Top wo Nerae! (1988) (V)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Hideaki Anno

Writers:

Hideaki Anno (written by)
Toshio Okada (written by)

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi | Action | Drama | Short

Plot:

A young pilot, daughter of a deceased space captain, is selected to pilot a colossal robot as the key point of Earth's defence in a space war.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Robot | Space War | Training | Anime

Cast

Noriko Hidaka	...	Noriko Takaya (voice)
Rei Sakuma	...	Kazumi "Oneesama" Amano (voice)
Norio Wakamoto	...	Kôichirô "Coach" Ôta (voice)
Maria Kawamura	...	Jung Freud (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Kimiko Higuchi / Takami Akai (voice)
Masako Katsuki	...	Reiko Kashiwara (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Tatsumi Tashiro (Captain of Excelion) (voice)
Kazuki Yao	...	Smith Toren (voice)

Also Known As:

Gunbuster (Japan: English title) (USA)
Aim for the Top! (Japan) (literal English title)
Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster (Japan) (complete title)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The head of the Sizzler combat robot is based on the evil bird-like monsters Gyaos as seen in the Gamera movies.

Quotes:

Jung Freud: The moon is great, you're weightless! On Earth, your bra's too tight, your shoulders are in knots, and soon your boobs sag.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Excellent character development, mecha needs improvement

Being an otaku since the days of Robotech, I can still say that Gunbuster is one of my favorite animes of all time. Considering when it was made, the animation is of superior quality. There are no loops and sequences in which the art decreases in quality. Although the final episode is in black and white, it does not detract from the enjoyment of watching the film. Although it has been described as being "sappy," it should be kept in mind that females do not react in the same way that males do. Since the main character is a female, it should be obvious that she does not necessarily need to resort to "macho-man" tactics in order to gain the respect of her peers. The seiryuu for Noriko, incidentally, also plays Akane in Ranma 1/2. Noriko is as 3-dimensional a cartoon can get; her personality captures the essence of a spirited girl who seems at first to be completely helpless but in the end succeeds through the strength of her will. The only complaint I have is that the mecha looked somewhat like teddy bears. Even the Gunbuster utilizes a rather dubious "Homing Laser" and "Buster Shield" (which is nothing more than having the machine wrap a giant velvety cloak around itself in true Dracula style) technique. I doubt that scene was meant to be funny, but it cracked me up. Yet all in all, I would rank Gunbuster in the top 20 anime of all time.