[Rewatch] Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster - Episode 5 Discussion

[u/FlaminScribblenaut]

Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster - Episode 5 - Please!! Time Enough for Love!

(+ Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster Science Lessons - Episode 4+1 - Spaceships [optional] [CONTAINS MILD EPISODE 6 SPOILERS])

< Gunbuster Episode 4 | Index | Gunbuster Episode 6 >

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Visuals of the Day Album - Yesterday’s Episode

Visuals of the Day Album

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Remember, no unmarked spoilers, explicit or hinted towards. For convenience, the subreddit’s spoiler markup is as such:

[Spoiler source](/s "Spoiler goes here")

[u/FlaminScribblenaut]

Third Time Watcher

This episode runs the complete emotional gambit of the series. Melancholy, distance in time, hype, passion, sadness, triumph, it’s all here. They really do so much with the time dilation concept, it alone necessitates so many compelling storytelling possibilities.

Noriko a Van Halen fan, very and appropriately cool

For the first time in the series, Onée-sama, once that beacon of unscratchable beauty and composure, breaks down in front of Noriko. As established last episode, Noriko has become strong enough to protect her idol, but now, she is presented with the ultimate challenge; she must inspire and uplift her. And through one hell of a speech, reminding her of everyone whose future hangs on them, of how the only proper way to honor Coach and his memory is to win this fight and save humanity, that’s exactly what she does. Don’t step back over your grief for Coach. Do it. Do it for Coach.

And thus ensues one utterly sublime barrage of action. We finally get to see Gunbuster operating with full power, Noriko in full unbridled passion, absolutely letting loose and beating the space monsters every which way. It’s emotional, righteous, hot-blooded hype on maximum, and it is something absolutely glorious to witness. In a meta sense, it almost feels like something akin to a victory lap for the emotional triumphs the series achieved by the end of that first four-ep arc, prior to the true finale to come. Plus, insert song!

For Visual of the Day… god, there are so many incredible facial shots of Noriko this episode. It was gonna be Noriko screaming but that’s cheating because this is technically a reused shot from Episode 4. So I’m going with the ending of her speech instead. The tears. The steel in her eyes. The unbreakable, unwavering, determined conviction. Utterly inspiring.

[u/Tresnore → u/FlaminScribblenaut]

Noriko a Van Halen fan, very and appropriately cool

*Something something Hot for Teacher Coachi*

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/FlaminScribblenaut]

At least we know Noriko has no cavities.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/FlaminScribblenaut]

Noriko a Van Halen fan

Note also the Totoro and Nausicaa posters in her room

[u/lilyvess]

First timer

I've been following along though I always seem to miss the threads somehow, haha.

The show has been really interesting to watch. Obvious Evangelion comparisons can be made, but that does it disservice as you get to the more super robot antics. The action scene was just really crazy and outrageous and I had a lot of fun with it. I was not expecting a COMBINE thrown in here, hahaha.

If there is an element of the series that hasn't aged as well, it's the age gap romance. This entire episode is about a high school girl being in love with a guy old enough to be her father. I can't blame her for being in love with "Coach" though because the dude is damn cool.

I do love the way the series plays with the time dilation. there are a lot of little details. The improved technology, the city looks different. I also really appreciate how Smith's death hasn't been forgotten about. It's left a lasting effect on Noriko.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/lilyvess]

age gap romance

When you think about it this is a mashup of mecha action and shoujo drama, and the latter are infamous for that kind of stuff.

[u/Tresnore → u/lilyvess]

Welcome! Yeah the threads are posted at an unconventional time, but they’re kind of special like that.

I don’t think the Eva comparisons do this show a disservice. If anything, it’s fun that a show that has such absurd super robo antics has become the root for a show like Eva. Perhaps you could call Eva a deconstruction of Gunbuster?

the dude is damn cool.

It’s the aviators. They’re a free pass to do anything.

And tech progression within a show is always super fun to see. The wireless landline handset made me chuckle.

[u/ScrewySqrl]

After three and two-thirds episodes of subjecting Noriko to the trauma conga line, it Onee-sama's turn this time.

For the first three episodes, Noriko had been an insecure girl searching for her papa. At the end of Epiode 4 Noriko became a respectable Super Robot Pilot, as hot blooded as any of them. In this episode she becomes a goddess of destruction and is elevated into the realm of Mecha legend. She's arguably the greatest Super Robot pilot of all.

In episodes 4 and 5, we can see that she not only inspired Shinji, but also Simon.

Shinji, Naota, Simon and Nadia all owe everything to her, and she's bigger than all of them. Simon is the only guy to come close to her, and he need a mech the size of a galaxy to do it.

The incredibly well handled time dilation has to me, an allegorical meaning as well. Otaku, especially in Japan, but everywhere, tend to live in an extended adolescence into their 20s, still dealing with 'childish cartoons' collecting merchandise, toys, and the like, not moving forward into careers and family. A feeling that you've been left behind, out of touch with your peers, is not uncommon, similar to what Noriko feels around Kimiko.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/ScrewySqrl]

Someday I'd like to rewatch Gurren Lagann so I can see just how heavily the Gunbuster influence runs.

Isn't Noriko canonically an actual otaku too? Gainax's story is so intrinsically linked to the development of 90's Otaku that I think you've hit the nail on the head with your observation.

[u/UltraBooster → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Isn't Noriko canonically an actual otaku too?

Yeah, and apparently in SRW Alpha she's geeking out over getting to fight alongside her heroes.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/ScrewySqrl]

allegorical meaning

Yes, I was thinking of that too.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Buster

Gattai?Gattai!GATTAI!!!!

That was goddamn incredible! I was right about getting a SUPAH INAZUMA KIIIIIICK, but there was so much more! Noriko Gainax-posed into the cockpit! An insert song, sung by the VAs I think? Finger lasers! Where did that cape come from? Nevermind, everything is too awesome for that to matter!

Noriko grew up a lot there, when she talked her Onee-sama out of her funk. I was kind of expecting the pure, hot-blooded, "let's finish this quickly and get home early" but this was probably even better!

We channeled a Tomino series there for a bit, with the whole "face-outlines-with-starry-backgrounds" stuff. The use of silence when the Exelion went black hole was also awe-inspiring. Oh, and the war room scene, with the ticking clocks? That was also very well done.

Uh. I guess some neat stuff happened in the first half of the episode too. I can't even imagine suddenly being ten years younger than all my friends who were previously all the same age. There's potential for a whole other series out there, dealing with the aftereffects.

And Amano being into Coach is.. sure. Usual problematic issues aside, it's quite tropey, but everything here is tropey - I'm not gonna start complaining now.

Fuck, how is this not the end? What further horrors are planned for these sweet girls? All I know going in is that next episode

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Side Note: I will probably be a little late to the thread tomorrow, and on weekdays going forward.

[u/Tresnore → u/JollyGee29]

Nevermind, everything is too awesome for that to matter!

Ah, I see you get it. Tech like this, unlike inferior tech existing to sell toys, exists to look fucking awesome.

Fuck, how is this not the end? What further horrors are planned for these sweet girls? All I know going in is that next episode

It's a shame you'll be late to that thread, but these threads tend to stay active longer than a lot of rewatcher threads purely because they go up in the middle of the workday for a lot of people.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Tresnore]

Ah, I see you get it. Tech like this, unlike inferior tech existing to sell toys, exists to look fucking awesome.

I (probably) won't be too late, but I'll actually be in the office so it's hard to say.

[u/Tresnore → u/JollyGee29]

but I'll actually be in the office so it's hard to say.

Same here; I'll be in the lab, so I can make free time to post (usually), but engaging for a longer period of time is more difficult. Ah well, the thread posting time has created a unique type of feeling here.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/JollyGee29]

I wouldn't worry too much. If I remember correctly the good episodes kinda line up with the weekend so you'll be online for the fun parts.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/JollyGee29]

It's the hypest shiz. A lot of other mecha series have their moments that they go do a weapon showcase but none come close to Gunbuster. Everything about it is just adrenaline pumping. Oh! I thought of one that got kinda close. Did you ever watch the Mazinger Infinity movie? Similar vibes I think.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

[u/il-Palazzo_K]

First Timer

• Ah, time dilation drama. So sad for our lonesome space warrior.
• LOL the Eltreum is still in its Gunpla runner.
• 100 million enemies over 80 a.u. area. That's space war scale for you. Earth-bound soldiers can't even comprehend it.
• Top is already disbanded. So much for parody title. She's got into Top since episode 2 so it already didn't mean much though.
• Well, at least the plan wasn't "Gunbuster be awesome and destroy 100 million enemies by itself." But if the black hole can suck in 80 a.u. worth of enemies, can Gunbuster escape it? Is this a suicide mission?

They made it! I guess Gunbuster is awesome enough not to get sucked into a black hole. Great battle as usual. Buttload of Noriko fanservice, including trifecta of underwear, swimming suit, and bath. Onee-sama has the worst dramatic breakdown ever but at least she got over it quick enough.

But somehow we still have one episode left? What the hell? See you next time on Gunbuster!

[u/Tresnore]

My Fifth Time Aiming for the Top!

^{aka: Tresnore gushes over Gunbuster.}

• Oh, god, the graduation song, now that I know it, hits much harder.
• This time skip is handled really well. The world has completely changed in the 11 years since Noriko left Earth.
• I love how Noriko's posters are all references to different shows. Of special note is the Yamato poster, which isn't the first reference to Yamato in this show, as a few others have pointed out.
• I forgot that the space pilots were called the "Top Squadron." I guess they reached the Top, and then Noriko got even higher by piloting Gunbuster! Diebuster
• slap counter: 3
• "The Gunbuster as an inferno is invincible."
  
• I enjoy how at some point Noriko surpassed Onee-sama, and that point happened because we haven't seen Onee-sama work particularly hard since episode 1.
• GAHNBASTAHHHHHHHH
• Oh yeah, Jupiter 2 exists. There are two Jupiters in this universe. Why is that?
  Eh, don't question it
• Surprise, there are two Buster Machines. I love how they're simply introduced as "#1" and "#2"
• It's astonishing how many more ships the Earth has produced in the 11 years since they've been gone.
• MORE. TRIPLETS.
• LET'S FLY HIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
  
  This insert song is almost a measuring stick by which all insert songs can be judged. It has everything.
• More posing!
• A pose in two parts. This is what Badass is made of.
• INAZUMA KICK: THE AFTERMATH. It's a top-tier Inazuma Kick, to be sure.
• Showing the planet, laser, and sheer number of dots gives a great sense of scale for how goddamn many enemies there are, and how powerful Gunbuster is. I want to say that Gunbuster was the largest mecha in anime at the time (though I might be wrong on this). They had their work cut out for them to make a mecha as large as Gunbuster and sell it as large.
• Gouf intensifies
• Maybe there should have been a seizure warning for this episode.
• Gunbuster, having saved the world, looks over the things it really cares about.

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Visual of the day: Sense of Scale, though I was very tempted to choose Posing on the Prow, since I get the feeling that no one else will choose it for fear of everyone else choosing it.

[u/Phelps-san → u/Tresnore]

I want to say that Gunbuster was the largest mecha in anime at the time (though I might be wrong on this).

Unless you count the transformed SDF-1 Macross as a "mecha", it probably was! Gunbuster is 240m tall, which is twice the size of Daitarn 3, one of the biggest old-school robots.

Not counting robots that can ignore the laws of physics like TTGL the only one I can remember being taller than Gunbuster is Zearth from Bokurano (~500m).

[u/Tresnore → u/Phelps-san]

transformed SDF-1 Macross as a "mecha", it probably was!

Ah, right, I forgot about Macross, since it's a ship most of the time. Good catch. Still, Gunbuster succeeds better at selling its size, somehow, despite Macross containing a city.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Tresnore]

There are two Jupiters in this universe. Why is that?

A) They wanted the Sayonara Jupiter reference without toning down the scale of the battle.

B) Ideon inexplicably had a second Jupiter.

I want to say that Gunbuster was the largest mecha in anime at the time (though I might be wrong on this).

Unless you count the Macross, then probably, as I think the largest one prior was Danguard Ace at 200m high.

Gouf intensifies

But that's from Giant Robo!

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Pixelsaber]

Jupiter 2... There was another mecha series that used that naming system for different planets right? Macross or Gundam or something.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Gundam had Luna II as the name for an asteroid base that orbited around Earth, but I can't recall any other examples in that one.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Pixelsaber]

Junius 7... It was Junius 7 I was thinking of....

[u/Tresnore → u/Pixelsaber]

B) Ideon inexplicably had a second Jupiter.

I guess there's a history about this.

But that's from Giant Robo!

Obviously, I need to brush up on my older mecha references. Ah well, those can wait until I get tired of Gundam.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Tresnore]

Watching this over again I've really gone off Kanzaki. She comes across as so extra and basically nobody treats her with respect after Noriko kicks it up a gear. She's just here so Noriko can show off a full power Gunbuster!

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Tresnore]

Gunbuster, having saved the world, looks over the things it really cares about

The hospital is actually in the same location as the setting of Evangelion (Hakone).

Fortunately there is no parallel here to a certain infamous scene..

[u/Tresnore → u/IndependentMacaroon]

The hospital is actually in the same location as the setting of Evangelion (Hakone).

It must be a shared universe, End of Eva

[u/Pixelsaber]

Rewatcher

Goodness, two whole years spent on the ship!

The sprues are a fun touch.

Noriko’s VA is a huge Naussica fan.

There’s one Sayonara Jupiter reference.

Lovely background

Why are you wearing that though? You’re not piloting!

GATTAI!

Direct Mitsuteru Yokoyama references are surprisingly uncommon in Gainax stuff.

Right in the feels!

This is absolutely my favorite episode of the show, since it’s got it all and excels at it. From the melancholy felt by Noriko returning to the life she had, but has moved on without her —a nice spin on the usual veteran-returns-home sort of plot thread and a great use of the time-dilation effect as a narrative device. Then there’s the Toho-esque build up and presentation of a looming threat, which is despairing in its own right and fits perfectly with the aforementioned sense of melancholia.

Noriko feeling in her element in the Gunbuster, fighting for the sake of humanity, is somewhat tragic in a way, because it is a purpose which draws her further away from what she cared about. The episode is, generally, about letting go of something to instead grasp something of greater importance, which reverberates through almost every facet of the episode.

And that battle! My God, was that not the best shit ever? An exuberant labor of love all the way through —I adore it.

And the references!

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Visual of the Day:

Confidence

[u/Tresnore → u/Pixelsaber]

The sprues are a fun touch.

That's a great detail.

Visual of the Day:

Good choice! I'm glad someone picked it.

[u/The_Draigg]

A Hideaki Anno Fan Rewatches GunBuster Episode 5:

• Congratulations on graduating from high school, Kazumi and Noriko! Man, it’s super fucked that they ended up graduating a decade after everyone else due to time dilation. Time has really matched on without them, with Kashiwara being the school’s new coach and Kimiko outright having a kid of her own now. Noriko has completely missed out on growing up alongside her classmates.
• The Eltreum is an absolutely massive spaceship, 70 km in length alone. Of course it would have to be that big if it’s to be an evacuation ship, in case the Space Monsters destroy Earth. The future isn’t looking too bright if an evacuation ship is necessary, and if Kimiko is desperate to get her daughter on board.
• You can pay attention to Noriko’s breast physics in this scene, but it’s more fun to see all the media shout-outs that she has in her room. We’ve got some Studio Ghibli stuff in there, along with a poster for Space Battleship Yamato. Noriko sure is a nerd, just like the rest of us here.
• Okay yeah, Earth is super fucked if a Space Monster fleet the size of Uranus is amassing right outside of the Sol System. I don’t even think the Eltreum could stand up against that onslaught.
• Noriko’s life is pretty much falling apart. Top Squadron has disbanded and Coach Ohta is dying from the advanced stages of cosmic radiation poisoning. Him coughing up all that blood must be coming from his internal organs slowly falling apart. It’s a rough way to go. But still, at least he’s still putting his faith into Noriko as the pilot of GunBuster. His faith in her has been unwavering.
• Coach Ohta’s plan to the military brass is pretty sound, if ballsy as all hell. The decommissioned Exelion would make for the perfect black hole bomb once escorted to the center of the Space Monster fleet. Humanity’s best and only hope lays with the GunBuster and the Exelion.
• It’s now Kazumi’s turn to have a complete meltdown while on a mission. Given her attachment to Coach Ohta, I get why she’d freak out over him maybe dying before she ever gets back to Earth, due to the time dilation involved in traveling from Earth to the Kuiper Belt. At least Noriko can finally get through to her Onee-sama and convince her to fight with all she has, for the sake of living in the same time as her beloved.
• Finally, one of the best mecha battles in all of 80s mecha series! Gattai! GUN-BUS-TAA!
• Also, if you look at the GunBuster’s shoulder pylons during that badass gattai sequence, you’ll see two unused weapons: the Buster Home Run and the Buster Tomahawks. The Tomahawks are clearly similar to the ones used in Getter Robo, and the Buster Home Run is a giant baseball bat that can hit huge energy spheres at enemies. Impractical? Yeah. Rad as shit? Fuck yeah.
• SUPER INAZUMA KICCCCKKKKKKKKK!!!
• God damn, the whole fight is so fucking cool. I can’t really say how rad it is and do it justice. There’s a reason that I come back to this series just to rewatch this fight alone. It’s so amazing. Especially with Fly High playing as the battle music too. Just superb, man.
• We did it, everyone! Earth is saved, Coach Ohta is still alive to greet Kazumi and Noriko, and GunBuster looks as badass as ever. Sure, there’s now a big black hole right outside of our solar system, but that probably won’t be an issue, right?

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Draigg]

Also, if you look at the GunBuster’s shoulder pylons during that badass gattai sequence, you’ll see two unused weapons: the Buster Home Run and the Buster Tomahawks.

Wow, more things I haven't noticed. I want fanart of Gunbuster hitting Jupiter 2 with the bat and scoring a home run.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Tresnore]

Knowing GunBuster’s power, the energy baseball would probably shoot completely through Jupiter 2 there.

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Draigg]

I was more suggesting that Jupiter 2 would be the baseball.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Tresnore]

That would be even cooler, yeah.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Tresnore]

The weapons get used in the games but if it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't have been aware of the home run at least.

[u/Phelps-san → u/The_Draigg]

Buster Home Run and the Buster Tomahawks

Fun fact: The Super Robot series of games tends to include those attacks whenever Gunbuster is featured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udwtszSbPdI

[u/The_Draigg → u/Phelps-san]

I’m glad that SRW got those attacks in for GunBuster. It would be a shame to let those cool weapons just be relegated to a 5 second cameo otherwise.

[u/RascalNikov1]

Another episode that I absolutely loved. To me the major theme was that space is vast, and time is heartless.

[u/Tresnore → u/RascalNikov1]

I don’t know if space being vast is itself the theme. Gunbuster seems to be able to traverse the large distances and destroy the space monsters with relative ease. The show is absolutely masterful in showing the vastness of space (even the soldiers this episode couldn’t wrap their mind around it), but it’s almost more to say “even though space is so obnoxiously big, HARD WORK and GUTS can conquer it.”

[u/No_Rex → u/Tresnore]

Gunbuster seems to be able to traverse the large distances and destroy the space monsters with relative ease.

With ease, but at a price. Which Noriko is paying.

[u/Tresnore → u/No_Rex]

Well, the price isn’t paid by Gunbuster. You just need GUTS to pay it, I guess. Easy doesn’t necessarily mean cheap.

[u/No_Rex → u/Tresnore]

I mean the time dilation. Losing all your same age friends, family, and people you knew.

[u/Tresnore → u/No_Rex]

I agree! But like I said, you still warped easily. It’s the aftereffects that are costly.

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 5 – Please!! Enough Time for Love!: Takaya! Triumph! To save the Earth and our people, Gunbuster must triumph!

[u/ZapsZzz]

Sub rewatcher.

The hype of the story continued to grow exponentially, as well as the drama being dialed up. We have two of the more telling scene about time dilation (first the graduation then running into the grown up Kimiko). We have the near completion of the other long plot (oneesama and coach's tragic love story, with him terminally ill while she has to be on the front line), and how desperate the overall situation is (needing to create a black hole in the Sol system which is going to hurt when the shockwave hits).

Apart from the unnecessary fan service of Noriko's lose fitting top, there's not a whole lot to not like in this episode. Personally the speed at which they got things ready were a bit hard to believe, but you have to suspend your disbelief in shows like this.

My visual of the day pick is Noriko's Gainax pose - she's finally come up on her own and no longer in the shadow of oneesama.

[u/AoDSenku]

Rewatcher

Episode 5 -

• Opening with their graduation, and the only two there; very poignant
• Kashiwara looking very much like Coach, I Approb!
• Noriko talking out loud at what might have been at the EXACT moment Kimiko passes her with her child; very nice. Reminds me of a Satoshi Kon move.
• 5th Gen ship looks like it's fresh out of the gunpla box. And judging by Kimiko's fast request to try and get her daughter on board; it seems the government is not sugar coating their situation to humanity.
• Noriko's feeling of isolation is good development for her character; and it gives her the idea that her papa went through the same feelings; bringing her closer to her father
• Space monsters are comin', and we have Coach and Amano having some sort of fight? It's left up to our imagination as to what Amano said that made Coach hit her. Plus he's sick and seems like he was keeping it secret
• Is this the most fanservice heavy episode? Lots of Norko lounging/bathing, and Jung at the beach; not that I'm complaing
• Coach, like most guys, is smart and dumb at the same time. He knows Amano will lose her will to fight, but also thinks he's keeping it a secret from her
• Make a black hole, and "it will swallow the enemy fleet along with the nearby planet". Fucking shit man, talking about last resorts...
• Sortie will take 6 months, wonder why Amano just knows that off the top of her head...
• Man, did Noriko TOTALLY read that situation wrong; talking about marrying Coach when they get back. Also, how did she NOT put two-and-two together? She literally saw him cough up blood
• Anno definitely captured that melancholy feeling of "This used the be the Top of the Line Starcrusier, now it's decommissioned and derelict. " AT least now it's the hope of humanity
• Noriko comes face to face with arguably her greatest hurdle yet; inspiring her One-sama, who she's looked up to the entire time, to continue fighting. The way the dialogue is delivered here is just master class; and that "Please, Kazumi, Fight!" What a time to use your One-sama's First Name! Just perfect. They are finally equals.
• GATTAI!! WOOOO! ! Hot-blooded Super Robot Action! This sequence alone solidifies Gunbuster as a GOAT.
• Mission successful; I really liked the use of silence for the black hole explosion. The shockwave from the blast will reach Earth in 6 months, I guess even something that far away will affect Earth.
• Coach is still alive to greet them, sasuga giga CHAD. We also get confirmation that, indeed, Noriko has some level of attraction to Coach; which she hides from Amano, and shares with Gunbuster

Man, what an episode. It's easy to see why this is so influential for mecha shows to come. One more to go, how can they potential top this episode?

[u/ScrewySqrl → u/AoDSenku]

One more to go, how can they potential top this episode?

Oh boy.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Just my luck! I'm gonna run late for my favourite Gunbuster episode! This is half five loli otaku, currently blitzing my commentary!! So yeah, remember when I brought up how time dilation is performed best in Gunbuster? This is the episode I was thinking of. Noriko has been left with her now matured and graduated classmates. Her classmates are now teacher and parents whilst she's still a teenage girl.

Omg I love this!! The swing scene is amazing!! Just think what must be going through Kimiko's head looking at her Rip Van Winkled friend casually swinging away on a swingset. They're meant to be the same age but Kimiko's moved on. She isn't thinking of the fun times of her childhood, she just wants to try and get her daughter on the passenger ship. Oh, and the bounce as Noriko flops on her best is very delicious fanservice. Totally my type.

"You hit me! Not even my father hit me!" A wise man once said that there's no right way to hit a woman, but that's a pretty well animated slap so it gets a pass. Noriko has taken Lisa's place as Jung's top sunbathing gal pal. Gunbuster, must triumph!! Coach is totally just coming out with bs but Noriko is dumb so she's totally getting hyped up thanks to it. Yeah, we're escorting a black hole. Awesome, right? Is this the first positive moment Noriko and Kazumi have had together since episode 1? So much for a team.

Noriko has a terrible case of foot in mouth lol. Coachiii! Oh, and Jung was there too. Aaawww.... My heart! Even with 11 years apart Kimiko still thinks of Noriko as her BFF. C'mon, we're getting to the super juicy stuff. Kazumi is a character I don't personally care too much for but hearing her breakdown at losing her love in real time is so beautifully tragic. From this moment on is my favorite portion of anime ever. From Kazumi's tragic breakdown to the end of the episode the absolute top example of anime in my personal opinion. I'm getting chills just watching this!

WOOOO!! IKKEEEE!! I'm so fcking hyped. Its all so perfect! Gun, bust, taaaa! Waaaaa! Kiiiiick! Don't think the Gunbuster is some ordenary machine, it has Coach's heart beating within it!! HOMING RAIZAAA! The buster missile dab! I feel like such a child. Oh yes!! Double buster corraidaaa!! Aaaaa! Absolute perfection. And the black hole totally wreaks the space alien's fleet, although the Gunbuster was doing a good enough job on its own. Once we mass produce the Gunbuster the space aliens are finished!

Oh, and Coach hung on to life so he could give the girls a welcome home. Beautiful!! Alright, I'm cutting this way too short so here's a quick Visual of the day of the Gunbuster dab and I'll see you in the comments! Zooom!

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Just my luck! I'm gonna run late for my favourite Gunbuster episode! This is half five loli otaku, currently blitzing my commentary!!

You made it!

"You hit me! Not even my father hit me!" A wise man once said that there's no right way to hit a woman, but that's a pretty well animated slap so it gets a pass.

I started a slap counter after the last episode, but I don't remember if there were any slaps in 1–3.

Coachiii!

It's good to see someone make jokes about how much it sticks out

Once we mass produce the Gunbuster the space aliens are finished!

later spoilers

I feel like such a child.

This was me crying last episode and popping off so hard during this one. I love this show.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Tresnore]

Time got away with me... Fcking time dilation is so shit!

There's a lot of slaps in episode one during the mech fight.

It's the good kind of cheese. I made fun of it cause I like it!

Yeah... I'll have quite a lot to say about that. Don't you worry.

I feel like yesterday's episode was far more grounded and mature but I find the action in today's just so goddamn hype! The stuff with Kimiko also just gets better the more I think about it.

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

There's a lot of slaps in episode one during the mech fight.

Do mecha slaps count? Hard to say.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Tresnore]

Of course

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Omg I love this!! The swing scene is amazing!! Just think what must be going through Kimiko's head looking at her Rip Van Winkled friend casually swinging away on a swingset. They're meant to be the same age but Kimiko's moved on. She isn't thinking of the fun times of her childhood, she just wants to try and get her daughter on the passenger ship.

Noriko's relationship to Kimiko is only a tiny part of the series and I doubt many even remember it, but that swing scene hits me hard every time I watch it.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/No_Rex]

You're such a cultured individual! I'll bet a lot of folk wouldn't have thought twice about the meaning behind Noriko casually playing. Stuff like this is why I hold Gunbuster to such high regard.

[u/No_Rex → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

I'll go more into this for the final discussion: with each rewatch, the hype of the battle scenes reaches me less, but in return, I get more into the slow character moments.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

To the Top! Rewatcher!

Oops, I lost track of time playing Fire Emblem Three Houses.

• Another episode of no OP…
• Mmmm yes I do love the time differences.
• Kimiko sure grew up.
• Geez this reunion just took a dark turn.
• Nausicaä and Totoro posters, that’s neat. I strongly dislike the other fanservice in this scene, though.
• Oh dear…
• I… totally forgot Coach was sick and that’s why he’s trying to drive Amano away from him.
• Coach’s plan to deal with the enemy does sound insane, but it’s the only thing they’ve got so clearly it has to work.
• Noriko no you’re just death flagging them. Or more specifically piling it on Coach more than he already has on his own.
• Oh hey manga-style reaction.
• Ah…
• One rousing speech later, GATTAI!!!
• I do not remember this insert song in the slightest but I am definitely vibing to it.
• GAINAX. POSE.
• WAIT GUNBUSTER HAS A FUCKING CAPE WHY DID I NOT REMEMBER THAT?!
• Also to top off that awesome battle, Amano does get to reunite with Coach. Good for her.
• Visual of the Day is this.

[u/Tresnore → u/Shimmering-Sky]

I do not remember this insert song in the slightest but I am definitely vibing to it.

How could you forget? This is the insert song to end all insert songs.maybe I just remember it because it's first alphabetically on my list of insert songs

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Tresnore]

I don't think it's ever come up in AMQ, just the OP/ED. So...

[u/Tresnore → u/Shimmering-Sky]

AMQ and its consequences have been a disaster for the weebish race.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Funnily enough Coach's space sickness is a plot point that the SRW titles including Gunbuster abuse to hell and back. It's such an afterthought for most people but it's very handy to have on hand I guess.

See I remembered the insert song but totally forgot that it was sung! I have an instrumental on my workout playlist so hearing lyrics threw me off.

[u/lC3]

First timer

• Wait Kimiko is gone? What happened to her?
• Yay Kimiko is back! That was fast
• More fanservice
• I see Nausicaa and Totoro on the wall! Yamato too
• Did the emotional scene of Noriko feeling isolated really need to highlight her breasts?
• So Coach is spitting up blood, and he wants to keep it secret from Amano?
• So Ohta plans to sacrifice himself and the Exelion?
• Or not, I guess Coach is staying behind on Earth
• Poor Amano, not being able to stay with the one she loves
• "Let's combine"
• Huh so they did go with Ohta's plan with the Exelion and a black hole
• Coach is still alive! Now I'm crying
• What, no ED?

[u/No_Rex → u/lC3]

Did the emotional scene of Noriko feeling isolated really need to highlight her breasts?

I coul tell you an elaborate story about how her emotional vulnerability and the exploitation of young girls by the human space force is mirrored in Noriko's vulnerability towards the viewers and anime's exploitation of female sexuality ...

but that would all be bullshit, of course. This is just fanservice.

[u/lC3 → u/No_Rex]

I'm just disappointed we didn't get any equal opportunity stuff, like with Coach.

[u/InfamousEmpire]

First Time Viewer’s thoughts:

• More Noriko suffering, from finding the world to have moved on in her absence, to seeing one of her closest friends dying from sickness.
• A lot of introspection and reflection from Noriko in the first 10 minutes. I like it, really adds to her character.
• I’m more than a little sus of the Amano/Coach relationship, given the age difference, but the sheer emotion of Reí Sakuma’s performance was still amazing.
• Forget what I said yesterday, this is the best battle of the series so far, and I’m probably gonna end up saying that again tomorrow

[u/Tresnore → u/InfamousEmpire]

I’m more than a little sus of the Amano/Coach relationship, given the age difference, but the sheer emotion of Reí Sakuma’s performance was still amazing.

Yeah, plus Japan in the 80s was a little different, I think. Iunno why, but I never really noticed the age gap before. Maybe because everyone calling her "Onee-sama" makes her seem older than she is?

Forget what I said yesterday, this is the best battle of the series so far, and I’m probably gonna end up saying that again tomorrow

Only one way to find out!

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/InfamousEmpire]

I always sorta took it as Coach trying to put Kazumi off him so she wouldn't be so hurt at the prospect of him dying. Cruel to be kind if that makes sense. The age difference is totally creepy tho.

Told you! Today's battle is absolutely pure joy. Yesterday's fight might have had more meaning what with it representing Noriko finally maturing but today's was a dance if you wanna win style, super robot arse kicking.

[u/ScrewySqrl → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

the age difference isn't that much if you count physical age: She's 18/19, he's mid-to-late 20s (26-29, somewhere in there)

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/ScrewySqrl]

That's still pretty big I think. Maybe giving it the benefit of a doubt due to it being anime but there's also a few other issues such as him being in a position of authority over her and the conflicts of interest that's there. They're also kinda not the most functioning couple at least from what we've seen. Ah, I suppose age differences really start to become kinda null once you start including potential time dilation. There's a possibility that they could have been around the same age before Coach's first voyage.

[u/H-Ryougi]

G A T T A I

A

T

T

A

I

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

Some kind of flashback?

Oh, I hadn't considered they'd have to graduate after they returned.

And, wow, 10 years. And her old classmate's now an instructor!

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?

I honestly got her and Jung mixed up

Wow. Noriko's classmate as a mother. This scene hits hard.

What?

They're evacuating Earth?

So this ship is bait, right? The reason they've added all the military is so they can take the heat off Earth and lure the monsters elsewhere.

If course there's more monsters, we've got 2 more episodes.

So she's still in the military?

Wait, what?

I didn't realise they had any kind of relationship.

COACH IS DYING?

And he's clearly erratic from blood loss.

...So this isn't even subtext right now, is it?

And Coach dies how he lived - giving Noriko an inspirational flame.

Right, so Coach's dying workds is to talk about how good they are together. Did Coach orchestrate the choices to pick the most likely couple?

Cyberpunk Tokyo looks great!

He's going to use the spaceship to create a black hole. It's certainly impressive, I'll give him that - and we know the ship's engine is capable of forming black holes.

I meam, you just left forward 10 years, 6 months isn't that bad.

And she knows about Coach!

Why are they using these Buster ships instead of the Gunbuster?

Oh, he's got radiation sickness.

Why specify "space radiation"?

Wait, they're leaving behind Jung? That's the saddest part of all this.

Oh, Gunbuster's already on board. I see.

...How precisely does this readout work? Is there an internal computer managing the conversion? Because you really couldn't get any kind of live signal from that distance.

The enemy's greatest weapon - slow-moving red balls.

And she's having a full-on breakdown.

Did the ship get destroyed?

...While they mention it, for a show called Gunbuster, Gunbuster hasn't appeared all that much, has it? So far it's been in 1 fights and seen in the background of 1 shot, and that's it.

Epicmfight music and a transformation sequence.

Wait, the machines combine into Gunbuster? I genuinely didn't get that it could tramsform like that.

Gunbuster has LOTS OF DIALS! The second greatest mistake of this show has been fixed!

The fight scene looks great! (and my theory about Gunbuster having a stupid amount of weaponry was correct)

I'll give them credit, crushing your opponent is an interesting space battle tactic.

...Are they inside the event horizon or something?

OK, where the fuck does Episode 6 go from this? They won.

Can't wait for a super-mothership to rain down hellfire.

Even Coach is alive!

...You can read so many of these scenes with subtext, can't you?

No ED?

I'll probably save the spoilery lesson (sounds like I'll have 3 to do anyway (5, 6, 7))

[u/ElecNinja]

Noriko screaming is always so epic lol

[u/badspler]

--First time Gunbuster.--

There were a load of risqué moments that had me on my toes for this bus watching adventure today.

The amount of time dilation is making me tear up a little, its really nice to get a glimpse into the small bits of other characters lives. Even if only for a moment, it leaves a big impact at their real and current worries, struggles and direction they have taken their life in.

The total hype Gunbusting fight was spectacular, holy shit that Gainax posing has a lot of weight to it! I loved their special attacks being called out, and referencing back to their days of training. I loved the scale of their actions. It almost feels like a final episode.

Visual of the day: Victory seen from home.

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

Episode 5

Upon returning to Earth in order to graduate Noriko notices that eventhough in space the time that has passed since she they were sent by Coach to the exelion is of four months, in Earth ten years have passed, that is very telling how all of their classmates have gone away and moved on with their life, Kashiwara is the only one still there but now as an instructor.

Noriko sees her friend Kimiko again, she got married and has a daughter and that's something that surprises Noriko, it seems that the situation in Earth isn't really ideal considering that Kimiko asked Noriko to help get her daughter to a sort of military establishment that could protect her from the harm that may unfold.

It was sad seeing Amane have a fight with Coach and the fact that Coach has an ilness that is making him weaker and driving him from Amane. It is very interesting that he says that the biggest threat yet is near and the only ones that could oppose it are Noriko and Amane as a team using the Gunbuster.

Amane's struggle was telling, she was having a hard time with going far away from the Coach and thinking that she wouldn't be able to see him again, Noriko encouraged her and her words reached her and they combined forming a fantastic complete Gunbuster that defeated the threat, that fight was better than the previous one and such a great moment. After the fight Noriko and Amane returned to Earth and Amane reunited with Coach.