I managed to binge on Gunbuster last night, worried that a lot of it was already spoilt by the homages/references from numerous later shows, especially Darling in the Franxx that I watched and really enjoyed last year, but fortunately it was quite the experience regardless. Great to catch up on this simulcast thread, and am on board with everything the experts have already said! So anyone, by any chance, not already bored to sleep by these covid times, read on for snoozies in the form of only some of my thoughts and mirrored opinions:
I felt like I was experiencing time dilation throughout the viewing of this seminal, short & succinct series which rather effectively included a number of unexpected tropes as already mentioned, including the campfire ghost stories & romance, love triangles, etc. And to see that iconic gunbuster pose at its inception, the confidence of a machine's creators to send it out with that pose, knowing full well that it will totally kick @$$, absolutely bloody brilliant!
The first episode felt like top gun: the anime but with girls in one piece swimsuits and a grumpy Coachiee Maverick. The robot aerobics were genius I think: if a pilot has that level of control over their Mazda rx-7, they surely possess the skills required to squash some giant space bugs. Which were nicely revealed in the space lessons as city-sized pubic lice and in true shared spirit with their microscopic earthly cousins, able to survive in the most inhospitable of environments. The space lessons were also a great way to fill in useful exposition when working with such a short & packed series. Interesting to see that Amano is the only individual sensible enough to be concerned about a clueless rookie being sent off to get blown to bits in a very expensive war machine. Coachiee was clearly schooled at the same school of thought (St. Clueless-Juvenile-Pilot's-Coach-Development) as best-dad-ever Ikari, but with a converse more pleasant approach to children utilising encouragement rather than derision & abandonment. They were both obviously taught to be seers though, as their kids did manage spectacular feats against all odds! I'm getting distracted, back to Gunbuster: I loved the animation in the battles, especially relating to the warps and cockpit interiors. Also appreciated the realistic use of Feng Shui? principles in Excelion including the deck and Coachiee's quarters: a psychologist was clearly consulted on the design to ensure the occupants don't go insane on extended space trips - eat your hearts out holodecks, etc on just about every other sci-fi ships out there!
Lastly, a fantastic mix of the light-hearted with heavy emotions of loss and the emptiness/vastness of space (beautifully visualised in the midst of a battle involving thousands of ships nonetheless!). It ended with probably the most emotive demonstration of the consequences of time dilation physics in any medium (my previous favourite in this regard was Interstellar - is Nolan an anime fan, surely he must be what with the inception/Kon similarities and this?!) and the return to a civilization that still remembers the debt to its saviours and is still prepared millennia later to roll out the red carpet to celebrate them.
Overall, what a fantastic experience: I absolutely loved it. Onwards now to see how gunbuster 2/diebuster follows on from this classic! Probably best to keep expectations as low as possible to see off the inevitable disappointment?
P.S. the kiseki dvd can be a bit of a mess but regardless at least it thankfully exists, and they have also demonstrated they can count and make executive decisions like changing the title to the far more accurate plural form.