Gunbuster - Production

Production

• The basic plot of Gunbuster is similar to the manga/anime Aim for the Ace!, with the three main characters being closely patterned after those of the latter title. Many scenes also mirror those of Aim for the Ace!, such as in episode 1 when Noriko falls prey to a thumbtack prank. Gunbuster also borrows many story elements from the Robert A. Heinlein novel Starship Troopers.
• The characters were originally designed by Haruhiko Mikimoto. They were adapted for animation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, of The Wings of Honneamise and Neon Genesis Evangelion fame. Mechanical designs for this OVA were created by Kazutaka Miyatake (who also worked in Macross) and Kouichi Ohata (Macross II).
• The series is also notable for being the first anime to introduce jiggling breasts as a form of fan service, which led to such movement being sometimes called the "Gainax bounce", and also lead to the show being nicknamed "Bustgunner" by fans.
• Much of the final battle sequence is not animated, but shown as a series of images portraying tableaux of events during the battle.
• The entire final episode is monochrome, except for the very end. Unusually, this was achieved by executing the artwork in shades of grey & shot on color film, rather than shooting color animation using black and white film.
• The proposal for Gunbuster languished until Anno, who was then working at Studio Gravitron on Grave of the Fireflies, saw Yamaga's script and 'was moved to tears' by it.