Gunbuster

Gunbuster a early successful of Gainax studio in the mecha genre that I find myself get suck in the world and the characters when it touch many interesting aspect of travel through time and space and most importantly how people cope with in a world of rapid change.At first I don't find Noriko the main character to be admirable or reliable cause she spent most of her time crying and whining about how people look down on her despite clearly know why.Gunbuster don't deserve to be just a 6 episode OVA so I hope Gainax or Trigger will remake someday

Almost like a preamble for Neon Genesis Evangelion but without its too philosophical ending and with a bit of silliness. The science fiction in this is extensively researched and mostly works with the existing theories of that time even though certain liberties are taken in including some rejected theories. But it never tries to give much exposition on anything. This highly intelligent side is covered with some sappy and silly stuff too which kind of doesn't make too much sense to me. The time warping is used as the main source for emotional narrative here way before Interstellar. The details of animation and the emotion created by it is the best things about this even with all these other factors.

'Gunbuster'/'Aim for the Top' is rightfully considered a SciFi anime classic. While the epic space opera plot is somewhat reminiscent of Space Battleship Yamato, the show certainly has its unique flavour. Although the first one or two episodes are not all that serious as one may expect, the last few are a masterpiece of suspense and emotional impact. That said, the show is often sappy and even campy, somewhat one-dimensional, and certainly predictable.

Featuring two female leads is something I didn't expect from a Mech-centred anime of the late 80s. However, except for the final episode, one of those characters has an emotional breakdown at least once per episode that may very well be described as overly hysteric. Also, the women's uniforms consist of a cropped T-shirt on top of a high-leg swimsuit. Make of that what you will.

While the show features no graphic violence nor anything sexual, there is a surprising amount of bare breasts in Gunbuster. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when at the series' emotional high point one of the characters dramatically tore at her uniform and one of her boobs flopped out. C'mon, guys.

So, in total, there are more than just a few points where by modern standards you'll have to rub your neck in mild embarrassment. Other than that, Gunbuster is a surprisingly good show.

(This is based on the modern English dub, which is quite good.)

For a six episode miniseries Gunbuster (1988) is somehow able to cover all of the narrative requirements of a full length anime series. As Hideaki Anno's directorial debut some of the concepts and ideas he is well known for are explored here, though not to the same degree and scale of his more well known show "Neon Genesis Evangelion". Most of the focus of the show is placed on the continuation of the overall plot with a fair amount of time focused on the development and inner thoughts of the main character Noriko. The story is mainly focused on the idea of how light-speed travel distorts time, and based on that the show is able to deliver some memorable and emotional moments typically not found in series' of this short length. Some complaints I have with this show is how the first episode is painfully 80's (if that makes sense) and tonally doesn't transition well into the rest of the series. Another thing I didn't like is how the first instance of nudity felt very undeserved and inserted in for the sake of appealing to an older audience. Gunbuster is still however a great anime that should be used as a reference for future miniseries'.

This anime is a must-see for fans of Evangelion. It's an earlier work of Anno Hideaki, but his unrestrained, dramatic style is quite in place. Also, those who didn't like Evangelion might find this release to bit slightly more palatable. Gunbuster is rather unique to sci-fi anime in that it's actually based on real science. In fact, the show has several little "Science Lesson" interludes explaining the physics behind some of the events in the movie. One of the big dramatic points in the film is the relative passage of time at speeds near that of light. The series does a wonderful job of dealing with the imaginably traumatic experience of leaving earth on a six month mission traveling near the speed of light and returning to an Earth where ten years have passed. The main character remains age 17 or 18 throughout the entire series while almost all of the other characters age considerably. Be warned, this show is heavy on the sap at times. It also has a couple of the most wholly unmerited breast shots that I have ever seen. I found it fairly easy to ignore the skimpy uniforms and boo-hoo scenes, because the series is otherwise very good, but viewers with a low sap tolerance might want to stay away from this one. On an interesting note, Gainax, as always, managed to run out of money in the last couple of episodes. However, they managed to use black and white film and still action sketches to produce a good resolution anyway. The ending is a bit silly, but it left me with such a good feeling in my gut I couldn't help but love it. Gunbuster is, in my opinion, one of the finest pieces of Anime around.