One extended bath scene in part 2, and one or two bits elsewhere (plus a lot of skimpy uniforms).

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Some hints at romance, but nothing physical.

Language: 1 - Nothing noteworthy.

Notes and Trivia

Gunbuster has had a number of spin-offs over the years. Aim for the Top 2!, a not-really-sequel OAV series also by Gainax, is nearing the end of its run in Japan. There is also a 2005 PS2 Gunbuster game closely based on the original. Looking a bit farther back, there was a one-volume comic anthology of weird side stories (not available in English as of this writing), though no proper manga version exists.

On an unrelated note, it's interesting that the original Japanese VHS release of Gunbuster featured two episodes (and one science lesson) per volume, almost unheard of for OAVs. It was also shown on Japanese TV in 1989, shortly after its video release. A remastered DVD version was released in Japan in 2004. The original 1990 VHS release in the US, by U.S. Renditions, was among the earliest English-subtitled anime releases. (It showed--the first volume featured giant subtitle text.)

Gunbuster contains a number of parodies and references ranging from obvious to obscure. A few I found interesting: The "Tannhauser Gate" mentioned in one science lesson is a reference to the movie Blade Runner--Rutger Hauer's character Roy mentions such a thing in recollecting his time in space. The title, "Top wo Nerae!" ("Aim for the Top!"), is a reference to the popular tennis anime and manga "Ace wo Nerae!" ("Aim for the Ace!"), of which the early part of the series is a direct parody substituting giant robots for tennis. The overall plot has also been said to be inspired by Starship Troopers, the novel by Robert J. Heinlein (the more recent movie and spin-offs are loosely based on it). Finally, Smith Toren is named for Toren Smith, a major figure in the early (and more recent) anime industry in the US. He also voiced a background character in one episode.

As someone with a physics degree, I'm in a position to comment on the realism of the science, so a couple of thoughts for those interested. The relativistic time dilation effect is a real phenomenon: In traveling to distant parts of space it would be entirely likely to find yourself moving away from Earth at speeds near the speed of light, which causes time to pass more slowly relative to those back on Earth and would produce a cumulative effect of years of missed time upon your return. The only flaw is the part where they are traveling to Pluto at near-light speeds; the basic idea is fine, except for the fact that Pluto is only about 5 1/2 light-hours from Earth, so that's the most time they could've "missed." Had they been traveling at speeds close enough to light for time dilation to be noticeable, the months that passed would have taken them well out of the solar system. The faster-than-light travel is of course not realistic (as far as we know), but they do mention the starbow effect. Although a starbow wouldn't actually be visible to the naked eye, it would theoretically appear during near-light-speed travel.

Availability

Currently not available in the US, but Bandai has picked up the license and has a box set of the whole series scheduled for release in February, 2007 under their Honneamise label. You can pre-order it now from RightStuf.

Was previously available in the US on three subtitled VHS volumes from Manga Video, now out of production. It was originally available in the same form from the defunct U.S. Renditions, and the rights may have passed through Central Park Media in between.

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