Score: 6
This is a review of the 1988 OVA series Gunbuster. Be sure to also read my review of Diebuster, the second part of the Aim For The Top! series. I had never seen either before so I decided that watching both, one after the other, would be a great way to witness the progress of Gainax as a studio and perhaps to observe trends in the anime genre at large. After all, Gainax's productions has always had a certain effect on the industry. This is the one that started it all for this studio, so it's importance is inarguable.
I feel like the Aim For the Top! series fits into the category of media in which the original was a cult phenomenon that gained critical appreciation over time, and when the sequel finally came out much later, there was no way it could live up to the unrealistic expectations placed on it. Another recent example of this is the Tron sequel that was just released. For something like Tron or Gunbuster, their fandom has become something of an institution- something that has far reaching implications in the rest of the medium. They have been attributed with pioneering and shifting tropes that exist to this day. Like the more popular Evangelion, Gunbuster is seen by many anime appreciators as a series that was ahead of it's time, heavily nuanced and far deeper than it may seem from a glance. To what degree should we attribute this to actual quality, as opposed to nostalgia? As we know, nostalgia can cloud our perceptions of things. As a viewer with no sense of nostalgia, this should be an unbiased comparison of both Aim For The Top! series.
Gunbuster was Hideaki Anno's debut as a director and in many people's opinions, it is the first real reveal into the mind of a man who is one of the greatest ever to grace the anime genre (a sentiment I would agree with). I'll say right here that if you are looking for an expertly paced, beautifully twisted, life altering experience on par with Evangelion, you will probably be disappointed. Gunbuster does not set it's goals and stakes nearly as high. So, in a way, Gunbuster is the smaller, more simplistic prototype of the masterpiece which was yet to be told.
This is only a six episode series and there is very little time for the subtle character development found in Eva. However, it is very noticeable that Anno MAKES as much time as possible, even at the cost of much explanation of the setting and plot itself. Like Evangelion, it is very clear that while the story could easily focus on the stunningly rendered sci-fi world, it would rather spend time in the minds of the main characters, searching for what it is that makes them tick. I have absolutely no qualms with this approach but there are a couple nagging issues that don't work in it's favor. Length is one. There is simply not enough time to develop anyone other than Noriko. In Evangelion, we got to really get inside the heads of five or six characters. Here there is just one or two (you could maybe argue that Amano counts). The other thing is that the main character, Noriko is simply not as deep and multifaceted as some of Anno's later characters. Her motivations are pretty two-dimensional. That being said, she is still deeper than the majority of anime characters. She is almost a more simplistic representation of the themes that were later fleshed through Shinji Ikari in Evangelion. She is given a seemingly impossible task despite very little experience, the fate of humanity rests on her shoulders and she has a very hard time with this, she is desperate to be accepted and loved. She has deep insecurities about abandonment and self-worth. The only thing that is lacking is a sense of maturity in storytelling of knowing how a character would actually behave and react in given situations. You can see the raw emotion that went into this character but there is very little restraint and subtlety. So, Noriko is perhaps a perfect personification of this series- ambitious and filled with volatile emotion, displaying hints of some great untapped potential. Noriko is a great character to discuss. However, she is unfortunately the only really developed character in the series. The only one that even comes close is Amano, Noriko's idol. Her most discernible quality is the tendency to be utterly two-faced. A sort of Asuka Langley Soryu prototype shows up too, in the form of Jung Freud. (haha get it? Anno likes psychology) It would have been nice to see more of her too. There is nothing to set her apart from any other hot-headed pilot. It's hard to knock Gunbuster for it's characters though. After all, it is only six episodes long. Although better characterization can be seen in just as short a span of time (FLCL, much later), it is an admirable and impassioned early try.
Okay, so… art style. It looks dated. No way around it. Compared to the quality of animation in say, Diebuster, it looks pretty uneven. Where as Diebuster comes off as a culmination of everything Gainax had done up to that point, Gunbuster has the visual look of something in it's insecure infancy. You can see vague traces of what would come to be known as the Gainax style, (female character designs, jiggle, interesting robot ideas) but you really have to search for them. For the most part, the characters, animation and designs look generic. Not bad, just a lack of that certain exaggerated visual flair found in later productions. The music is notable for being far more produced and expertly done in many places than the visuals. The theme song for when the Gunbuster machine first makes an appearance is a relatively famous piece of music that is both instantly recognizable and invigorating. Other orchestral pieces are found throughout and are extremely effective at conveying the emotion of the series. The 80's style OP and ED just sound dated unfortunately- they remind me a bit too much of 80's montage music.
Gunbuster was Gainax's first take on the giant robot genre, originally made popular by the likes of Gundam and Macross. It serves as a unique and interesting take on the concept, with a heightened sense of personal drama and inner turmoil. Iv'e said it already, but this series should really be longer. It is just too grand a story to be crammed down into six episodes. This problem could have been potentially solved had the sequel, Diebuster, been a continuation or embellishment of the story instead of an update… Stick around for the review.
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