Gunbuster 2, Vol. 1

Gunbuster 2, Vol. 1
by Kazuya Tsurumaki

List Price: ~~$39.98~~
Category: DVD
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DVD details

Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); Japanese (Published)
Format: Anamorphic, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 54 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Bandai Visual USA

DVD Reviews of Gunbuster 2, Vol. 1

DVD Review: In the end it lives up to the Gunbuster name.
Summary: 5 Stars

Gunbuster 2 starts off kind of weird, it seemingly has nothing to do with Gunbuster. By the end of the series though, you see where it all ties in. The ending is amazing if you've seen the original. The first 3 episodes are annoying at first if you are expecting it to have a lot to do with Gunbuster, but after you've seen the whole thing you will appreciate it. I highly recommend it to anyone who has seen Gunbuster. No need to explain the plot really

DVD Review: For hardcore fans only
Summary: 3 Stars

I cannot recommend watching this show enough. It gets 5/5 stars easily. HOWEVER, I would have to say that the original Gunbuster, is much better storywise, and this should not be neccessarily considered a sequel to that.

AND, for the US DVD release, Bandai Visual is treating this release the same way anime DVDs are released in Japan. In Japan it's not uncommon to only have 2 episodes on a disc for upwards of 40-60$ a disc. For years there have been studios wanting to do this same type of marketing in America, claiming that the fans are just as hardcore and would purchase the same stuff. Bandai Visual are looking at the American market not as a secondary market, but as ANOTHER primary market. Chances are, they will do this type of release for everything they license. I don't think this idea will work too well in the US.

On the quality of the actual DVD: The encoding is very nice, it appears to be the same 720x480 16:9 that was used for the original Japanese DVD's (it has the same frame order too) so you're not lacking any visual quality there. The problem is the subtitles, extras, and DVD packaging. I feel they're a little sub par, and while I don't like dubs of anime in general, I feel the lack of a dub alltogether only reinforces that the price for this DVD is a little too much for what you're getting. Don't get me wrong, I knew that this was how the DVD was going to be, and I bought it anyway because I love this show.

Take what you may from this, I still say that the show is definately worth the money, and worth seeing, but depending on your personal DVD buying habits, you might want to wait till all 3 are out and Bandai Visual realizes this tactic might not work here in the US. Or maybe buy it used.

DVD Review: Not worth the asking price
Summary: 3 Stars

A friend of mine bought this title. The show is created by much of the same team that did FLCL, and there are some similarities between FLCL and this show. There are no similarities or relations to the original Gunbuster as far as I know, I'm not sure why it has the same name. This show is decent, maybe a 3 or 4-star show, depending on your tastes. I don't think this show is as good as FLCL, but if you are a die-hard fan of FLCL you may want to consider watching this show.

Unfortunately, the price is prohibitively expensive. $40 retail price for just 2 episodes?! And there is no dub at all. This is one of the greatest anime rip-offs in the modern age. Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away anime VHS tapes used to be really expensive in the USA, but we don't live there anymore. In Japan, anime costs about this much, but the market is different and that's not a justification for the price of this DVD. For those who don't know, Bandai Visual is not the same release company as Bandai Entertainment...and since their recent birth, all their titles have been ridiculously overpriced. I advise no one to buy this title for it is not worth the price. Wait for Bandai Visual to realize the foolishness of their business scheme, and either go bankrupt or lower the retail price in a year (historical example of this in the USA: The World of Narue DVD boxset lowered its retail price by half after a year in which it was a bit overpriced by US Manga Corporation. And that wasn't half as expensive as this).

DVD Review: Aim For The Top - Again, and with No Less Glee!
Summary: 5 Stars

Fans of the original Gunbuster (1988) - the epoch-making Original Video Animation marking Hideaki Anno's directorial debut - may at first find the semi-sequel Gunbuster 2 (directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki) erring in the direction of light-hearted entertainment at the expense of serious psychodrama. However, few will fail to appreciate the calibre of the heroine's staunch commitment to her piloting ambitions. As a fresh breed of alien invaders threatens the human race with extinction, it is up to the Topless Squadron's teenage prodigies to save the day. An ordinary waitress decked out in frilly maid-caf? apparel whose world view is so guileless as to verge on utter inanity, the protagonist Nono blatantly lacks the skills required of a Topless fighter. Nevertheless, she is determined to reach the top - which indeed she does to memorable dramatic effect.

Gorgeous character designs of palpable texture, executed with a meticulous care for the minutest details, are tantalizingly juxtaposed with sublime cosmic vistas. One of the show's most captivating facets - especially for the pictorially oriented spectator - resides with character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's utilization of a chromatic palette of tremendous originality in the evocation of both individual and corporate identities (especially for the uniforms). The mecha (created by Bukichi Nadeara, Junya Ishigaki, Shigeto Koyama and Yoshitsune Izuna) are no less imaginatively conceived, combining established robotic features typical of Gainax's earlier oeuvre and motifs drawn from folklore, mythology and classic action-adventure. The viewer's attention is assiduously engaged by the intensity of the mecha battles and by the pathos of interpersonal relationships both amongst peers and across diverse generations.

And then there's Nono's streaming pink hair - its sheer dynamism is sufficient unto itself to keep the eye glued to the screen!

Description of Gunbuster 2, Vol. 1

Decades after the birth of the Gunbuster legend?
Acclaimed studio GAINAX returns with an epic sequel!!

A young girl named Nono has left her home behind, to come alone to the big city. She has a grand dream of becoming a space pilot. But reality is harsh, and she spends every day instead at the diner near the spaceport where she lives and works. Then one day, while being harassed by one of the regular customers, a real-life "Topless" pilot named Lal'C comes to her aid. Nono, who is deeply impressed, starts on her own accord to call Lal'C "On?ama," and volunteers herself by saying, "I want to become a space pilot like you!"

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