Gunbuster has been in my backlog pile for a ridiculously long time… especially since the first Gunbuster tape I bought was volume 3 of 3.  I didn’t get volume 1 until later.  Strangely enough, volume 3 was released by Manga Entertainment, while my volume 1 was released by a company called US Renditions (A Subsidiary of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai USA Inc.).

I had never heard of US Renditions before, but it’s hilarious how they promoted themselves.  In the back of the VHS box, it says,

US Renditions (producer of the Robotech BGM Perfect Collection Soundtrack) is proud to present the first in a series of faithfull translated Japanese animation  (Anime) videos designed specifically for the US market.  Never before has such care been taken in literally translating the dialogue, themes, and story of an original Anime release.  This English version features easy-to-read subtitles that allow the viewer to have complete understanding of the action as well as the enjoyment derived from the original Japanese voice actors, background music, and songs.  US Renditions is the leading force behind the movement to bring Anime to the United States properly, so sit back and enjoy as ideas turn into reality!!

Yeah… I’m not entirely convinced of that.  You can’t call yourself a “leading force” when this is your first release, and AnimEigo had their first release in the same year.  Granted, Madox-01 (which I own, BTW) won’t be nearly as remembered as Gunbuster, but AnimEigo proved to have the better brand recognition and lasting power, plus they were the only company to include liner notes with their releases, providing further insight into the titles they released.

That isn’t to say US Renditions is bad.  I have to respect the fact that they WERE pioneers in western anime licensing… but I WILL be nitpicking the hell out of this release.  The first nitpick is pretty blatantly obvious throughout the entire video: Their subtitle timing SUCKED.

Er, hold on…

Unlike pretty much EVERY OTHER COMPANY EVER, US Renditions seemed to have the inability to include both credit subtitles and song subtitles, so in episode 1 they only had credits, and in episode 2 they only had song lyrics.  Well, made making a clear cap of the title easier.  Here’s Gunbuster!

We start off with a young Noriko Takaya talking about how awesome her space pilot dad is.

It should come as no surprise to learn that said dad dies.

Noriko follows in her father’s footsteps and trains to become a pilot. Problem is, she sucks.

Physically, she’s got the goods… but she seems to have an inability to multitask in the cockpit.  She can’t move her robot’s arms and legs at the same time AND pay attention to her monitor.  It’s at this point I shout “try moving without the monitor!” but I suppose that either makes too much sense, or there’s something about the monitor that makes that too stupid.  I mean, I suppose driving blind would be a freaking stupid idea, but I COULD operate the vehicle perfectly blindfolded.  I just wouldn’t know where the hell I’m going.

But more to the point…

I have no idea what the hell these robots are supposed to be.  I will give them props for being hilarious.  It actually reminds me a lot of Patlabor.  Oh hey, and I already made that Noa Izumi joke earlier…

But yeah, it’s just weird.  Apparently, the cadets at this school have to operate their robots to do the same things they would in a PE class.  It took a while to just absorb that and go with it.

Naturally, the poor-performing Noriko gets picked on by the other cadets.  But she gets saved by senior and school idol Kazumi.

Noriko takes an instant liking to Kazumi, while I can’t help but feel there’s just something terribly off about her.

Besides… WHAT ABOUT KIMIKO?

Gosh I love Kimiko.  Even if she’s just the obligatory bespectacled sidekick for the lead.  Ayame’s High Kick… Hyper Dolls… Shamanic Princess… I was about to say Hyper Speed Grandoll, but it was actually the lead who wore the glasses in that one…

Moving on…

This seriously evil-looking forehead girl disapproves.  She’s also the #2 girl in the entire school, next to Kazumi.

Kazumi seems to have given Noriko some tips and encouragement, but whatever improvements she might have had prove to be no use once Coach Ohta shows up.

Coach Ohta is voiced by Norio Wakamoto.  Hearing him bark out orders and words of encouragement is… It’s just something special and glorious, and I NEED more.

Ohta turns off the automatic balancers on the robots, and the cadets struggle to regain control.  At this point I figure Noriko proves her worth and displays aptitude for piloting under manual.  Nope.  She’s by far the worst pilot there, and Ohta tells her to take 50 laps on foot.  That’s right, the robots are taking 50 laps… for reasons.

Afterwards, we check out Noriko’s living quarters.

Waaaaaaaaait a sec…

Let’s bring up the Patlabor OVA intro…

Well, that settles it.  Gunbuster = Pepsi, Patlabor = Coke.

Oh, that’s right… Kazumi has been selected to go into space along with one more cadet from the school.  All eyes are on Forehead Girl (and not just because of her forehead this time).  But guess what?

They select Noriko.

As you might guess, EVERYONE is confused and thinks Noriko doesn’t deserve the promotion… ESPECIALLY Noriko.  Almost immediately, gossip spread that it’s due to favoritism and the fact that she’s the daughter of a former captain.  They also say she’s the teacher’s pet despite the fact that Ohta didn’t really hand her any breaks (plus, if you had Coach Ohta, wouldn’t you want to be a teacher’s pet?)

Even Kazumi wants answers, and she confronts Ohta about his decision.  Ohta reveals that he was a survivor from the same ship as Noriko’s dad.

So, as it turns out… it’s because Noriko is the teacher’s pet, and favoritism due to being the daughter of Ohta’s former captain.  Holy crap, the gossip was right for a change!

Oh, and Ohta believes Noriko has the raw potential to operate something called a “Gunbuster,” but let’s not dwell on that too long.

Noriko decides she’ll just have to double up her efforts, but the bullying has become too much for her.

Noriko goes to Ohta and tells him she doesn’t have what it takes to be a pilot.  Ohta takes Noriko to look at Kazumi training and actually TURNS UP his hotblooded coaching to encourage her, as the reason Kazumi is the top cadet is because of how hard she pushes herself.  Now begins Noriko’s training montage.

Unfortunately, the training montage music choice is a rather poor instrumental.  It gets the job done, but it could have been better.

Throughout the entire thing, I just could not help but think of the first Patlabor OVA intro with Noa jogging and whatnot.



In fact, I went ahead and made a quickie AMV because I liked the idea.

Yeah, I just couldn’t help myself.  It was too perfect.

Oh, but guess who’s pissed?

Forehead challenges Noriko to a robot duel in front of the whole school.  And utterly decimates Noriko.  Also, she scares the crap out of her (and everyone) by showing her face in Noriko’s monitor.

That was almost the banner image for this review, believe it or not.  Just… holy CRAP that’s scary.

Anyway, Noriko decides to turn off her targeting computer monitor.   OUT OF FREAKING NOWHERE, we learn that these robots are capable of fighting anime techniques with names like “Triangle Punch.”  Noriko uses The Force and dodges the Triangle Punch with a Trowa Flip, then delivers her deadly Lightning Kick.

The Lightning Kick is apparently a move everyone’s heard of, and is a difficult move to pull off.  The move also caved in Forehead’s robot’s chest and planted her into a robot-shaped hole in the ground.  That’s some power.

So, Noriko has managed to prove to everyone that she does belong in space along with Kazumi, and the two are sent off with cheers.

Oh, and after the credits is a spiffy extra skit that lets us know a bit more about the Gunbuster world.  I miss skits like these… though I know Bleach did them so it’s not like they were ever gone.

Well, that’s episode 1.  And to be honest, if it ended there (and didn’t have a tease about the mysterious Gunbuster) I would’ve been perfectly satisfied.  I’ll definitely be watching episode 2 and searching for volume 2 to fill the gap, but I’m stopping the review here.

Comedy: 2
I wasn’t sure what category to rate it on; “Comedy” seemed to be the closest, but it’s more lighthearted than comedic.  There was certainly some emotional impact to be had, but I just couldn’t find myself taking it all that seriously when it had jogging mecha to contend with.

Pleasure Rating: Damn Good Watch
As it stands, it’s definitely in the upper tiers, but the setup is entirely too generic to warrant “glass case” status.  This may change when I watch the rest of the series, though.

Rewatchability: 4
Fun premise, fun characters, and OHTA.  Honestly, can’t go wrong.

Music: Forgettable
Ultimately, the music doesn’t really stand out.  And it had such a great opening to do so with a training montage scene.  Wasted potential.  The opening song was kind of fun but didn’t stand out to me either.

Marketability: 3
Strangely enough, for a series with mecha, it’s not the mecha that stands out, but the characters.  Noriko has a unique design that stands the test of time.  The RX mecha, on the other hand… not so much.  Just judging by the first episode alone though, this series is filled with unique designs.  Even Kimiko has a unique look even if her character is cookie cutter.  Again, there’s probably better mecha down the line.  Especially since I haven’t laid eyes on the Gunbuster yet.  Also, I would buy the hell out of a talking Ohta figurine that just shouted things at me.

I have yet to be let down by Hideaki Anno.  Every time he’s at the helm, I have a lot of fun.  I said the same thing with Wings of Honneamise, but Gunbuster has far superior character designs and general appeal.

The action flows at the perfect pace, and the character designs are perfect.  Gunbuster displays one of the true hallmarks of good character design: they have “stage presence,” and you can get a good feel for them the moment you see them.

The potential mystery surrounding Noriko and the Gunbuster isn’t quite as intriguing and takes a backseat to her personal development, and I think that’s great.  Again, this could shift later on, but for a setup episode, everything worked out perfectly.

Finally, I was surprised to learn that Patlabor and Gunbuster pretty much came out at around the same time.  The same year, even.  So I can’t exactly call one a ripoff of the other.  Probably just trends at the time.  Even more shocking to me was the realization that Dominion Tank Police predates the both of them.  What the hell was going on in Japan in 1988?

Definitely not going to get around to a double like I hoped, but I’ll be a lot less busy come next weekend.  I’ll definitely get around to Kimba the White Lion.  Not sure if I have anything else lined up after that, though.