THE CLASSICS
So last night I watched Gunbuster, 'cause it's up on YouTube and all--YouTube is truly the greatest of mankind's works to date. Anyway, it was a good watch! I think it wavered a bit in the writing department; it could've been better done as a full-length TV series or maybe a longer OAV. The main problem was that it moved really fast and glossed over a lot of pretty important emotional development, so you ended up with a lot of "oh okay so I guess she's in love with that guy?" and "oh okay I guess she's having doubts about her partner's ability to survive in battle?" So much of the important character-related stuff happened off-camera that it took a lot of oomph out of some of the series' emotional moments.
Nonetheless, it was worth watching, I think. It has a neat bigness, portraying a war fought on a truly epic scale. (I mean, they used Jupiter as the core of a bomb, for God's sake.) Plus, it has this whole BURNING SPIRIT, GO FIGHT WIN atmosphere that feels--prototypical. It's so sincerely-done, so straightforward; though Gunbuster obviously isn't the first series to have that sort of theme to it, it still has that aged, venerable feel--you watch it and think "oh, so that's where that comes from." Also, when Gunbuster does get the emotional stuff right, it really kicks your ass. Woven in with the whole epic story of interstellar war is an interesting thread of desperation in the face of an implacable, unknowable enemy. There's a constant feeling of humanity being one bad roll of the dice away from being swallowed up forever. On top of that, the series does a good job of conveying the loneliness and alienation of those who fight the space war, as the technology that allows humanity to travel the universe in Gunbuster basically fucks up the flow of time for them--a few months' service out in space can translate to a decade or so back on Earth. A lot of the series' best moments deal with the characters' reactions to this.
In the end, though, I'd say the best reason to watch Gunbuster is that it really helps you understand the sequel series that Gainax released for the 20th anniversary of the release of the original. I've heard people who liked the original expressing their distaste for the sequel, but, man, I just can't get behind that, as the sequel is pretty much the best thing ever animated. It develops more coherently, it's still got that epic, gigantic feeling going on, and u-uwaaa Nono is socute. ;;
SO YEAH
A+++++ WOULD CRY OVER BOTH ENDINGS AGAIN
Nonetheless, it was worth watching, I think. It has a neat bigness, portraying a war fought on a truly epic scale. (I mean, they used Jupiter as the core of a bomb, for God's sake.) Plus, it has this whole BURNING SPIRIT, GO FIGHT WIN atmosphere that feels--prototypical. It's so sincerely-done, so straightforward; though Gunbuster obviously isn't the first series to have that sort of theme to it, it still has that aged, venerable feel--you watch it and think "oh, so that's where that comes from." Also, when Gunbuster does get the emotional stuff right, it really kicks your ass. Woven in with the whole epic story of interstellar war is an interesting thread of desperation in the face of an implacable, unknowable enemy. There's a constant feeling of humanity being one bad roll of the dice away from being swallowed up forever. On top of that, the series does a good job of conveying the loneliness and alienation of those who fight the space war, as the technology that allows humanity to travel the universe in Gunbuster basically fucks up the flow of time for them--a few months' service out in space can translate to a decade or so back on Earth. A lot of the series' best moments deal with the characters' reactions to this.
In the end, though, I'd say the best reason to watch Gunbuster is that it really helps you understand the sequel series that Gainax released for the 20th anniversary of the release of the original. I've heard people who liked the original expressing their distaste for the sequel, but, man, I just can't get behind that, as the sequel is pretty much the best thing ever animated. It develops more coherently, it's still got that epic, gigantic feeling going on, and u-uwaaa Nono is socute. ;;
SO YEAH
A+++++ WOULD CRY OVER BOTH ENDINGS AGAIN