Hotblooded epic anime: Gunbuster
Entry posted by fun2novel
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The first pick for my series of epic anime has to be non other than Aim for the Top: Gunbuster! one of the best anime ovas every produced. EVER! This six 30min episode anime is more packed with more awesome than your average 26 episode tv series.
Produced by Gainax and directed by non other then Hideaki Anno himself. The creators put so much love and passion into each and very frame you can't help but keep watching just one more episode and before you know it it's over. But it's over at just the right moment with just the right length and with just the right pacing. Don't be fooled by the girly shoujo style you're presented at the begining either, give it a minute and you'll forget that it's somekind of a shoujo show and be completely cheering for the main character.
The 1st episode indeed starts very differently from what you might expect out of this show but this episode has a goal and it accomplishes it perfectly. Say what you will about Anno but the guy knows how to direct a story. This first episode also makes a lot and I do mean A LOT of homages to Aim for the Top shoujo anime about tennis. It's based on a popular shoujo manga. However what's amazing is how Anno was able to do in one episode what this show tried in 12. If you watched the original 70's Aim for the Ace anime (directed by the well known Osamu Dezaki) you will have a dejavu.
It's not surprising, the Anno and the entire Gianax staff are huge anime fans have alot of love and passion for animation and storytelling and it shows up in their works a lot. Gunbuster is their love letter to the anime fans of that generation but it's just so happens this show transends generations and still relevant even today.
It's not a very deep story, in fact it's not deep at all. What it does have is human characters trying standing up against all odds. There is just enough drama to make you connect with everyone and everything is kept within realism. The sci-fi elements aren't ignored either and are taken very seriously. So much so that they even produced several mini episodes explaining the science to the viewers. Not that it's so complicated that you'll be lost but it's a nice effort.
Visually it looks fantastic. I love that old art style and portrays the awesomeness of the late 80's early 90's anime art long since gone. The art still holds well even today so many years since the first episode was released. The voices as awesome as well, being fans of anime Gainax staff knows how important a voice can be, not just the voice but the tone of the recorded sound. For that they add a bit of trebble filter to the voices to bring them closer to your ears. Speaking of sound, the music is another reason this is a hootblooded anime, there will be moments when the hair on your back will stand erect from awesomeness.
Well then, I guess it's time to finish this. I hope you guys check this show out. Don't look for info on google, don't read the wiki, don't even read reviews. If you want a great epic anime try it out, I guarantee once you get past your initial impression you'll get hooked. Few things you should now before you go, it's a mecha show, it's hotblooded, it's slightly over the top. If that's not your cup of tea then I'm sorry but you probably won't like it.
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