Gunbuster: Difference between revisions

In 2015, a space expedition fleet led by Admiral Yuzo Takaya is destroyed by {{nihongo|space monsters|宇宙怪獣|Uchū Kaijū}}. Six years later, Takaya's daughter Noriko enlists in the Space Academy in [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]. She is suddenly selected with senior student Kazumi Amano to represent Japan in an upcoming space expedition. When it is known across the academy that she is the daughter of Yuzo, and that Coach Koichiro Ohta was one of the survivors of the 2015 space attack, Noriko is subjected to bullying and harassment. Ohta, however, believes Noriko has the same potential as Kazumi, and through {{nihongo|"hard work and guts"|努力と根性|Doryoku to konjō}}, she strives to become the best Machine Weapon pilot and take control of the experimental giant robot Gunbuster to help Earth win the war against the space monsters.

:Originally from [[Osaka]], Noriko enlists in the space academy in [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] to follow the footsteps of her father Yuzo. Because Yuzo was the captain of the ''Luxion'' fleet that was attacked by the space monsters in 2015, Noriko has been nicknamed the {{nihongo|"Daughter of Defeat"|全滅娘|Zenmetsu Musume}} by other students at the space academy who accuse her of nepotism. She is further subjected to bullying when Koichiro "Coach" Ohta selects her with senior student Kazumi Amano to represent Japan as part of the Top Squadron program. When Ohta convinces her that she has the same potential as Kazumi, Noriko undergoes intense training to improve her piloting skills and prove her peers wrong before venturing to space with Kazumi. Noriko was named after the wife of Gainax storyboard artist [[Shinji Higuchi]].

| ShortSummary = Upon discovering that Noriko has been spending her extra time training with Ohta, Jung challenges her to a duel, but before they can begin, Noriko breaks down when the sight of space reminds her of Smith's death. On their way back to Earth, the ''Exelion'' fleet is suddenly attacked in the middle of warp by the space monsters, forcing the fleet to exitreveal warpthe nearlocation of the Solar System upon warping out. Surrounded and outnumbered by the space monsters, Tashiro orders the ''Exelion'' to perform a [[kamikaze]] run on the enemy flagship, but Noriko launches in the uncompleted Gunbuster to deal with the alien threat. After saving Kazumi and Jung, Noriko single-handedly stops and destroys the flagship, prompting the space monsters to retreat back to their home world and allowing the ''Exelion'' to return to Earth.

| ShortSummary = Upon their return to Earth in 2032, Noriko and Kazumi formally graduate from high school, and the Top Squadron is disbanded. When it is discovered that the space monsters are assembling a massive army outside the Solar System, Ohta sends Noriko and Kazumi to escort the decommissioned ''Exelion'' to the center of the space monsters' gathering and detonate its degeneracy generatorreactor. While on route to the target, Kazumi suddenly breaks down, as Ohta has been diagnosed with space radiation syndrome and has less than six months to live. Noriko convinces her to continue the fight, as that is what their coach wants, and they combine their ships to form Gunbuster to protect the ''Exelion'' from oncoming attacks. Upon reaching the target, they retreat before the ''Exelion'' explodes, creating a [[black hole]] that takes out the entire space monster army and parts of the Solar System. Gunbuster returns to Earth more than six months later, and Kazumi discovers that Ohta is still alive.

| ShortSummary = It is the year 2048. After marrying Ohta and settling with him until his death, Kazumi warps to Sagittarius A* to rendezvous with the ''Eltreum'' fleet to deliver Buster Machine No. 3, which is the planet [[Jupiter]] compressed into a giant bomb powerful enough to wipe out the space monsters' star system. The fleet and Gunbuster protect the bomb from massive waves of space monster fleets for 22 minutes until the attack stops. The bomb is activated, but fails to detonate, as heavy damages during the battle have reduced its energy output to 98%. Noriko and Kazumi dive into the depths of the bomb and use Gunbuster's main degeneracy generatorreactor to trigger its detonation. The ''Eltreum'' fleet warps back to Earth, leaving Gunbuster behind as it tries to outrun the bomb's massive explosion. TwelveWhile thousanda yearsseverely later,damaged NorikoGunbuster andescapes Kazumithe returnblack hole, it returns to the Solar System in the year 14,292. TheyNoriko and Kazumi see that the Earth is dark, fearing that human civilization has long gone, but a massive light pattern suddenly appears on the planet saying: {{nihongo|"WELCOME HOMƎ!"|オカエリナサイ|Okaerinasai}}.{{Efn|name=okaerinasai|The final [[katakana]] "イ" is reversed, which indicates the current civilization was mimicking the bygone language.}} Noriko bids farewell to Gunbuster as she and Kazumi eject and fall back into Earth.

In 1989, Bandai published {{nihongo|''Comic Gunbuster''|コミックガンバスター|Komikku Ganbasutā}}, an anthology manga featuring side stories of the OVA's characters. The manga ran for two volumes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%90%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BD%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BC/dp/4891890312book |title=コミックガンバスター Comic – August 1, 1989 |publisherid=[[Amazon (company){{ASIN|Amazon]] 4891890312|access-datecountry=2024-01-19jp}} }}</ref>

Kaiyodo released a Gunbuster model kit in November 2023. The kit includes figurines of Noriko and Kazumi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kaiyodo.co.jp/items/plasticmodel/ap020/ |title=ARTPLA SCULPTURE WORKS　 ガンバスター・タカヤノリコ・アマノカズミ「太陽系絶対防衛戦」 |publisher=[[Kaiyodo]] |access-date=2024-01-23}}</ref>