Gunbuster, the influential anime, is finally watchable in the West

The only way to save mankind from the giant aliens is with giant mechs. A teenager struggling with self-confidence pilots the mech that is most important.

The title of this article might be familiar to fans of legendary anime. Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it’s not. It’s actually GunbusterThe legendary mech series Evangelion HideakiAnno, the series’ creator. This 1988 OVA six-episode series served as a foundational title both for Gainax studio and Anno. It set the standard for what audiences could expect from Gainax’s epic mech battles, high-concept science fiction, and plentiful fan service. GunbusterGainax’s first profitable game, Anno, gave Anno and Gainax the confidence to take on more difficult projects like Evangelion. Without GunbusterIf there were no Evangelion.

While it doesn’t have the reputation of Anno’s more lauded masterpiece, Gunbuster’s influence can be seen throughout Gainax’s catalog, as it contains the foundation for all the tropes and ideas that would come to define the studio. GunbusterIt is now being released for the very first time in high definition and with an English dub. The influence of this anime has been felt in all forms since its first release in Japan.

After working for several years on Royal Space Force – The Wings of HonneamiseAnno had just finished his big next project and was looking for inspiration when he stumbled upon a script for a series of OVAs that would later become Gunbuster. He was intrigued by the script’s correlation to the classic Japanese fairy tale of Urashima Taro, which tells the story of a fisherman who spends a few days with a princess, only to discover 100 years have passed. According to studio Khara’s biography of Anno, “Anno was moved to tears by the script.”

But Anno wasn’t thinking of the story as strictly a fairy tale. GunbusterIt was necessary to develop that idea to make it the powerful giant we know today. So the show evolved into a mixture of some of the influences at the time. Gunbuster has the competitive spirit, peer idolization, and blossoming romance from Osamu Dezaki’s tennis shoujo classic The Ace is in the Air! Combine the military-focused training with elite training to create a powerful combination. Top Gun. And Anno didn’t stop there, throwing in other elements to up the action quota, like giant mechs, a strict military code, and interstellar combat.

Gainax

Gainax

Gainax

Noriko and Gunbuster’s DNA is all over Shinji and his self-doubt.

The same as EvangelionThe influence of Gunbuster’s story is clear. Noriko has all the self-doubt, anxiety and fear that would shape. Evangelion’s Shinji. Like that character arc, Noriko has to face her fears and grow, because she’s not expected to become another adult, but rather the person responsible for saving humanity. Training sequences that are right out of RockyNoriko is determined to achieve her goal by all means. Noriko may have the physique to excel in her class but she lacks the skills required for the combat mech suits.

There are many who enjoy the show. GunbusterThe most famous scenes of this movie are those that feature faster-than-light traveling. Every time Noriko and her upperclassman Kazumi Amano enter lightspeed travel, they’re made aware of the time dilation that will occur due to their travels; years will pass for everyone else in what will feel like days to them. While recent movies like Pixar’s Lightyear and Christopher Nolan’s InterstellarThe time dilation trope has been popularized and given a new edge to the show, which could have easily been categorized as an anime parody.

Noriko and Kazumi must travel into the depths of a black hole to unleash humanity’s greatest chance against the space aliens. Time will take on a new meaning, and it might be thousands of years before they’re able to return to Earth. What might Earth be like in the future? It would be worth going back to the past if you lost everything that was familiar? The idea of young women flying giant robots is both heady and poignant, particularly when you consider the joyous fanfare which defines much of Gunbuster’s earlier episodes. Having survived their great ordeal, when Noriko and Kazumi inevitably return to Earth hundreds of years later, it’s hard to imagine anyone not tearing up at the end.

That final mission foreshadowed Anno’s tinkering with animation styles, as it was presented in black and white, and featured still images where combat would typically be animated. Gainax’s decision to use still images instead of animation was often questioned. Given Anno’s later discussions about the series and how he experimented elsewhere, it’s easier to imagine this was international. As the fate of the galaxy is at stake, elaborate sketches fill the screen while composer Kohei Tanaka’s soothing orchestral music plays under the action. Black-and-white gives the film a vintage newsreel look, similar to what you would see in multiplexes between the 1920s and the 1970s.

Many thanks GunbusterAnno was known for his avant-garde experiments. In the two final episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, mixing still animation and voice-over with “Komm Susser Tod” playing over disturbing crayon drawings.

As one of a handful of mech series to do so in the mid-’80s, GunbusterThe mecha series featured a predominantly female cast, and the fan service was redefined. Like other titles like Battle Angel AlitaOVAs allowed more freedom for the ecchi format, as they were not bound to TV standard. The mechs and aliens are not the only ones who fight in space. Gunbuster didn’t hesitate to delve into plentiful sexualized fan service. Gunbuster was able to show its heroines topless and even went a step further, defining a new term — the “Gainax Bounce” or “Gainaxing,” the unnatural movement of breasts in anime. In the opening credits, you can see this exaggerated (and absurd) movement. GunbusterNoriko is walking towards the viewer. It became Gainax’s signature, showing up in later anime like Gurren Lagann with its heroine Yoko Littner, as well as in Gainax successor Studio Trigger’s anime — not to mention non-Gainax or -Trigger shows, like The High School of the DeafThe following are some examples of how to get started: Food Wars,Many others followed suit.

Gainax

Gainaxing was not the only term used. GunbusterThe anime vocabulary would be enriched by the addition of this pose. First seen in the fourth episode, the “Gainax Pose” is an iconic pose in which the protagonist is seen with their arms crossed. The first time the audience gets a glimpse of the ultimate mech Gunbuster in action, it’s seen in the Gainax Pose. Whenever Noriko strikes the Gainax Pose, it signifies that she’s reached another level of determination and signals her intent before unleashing hell upon the enemy. The pose itself isn’t enough to define the action as a Gainax Pose, as the character must be making the action at a pivotal turning point in the anime, the scene must include strong visual effects, and they must be filled with strong determination. It has become a part of everyday life. GunbusterGainax is also seen in anime like DiebusterThe following are some examples of how to get started: Gurren LagannStudio Trigger is the first series to feature a. Kill la Kill.

Gainaxing, and especially the Gainax pose have become synonymous with Gainax. They also seem to be taking on their own life. Gainax’s work was influential to other studios, who used Gainaxing as a means of creating more emotional content while not provoking censors. It would inadvertently help define anime as something for adults for much of the ’90s. Diebuster revitalized the Gainax Pose in the early ’00s, and some fans latched onto drawing characters outside of Gainax’s catalog in the signature pose. Even the characters from Trigger’s Cyberpunk: EdgerunnersAll of this can be traced to Gunbuster. These innovations have kept the industry moving forward, in good times and bad. GunbusterIt has remained in the hearts and minds of fans long beyond its original intentions.

Yet still, GunbusterThese hooks resonated beyond the flashy ones. Even with giant mechs and the ability to fly through space with ease, the one thing Noriko can’t have more of is time. Whether that’s time lost with her late father or experiencing her adolescence, it’s one thing she’ll never get back. This dilemma makes Noriko’s plight easy to relate to, and when her determination shines like a beacon in the darkness, casting aside the disappointments in her life, you’ll believe this young woman can save the galaxy. Anno’s work at Gainax began as a parody on a classic sports drama. It evolved into an essay about the fragility of time, and what it can mean to be alive. The OVA series paved the way for trends that would come to define projects made by Gainax throughout its history — both lewd and large — and continue to influence anime to this day. GunbusterIt is not a hit because it has a lot of fans, or time dilation. Or that its mark on the history of anime. It is a success because of all these things, and much more. Where else could you find a lightning kick signature that determines the destiny of the entire universe?