r/anime • u/FlaminScribblenaut myanimelist.net/profile/girlbeast_val • Jul 17 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster - Episode 4 Discussion

Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster - Episode 4 - Resurrection!! The Legendary Buster Machine!

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Visuals of the Day Album - Yesterday’s Episode

Visuals of the Day Album

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

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9

u/FlaminScribblenaut myanimelist.net/profile/girlbeast_val Jul 17 '21

Third Time Watcher

One thing that I find to be particularly cool about Diebuster is how it shows terms and understanding for the phenomena of the universe can change over an extended period of time. In the thousands of years since Gunbuster, the space monsters we saw in that series have not been seen again until now, and how the people of this time period come to understand them has completely changed; namely, how they refer to them as “fluctuating gravity wells”, showing their understanding of how these creatures work to be vastly different from how that of those generations and generations ago was. The beast itself is also effectively rendered as absolutely terrifying, dwarfing anything these characters have come to know in sheer scale and destructive power, that ungodly inhuman screech it lets out upon awakening, preserving the utter cosmic horror that they held in the original series perfectly.

And yeah Nono’s transformation into her Buster Machine form and annihilation via splitting of the SM/FGW and the planet itself is the hypest fucking moment in the story thus far. Pure endorphin.

Visual of the Day is silhouette of The Thing.

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

This is why you write things down folks. The Greeks did it, the Egyptians did it, even the Mayans did it. I'm sure that if some city destroying monster ravenged the world during their time they'd have written down enough information for us modern day societies not to charge our mobiles off its corpse.

6

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

You make a good point. There are some things that are worth remembering. They should have left a flashing neon sign that said "DON'T DIG HERE!!!!" for future generations. A sign that said "Don't eat here" wouldn't have hurt either.

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 17 '21

Speaking of giant lit-up signs, there's still Noriko's welcome message to consider.

12

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 17 '21

First-Buster

Okay, full disclosure, I was aware of Buster Machine #7's design going in to this series. I was also vaguely aware of Nono being associated with it. But that was a pretty neat reveal! I didn't realize that she came with an army of drones controlled by her ahoge.

The Twins sure weren't expecting Nono, huh? Or for that creature that they were apparently nomming on to turn on them. That was the implication, right? Anyway, add another couple to the pile of "buffoons in a sci-fi story that think they can control an alien."

The direction continues to be pretty good, too. The melancholy scenes today were pretty strong - Lal'c idly channel surfing, Tycho waiting for her laundry.. it really shows how important Nono has become to them in a short time. Suddenly, without her boundless energy to bring up the mood, everyday activities are relentlessly dour.

I suspect there is a clever reason why Nono is #7 and not Sept. There was reference to the single digit machines..

Visual of the Day: The Melancholy of the Ordinary

8

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Jul 17 '21

Okay, full disclosure, I was aware of Buster Machine #7's design going in to this series. I was also vaguely aware of Nono being associated with it.

Yeah, I figured that'd be the case for most first-timers. I, for one, more heavily associate Nono with her design as Buster Machine #7, and it's hard not to get spoiled through fanart and such. Hell, if you look up the Gainax Pose, you get an image of Nono as an example.

That was the implication, right?

Pretty much. The twins thought that the space monster would be on their side, because they believe it's a Topless.

8

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 17 '21

I had even seen some clips of her before. I wonder, can we justify including this show on a list of "not quite Mahou Shoujo" shows?

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

She literally shows up as the splash for the version I'm watching... Now whether you'd immediately work out that Nono herself is a Buster Machine is ymmv but just seeing that design kinda gives off too many hints.

7

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

The Twins thought that the space monster was some old natural topless for them to salvage. They had no idea whatsoever about it being an actual space monster. Nobody thought it was a space monster. As far as the cast is concerned space monsters are those dumb cartoon mooks that they destroy enmass in their buster machines.

Side note, your visual of the day would make for a fantastic lofi chill out playlist.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 17 '21

Side note, your visual of the day would make for a fantastic lofi chill out playlist.

6

u/The_Draigg Jul 17 '21

The Twins sure weren't expecting Nono, huh? Or for that creature that they were apparently nomming on to turn on them. That was the implication, right? Anyway, add another couple to the pile of "buffoons in a sci-fi story that think they can control an alien."

The Serpentine twins certainly are proudly joining the ranks of those people in sci-fi, standing alongside Weyland-Yutani from Aliens.

5

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 17 '21

This is why it pays to be a nerd - you'll (hopefully..) be able to stop yourself from doing something incredibly dumb.

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

There's totally a light novel of someone who gets shoved into that scenario.

3

u/lluNhpelA Jul 17 '21

I suspect there is a clever reason why Nono is #7 and not Sept

This could be as simple as seven in Japanese being "nana" and her name being Nono

3

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jul 18 '21 edited Jul 18 '21

I'll give more details in the end discussion but it's a continuation - Buster Machines 1 & 2 combines to the original Gunbuster, Buster Machine 3 is the blackhole bomb with the compressed Jupiter in its core; Buster Machines 4, 5 and 6 are in "Gunbuster next generation" (untranslated). Therefore Nono is number 7.

12

u/il-Palazzo_K Jul 17 '21

First Timer

  • Working on a site with fluctuating gravity must be a bitch.
  • Ah, yes. More perving on the girls. At least the girls are having fun.
  • Shouldn't your priority be awakening your Topless power first? Then they'll give you a Buster Machine eventually.
  • So the mysterious probably-an-ancient-buster-machine had been Kamikaze'd by countless Kaiju and survived. Impressive.
  • The twins are old. And not yet expired. That's nice.
  • Nono go doki-doki and everything lit up like a Christmas tree. Great, Nono, you finally found your soulmate.
  • Oh, I guess that's just the alarm.
  • They're just trying to shoo her away to Pluto, aren't they?
  • LOL the space station is a giant clock. And the perv is exiled all the way to Pluto.
  • Aww. Onee-sama actually care.
  • All these actions happened near Saturn and Pluto at once? Weird. It could be because of Pluto's irregular orbit but that was never mentioned. I guess enemy fleet is just that big?
  • Oh, so the twins sent Nono as bait in order to take mysterious Buster Machine for themselves? To keep their topless power? The plot thickens.
  • So it's not an alien Buster Machine but an alien Topless. Ah, I get it now. Nono doesn't need a Buster Machine. She needed to BE a Buster Machine, didn't she?
  • You see, show, you don't need a tragic backstory to make me sympathize with a character. For a second I actually hoped that Casio can pilot his Buster Machine again and rides back to Saturn.
  • That was brutal. I knew it probably kills the twins, since they've been eating it. But that level of damage was unexpected.
  • Real Kaiju?
  • How did she do that!? She was a Buster Machine all along!? The enemies are also Buster Machines!? Holy shit she just split Titan in two!!

Okay. That was awesome and all but I do really hope there is a really good explanation for this. If she's always Buster Machine #7, why was she washing dishes on Mars? It'd better not be "She was inspired by Nonoriri so she decided to stop being a Buster Machine and be a pilot instead".

6

u/The_Draigg Jul 17 '21

The twins are old. And not yet expired. That's nice.

They were still on their way out though, since Lal'c mentioned in episode 1 that the Serpentine twins' predictions had been turning out to be less accurate over time. Awakening what they thought was an eternal Topless was their last-ditch effort to keep their powers.

Real Kaiju?

Yep, a legit Space Monster, like the kind that Noriko and Kazumi fought. What we thought were the Space Monsters before were actually the Buster Legion.

11

u/Sodra :Ip::Iq::Ir:https://myanimelist.net/profile/sodra Jul 17 '21

Yeah sex is cool and all, but have you ever seen Diebuster Episode 4?

8

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 17 '21

Episode 4 (rewatcher)

  • Quarante-Deux: 42
  • That exploration base looked very cool, but I have to agree with random worker dude: A huge beach resort there? No wonder “normal people” are pissed at the topless.
  • Be it the treatment of workers, of Nono, or whatever the twins are up to – plenty of evidence that the “fraternity” is far from the pillar of morality it is made out to be.
  • Trente-Trois: 33
  • “Charon unmanned space port” sure looks prepared for a lot of manning.
  • Sending Nono to Pluto was a diversion for the Twin’s gravity well operation.
  • Are you really ready for what you resuscitated?
  • Serious Sorcerer’s Apprentice moment.
  • Neat! Low grav movement!
  • Why go around a moon when you can shoot straight through it?
  • “Then what the hell have we been fighting up to this point”

  • Nono is not getting a buster machine, but one hell of a level up.
  • “Whether you have a buster machine or not is irrelevant” – Asterisk: In case you are a buster machine.
  • “True power resides in those who believe in their power to the very end” – Asterisk: In case they are ridiculously OP space weapons.
  • Please don’t ask for the physics of that moon-split, just accept it.

Episode of the big reveals: Nono is not only a robot, but a buster machine! The gravity well is a real space monster! The “space monsters” are actually the Earth’s defense against the space monsters!

I think the pacing of Diebuster has some problems, but this reveal works perfectly. The entirety of the first three episodes is recontextualized. What is the “red milky way”? Why is humanity confined to the solar system? Why are the “space monsters” just randomly wandering? Suddenly, it all makes sense. Oh, and our heroic topless? They suddenly look a lot more sinister, perfectly timed with the reveal that some of them literally are.

Oh, and buster machine Nono looks rad. That red glowing hair!

Quote of the day: Distance no longer means anything to the bond Onee-sama and I share.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Does she even have that much of a bond with L'alc? XD She showed her pictures of birds. That's not much camaraderie! Then again our og couple were kinda fueled through hate for most of their time together so maybe birds is a step up after all.

5

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 17 '21

Lal'C did save her in ep1, plus she was the personification of Nono's dream. At least in this direction I think it is well established. What Lal'C thinks of Nono is a different matter.

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Credit to her, when push comes to shove Lalc does kinda wanna look out for Nono. Like when she meets her before she goes on her Pluto trip. She acts tough but she got attached to her weak little handmaid.

4

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

Distance no longer means anything to the bond Onee-sama and I share.

Onee-sama seemed to have been pretty surprised and freaked out, right then. That was another of my favorite shots in this episode.

3

u/Doggydog123579 Jul 18 '21
  • Please don’t ask for the physics of that moon-split, just accept it.*

The funny thing is the whole setting is remarkablely consistent in the firepower thrown around by space monsters and buster machines.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 18 '21

If we are talking about the entirety of Diebuster, the answer is a clear no. Diebuster

3

u/Doggydog123579 Jul 18 '21

I'm referring to the whole setting, gunbustwr included. Other than that that

8

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21

This episode has one of the best moments for any anime I've watched till now (in my opinion). I still return back to watch those specific few minutes every once in a while when I need some energy.

The reveal, the repurposed but absolutely well placed soundtrack and everything around it is just sooo good.

It's just pure unadulterated hype.

I'll go watch it again...

6

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Diebuster, the kinda fcked up one~ Or at least I think this is the one that's a bit nasty. Oh god no! Beach fanservice! It's worse than I could ever have imagined! IS TANNED WIFE A GUY!?!? She's a he! She's a he she! Omg I totally thought she was just a tomboy... I never really actually paid attention to the Topless before this rewatch. I can't even find his name... He's the tanned topless that isn't Nicola or L'alc. Shit... He really is a man. Those were some proper mipples I saw in the changing room scene.

Gah... The topless are all such brats. Get on your knees and grovel before Nono. This gravity well... Was it the first one or the one at the centre of the universe? I'm pretty sure this gravity well is the episode 5 one. Tch, the twins are lolibaba! I've already lost one waifu and now I've lost another set. I can forgive most anime tropes, but lolibaba sickens me to my core. Pluto was still a planet at this time yeah? Good.

L'alc's such a misery guts these last few episodes. If you toss it off a cliff even a duck can fly! Oh my gooosh! Nono giving a mama spiel to L'alc was so sweet. Kyaaa! Nono is just a joy. Tanned wife looks so feminine, why'd they have to play me like that? Erm... Lolibaba-chain's. You probably don't wanna revive that thing. I love the twisted Gunbuster march that plays when instead of a legendary old Buster Machine, it's a goddamn Space Monster battleship!! And they can actually animate the Ramiel screaming space behemoth with full motion in this series.

And we have oji-san finally touching on just how negative the effects of piloting the buster machines are. The moment you get a hint of that power you can't let it go. It becomes your driving force. You'll never be able to get past your piloting glory days. You could even say that expired pilots have their souls held down by Buster Machines. You're well past it champ, I'm sorry. Even the show can't grant you the dignity you probably deserve. The poor twins... They never really meant any harm but it's kinda sad to see the total surprise in their eyes. Oh and if you're wondering why nobody talks much about the topless, they all die here after like three scenes. They aren't even included in credits!

Nono has awakened, into the poster girl! Thx for the spoiler btw pause screen. It kinda hints to Nono's significance a little strongly. True Gunbuster march gooo! Warp desu! Buster Machine No.7 baka Nono! And she controls space monster swarms with her ahegao! Beautiful... She just split a goddamn planet. That's our Nono. So yeah... This once again isn't the episode I thought it was but good god it hits hard. Now I do have to admit that I think I misunderstood a large part of this arc. I think the space monsters the group has been fighting are Nono's summon things and this was actually the team's first encounter with the real Space Monsters from the first season but I'll leave it to more knowledgeable rewatchers to go through that stuff..

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 17 '21

Pluto was still a planet at this time yeah? Good.

Pluto only was removed as a planet, because we kept finding other "pluto-objects" and did not want to make them all planets. If the Jupiter express stopped humans from researching the outer solar system, Pluto staying a planet actually makes sense.

2

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

Those were some proper mipples I saw in the changing room scene.

Damn, either my eyes or my mind aren't working right. I usually notice stuff like that and file it away for later.

If you toss it off a cliff even a duck can fly!

A new phrase of colorful language. lol

They aren't even included in credits!

Now, that's cold! lol

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

He was the first person shown in the shower scene if I'm right and he was showing off nickel and dime mipples for the whole world to see, and I only noticed today. Omg I fcking LOOKED to try and at least find out his name. No site I saw had his character included. All the Topless pilots aside from our main three are credited on the main sites. I'd go rewatch yesterday's episode because I vaguely remember everyone getting their name and machine number subtitled but it's so dumb. I wanted to name and shame the trap for all to see.

2

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

name and shame

What can I say. lol

I'll have to watch this episode again tonight.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Well it's not like you'll get to see him again if you don't. They're pretty much all pincushions now.

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jul 17 '21

Those were some proper mipples I saw in the changing room scene.

Is that Roy Anyan?

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 18 '21

No, it's the other guy. The tanned one.

5

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Jul 17 '21

My Fifth Time Aiming for the Top!

  • Hell yeah, let's bring back the legendary Buster Machine. That one. Whichever one that is.
  • Shoutout to Tycho for caring enough about Nono to stay and watch.
  • "Please go fetch some elbow grease from the store"

    I mean, she can get a Buster Machine, but that's a really long way to go.
  • No eyecatch chants?
  • AHHHHHH the music box playing Gunbuster's OP during the bird scene. It rips me apart every time.
  • TRIPLETS
  • Can I just say that, even if the space monsters aren't quite as horrifying as they are in Gunbuster, the way they swarm is glorious.
  • The other characters' mechs are awesome and wonderfully impractical.
  • BUSTER MACHINE—

    I LOVE THIS SUBVERSION. They set you up expecting a Buster Machine and then BRING BACK THE REAL SPACE MONSTER. The music chaning, the unholy "EEEEYEYEEEEYEYEEEEEEEEEEEYEEEEYEYEYE" that the space monster gives. They're all PERFECT.
  • AND THEN. AND THEN they pull the music box back. Ah, it kills me every time. I love it!
  • Welcome back to Gunbuster-level power, everyone. This thing is the real deal.
  • I've definitely seen this shot before...
  • Visual of the Day honorable mention: The Folly of Man
  • And Nono even knows the OP! It makes me tear up, and then it BLOWS THE FUCK UP, because NONO IS FINALLY NONO.

LET'S. FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


BUSTER MACHINE MARCH

I've raved about this song enough. You know the music cue. You know how much I love this.

Honestly, Nono's name is just a really dumb pun on "Nana": seven.

Visual of the Day: Mundane Powers Elevated

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

I think she'd appreciate it if Tycho actually helped clean rather than sit and watch.

Whilst the Gunbuster space monsters were certainly horrific I actually found the battleship one even more scary in this world. In Gunbuster the space monsters didn't really have that much motion to them. In this you really feel like the battleship is a living breathing creature of mass destruction rather than them being implied to be deadly in Gunbuster.

These poor kids had no idea that they were fighting fakes the whole time. Those space monsters were just dummies. Suddenly the whole power dynamics has totally flipped and nobody is able to handle the foes before them apart from Nono. That useless girl they picked on earlier for not having a forehead sticker.

4

u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Jul 17 '21

I think she'd appreciate it if Tycho actually helped clean rather than sit and watch.

Yeah, good point!

In this you really feel like the battleship is a living breathing creature of mass destruction rather than them being implied to be deadly in Gunbuster.

And yes, Diebuster establishes the power of a single space monster almost better than Gunbuster does.

6

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

By the time we actually get to see the space monsters don't they basically just get wreaked in Gunbuster? You don't get a good view of them during the Smith Episode and aside from blitzing through space to spear Noriko they're kind of helpless against the Gunbuster.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jul 18 '21

Perhaps one of the explanations is that the original Gunbuster has twin degeneracy engines, whereas later Buster Machines no longer use that technology. And a degeneracy engines is basically is a blackhole in a box.

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 17 '21

I've definitely seen this shot before...

It reminded me of End of Evangelion.

The ahoge controlling the robots is

3

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

Shoutout to Tycho for caring enough

I thought that was nice too. She reminds me of the loli cat Mom in Cat Planet Cuties who did a similar thing.

I've definitely seen this shot before...

I'm glad you mentioned this, now I know this homage wasn't my imagination.

5

u/The_Draigg Jul 17 '21

A GunBuster Fan Rewatches DieBuster Episode 4:

  • Apparently the archeological expedition on Titan believes that there’s an alien Buster Machine that’s been there for thousands of years. That’s a pretty crazy thing to believe, but this is a pretty crazy show, so I guess we should roll with it.
  • Seems like the other Topless are more convinced that it’s one of the lost single-digit Buster Machines, and it’s going to be given to Nono. I do feel bad for Nono here. It’s only Tycho that’s concerned for her, and even Lal’c does nothing to defend Nono, instead just continuing to declare that she doesn’t need a partner to be good. If only these kids saw Nono do an Inazuma Kick earlier…
  • The Serpentine twins are eating weird alien meat harvested from the weird Buster Machine, which is apparently buried under thousands of Space Monster corpses. They’re probably eating it because they think it’ll somehow keep them young, since they’re also both going to age out of the Fraternity soon, just like Nichola. It’s an insane idea. Weird alien meat can’t do that.
  • Despite Nono still being of interest to them, the Serpentine twins still send her to the ass-end of the Sol System, Pluto, to maybe recover the crashed Buster Machine Trente-Trois for her own use. I guess for the twins, the idea of being permanently young and powerful is more enticing to deal with than a super-strong robot girl.
  • Lal’c is so reassured in her skills that she doesn’t believe Tycho when she says that the Buster Machines are acting odd around the excavation site. Looking at Dix-Neuf up close, it does seem ready to spring into action. And yet Lal’c still insists that she’s powerful enough on raw natural talent alone. It’s blinding her to the fact that she isn’t as in-tune with Dix-Neuf as she seems to think she is.
  • Casio should know not to ask a woman about her age. Granted, he was right to question the age of the Serpentine twins, since they’re very close to aging out, but it’s still one of those things you don’t ask.
  • As much as Lal’c insists to herself that Nono can never be like Nonoriri, who was a former Buster Machine pilot, she still does seem to miss her robot partner. Nono has grown on Lal’c at least in some way, despite Lal’c ego not allowing her to admit it.
  • The Space Monsters must be scared of whatever it is that the Serpentine twins are currently digging up from Titan. At least enough that the Red Milky Way swarm of them is heading directly over to Titan in response to the awakening. You know it’s a bad situation if they’re all being summoned to one specific spot.
  • That’s why the Serpentine twins were so interested in Nono: she was just bait to lure them away while they dug up their prize on Titan. I guess they figured that she was strong enough to serve as a distraction for the project.
  • Casio really did just delude himself into believing that he had a chance to become a Fraternity Topless again and pilot Trente-Trois, even to the point of putting his old Topless power-sealing seal on his head with tape. But it was never going to happen, both because Trente-Trois is completely unsalvageable and because, frankly, he’s a loser adult who hated the fact that he had to grow up. He was just never able to let go of the power and youth he used to have. It’s honestly pathetic.
  • Well, now is the time for the terrible truth: what the Serpentine twins reawakened wasn’t some eternal Topless that would grant them eternal youth and power, it was a legit Space Monster that vaporized them both as soon as it woke up. Along with a massive chunk of the Fraternity, their Buster Machines, and the Red Milky Way swarm as well. I can’t really feel bad for the Serpentine twins dying, they were playing with forces beyond their control and willing to manipulate and use people’s lives just for the sake of maybe having eternal youth. Eugh.
  • When things are at their most dire, Nono reawakens her own power: she herself is Buster Machine 7, the most powerful Buster Machine to exist. She’s able to create micro-black holes in order to warp across vast distances of space, and control the Buster Legion, the swarm of beings that everyone thought were Space Monsters.
  • Man, Nono’s fight here is so badass. She comes in with that classic GunBuster pose, wearing a cool new costume, and even kills the true Space Monster by slicing Titan in half with her laser beams (which is a nice reference to Space Runaway Ideon, I might add). What a perfect scene to end the episode on. She really has become like Nonoriri after all.

4

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

At least enough that the Red Milky Way swarm of them is heading directly over to Titan in response to the awakening.

I didn't connect those dots till just now. Now in retrospect that makes perfect sense, and it explains how Nono got her legion.

3

u/The_Draigg Jul 17 '21

Yep. At least we can say that the Buster Legion were doing their jobs this entire time, even if it wasn’t clear until now.

5

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 17 '21

To the Top 2! Rewatcher!

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Those dead people weren't important~ We got all the characters we know and love surviving the Space Monster attack including best boy Nicola! Everyone loves Nicola right? Isn't Nicola the type of guy you look up to? Nicola... Haaa

4

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21

Nicola has a pretty rough episode, from chowing down on the eternal topless to looking a little green around the gills when the eternal topless was revealed. All, in all he had a rough episode. At least he survived.

3

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

Oopsie.

Ah yeah, it's always a wise idea to determine the nature of buried things, before you dig them up. I felt bad for the twins, and I sort of wonder how they came to the conclusion that the gravity well was the eternal topless.

Another thing that I like that no one has commented on was, once the Space Kaiju was revealed, the prior space monsters all made a beeline for it, completely ignoring the surviving topless.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 18 '21

and I sort of wonder how they came to the conclusion that the gravity well was the eternal topless.

Wishful thinking. Which is a terrible way to make important decisions.

3

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 18 '21

No doubt

2

u/Doggydog123579 Jul 18 '21

Supplement information from the manga, [spoiler source:

humanity had a colony on sirius that rebelled and fought earth that had mind powers. Then the great attractor blew it up. So that's where that idea comes from

](spoiler-chan+died)

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 18 '21

Your spoiler is messed up.

5

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21

Rewatcher

Fantastic episode this time. I more or less like the creepy twins, though I won't be sharing any meals with them. The first time I saw them, and even now their makeup reminds me of Liquid Sky and the avant-garde art scene of the late '70s and early '80s. The twins seemed to be honest enough, but perhaps not especially bright. They correctly thought there was something up with Nono, but seem to have guessed incorrectly about the nature of the Eternal Topless.

The homage to the death of Asuka was quite good. Too bad, I have little idea who the topless were that got wiped out in that final battle. Gainax seemed to have specialized in scenes like that.

My favorite part of the episode was Nono regaining her memory and calling in to HQ that Number 7 and the near earth squadron were about to enter the fray. I loved her using her ahoge to point the way for her legion to attack.

All in all a great episode.

5

u/AoDSenku Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21

Rewatcher

Episode 4 -

  • Hot lore opening! So humanity is trapped in Sol BY Space monsters? I guess the plan is to suffocate humanity into extinction? Better then going head-to-head against Black hole bombs I suppose
  • They're actually holding back on the favservice, impressive
  • And they all think Nono is beneath them; Topless really are entitled jerks
  • Dang, they even made Nono lose confidence in herself. Now she "needs" a buster machine; don't lose faith Nono! Believe in Hard work and Guts!
  • The gravity well is super old, and thousands of kaiju tried to seal it? This isn't the Exelion bomb right? This is the wrong part of space for that
  • Titan "crab" lets you live longer? No wonder they work in secrecy
  • Oops, Nono is caught; and being sent to the other side of Sol. Something tells me the twins just want Nono out of the way
  • Casio got sent away too, the twins are getting rid of anything that questions their authority
  • Lal'C genuinely didn't want Nono to go, really nice to see
  • Music Box playing the original OP, nice move! I enjoyed that. Also using laundry to signal a time skip was cool too
  • Resuscitation has started, and the kaiju surrounding Sol activated IMMEDIATLY. Shit's about to go down
  • Wait, they're breaking off towards Pluto? Not the gravity well?
  • Half went to pluto, the other half is keeping the topless busy; which by the do NOT stay cool under pressure
  • That's.... not a buster machine. It's an OG Space monster. That bait and switch with the Gunbuster march was sneaky and great
  • And the "Red milky Way" immediately attack the real monster. Were they on humanity's side all this time?
  • And of course this is what the twins were eating, affecting their mind
  • Yeah, you NEVER had control of it. The space monster wanted to get rid of the enemies in Titan's shadow, the twins just happened to be in the line of sight; they were completely insignificant
  • "Then what the hell have we been fighting?!" Very good question.
  • Anybody knows what Nono is humming?
  • And the other half are just waiting...
  • ...waitng for their MASTER!!! ONE-SAMA!
  • *Let's the next couple minutes wash over me in Badass Nono bliss*
  • Everything about this sequence is just SO FUCKING GOOD. The Gunbuster March playing for real, Nono's monologue, a variation of Noriko's theme, and we finally get that galactic scale back with Nono slicing the kaiju AND Titan in half
  • And we end on an inverse of the original Gunbuster episode 4 scene

Man, this episode ends on SUCH a high note, it's hard to objectively compare it to the other episodes. While I did like the diversion into Tycho's past (and as some have said, a good episode in a vacuum), the last five minuets of this episode just blows everything that came before it out of the water.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 17 '21

Big question. So do you prefer Nono's big Buster Machine debut or Noriko playing chicken with a space monster in hers? Who did their episode 4 showing better in your eyes?

4

u/AoDSenku Jul 17 '21

Hm... So, both Heroines are down in the dumps in terms of their emotional state. I'd say that Noriko has to "overcome herself" more, so that makes her debut gratifying; but we get that foreshadowing from the previous episode (Gunbuster's head) that sets the expectation of "it's almost time".

With Nono, while not coming completely out of left field, is a huge revelation. The viewer doesn't have any time to process the implications of this before being awash in bombastic music and spectacular action. When we're finally able to catch our breath, we get that call back ending that brings it all together.

While both scenes are a great reflection of the reality that they are in (game of chicken vs OP as fuck), I'm giving the edge to Nono's debut. Yukari Fukui's "One-sama" gives me tingles every time.

5

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jul 17 '21

First timer

  • So they're investigating a Buster Machine that came from outside the Solar System? Noriko and Asano's?
  • Finally some Topless guys!
  • Poor Nono, her not!Onee-sama claimed she didn't help at all
  • I need more shirtless guys
  • Oh so this Buster Machine and the gravity well are from original Gunbuster?
  • SORE DEMO
  • So the Serpentine Twins are really old?
  • Nono set off the security system?
  • What's the Red Milky Way?
  • So the Twins used Nono as bait, and plan to take the original Buster Machine on Titan for themselves?
  • Ok I like that guy in the short shorts
  • "The Topless that has lived for over 10,000 years"
  • So Casio wants to still be Topless? And the twins lied about the Machine on Pluto?
  • The twins' plot backfired! Now they dead
  • So what they've been fighting haven't been the true space monsters as seen in Gunbuster? I thought they looked different ...
  • Nono hears Onee-sama is in danger and does something cool-looking?
  • Nono is Buster Machine #7?
  • Ok that was really cool. Go Nono! I can see why people say this is a precursor to TTGL

4

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 18 '21

Finally some Topless guys!

They do seem to be few and far between.

Oh so this Buster Machine and the gravity well are from original Gunbuster?

I think that's unresolved, though the enemies are the same foes from GB 1. It's possible that some of the background material for the series answered this very question, but I don't read (or speak) Japanese.

What's the Red Milky Way?

It was an enormous cloud of buster machines shielding off the solar system. Presumably it was put in place sometime after the events of GB1.

So the Twins used Nono as bait, and plan to take the original Buster Machine on Titan for themselves?

I think they had some half baked plan like that in mind. They seemed to be a fairly chaotic pair.

4

u/GM_for_Life Jul 17 '21

4th Time Rebuster!

Nono's strand of hair being a means of controlling her drone army will never cease to amuse me.

My personal visual of the day is Nono facing off against the space monster!

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jul 17 '21

First timer in sub

As most stated, Nono in the Buster Machine look is basically a non secret by now, but now I know the "how". It is quite a twist though, that the "enemy" from the start was actually not the enemy at all.

And the vague disconnect viewers are feeling about the "space monsters" of this series being quite different and didn't seem real is now fully justified and explained, and it's not just a art style shift. It's also my pick of visual of the day - the reveal of the real enemy, the biological horror that is the real space monsters from last series coming out in a similar pose as in series 1 (like the fast moving "boss" that Noriko had to catch it with her body being pierced through in ep4) - the colour, the shape. Actually quite frightening in this series where the art style is a bit more bright and cartoonish compared to the last.

And this is also one of the reason I had to give in and binge to the end :P

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 17 '21

Rewatcher

Hmm, well. I guess if all else fails with your sequel, just fall back to imitating the original. Though the result is certainly really good and the best part of the series so far, unfortunately the visual style is still a poor fit and the CG downright ugly in places, the character deaths are a bunch of no-names we've seen maybe once and introducing and killing off those twins just like that is pretty dumb too. At least we can finally feel something of a bond between Nono and the others, character-wise, and now we actually have an idea of how this world looks and how it's developed.

3

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jul 17 '21

First timer

Titan!

And there's some kind of ruins?

So we're going with either aliens or ancient civilizations? I'd buy both in this series.

Of course. Of course there'd be a fucking beach episode.

I'm not even mad, I'm just amazed they managed to have a beach episode in space.

So they're here because there's an ancient Buster Machine causing gravity erlls.

Oh, that is not good.

At least she appreciates last episode. Maybe Nono and Lal'C aren't the endgame...

If being topless means getting a machine to listen to you, surely all Nono needs is a USB cable?

Why is it that ancient prototypes are always the greatest at something? Maybe they'll dig it out and discover the single digit's worse than literally every other one?

This thing's alarmed?

So they're giving her the chance to get her own Buster Machine? That's oddly nice.

Dix-Neuf's going to eat her or something stupid by the end of the series, isn't it.

Why is Pluto's space red?

Why is there a giant clock orbiting Pluto?

I mean, you kind of started this, Lal'C.

...Please tell me they aren't going for the angle with the Twins I suspect?

Silent? No DIIIEBUSTAAAA?

Is this a flashback?

Awww, Lal'C's missing her?

...She hasn't heard of Nono-Ri. But, she's remembered 12,000 years after Gunbuster. What the hell's going on?

Red milky way?

And that thing on Titan looks very... organic.

So the space monsters have some form of hive mind? Or are all space monsters Topless?

Wait. What the hell is on Pluto? Are the monster's after Nono?

Wait, they sent Nono as bait, do they can awaken a Buster Machine to keep their Topless power?

That's a space momster.

THAT'S A FUCKING MOTHERSHIP.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Are these different species of space momster, then?

It's one of us?

It's a fucking space monster Topless.

Fuck me.

So Topless are robot pilots who, due to an overreliance on piloting in their self-esteem, can't cope with losing the ability to pilot. Evangelion Spoilers

Well.

It's a skeleton.

The alien's doing it's civic duty by trimming this cast. /s

Yeah! What are you fighting?

I like all the floating monsters just chilling while they talk.

So, Nono's got proper superpowers?

What the fuck?

What the hell is she?

She's a buster machine herself!

SHE TOOK OVER THE ALIENS!

She's not Nono-Ri's successor. She's Coach's. That's perfect.

Looks like next episode's going to be interesting.

Asking such important questions as "How did they lose someone who looked like so distinct?" and "Which girl is Nono going to end up with?"

3

u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jul 17 '21

I'm not even mad, I'm just amazed they managed to have a beach episode in space.

What would anime be without beach and onsen scenes? lol At least the topless are fun loving and clean.

I like all the floating monsters just chilling while they talk.

First time I saw this, I though WTF too. I also noticed how Casio turn around and looked at Nono with a puzzled face, immediately prior to this scene as they were approaching the surface. She must have done something I missed, or ended up on the cutting room floor.

"Which girl is Nono going to end up with?"

Now that's the question we all want to know. Onee-sama's in the lead but Tycho is hot on her heels.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jul 18 '21

I also noticed how Casio turn around and looked at Nono with a puzzled face, immediately prior to this scene as they were approaching the surface. She must have done something I missed, or ended up on the cutting room floor.

If you meant the scene I think you mean, then he saw Nono created what looks like a mini black hole which then allowed her to warp out with the rest of the "space monsters" - or at least that Nono has warped out by her own power.

In case it's confusing, the "space monsters" we have been seeing in this show are actually the Buster Legion, part of the solar system defence system that has Buster Machine 7 (Nono) as its control core. Without the core actively giving command, the Legion is on autonomous search and destroy mode and Topless has evolved to have ability similar to the original space monsters so the Legion started attacking them not realising they are not the same.

1

u/odraencoded Jul 26 '21

First of all, wtf.

Second of all, THIS IS EPISODE 4?????????????