Gunbuster (1988)

"Pay close attention - in space, it's easy to lose perspective."

Gunbuster is a 6-episode OVA series that came out in 1988 and was Hideaki Anno's directorial debut. What started as references to Top Gun and Aim for the Ace turned quickly into a time-warping tragedy with references to sci-fi materials such as Blade Runner and The Forever War.

It was also a last ditch effort from the newly founded Gainax studio, as their first commercial work, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, was a financial failure. They didn't have enough funding to go through with a sequel, and so instead began working on what would become this massively influential OVA.

Gunbuster follows a young pilot named Noriko, who's the daughter of the late Captain of the intergalactic ship Luxion, and her journey to pilot the giant mech Gunbuster against the alien army that took down the Luxion and threatens humanity. Throughout these six episodes, you see the main character struggle against the odds she faces as a young girl thrust in explicitly into the intergalactic war, and experience severe trauma and anxiety. It dives deep into the effects of space travel, of PTSD, of time dilation - all leading to an endearingly experimental climactic battle that literally took my breath away.

Through this series alone, you can follow the direct trajectory from it to Neon Genesis, to Fooly Cooly, to its sequel Diebuster, to Gurren Lagann, and in the same regard the trajectory between animation studios from Gainax, to Khara, to Trigger - it's a work of art that stands as both a fascinating piece of anime history, and a fully fledged story with beautiful animation in its own right. It's a series that's a worthy contender for the Top 100 Greatest Anime of All Time.

My Current MAL Rating: 9/10

Top 100 Contender: Yes

Top 100 Ranking (Temporary): 14/100