Welcome back (again)
After going away from anime for a while, this year and last have been extremely educational for me — not just in learning where it’s gone, but where it came from. Did you hear? Anime existed before the 90s!
I’d long heard references to Gunbuster, being a big Gainax fan, but I finally bought it this year. It has an otaku lead character, shouted attack names, grand epic scale, and shirt-ripping fanservice, all the things you’d expect from the Otakings. But it also has that ending. Welcome back. Proof that once, even crusty ol’ Anno Remembered Love.
And when I saw the sequel, Top Wo Narae! 2 or Diebuster, I was fully caught in the spell that Tsurumaki cast over the fans of the original series, which was still pretty fresh in my mind. L’alc’s final act of ultimate love before the curtain closes is spine-chillingly inspirational, a weapon to destroy your cynicism as a fan. I know there are some folks out there who still haven’t seen Gunbuster, and I’m sure Diebuster‘s ending is still cool in that case, but few moments in anime compare with the convergence of the two series’ endings. You owe it to yourself to “get” that moment.
To be able to flesh out a 20-year-old story with any coherence is a feat in itself, but to do it with so much emotion and power was a miracle. George Lucas, eat a dick.
Anno made me a fanboy, Gurren Lagann made me a believer, but Gunbuster and Diebuster are what made me a devout worshiper.
Oh otou-san you must have been reading my mind because I’ve been thinking about these two shows a lot today, especially after participating in this very interesting discussion on animediet:
http://animediet.net/face-off-review/face-off-ray-and-mike-on-gunbuster-vs-diebuster-part-1
and
http://animediet.net/face-off-review/face-off-ray-and-mike-on-gunbuster-vs-diebuster-part-2
Very relevant to my own feelings about my worship of Macross Frontier, which, given your statement,
>>Anno made me a fanboy, Gurren Lagann made me a believer, but Gunbuster and Diebuster are what made me a devout worshiper.
I find a shared space with you, from one fanboy to another. I hope you enjoy the posts I linked as much as I did.
Yes! That moment at the end of Diebuster when the music swells and it all finally ties together is just perfect. It’s impossible for me to watch either of these without choking up when it gets to “welcome home.”
I saw Diebuster before Gunbuster so it was more of an “ohhhh that is so cool” moment when I saw it in Gunbuster.
Diebuster is a really epic and enjoyable series but the first one is an absolute classic…unforgettable charactersand so many memorable moments too.
I’ll be interested to see what fans make of the Gunbuster Vs Diebuster movie because, while the sequel is out on DVD over here, I’d still have to buy a R1 import to replace the poor-quality Kiseki version I have at home. The fact that it’s a lousy quality release yet is still an-all time fave for me speaks volumes.
It’s a good justification for being an Anno fanboy too, I might add.
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Proof that I’ve seen too much anime: I don’t even remember my reaction to the end of Gunbuster, if I even had one.
ghostlightning – thanks for the link. I do prefer the series to the movies, though. I disagree with Mike and Ray’s assessment of Diebuster; it was made as a tribute and the fact that it could actually be judged on its own says a lot. What they’re right about is Gunbuster being the spiritual predecessor to TTGL, but I think I’ve been over that (in like 1100 words or so
)
Lbrevis – It always chokes me up too, and I can’t think of any other anime with a similar power to do so.
Omisyth – Interesting. I wonder if that’s because of the order, or just because certain people react to certain things differently. Probably a bit of both, but it’s too bad we can’t do a science experiment to get the same person to watch them in both orders the first time.
Martin – The R1 release is not nearly as nice as the Gunbuster one. Honneamise has a really nice Gunbuster box set, but only individual, regular package individual DVDs for the sequel. With retail of maybe $30 apiece vs. the $50-60 you’ll spend on the whole Gunbuster box, I haven’t gotten past the rental stage with Diebuster. I’m personally not a fan of movie versions for the most part (Macross Plus being an exception).
I’ll agree it’s reason enough to be an Anno fanboy; maybe it’s even the best reason, because unlike Eva at least you’ll feel good about it after seeing it.
choujin – or is it proof you have no heart?