And so the long-awaited conclusion to the series is finally here…and there doesn’t seem to be much blogsphere fanfare surrounding it. A shame really - although it is not without its flaws, the ending is really quite something.
The midsection of Top o Nerae! 2 left me a little cold but the penultimate instalment delivers so much in terms of characterisation and plot I can’t help but feel impressed. Even before the opening credits roll there is a significant flashback that takes us five years into the past (pic below) and shows a reference to the original series! Honestly, I gave a gasp of “At last!” after my spine had stopped tingling when that turned up. Make no mistake, this is a spectacular episode in more ways than one.
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.
After two episodes of Nono’s introduction to her new life in space the third instalment makes a surprising change of course in introducing several other Buster Machine pilots. The most significant of these is Chiko (below), a headstrong young pilot with some real insecurity issues. Mecha fans will immediately identify her personality as the archetypal Competitive One, harking back to Jung Freud’s rivalry with Noriko in the original Top O Nerae!; there’s even a short spat between her and Nono whilst on patrol. We soon learn the reasons behind Chiko’s driven attitude and short temper: going back to the character development issues I outlined in my episode 2 review, we learn more about Chiko and her motivations in one episode than did about both Raruku and Nono in the last two! Still, it makes this ep the most interesting so far in terms of the show’s personalities.
The second instalment presents us with an interesting revelation, more questions than it answers and some more Buster Machine Vs. Alien space Monster action. Nono is still desparate to become a member of TOPLESS and not even Raruku’s words of discouragement do anything to change her mind. Unfortunately, Raruku is in the middle of a meeting with some stern-looking military guys (one of whom is pictured below) in orbit when the next monster rears its ugly head so Nono takes it upon herself to hop aboard Raruku’s Buster Machine (second pic) and save the day.
Gunbuster: Aim for the Top (or Top O Nerae! to give it its proper Japanese title) is, in my opinion at least, one of the greatest sci-fi anime series. Ever. Epic, dramatic, emotional and, for its time, beautifully animated, Gunbuster told a heart-tugging story of friendship and determination in the face of adversity in the space of only six episodes. How it found room to cram romance, drama and mecha combat into such a short running time is testament to Hideaki Anno’s skills as director and the talent of Gainax studios. At the same time it was an affectionate pastiche of the old classic mecha anime shows with cheeky fan service (introducing the now-famous ‘Gainax Bounce’) and countless references and in-jokes. Okay, enough rambling - suffice to say I love it. Moving on…to celebrate their 20th anniversary Gainax have revisited their old OVA title to give us Gunbuster 2, another six part OVA.
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