"Hard Work and Effort"
Diebuster (2004 OVA, 6 episodes)
Studio: Gainax
Now, onto Diebuster. Let me stress
first off that I have not yet seen Gunbuster, the original 1988 OVA
done by Gainax. So, my evaluation of Diebuster will not be as a
'sequel' to another work, but rather as a 'transitional piece'.
Diebuster is an 6 episode OVA from 2004, in order to celebrate Gainax's 20th anniversary. It tells the story of Nono-chan, a pink-haired girl from the country who strives to see the stars by becoming a space pilot. She runs into Lal'c Melk Mal, the ace pilot of Topless, an organization where teenage pilots using highly specialized giant robots to fight off space monsters. But, Nono holds a secret that could change the tide of the conflict for the better? What is the nature of the space monsters? Will humanity survive? All these questions are all very interesting.
Of course, from reading my summary, one
can piece together similar concepts from other Gaianx shows. Well, no
surprise, as Diebuster is very much a pastiche of stuff Gainax has
done. From using mecha that wouldn't feel out of place in Evangelion
to having a story that at its core is much like Fooly Cooly; that is,
it is a coming of age story for both Nono and Lal'C though not in the
way most expected.
One of the nice things about Diebuster
is its small yet tightly controlled cast. There are only about 5-6
recurring characters throughout the 6 episodes. Nono and Lal'C have
an interesting dynamic (some would say its a shoujo-ai relationship,
but its more out of admiration than love). The other characters
(Casio, Tycho and Nicola) each are very interesting with their own
focus episode/time. I won't spoil further, but suffice to say its
makes things very interesting.
But more than a simple character study,
it is also a rather exciting space adventure. One of the things that
struck me about this OVA is how great it looks. From a production
standpoint, Diebuster is very pretty to look at; clear, crisp and
consistent character design and modeling, even if some of the shots
are clearly CG, but then again most CG from pre-2006 or so is mostly
obvious and/or jarring, so I won't complain much on it. The action
scenes are very well-done, kinetic and fast-paced which you do need
in your show with giant robots.
Diebuster also stands as a 'transition
piece'. On the one hand, it looks back to Gunbuster (of course),
Evangelion (mecha and cosmic horror of space monsters) and FLCL (both
share the same writer and director). On the other hand, it looks
forward to Gurren Lagann, as both are basically gung-ho sci-fi mecha
shows where hot-bloodedness and enthusiasm takes central stage. The
epithet 'Hard Work and Effort' which I've titled this review initially
serves as the central message of Diebuster, that through hard work
and effort one can do the improbable, which happens to occur so often
one could make a drinking game of it. Seriously, the feats that break
not just physics but reality itself committed by Nono-chan for the
most part is astounding yet awe-inspiring.
But, I think that "Hard Work and
Effort" stands as a slogan for Studio Gainax itself. This is the
studio founded by fanboys back in the 80s who loved those
sci-fi/mecha shows from days of yore. They put in a lot of hard work
into their shows, despite any production/budget issues, and it shows
here in spades with Diebuster. This intense passion and enthusiasm
can be seen from the beginning to the final scene. It is very
inspirational and powerful.
Now, onto some other aspects of the
show: The music is phenomenal, having been done by Kohei Tanaka, who
has done several scores for anime, OVAs and games. Just check his
Wikipedia page for full credits. His music is very powerful and
fitting in just about every scene in this OVA. Of particular note is
"March of the Exelion" and "Inazuma Double Kick".
The Japanese voice acting is very good.
The DVDs I have for Diebuster were from the Bandai Visual release a
few years ago. They decide to just release it subbed, with no english
dub at all. Which is fine, as I feel a dub wouldn't be too good.
Plus, Diebuster is a very niche title, so I guess that Bandai
figured that they could just make their money back on it by just
selling it subbed release.
Luckily, Discotek Media is releasing
the complete collection of Diebuster in May. This definitely gets a
recommendation from me. It is probably one of the better entries in
the Gainax catalog, and that includes 'Evangelion', 'FLCL', 'Gurren
Lagann' and 'Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt' so it's in good
competition/company. Its very good in just about everything. Now, if
you wish to view this as a sequel, I would recommend checking out the
original Gunbuster, as I hope so to do in the near future. However,
as a 'transitional piece', it is perfectly fine to watch just this,
it works well as a stand-alone work.
Next review concludes Gainax month with
the Eva Rebuild films, to be posted April 27th-28th.
Laterz,
The Eclectic Dude
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