Gunbuster (トップをねらえ!, Toppu o Nerae!), also known as Aim for the Top!, is a 1988 original video anime series directed & written by Hideaki Anno, also written by Toshio Okada and Hiroyuki Yamaga, and produced by studio Gainax. Staff credits also include character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, and music composer Kohei Tanaka. The OVA series were released in Japan between October 1988 to July 1989.
Background:
“When the space aliens killed Noriko Takaya’s father, she swore she’d go into space to have her revenge. Yet being accepted into the prestigious Okinawa Girls’ Space Pilot High School doesn’t solve every problem. Looked down upon as the daughter of the admiral who lost, and having a stark lack of talent that prevents her from piloting a machine, Noriko’s hopes for the future don’t seem bright.
But then, when the two candidates going into space are announced, Noriko’s surprised to find her name right next to the star of the school (and Noriko’s own idol), Kazumi Amano. Has Noriko’s hard work paid off? Or is there more to Coach Ohta’s reasons for selecting her? Most of all, is Noriko really ready for the horrors of space?”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, August 2023.
Hideaki Anno is an interesting director with a wide variety of small but noteworthy projects throughout his career. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a complicated but fascinating franchise which even had a solid film series, and then there’s Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise and Shin Godzilla, both were also entertaining works. But before all of those, he also worked on an OVA series in the late 1980s at Gainax called Gunbuster.
Gunbuster’s name in Japanese is apparently a mix between Top Gun and the anime Aim for the Ace! (Ace no Nerae!), which is bizarre but given how the story progresses and the motivations of the character this makes sense. Now my experience with Gunbuster is actually through the theatrical compilation film version that was more readily available many years ago, but the OVAs came first and will have scenes that I wouldn’t recognise.
It is also worth noting that Gunbuster has a unique position to which its final episode is presented in Black and White which is an intentional visual choice, plus there’s different aspect ratios which adds more replay value. But in general, the Gunbuster OVAs had been out of print for a very long time, with its last release in the UK were done through Kiseki Films on VHS and DVD, which had been edited to remove nudity so the BBFC rating was PG as a result. There was also quality control issues as well which wasn’t great for the UK anime fans at that time. Over in the US the release was distributed through U.S. Renditions and then Manga Entertainment.
Then we fast-forward to the Bandai Visual & Honneamise era of anime releases and Gunbuster then came back with a special DVD release, but only the US anime fans were able to get access to this. It was also without an English dub because the assets required to produce one was apparently missing, but it seems they were recovered as Discotek Media eventually rescued the licence many years later and commissioned one with Sound Cadence Studios.
Anime Limited was then able to licence the United Kingdom and Ireland rights to release the Gunbuster OVAs once again but now on Blu-ray and uncut for the first time.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Considering this series is by Gainax and from the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, it’s no surprise to see Anime Limited release Gunbuster in a collector’s edition package though thankfully they didn’t overkill it like they did with Evangelion and Nadia.
The package is presented as a rigid box housing a Scanavo case that includes the Blu-ray disc. Also included with the set is a 48-page booklet and a double-sided A3 poster. The booklet features character designs and artwork from the series.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £49.99. A standard Blu-ray is expected to be released sometime after the release of the collector’s edition.
I pre-ordered my copy through Anime Limited’s store during their early bird sale at £29.99 but using their membership discount for £26.99.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Scanavo packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 48-page booklet
- Double-sided A3 Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 28th August 2023
The collector’s edition release for Gunbuster contains all 6 episodes of the OVA series on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring produced by MediaOCD for Discotek Media’s release.
The audio options include Japanese with English subtitles and the Sound Cadence English dub commissioned by Discotek Media. The yellow subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B.
Also included with this release are the Science Lessons which have been dubbed as well, and two shorts which include 5.1 audio but are subtitled only.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | Main OVA Series & Science Lessons: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Shorts: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | Episodes 1, 2, 3 & 5: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.33:1 aspect ratio Episodes 4 & 6: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio (Original Widescreen Presentation) 1.33:1 aspect ratio (Alternate Fullscreen Presentation) |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Science Lessons (found under Episodes section):
- Science Lesson 1: The Theory of Ether Space
- Science Lesson 2: Starbows and the Rip Van Winkle Effect
- Science Lesson 3: Faster-than-Light (c-plus) Travel
- Science Lesson 4: The Evil Space Monsters
- Science Lesson 4+1: The History of Spaceships
- Science Lesson 5: The True Sol System
- Previews & Commercials:
- Video Notice (July 1988)
- Video Notice (Nov 1988)
- In-Store Notice (1989)
- Blu-ray Box Commercials (2012)
- Episode Specific Features:
- Episode 6 Creditless Ending
- Episode 6 Vintage Ending Credits
- Shorts:
- Harumi and Yumiko’s Good Morning Okinawa Girls!
- A Cosmic Battleground Along the Orbit of Halley’s Comet
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Gunbuster is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray is can be acquired through Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s store, MVM’s Anime-on-Line and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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