The answer is yes, at least according to Hideaki Anno. Gunbuster is an OVA series directed by Hideaki Anno that tells the story of Noriko Takaya, a girl who wishes to find her father stranded in space, while fighting aliens. To do so she must become an excellent pilot to be eligible to be sent out to space and protect Earth from the alien threat.
Now, how on Earth does that sound like a sports anime in any way? Well, here’s how, let’s start with the title of the show. Without any subtlety whatsoever, Hideaki Anno put a reference to the work that inspired him to tell Noriko’s story right in the title, as the full name of the OVA series is Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, or Aim for the Top. Top wo Nerae! is a direct reference to the legendary series Ace wo Nerae! or Aim for the Ace! The influence this series had on sports anime and manga is often overlooked, however, it really took the world by storm with its successful mix of personal drama and physical struggles of girl athletes.
In showing Noriko’s growth, Gunbuster borrows a lot from Ace wo Nerae!, starting with senpai star student Kazumi Amano with whom Noriko develops a bond, paralleling Hiromi Oka’s relationship with Ochofujin who became close friends in the end. Then there’s a sunglasses-wearing coach who wishes to mold Noriko into a proper soldier and offers unyielding support to her despite being an underdog, once again paralleling Ace wo Nerae! with its sunglasses-wearing coach who believed in Hiromi more than she did in herself. And of course, a sports anime isn’t complete without the rival character who antagonizes Noriko and tries to belittle her accomplishments, the Soviet pilot Jung Freud, who eventually develops respect for Noriko. It is practically step by step recreation of the relationship between Hiromi Oka and Kyoko Otowa, who similarly bullied her until she began to see her as an equal.
And not to mention, piloting skills are in fact presented as a proper athletic sport in the series, with episode 1 starting with showing pilots comically piloting robots to work in a field. Emphasizing physical activity and featuring several sports montages that are staples of the genre, it is hard to view Gunbuster as anything but sports anime. And the military uniform the girls wear definitely resembles a sports uniform more than real military gear.
Now, it’s hard to say that Gunbuster outright plagiarizes Ace wo Nerae! It does feature giant robots fighting aliens, and it is a wholly unique story, but it is definitely funny how two drastically different genres can end up complementing each other.
Can piloting big robots be a sport?
The answer is yes, at least according to Hideaki Anno. Gunbuster is an OVA series directed by Hideaki Anno that tells the story of Noriko Takaya, a girl who wishes to find her father stranded in space, while fighting aliens. To do so she must become an excellent pilot to be eligible to be sent out to space and protect Earth from the alien threat.
Now, how on Earth does that sound like a sports anime in any way? Well, here’s how, let’s start with the title of the show. Without any subtlety whatsoever, Hideaki Anno put a reference to the work that inspired him to tell Noriko’s story right in the title, as the full name of the OVA series is Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, or Aim for the Top. Top wo Nerae! is a direct reference to the legendary series Ace wo Nerae! or Aim for the Ace! The influence this series had on sports anime and manga is often overlooked, however, it really took the world by storm with its successful mix of personal drama and physical struggles of girl athletes.
In showing Noriko’s growth, Gunbuster borrows a lot from Ace wo Nerae!, starting with senpai star student Kazumi Amano with whom Noriko develops a bond, paralleling Hiromi Oka’s relationship with Ochofujin who became close friends in the end. Then there’s a sunglasses-wearing coach who wishes to mold Noriko into a proper soldier and offers unyielding support to her despite being an underdog, once again paralleling Ace wo Nerae! with its sunglasses-wearing coach who believed in Hiromi more than she did in herself. And of course, a sports anime isn’t complete without the rival character who antagonizes Noriko and tries to belittle her accomplishments, the Soviet pilot Jung Freud, who eventually develops respect for Noriko. It is practically step by step recreation of the relationship between Hiromi Oka and Kyoko Otowa, who similarly bullied her until she began to see her as an equal.
And not to mention, piloting skills are in fact presented as a proper athletic sport in the series, with episode 1 starting with showing pilots comically piloting robots to work in a field. Emphasizing physical activity and featuring several sports montages that are staples of the genre, it is hard to view Gunbuster as anything but sports anime. And the military uniform the girls wear definitely resembles a sports uniform more than real military gear.
Now, it’s hard to say that Gunbuster outright plagiarizes Ace wo Nerae! It does feature giant robots fighting aliens, and it is a wholly unique story, but it is definitely funny how two drastically different genres can end up complementing each other.
