In this universe humans have mastered the technology capable to travel at light speed and warp objects through space. However, humanity is challenged by a species of space-traveling aliens which sole purpose is rid the universe of humans. The brightest and strongest students around the world are tasked with the job of piloting giant robots and joining alongside the army and its battleships to fend of the aliens.
Throughout the series we will watch along as Noriko struggles to overcome the death of those she loves, her lack of self-esteem, and of course, the invading alien army.
Mainly due to its short run-time, Gunbuster is not able to develop its character's personalities and motivations as thoroughly as other series in the genre have done. Nevertheless, the show is able to tell a compelling story about sacrifice, relationships, and self-worth. It doesn't limit itself by explaining all of the details, but instead decides to take big leaps in space and time (literally and figuratively) to tell a more grandiose story than a detailed character study.
Our main protagonist, Noriko Takaya, starts at out as a weak and emotionally unstable pilot. The death of her father and the constant harassment from other students have made her think of herself as worthless in combat, even if she has a desire to avenge her father. However, through hard work and support from Kouichirou Oota (I will be referring to him as Coach), Noriko is able to train herself to be able to pilot the mobile suits (and the Gunbuster) expertly. These first episodes revolve around this narrative, common in sports anime. One about overcoming your own self-doubt and proving others your abilities, an underdog story. We can even see a change in spirit from Noriko's past bully, Reiko, as she now admires her for her dedication and skill. Now she has been given a place in the Luxion, but she will still need to overcome the death of her father and find motivation in her duty to protect Earth.
The middle portion of the show focuses on establishing the motivations and relationships between our main characters. Kazumi and Jung, although rivals, do not see each other as enemies and are able to develop off each other. Even if they are both looking for Coach's love, no two people can live the same life and they try not to fight each other. However, they do not treat Noriko as an equal. She still has no experience in real space combat and is not trusted by the rest of the pilots to a point were Kazumi rejects being her partner. Enter, Smith Toren, an eccentric guy that offers a helping hand to the defeated Noriko. He is a light of hope in Noriko's life, and this causes her to fall in love with him. Sadly, Smith is killed in their first and only battle together due to Noriko's inability to support her partner, caused by her self-doubt. Smith's death serves as the catalyst for Noriko's development. She decides to not let anyone else die because of her and to trust in her own abilities. This resolve is what permits her pilot the Gunbuster and save her friends in a battle against the aliens and regain the trust of her team.
This section of the story can be the most empowering for the characters and the viewer a like, for we see the biggest change in all of the characters involved. However, the various times Kazumi and Jung change between liking and disliking Noriko is confusing and troublesome. Even so, these problems are minor due to the strong finale of the series.
The last events of the series focus on sacrifice and duty. Kazumi and Noriko have now in front of them the hardest task yet, defeating the space aliens once and for all: humanity's last effort to survive. Our heroines will have to sacrifice themselves to detonate the Gunbuster 3 (a blackhole bomb) and end the space aliens. These two have sacrificed so much to accomplish their missions thus far, and now they will have to do so again. Everyone they know and/or love will die in 12,000 years they spent traveling back to earth. However, it will not be in vain, they have sucesfully protected humanity.
It is in the last episode that the idea that maybe humanity should not aspire to survive, and simply submit to the aliens. Maybe humanity should not disturb the universe with its problems, and let the universe remain peacefully? This theme is not developed to its own potential and it serves mostly to provide Kazumi with a form of conviction, not wanting to technically commit suicide by submitting to the aliens. It would have been interesting to see our characters struggle with this question a little more.
I should also mention how expertly Gunbuster is able to use its setting and premise to explore with various concepts and themes, instead of just being a facade for another story. It is true that mecha anime isn't really about the robots fighting other big creatures/robots, but the mechas are a medium to tell a compelling story with exciting fights. However, Gunbuster is much more than just that. Only mediocre shows are not able to exploit its setting/premise to its full potential. Gainax used the idea of traveling at light speed and the theory of relativity to create character drama and emotional (mostly bittersweet) scenes. As previously discussed, our place in the universe is also questioned. Also, even if all of the technology used in the show may seem impossible to re-create, the creators made sure to give just enough scientific explanations to everything (except the actual Gunbuster) to make believable; even if they utilized out-dated concepts such as the aether. This is most notable in the black hole bombs, spaceships, warp, and light speed travel.
I should briefly mention that the dialogue was pretty decent. It was simple, yes, but it didn't hurt the show in my opinion.
Welcome Home
The sound department isn't anything great, but is competent at least. The soundtrack didn't stick with me unlike other shows from Gainax or in the mecha genre, such as Mobile Suit Gundam. However, the mix between instrumental (typical of sci-fi, especially the use of trumpets) and synth tracks was pretty nice. In regards to sound effects and voice acting, I cannot really say much since I am not experienced in noticing what is good and what is bad sound effects/voice acting.
Nevertheless, the real highlight of the show is in its animation and visual directing. Even if it appears to be "just another mecha anime", its characters, settings, and robots/spaceships are unique enough to differentiate itself. The space battles are cool and enjoyable, but are not the best in the genre when compared to stuff like Gurren Lagann and Gundam.
Its cinematography and visual directing are fantastic and I was surprised, it surpassed my expectations. The animators and director were able to convey so much information and emotion even without any dialogue. Tension, sadness, anger, joy, excitement, relief, etc. All of these emotions could be felt solely from its visuals. One notable scene would be in episode 3 were Noriko is unable to help Smith. The shot compositions and angles make the viewer feel out of place and incapable of doing nothing, we are truly placed in our protagonist's point of view without utilizing a first person point of view. It is a great parallel to the later battles were the camera moves more freely and we see Noriko being more active, a good representation in her change in character. Another important scene would be the triumphant return of our heroines to Earth, were they are greeted by a display of lights with the message: "Welcome Home". It is the perfect ending for such an important episode. The stylised black-white coloring of the episode made the space battles very memorable and strengthened the emotion when the colors rushed in during the final scene.
Also the director was able to use the animation of the show to cleverly expand its themes and foreshadow future events. The space scenes did not feel like the animators simply placed the characters in outer space. At times space felt beautiful but hostile, our heroes just a small speck in the vastness of the universe. Other times our heroes were in control, they had the upper hand and were the arbiters of the universe and their own destiny. The Luxion gives a certain high-school vibe to the viewer, this is done mainly to increase how relatable the story is and I do not see it as a problem.
If you want to know an example of the foreshadowing I mentioned before, you should look at the scene were Kazumi pleads to Coach to not be so selfish. He is playing a board game alone, hinting that he is playing a game of his own (he is hiding something). Also there is a charm hanging from the ceiling, which is shown to have two sides. One side is cleverly colored red, a representation of Coach's disease.
The fan-service and nudity in the show is an aspect that should not be ignored. Although it can hurt some viewer's experience, I did not take any problem with it. It didn't feel forced when the girls were shown naked or almost-naked. However, their uniforms are a bit weird.
Gunbuster is a must-watch for any mecha anime or Gainax fan, if only for its importance in Gainax's history. However, it is still a great piece of work. One that should be praised by its incredible cinematography and captivating story. It is impresionable how it is able to explore many themes such as self-worth, rivalry, love, sacrifice, space travel, and our place in the universe in such a short period of time. Even if it isn't able to develop its characters completely and has issues in its middle section, I still fully recommend anyone to watch this anime.
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