User reviews

The original Gunbuster, or Top o Nerae! Gunbuster, is a classic, it was very much in the tradition of the then current space opera and sci-fi anime of the time. The uniqueness of that series was that was just a setting, not related to any of the themes such as love, war, friendship, and personal growth. It was animated life with more giant robots than usual.

Well, it has been around 20 years or so, and it has taken Top o Nerae 2! aka Diebuster, to finish its run. Was it good? Yes! Fans may wonder how this likes up to its original, and for once a sequel is actually comparable. The series structure of having a story of personal relationships amidst the backdrop of a space war with an invincible insectoid enemy is still here. Also is the fanservice. Heh.

There are a great many things to appreciate that make Diebuster stand out on its own as well. The primary one being the gorgeous visuals. It is very reminiscent of Re:Cutey Honey. Possibly what one can expect from Gainax for years to come, as well as being a far cry for its prior series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Music is good, as are effects and pacing. Characters too are solid, this is character oriented after all, but there is one little hitch. There is an almost need to have seen Gunbuster as there are subtle elements of Diebuster that will be incomprehensible without seeing the original, new fans however should not be discouraged, the connection, though not as subtle as one would like, does not completely hamper the enjoyment of the show.

Top o Nerae 2! Diebuster is a great series, one that I can see fans looking back on and considering the two series together as one unified classic. It is a worthy follow up. Take a chance. Go watch.

I sincerely don't get what was the point of this series, which is the reason why I refused to watch it for so much time even with my love for the first FIVE episodes of the mecha classic Gunbuster (the last one is completely unwatchable, IMHO). Ok, the fanservice is great, the continuos throwbacks to the original series are great, I even like the Kamen Rider quip, but this has NOTHING to do with Gunbuster which wasn't just a fanservice thing but it was a glorious attempt in vein of Gundam and the likes to make the mecha genre more earthbound by inserting space-travel physics and logics like the effect of light travel etc. Etc. While also tastefully gathering to the drooling masses of sexualized Otakus. In here, that's not what happens: here what happens is a series of completely unrelated scenes with clear-as-day influences taken from Evangelion, a completely non-existant story and superhero stuff that has no place to be in a sequAl to Gunbuster, cliché stuff good for the people who might be interested in buying Frame Arms Girls but not fans of the original series. Again, what was the point? Don't bother, it's absolutely not worth it.