Gunbuster (1988) (V) Top wo Nerae! (original title)

Director:

Hideaki Anno

Writers:

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

Release Date:

7 October 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

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 'One-sama' Amano (voice)
Norio Wakamoto	...	Kôichirô 'Coach' Ôhta (voice)
Maria Kawamura	...	Jung Freud (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Kimiko Higuchi / Takami Akai (voice)
Masako Katsuki	...	Reiko Kashiwara (voice)
Kazuki Yao	...	Smith Toren (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Tatsumi Tashiro (Captain of Excelion) (voice)

Directed by
Hideaki Anno

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hideaki Anno		written by
Toshio Okada		written by
Hiroyuki Yamaga		uncredited

Produced by
Toshio Azami	....	producer
Hiroaki Inoue	....	producer
Satoshi Kôno	....	producer
Shiro Sasaki	....	producer
Takeshi Sawamura	....	producer
Minoru Takanashi	....	producer
Shigeru Watanabe	....	producer

Original Music by
Kôhei Tanaka

Art Direction by
Masanori Kikuchi
Hiroshi Sasaki

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shôichi Masuo	....	assistant director

Art Department
Hideaki Anno	....	storyboard artist
Shinji Higuchi	....	storyboard artist
Mahiro Maeda	....	illustrator

Animation Department
Hideaki Anno	....	animator
Tatsuo Arai	....	inbetween artist
Kiyomasa Asai	....	inbetween artist
Keisuke Fukuda	....	animator
Keiji Gotoh	....	inbetween artist
Hiroaki Gôda	....	animator
Kôji Hasegawa	....	animator
Kôji Hashimoto	....	animator
Shinji Hashimoto	....	animator
Shinji Higuchi	....	animation director
Masayuki Hiraoka	....	animator
Tomohiro Hirata	....	animator
Takeshi Honda	....	animator
Takeshi Honda	....	inbetween artist
Yoshiyuki Ichikawa	....	animator
Fumio Iida	....	animator
Isamu Imakake	....	inbetween artist
Eisaku Inoue	....	animator
Kôji Itô	....	animator
Hideaki Iwami	....	inbetween artist
Yoshiaki Iwasaki	....	inbetween artist
Tomoaki Kado	....	inbetween artist
Haruo Kamata	....	animator
Jirô Kanai	....	animator
Naoki Katô	....	inbetween artist
Yoshitaka Katô	....	animator
Yasuhito Kikuchi	....	animator
Yasuhito Kikuchi	....	inbetween artist
Takahiro Kishida	....	animator
Hiroyuki Kitakubo	....	animator
Naoki Kitamura	....	inbetween artist
Katsu Kitao	....	animator
Norifumi Kiyozumi	....	animator
Toshiyuki Kubooka	....	animation director
Toshiyuki Kubooka	....	animator character designer
Toshiyuki Kubooka	....	animator
Kazuya Kuroda	....	inbetween artist
Mahiro Maeda	....	animator
Mahiro Maeda	....	mechanical designer
Ryuichi Makino	....	animator
Masayuki	....	animator: opening sequence
Shôichi Masuo	....	animator
Hidenori Matsubara	....	animator
Kazue Matsubara	....	inbetween artist
Tetsuo Matsuoka	....	inbetween artist
Haruhiko Mikimoto	....	original character designer
Kazuki Miyatake	....	mechanical designer
Sadami Morikawa	....	animator
Yûji Moriyama	....	animation director
Yûji Moriyama	....	animator
Takashi Nagayama	....	inbetween artist
Kôichi Nakaochi	....	inbetween artist
Takehiro Nakayama	....	animator
Takehiro Nakayama	....	inbetween artist
Yasuhiro Namatame	....	inbetween artist
Hiroyuki Nihei	....	inbetween artist
Hideki Nimura	....	animator
Katsuhiko Nishijima	....	animator
Seiji Nishimoto	....	animator
Yoshiyuki Nunokawa	....	animator
Hiroki Onoki	....	inbetween artist
Masayuki Ota	....	inbetween artist
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto	....	animator
Shigeru Saitô	....	inbetween artist: Tamazawa Dogasha
Yûji Satô	....	animator
Eiji Suganuma	....	animator
Kôji Sugiura	....	animator
Kôji Sugiura	....	inbetween artist
Kenji Suzuki	....	animator
Shunji Suzuki	....	animator
Yoshiaki Takei	....	animator
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	animator
Manabu Tanzawa	....	animator
Katsutoshi Tsunoda	....	animator
Reiko Watanabe	....	inbetween artist
Kôji Yamada	....	inbetween artist
Gô Yamamoto	....	inbetween artist
Shin'ya Yamamoto	....	inbetween artist
Noriyasu Yamauchi	....	animator
Miwa Yokô	....	inbetween artist
Hidetoshi Yoshida	....	animator
Hiroaki Yoshinaga	....	inbetween artist
Masami Ôbari	....	animator
Osamu Ôkubo	....	animator
Takahiro Ômori	....	animator
Tôru Ôtsuka	....	inbetween artist

Other crew
Hideaki Anno	....	developed by
Yûji Moriyama	....	scientific study
Shiro Sasaki	....	developed by
Minoru Takanashi	....	developed by
Kôichi Ôhata	....	robot designer

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Gainax
• Victor Entertainment

Other Companies

• Doga Kobo  in-between animation
• Dragon Production  in-between animation
• Group Donguri  in-between animation
• Kuma Production  in-between animation
• Magic Bus  in-between animation
• Mushi Productions  in-between animation
• Nishiko Pro  in-between animation
• Phoenix Pro  in-between animation
• Project Team Moo  in-between animation
• Studio 88  in-between animation
• Studio ArgoShip  in-between animation
• Studio Domu  in-between animation
• Studio Egg  in-between animation
• Studio Mark  in-between animation
• Studio Moo  in-between animation
• Studio Outside  in-between animation
• Studio Rod  in-between animation
• Studio Wombat  in-between animation
• Sunshine Corporation  in-between animation
• Usagiya  in-between animation

Also Known As:

"Top wo Nerae!" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The main title of Gunbuster, Top O Nerae! (Aim for the Top!), is a reference to the 1970s anime series Ace O Nerae! (Aim for the Ace!)

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.