Diebuster (トップをねらえ2！, Top wo Nerae 2!), also known as Aim for the Top 2! and Gunbuster 2: Diebuster, is a 2004 original video anime series directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by studio GAINAX. Staff credits also include screenplay writer Yōji Enokido, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and music composed by Kōhei Tanaka. The series was released across multiple home video volumes in Japan between November 2004 to August 2006.
Background:
“Nono is a clumsy waitress who dreams of becoming a space pilot. One day, she meets Lal’C Mellk Mal, a member of the elite psychic pilot team “Topless”. But when space monsters appear from out of nowhere to wreak havoc on Mars, Lal’C calls out her Buster Machine – codenamed “Dix-Neuf” – to subdue the threat. During a battle with a Space Monster, Lal’C gets the surprise of her life when she sees Nono use her super-strength to help Dix-Neuf destroy the alien. From that point, Nono hangs along with Lal’C in hopes of becoming a member of Topless.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, December 2025.
GAINAX are no longer around, but their legacy remained among the anime community. They have produced lots of anime shows, films and OVA series throughout their career. Gunbuster in particular was one of their first OVA projects and many people loved it for its style and direction. My first experience with Gunbuster was the theatrical version that Bandai Visual released on Blu-ray known as Gunbuster vs Diebuster: Aim for the Top! GATTAI!! and that’s how I also watched Diebuster for the first time as well. I knew that the films were not the definitive way to watch the stories, and while those theatrical versions are somewhat out of print (Gunbuster the Movie did get re-released by Sentai Filmworks), the OVA versions are now available again.
In North America, distributor Discotek Media released Diebuster on DVD while Bandai Visual released Diebuster the Movie on Blu-ray. Over time, Bandai Visual closed its doors leaving the film version to go out of print, while Discotek never managed to relicense the OVA series for the Blu-ray format. In the UK & France, distributor Beez Entertainment released both the OVA and theatrical versions, with the former on DVD in a digipack type packaging and the latter on Blu-ray (thanks to the GATTAI!! box set so it was also made available as a standalone release), though the distributor eventually closed their doors as well.
A few years ago Gunbuster came back for both territories, with Anime Limited releasing the series on Blu-ray and Discotek Media doing the same, though the latter revealed their license is expiring due to various issues so whether Anime Limited’s release will discontinue is currently not known. Despite all this, many were anticipating Diebuster to make a return and it did… for the UK & France only as Anime Limited managed to rescue the OVA series which they announced at MCM London Comic Con in May 2024.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Diebuster was released in Japan on Blu-ray a few years back with nice artwork for its cover and Anime Limited were able to re-use it for their release, similarly to Gunbuster so the two sets match well together on the shelf.
The collector’s edition release is presented with a rigid box, a scanavo case housing the disc, a 12-page booklet and 5 art cards. The booklet is brief, with an essay written by Jonathan Clements and a few pieces of artwork.
The rigid box 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 has an unspecified number of units printed (but is expected to be the usual 1000 run) for an SRP of £59.99, with a standard edition Blu-ray available for retailers at an SRP of £34.99.
I pre-ordered my copy from Anime Limited’s online store for £34.99 during its early bird (plus 10% discount from Anime Unlimited membership).
I pre-ordered the series on its own during Anime Limited’s early bird offer last October for £34.99 (£31.50 with the 10% off Anime Unlimited discount) plus £3.50 postage. The stock was available for its December release date but the distributor and the French community discovered the English booklet was included in the French version and vice versa, so shipping/production was halted. The collector’s edition with the correct stock could have been shipped out in time for Christmas but the distributor decided to save it for after the new year so that they had more time to double check before proceeding especially with them also dealing with the Christmas sale orders.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork
- Scanavo case packaging
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 16-page Booklet
- 5 Art Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 15th December 2025 (Standard Edition), 5th January 2026 (Collector’s Edition)
The collector’s edition release for Diebuster contains all 6 episodes on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring done by VDMS.
At the start of each disc, you’re given the option to select either English or French, and whichever option you pick you’ll be able to return back and pick the other without having to restart all over. On the English menu, you have the original Japanese audio with English subtitles. On the French menu, you have the original Japanese audio with French subtitles. The series did not receive an English or French dub.
The white subtitles are locked during playback, and the Blu-ray disc are region locked to players set to B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Clean Ending “Hoshikuzu Namida”
- Science Lesson 1 (02:54 runtime)
- Science Lesson 2 (02:53 runtime)
- Science Lesson 3 (04:02 runtime)
- Commercials (02:00 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Diebuster is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.
The collector’s edition Blu-ray release is available to order exclusively through AllTheAnime Store.
The standard edition Blu-ray is also available for purchase from retailers Amazon UK, AllTheAnime Store and Anime-on-Line.
(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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