[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Gunbuster 2 episode 4: High drama and interesting plot twists
As the series reaches its halfway point we see a marked change in tone of the story; in fact it seems to have taken a 180 degree turn for the serious as the playful comedic vibe has almost completely given way to a much darker theme.
The members of Fraternity are stationed on Titan by the order of the Twins, who are trying to awaken a Buster Machine that has lain dormant for tens of thousands of years. Nono, desparate for a Buster Machine of her own, is called up before them to answer to trespassing charges after she tries to see the excavation site for herself. As an alternative to punishment she is offered the chance to find an old abandoned Buster Machine that lies on the surface of Pluto and, with the promise of Casio’s help when she reaches her destination, sets off to retrieve it.
Interestingly Raruku (or Lark, I’m not entirely sure from the subs at this point in time) is actually unhappy about seeing Nono go to the far end of the Solar System but such is Nono’s ambition that she sets off regardless. Meanwhile there seems to be more to this Buster Machine excavation than meets the eye…what plans have the Twins drawn up?
When I said that the series takes a sharp turn in atmosphere I meant an almost complete change - the cheeky slapstick is (perhaps fortunately) almost completely absent and the story, with its countless unanswered questions, moves forward in leaps and bounds. As hard as it is to believe, this episode manages to continue the trend of ‘this instalment’s space monster battle’ exceeding the last in terms of scale and we are left with some serious battle damage and interesting revelations afterwards. This all resulted in (for me at least) a distinct feeling of not knowing what the devil is going on. As one of the pilots accurately sums up “What are we actaully fighting?”
After being a tad underwhelmed with Top O Nerae! 2’s progress so far I was left pretty impressed with this fourth episode which appears to have been subject to a change in director/scriptwriter - this is the extent of how different it feels. Of course, the animation style is still the same but it seems more intent on diving headlong into the story. It’s interesting to see the motives behind Raruku’s reluctance to see Nono fight in the war, for instance; that is, it extends beyond mere lack of faith in her abilities, at least. We even learn a little about Casio’s past and finish on a dramatic and quite messy battle that will have serious consequences for what will follow. So many questions, so few answers!
The plot thickens, as they say. I do believe my faith in this show may be restored…
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