Gunbuster (Top O Nerae!)

This classic OVA won me over the minute after I popped the tape into the VCR--right from the opening. Gunbuster is one of the most visually appealing anime I have ever seen. The art and animation are extremely beautiful. The music is also effective at creating the mood of the scene. Gunbuster may seem like just an ordinary science fiction anime with aliens, spaceships, mecha, and chicks in tight outfits. There is nothing ordinary about this anime in my opinion, and it actually takes science into account of its story. There is also some humor between episodes in the science lessons presented by our heroines in chibi (super deformed) style. If you look closely during the lessons, you can see the menu bar at the top of the slides is that of a what--a Macintosh computer! But I digress...Takaya Noriko dreams of becoming a space pilot so she can be together her father, the captain of a powerful spaceship defending the Earth against hostile aliens. At the space high school, Noriko's piloting skills are poor and she often gets picked on by other students who are jealous of her "connections" as the daughter of a space captain. But she is determined to train hard and succeeds on her own merit to make it into space. Gunbuster is an inspiring and emotional story, and I highly recommend anyone to watch it. Manga Entertainment recently announced November 15 as the release date for Gunbuster on DVD. I can't wait to get it!

	Amano Kazumi, Noriko's "big sister" at the space high school. The top student at the school, she gets paired with Noriko as a team to go into space.
	The lead characters of Gunbuster. Something got stuck to the sketch and the paper has yellowed with age. Thanks to CG, I can clean it up when I color it.
	Noriko shows great courage and perseverance to come out on top.

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