Gunbuster

AnimeTalk

a bi-weekly column by Don Houston, John Sinnott, and Todd Douglass

We start off the year with a short column. Don has an early peak at Gunbuster, classic OVA series that was one of the first 'modern' anime shows. It's also our honor to welcome Wen-Tsai King aboard as the new bargain maven. Wen-Tsai, or WTK as he's know in the forums, has been scouring the stores and web sites for the best deals in anime and this week he's found some great offers for those of you with money left to spend after the holidays. We also have our table on upcoming anime releases for the next couple of weeks and a few capsule reviews that our staff was able to crank out over the holidays.

The Latest Anime Reviews:
(Click on the links to read the full review.)

One of the best picks of the week came in the form of the popular Bleach: The Substitute. The show is the story of a fifteen year old high school kid in Japan named Ichigo Kurosaki who augments his already impressive supernatural power when he is caught in a battle between a very powerful evil spirit called a Hollow and an appointed earthly guardian in the form of a female Soul Reaper whose duty is to protect the living and dead from those that would cause them harm. Ichigo is another in a long line of reluctant heroes until a friend is placed in jeopardy by an even more powerful hollow, forcing him to choose between serving the greater good and allowing untold evils to begin rampaging without restrictions.

Trinity Blood 3 details another volume in the series of a futuristic Earth trying to pull itself out of the rubble of a destructive war that resulted in two factions of beings; vampires and church led guardians who have each come to a very uneasy truce with one another to ensure stability. This time, judging friend from foe becomes more difficult as Abel finds enemies on both sides of the struggle needing his immediate attention, including one that resists his best efforts to thwart an injustice, requiring our hero to increase his deadly powers to the point where he might not be able to save his own humanity. Sacrifices by the good guys aside, the plot thickens to the point where Don anxiously awaits the next chapter to see what will become of the characters.

Gunbuster: Complete OVA is one of the classics of anime according to a great many fans who might disagree on some of the specifics but all hold the long awaited title in high regard as a sort of Rosetta Stone bridging anime from the 1980's and the wave that came afterwards with a lot of care and quality. Our advance look at the title was such that we hope the three disc set will prove to initiate even more fans into the fold as the future of an uncertain fate of Earth balances precariously thanks to invading aliens that want nothing less than to wipe out the human race.

Be sure to take a look at recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Top Ten Anime discs of 2005 articles.

Upcoming Releases

**Scheduled for release on January 9, 2007**
Best Student Council Vol. 1	ADV Films	29.98
Disgaea Vol. 1	Geneon	29.98
Fighting Spirit TV Special: Champion Road	Geneon	29.98
Flame of Recca Vol. 10	Viz	24.98
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Vol. 2	FUNimation	29.98
Hello Kitty's Animation Theater Collection	ADV Films	29.98
Michel Vol. 5	ADV Films	14.98
Moon Phase Vol. 3	FUNimation	29.98
Negima Vol. 5	FUNimation	29.98/34.98
Shana Vol. 3	Geneon	29.98
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie 2 Vol. 2	ADV Films	29.98
Yumeria Complete Collection	ADV Films	44.98

**Scheduled for release on January 16, 2007**
Area 88 TV Complete Collection	ADV Films	44.98
Coyote Ragtime Show Vol. 1	ADV Films	29.98
Fafner Complete Collection Box Set	Geneon	139.98
Gun Sword Vol. 5	Geneon	29.98
Hare+Guu Vol. 7	FUNimation	29.95
Law of Ueki Vol. 5	Geneon	19.98
Noein Vol. 2	Manga	19.99
Speedgrapher Vol. 5	FUNimation	29.98/34.98
Super Gals Season 2 Box Set	Right Stuf International	49.98
Tactics Vol. 3	Manga	24.98
Tales of Phantasia Vol. 1	Geneon	29.98
Utawarerumono Vol. 1	ADV Films	29.98
Zipang Vol. 3	Geneon	24.98

Wen-Tsai's Anime Bargains
Presented by Wen-Tsai King

Best Buy & BestBuy.com: Titles without links may be purchased at your local store if they are in stock or they can be ordered at the store computer kiosks (BestBuy.com)!
All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku: TV Collection (Thinpak): $12.99, [review] retail price: $44.98 - 71% off!
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Gravion: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $10.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 72% off!
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Magic Knight Rayearth - Season 2: Complete Collection (Economy Pack): $14.99, retail price: $44.95 - 67% off!
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Midori Days: Complete Collection (Premium Box): $24.99, retail price: $74.95 - 66% off!
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Complete Operations Box Set: $79.99, retail price: $199.98 - 60% off!
NaNa 7 of 7: Complete Collection (Economy Pack): $14.99, retail price: $39.95 - 62% off!
Original Dirty Pair: Movie Collection (Thinpak): $6.99, [review] retail price: $24.98 - 72% off!
Original Dirty Pair: OVA Collection (Thinpak): $6.99, [review] retail price: $24.98 - 72% off!
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Petite Princess Yucie: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $24.99, retail price: $59.98 - 58% off!
Pretear: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $22.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - nearly 42% off!
Rurouni Kenshin - Season 3: Complete Collection (Economy Box): $25.99, retail price: $79.95 - 66% off!
Saber Marionette J: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $17.99, [review] retail price: $49.98 - 64% off!
Saber Marionette J to X: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $14.99, retail price: $39.98 - 63% off!
Saint Seiya: Collection 1 (Thinpak): $14.99 , [review] retail price: $49.98 - 70% off!
Saint Seiya: Collection 2 (Thinpak): $20.99, retail price: $49.98 - 58% off!
Samurai Deeper Kyo: Complete Collection (Economy Pack): $28.99, retail price: $89.95 - 68% off!
Samurai X: OVA Collection: $14.99 , [review] retail price: $69.98 - 79% off!
Shura No Toki: Complete Collection (Premium Box): $43.99, retail price: $139.95 - 69% off!
Stratos 4: Complete Collection: $14.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 63% off!
Sukisho: Complete Collection: $14.99, retail price: $39.95 - 63% off!
Super GALS!: The Iron Clad Collection - Season 1 (Thinpak): $14.99, [review] retail price: $49.98 - 70% off!
Wedding Peach: Complete Collection - Season 1 (Thinpak): $10.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 72% off!
Wedding Peach: Complete Collection - Season 2 (Thinpak): $16.99, retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
Wild Arms: Complete Collection: $10.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 72% off!
Yu Yu Hakusho: Chapter Black Saga Boxset: $39.99, retail price: $99.98 - 60% off!

DeepDiscount.com:
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Blue Gender: Complete Collection: $36.29, retail price: $59.95 - 40% off!
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Dragon Drive - Season 2: Complete Collection: $24.19, retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
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Final Fantasy Unlimited: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $29.99, [review] retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
G-Gundam: Complete Collection 1 (Anime Legends): $30.24, retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
G-Gundam: Complete Collection 2 (Anime Legends): $30.24, retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
Gravitation: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $32.67, retail price: $59.99 - 46% off!
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Jing: King Of Bandits Collection (Thinpak): $23.99, [review] retail price: $39.95 - 40% off!
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Complete Collection (Thinpak): $53.99, [review] retail price: $89.98 - 40% off!
Orphen II: Revenge Collection (Thinpak): $23.99, [review] retail price: $39.95 - 40% off!
Peacemaker: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $53.99, [review] retail price: $89.98 - 40% off!
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Planetes: Complete Collection: $30.24, retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
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Please Twins!: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $24.19, retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
Real Bout High School: Complete Collection: $24.00, [review] retail price: $79.99 - 50% off!
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Rose Collection: $21.58, retail price: $39.95 - 46% off!
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Black Rose Saga Collection: $21.58, retail price: $39.95 - 46% off!
Rune Soldier: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $24.16, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
Sakura Wars TV: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $29.99, [review] retail price: $49.95 - 40% off!
s-CRY-ed: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $30.24, retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
Shinkai Collection: $23.99, [review] retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
Tenchi Muyo GXP: Complete Collection: $54.44, retail price: $89.98 - 40% off!
Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $29.99, [review] retail price: $49.95 - 40% off!
Witch Hunter Robin: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $30.24, retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!
Wolf's Rain: Complete Collection 1 (Anime Legends): $24.19, retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
World of Narue: Complete Collection: $21.58, retail price: $39.99 - 46% off!

DVD Planet:
Full Metal Panic!: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $54.95, retail price: $89.98 - 39% off!
Genshiken: Premium Collection: $58.47, retail price: $89.95 - 35% off!
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Season 1 Complete Boxset: $59.97, retail price: $99.98 - 40% off!
Neo Ranga: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $36.95, [review] retail price: $59.95 - 39% off!
Zone of the Enders: Complete Collection (Thinpak): $31.95, [review] retail price: $59.95 - 39% off!

FRYS.com:
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Hellsing: Complete Collection (Signature Series): $19.99, [review] retail price: $59.95 - 67% off!

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Arjuna: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $23.89, retail price: $39.98 - 40% off!
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FLCL (Fooly Cooly): Ultimate Edition: $41.12, retail price: $69.95 - 41% off!
Galaxy Angel A: Complete Collection: $21.02, [review] retail price: $34.98 - 40% off!
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Gantz: Complete Collection - Season 2 (Thinpak): $41.14, [review] retail price: $69.98 - 41% off!
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Gundam Wing: Complete Collection 1 (Anime Legends): $29.64, retail price: $49.98 - 41% off!
Gundam Wing: Complete Collection 2 (Anime Legends): $29.64, retail price: $49.98 - 41% off!
Kiddy Grade: Complete Collection: $52.64, [review] retail price: $89.98 - 41% off!
Love Hina: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $46.89, retail price: $79.98 - 41% off!
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Complete Collection (LE): $57.89, retail price: $199.98 - 71% off!
Now and Then, Here and There: Complete Collection: $21.82, retail price: $34.99 - 38% off!
Outlaw Star: Complete Collection (Anime Legends): $29.64, retail price: $49.98 - 41% off!
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Apocalypse Saga Collection: $24.81, retail price: $39.95 - 37% off!
Steam Detectives: Complete Collection: $29.64, [review] retail price: $49.98 - 40% off!

Right Stuf Weekly Specials / Bargin Bin Closeout Items:
Ai Yori Aoshi DVD/CD Combo Box Pack: $9.99, retail price: $44.98 - nearly 78% off!
Aquarian Age: The Movie DVD (Hyb) (Limited Edition): $21.99, retail price: $59.98 - nearly 64% off!
Cardcaptor Sakura DVD Mega Bundle (DVD 1-18) (S): $79.99, retail price: $539.82 - 85% off!
Gatchaman: Collector's Edition DVD Bundle 1 (Hyb) (Discs 1-8): $48.99, retail price: $119.84 - 59% off!
Gonzo Double Pack: Basilisk 1/Trinity Blood 1 DVD (Hyb): $19.99,[review 1, review 2] retail price: $49.98 - 60% off!
Gonzo Double Pack: Desert Punk 1/Speed Grapher 1 DVD (Hyb): $19.99, [review 1, review 2] retail price: $49.98 - 60% off!
Kimagure Orange Road TV Series Bargain Bundle DVD Set (S): $124.99, retail price: $299.98 - 58% off!
Licensed by Royalty (L/R) DVD Bundle (1-4) + Audio CD Prepack: $34.99, retail price: $134.90 - 74% off!
Mospeada, Genesis Climber DVD Box Set (S): $24.99, retail price: $89.98 - 73% off!
Read or Die (R.O.D.) TV Series DVD MegaBundle (Hyb) w/CDs: $79.99, retail price: $239.82 - 67% off!
Saber Marionette J - Ultimate Collection DVD Set (Limited Edition):$69.99, retail price: $199.98 - 65% off!
Southern Cross DVD Set (S): $24.99, retail price: $99.98 - 75% off!

For more anime deals, please check out the Official- ANIME Bargains! - Thread. Updated daily by yours truly! Please Note: Product Availability & Prices are Subjected to Change!

Something to Look Forward to:
by Don Houston

Gunbuster

Gunbuster is a six episode OVA that started off with a glimpse into the life of Okinawa Girls' Space Pilot High School (OGH) in the year 2015. The main character is a clumsy gal by the name of Noriko Takaya, whose father was the commander of a space fleet wiped out in the Cygnus constellation by a ravaging horde of Space Monsters. The Luxion fleet was thought to be extremely powerful yet the short battle left only a sole survivor, Koichiro Ohta, a man who later plays a valuable role as the Coach and head instructor at the school. Noriko seems to be unable to handle the most basic of moves in her training robot but some spark of potential is evident to the coach, who then places her with the top student of the school, a gal named Kazumi Amano. The talents of the two gals are woefully mismatched but the coach insists on elevating them both to become the newest pilot candidates for the Top Squadron.

Due to Noriko's poor skills, there are cries of nepotism and favoritism made over her appointment, with Noriko herself unable to grasp why she was picked by the quiet, single minded Coach. A Russian upperclassman by the name of Jung Freud challenges Noriko to a fight, with the obvious result being the younger candidate feeling even more inadequate. On an early mission to explore an approaching vessel, Noriko and Kazumi eventually find out more details about the Luxion Massacre but ultimately, the enemy forces continue to amass a large number of creatures to attack the Earthlings. The response by the humans is predictable, build more weapons and train more pilots, with an early engagement costing the fleet tremendous losses yet again, Noriko never even firing a shot to defend one of her newfound friends that she was backing up.

The back and forth between Noriko and Kazumi continues as they are selected to pilot the massive robot weapon called Gunbuster; a device comprised of two separating ships with more firepower then any ship before. When the enemy comes close to wiping out the fleet, Noriko pilots it alone and manages to stave off the forces of evil for a short time, leading her to train ever harder for the coming larger battles. Without going into too much detail, the battles were not as exciting as current anime robot fighting shows are known for but as an early attempt at some decent battles, particularly battles starring female pilots as the leads, this was a ground breaking enterprise by most standards.

Another thing that enhanced the show was how it attempted to combine hard science with the science fiction plots; providing the first look at the concept of time dilation in a series. This means that as Noriko and some of her peers travel at extreme velocities, they are aging less rapidly then friends that are planet bound on Earth. A few seconds extra at the speed of light translate into months for those not moving so quickly, making lengthy journeys costly in terms of the human factor; those you've left behind aging increasingly fast compared to you. As an early anime embracing such concepts, I have to hand it to those involved for going the extra mile and making it work better than expected.

The down side to the show for me was how many of the formerly tough alien space monsters start to fall by the wayside when it comes to the later battles, they start to number in the billions (Yes, with a "B") and the human fleet, led by the Gunbuster, start mopping the floor with them easily, losing much of the impact of the fights. Further, the tactics employed to destroy wholesale numbers of the aliens struck me as unconvincing at best given the numbers and relative strengths involved. Still, this was one of the first anime titles well worth looking for nearly twenty years ago and a shame that it has not been available on DVD in region 1 sooner.

There was some fan service and the similarities between the robots, space monsters, and space ships to other contemporary titles has long been noted but this became a template of sorts for numerous shows by companies for years, including the aforementioned Neon Genesis Evangelion where the director fine tuned some of the concepts to flesh out for a full season of episodes. If you're an anime fan that likes giant robots, space travel, shojo anime, and climactic battles, you'll really appreciate Gunbuster enough to agree with me that the 3 disc set was worth a rating of Highly Recommended. When it finally comes out later this year (in February 2007), I think a lot of fans are going to start hoping Bandai Visual acquires the rights to other classic series based solely on how solid this one looked for such an old show. You won't have to wait 12,000 years for it and the quality levels were such that I hope the OVA makes a number of new fans for the industry.

Picture: Gunbuster was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color for the first five episodes and a letterboxed widescreen black & white for the majority of the sixth episode as it was originally shot by director Hideaki Anno. The material being almost twenty years old and an early project for the newly formed Gainax studio (who were considered to be the second generation of anime lovers; having been raised on the previous, commercially driven titles of the time) so I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised most of the time. There were some effects that bled on the screen and it wasn't always perfect but it was better looking than I remember the show years ago on tape. Exactly how much work went into restoring the OVA to as good looking a show as possible is unknown but it was decidedly crisper looking then sounding; owing to the reports that the original audio tapes for the show were long lost.

Sound: The audio was presented in 2.0 Linear PCM (pulse code modulated) Japanese with optional English subtitles (in two forms; regular subtitles or the sign versions only). There was no dub this time but the up side was that the remastered audio was clearer than I've ever heard it before, with a lot of cleaning up done to make it sound the very best. There was some separation on the channels, particularly during the battles and on the final episode of the OVA set, and the dynamic range was enhanced as well. The score was effective at conveying the mood of the characters and their surroundings, elevating the effectiveness of the show all that much more.

Extras: Most anime these days has weak extras; making me almost feel lucky when I get a production art gallery, some trailers, and a brief featurette. Well, Gunbuster has a lot to like with some promotional trailers being the least of the lot here. For me, the 24 page oversized booklet with character descriptions, artwork, and a detailed rundown of the six episodes was really well made. It provided some anecdotes and was made on glossy paper so it should last all but the clumsiest of fans. There were six short featurettes (two per disc) called Science Lesson's that attempted to explain some of the fictional science of the show, using the super deformed style of characters with Noriko and Kazumi as the leads (Coach jumping in routinely too). Each disc had a clip using a montage of images and animations from the series too, made separately but providing some background on what was going on. All of this was contained in a fold out style case that went inside a cardboard box, making it an early runner for next year's top anime list in my opinion.

Final Thoughts: Gunbuster might not be as complex a tale or as brilliant looking as some of the newest series coming out of Japan but it was a true classic in the sense that all fans of large, mechanized robots should want to purchase a copy of their own. It helped to establish some of the archetypes of later series and further refine some of the concepts that are in use in current series even today, so going back to our roots helps us to truly understand where the industry has been and where it's going. I've seen some of the lame bootlegs available at conventions and in China Town's across the country that looked terrible by comparison, making this the definitive region 1 release of the material so it is with great pleasure that I suggest to you to prepare to pick up Gunbuster when it comes out in February. I think you will be happy with the amount of hard work that went into the 3 disc set; making it one of the best titles to start off the new year with.

What do you think about the column? Like what you see? Don't like it? Have a comment or suggestion? Drop us an e-mail and let us know!