Anime: Top o Nerae 2! Gekijouban

Rate me! Here is the history of the franchise: Gunbuster 1 is a 1988 OVA, and Gunbuster 2 (AKA Die Buster) is a 2004 OVA. They have been condensed into movies, and shown as a double bill and released in Blu-ray as the first of the Bandai classics series on Blu-ray. The subject of this review is the Gunbuster 2 movie, though I have reviewed the Gunbuster 1 movie also. This is based on the recent HD blu-ray fansubs by THORA, and is considered fair and final (as I will not view the original release in Blu-ray, and THORA did a superb job).

Quick Take: The task: take 3 hours of OVA and condense it into 100 minutes, and release it as a movie. A sequel to the original Gunbuster OVA series Top wo Nerae, but directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (with significant input by creator Hideaki Anno), Die Buster (Top wo Nerae 2 OVA) has been condensed into a 100-minute movie (Gekijouban) and released with Gunbuster (Top wo Nerae Gekijouban), a similar condensation of the first OVA series. Compared to the OVA, the movie has this material: Episode 1 is mostly there, as is episode 6; episodes 2-3 are largely missing, and parts of 4-5 survive with new transitions and some new material.

It's a worthy and moving effort, taking the best parts of the OVA, animating new material, giving it a great and partly new 5.1 soundtrack, and releasing it with the original in the form of a double-bill with a musical intermission. The producers (Bandai Visual) then packaged it in Blu-ray for release in the American market. It succeeds as a movie because the animation is top-notch, the sound amazing, and the story is a twist on the sci-fi coming-of-age buddy flick that the original was. Seeing the two together allows you to make comparisons, and in a couple of hours to catch the historical import of the changes in animation. It's worth the watch, and not just for otakus!

To get an idea what it's about, see the original OVA pages. These are gals protecting the world from an invading hostile insectoid army, and doing it in mecha. Lots of fanservice means it's for ages 16+, but the hard SF themes are toned down from the first, meaning it would be understood by kids.



Animation: Largely 3D CGI and computer-generated animation by View Works (Area 88), it's very effective and quite fluid in look and feel. Each episode of the OVA had a different episode director, but the ending was directed by the series director, and thus has the most emotional punch. This is retained in the movie: it's a stirring first act, a whirlwind middle, a confused 4th act, and a rousing 5th act in a movie that makes a lot of sense out of 299 minutes of original material. New material was composed and fitted into the condensed series, in much the same way as Neon Genesis Evangelion was re-released as Evangelion 1.0.

Some differences between series is quite evident. First, the sequal to the original was directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, His And Her Circumstances), whereas the original was directed by Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangeion). This is reflected in the movies: for example, in the original OVA, all action occurs in full heroic light; in the sequel, there is a more complex usage of shadow and partial lit frames, showing more moral ambiguity. The original shot selection is similar to traditional movies, whereas there is a flying camera in this movie. In the original, the character design is wildly different: Nono has huge eyes and more comical facial expressions, and squash-and-stretch are exaggerated; in this one, it's largely played seriously, and the facial expressions and anmiation physics are toned down. In the original, there is a feeling of weight and a respect for real-world physics (time dilation, black holes), whereas in this one, time dilation is not used as a plot device. In the original, action takes place on a 2030 Earth, and in this one, action takes place 12000 years in the future on a terraformed (and remarkably earth-like) Mars. It's fun to watch them back-to-back, and comment on the differences between movies, and between the OVAs and their respective movie.

I found myself actually liking the change from 2D matte and traditional animation (in the original OVA) to largely 3D CGI, but not because I like CGI, mostly because the animation of characters (and a movie is about characters, not backgrounds) is better. The story is more difficult to pull off; but the decision to axe characters is more the problem. It's a push to see if you prefer one movie adaptation over the other.

As one wag put it, everything other than character is an effect, and when you watch cars move, smoke rise, or buildings break, the effects are excellent. The backgrounds are crisp, the skys are sharply blue, the black of space is better, everything pops off the screen. Technically, I'd rate the animation a 9. However, for those of us who liked the character design of the original, there is little left to like, as they have changed everything including the Busters. Inbetweens are superb, and hair really flows (even in space!). I deduct points for the lack of concern for real physics, but that's about all.

Animation gets a 8.5-9, and there are plenty of wow moments.

Sound: Technicals are excellent, with a good wide soundstage, excellent foley, creative and immersive sound effects, and good dynamic range. Music is totally heroic, and by the original OVA musician, Kouhei Tanaka (Gunbuster OVA, Buso Renkin), and quite moving at times. I think it uses material from the first OVA without being obviously a repeat, and this time around, the OST is worth collecting. Seiyuu are excellent, including Yukari Fukui (School Rumble as Sara Adiemas) as Nono, the energetic and happy android-teen with black-hole fracturing powers. The cast is smaller than the OVA, as whole parts are cut: many characters have a couple of lines, while the original have larger parts.

I'd rate the sound as a solid 9, with lots of clarity and much better than the original OVA (Gunbuster 1).

Story: Nono leaves home and becomes a clumsy waitress, but she wants to become a space pilot. One day, she meets Lal'C Melk Mark, top pilot of the psychic team "Topless". But space monsters appear to wreak havoc on Mars, and Lal'C invokes her Buster Machine - called "Dix-Neuf" - to defeat the attack. During a battle with a Space Monster, Lal'C is surpised because Nono survives (in space!) and helps destroy the monster. Nono becomes the lowest member of the Topless gang, but she has abilities that aren't evident, and which will (with hard work and guts) save mankind.

The major problem with the OVA series is the story, but in the cutting, the problem becomes character. Compared to the first, the focus is on characters, not sci-fi; the time dilation aspect is completely elimated, resulting in a concentration on characters. In cutting the movie, the character setups in eps 2-3 were almost completely cut, resulting in a trimming of the character parts. Story becomes central in the movie. New backgrounds are introduced in the last act, and the final denoument (which would be a spoiler but involves a reference to the original OVA) is almost missed. I did not like some of the cuts, but I'm happy that the point of the story, and the emotional impact of the final episode, is not missed.

I would rate the story section a 7.5, losing points for flirting with disaster in the conversion from OVA to movie. The original OVA (Gunbuster 2) would have scored a 8 on story, so this loses some points from that. Too many cuts are made, too few characters are retained. I need more backstory earlier for Nono, which is a problem for the original OVA also.

Character: There are really only 4 characters in this series of any import: Lal'C, (Lark to some), Nono, Nicola and Tycho. Compared to the OVA, some characters are dropped almost completely (Casio comes to mind), and the smoothing of the storyline means the fun stuff with Nono from eps 2-3 are eliminated. We don't get to see the developing relationship between Lal'C and Nono as we would like. Still, it's mostly a heroic fanboy battle-fest that will please the hardcore "big robot" contingent, and the fanservice will entertain everyone else. Character development is secondary to the story.

Characters are smoothly drawn, and retatin their cuteness. There is little character development outside Lal'C's move from hostile to committed, and that's what provides us with the emotionally moving last act. It's good, but the OVA is better.

7 points on character, for taking a good OVA series (award winning) and chopping out some of the most enjoyable parts.

Value and Enjoyment: in the HD Fansub, it's a wild ride, well worth the time for download and viewing. If you haven't seen the OVA, it's a good introduction to the series, and if you have, it's a worthy recap. I'd rate the value to be a 8. If you're into the blu-ray scene, it is worth owning for the piece of history it represents.
Enjoyment will depend on your tolerance for cuts, but I enjoyed it because of the wild ride it represents. I'd rate this an 7.5 on my scale.

Conclusion: Cute gals battling for the future of humanity, and big robots. A worthy addition to your collection of great movies made from great OVAs. I recommend it highly.