Anime: Top o Nerae! (2006)

Rate me, or I'll break out my Gunbuster Beam! This review is based on the lovely HD 5.1 THORA Blu-ray fansubs, and is recommended, especially for all fans of the OVA series.

Top wo Nerae! Gekijouban (Aim for the Top Movie) is a condensed verison of the 6 OVA series from 1988-89. It was intended to be screened with Die Buster (aka Gunbuster 2) in a single theatrical release told in two parts with a musical intermission in between, perhaps partly in order to see the development of animation over time. It is a 95-minute movie with a new 5.1 audio remix and a new dub by the original Japanese cast. It aims to condense the story the same way the original Neon Genesis Evangelion is now being condensed in Evangelion 1.0, and the same director (Hideaki Anno, director of Evangelion) is involved in both. It's interesting to watch this, realizing this wildly creative and talented auteur is responsible for both series.

This tells the story of Noriko Takaya, the only daughter of a admiral who died in a battle against an insectoid invading enemy (reminiscent of Heinlein's Starship Troopers), who struggles to become a TOPLESS mecha pilot and fight the invaders. It's a story of heroic determination and friendship, and there isn't much romance in the series. The story is moving and the characters (only 4 main characters, though others are present) are nicely animated. It's a moving story and only suffers from the same problem Evangelion had: they ran out of money. To me, the obvious inspiration is from Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Haldeman's The Forever War.

The series has mature themes, mecha violence and the animation has various amounts of female nudity, so I'd rate the series ages 16+. It is recommended in this high-quality transfer.

Animation: The original material was directed by Hideaki Anno in the 6 OVA series, and this movie is condensed from that series. The animation is obviously unaided by computers, as it dated from 1988. However, the character animation is excellent for it's day, and the mechanicals are varied and interesting. The director chooses to present most scenes in heroic full light and the use of shadows or noir elements is not much present. Color palette is bright and cheery. Character design is by Haruhiko Mikimoto (Macross 7, Tytania) and is famous both for huge eyes and for the "Gainax bounce," or the way the main character's female attributes bounce with activity. Koichi Ohata (MD Geist, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack )is responsible for the mechanicals, and they look vaguely organic, as if designed by a doctor. Backgrounds are starfields and cityscapes that are interesting but not remarkable. Real-world physics is evident: time dilation ages people realistically, and massive robots appear heavy. Inbetween animation is at the top of the game for it's day. I think the latter part of the animation suffers from lack of money (you'll know when but a sudden shift to B&W is a cue). I don't deduct points for shift from color to B&W. Technically, the animation deserves an 8 from today, and a 9 for it's 1988 peers.

Sound: The movie has a new redub 5.1 audio with the original voice actors, and was viewed in Japanese with English subs. Backgound music and songs were by Kouhei Tanaka (Dirty Pair, One Piece, Buso Renkin, Sakura Wars) and is quite effecive and often moving without providing a memorable song. Technicals: Foley and sound effects are excellent if somewhat dated, and the soundstage is somewhat directional in this 5.1 edition. Curiously, I enjoyed the explosions and other sounds generated in a vacuum (obviously a scientific inaccuracy in this otherwise real-world physics movie). Technicals get an 8.
Seiyuu are the same as in the OVA, as they re-dubbed their parts to the edited material. The original OVA had many voice parts, but the movie focuses on four main characters. Noriko Takaya is voiced by Noriko Hidaka (Inuyasha as Kikyo, Ranma ½ as Akane Tendo) and sounds just as jejune as she did in the original, with a little more subtle voicings in the later part of the movie; she carries the majority of the emotional weight. Her "onee-sama" Kazumi Amano(older sister) is voiced by Rei Sakuma (Ranma ½ as Shampoo, Onegai My Melody as My Melody) and sounds more mature, sexy and serious than her partner. Filling out the credits are Maaya Sakamoto as Raruku and Yukari Fukui as Nono. Seiyuu do a great job, but I didn't catch some of the emotional impact of the friendship, leading me to give an 8 for seiyuu.

Totals for sound is an 8.

Story: The earth is threatened by an invading insectoid race from the center of the galaxy. They haven't found the earth, but our heros battle to keep them at bay. In essence, it's a coming-of-age story of Noriko, who is growing up without a her admiral father, a victim of an earlier encounter with the enemy. She is a slighly clumsy but energetic student. She admires her onee-sama Kasumi Amano for her competence and ability to pilot her mecha, and the relationship between them is what fuels the character development in this movie.

This is essentially an action movie along the lines of Starship Troopers, without the romance. Kasumi is in love with their "coach," and as the story progresses we see her heroically struggle for the man she loves. Kasumi is a supportive presence, for she has a different mission: protect the earth, save mankind, and look great in her skimpy pilot outfit. There is a final battle, check. There are training scenarios, check. Heroic battles, titanic struggles, check and check. Best friend on earth who gives a reason to fight, check. What's missing is an emotional connection to the viewer. It's a decent story, with a good ending, and has some interesting plot twists in the form of time dilation: as a pilot nears light speed, time passes faster for people on earth than for the pilot, so the pilots never appear to age much. This effect is described in Joe Haldeman's Forever War, but the anime does a good job in giving us a hard-science effect. I'm wowed. 8.25 points for an effective story nicely condensed from a good OVA series.

Character: this series has some nice character development, some good emotional hooks (if you'd been raised in a post-WWII Japan, this might be even more effective), and some moe-cute moments. The characters are pure stereotypes, but they play their parts well. There is good if slightly over-the-top facial animation, but you're never at a loss at what they are feeling. However, I was not impressed with the characters, and the stereotyped character approach without giving any unique details left me cold. I'd rate the character section a 7.

Value and Enjoyment: As a historical event, this movie is a good introduction to the original OVA series, and I recommend it for that purpose as well as a comparison with the later Gunbuster 2 movie. The THORA fansubs do not have a second audio or a director's commentary, which would add a lot of value, but the transfer is so pretty, it's got good rewatch value. I would rate my view of this as a 7.5.
Enjoyment will depend on your ability to see this with 1988 eyes. It's not as pretty as when computers did the majority of animation (post 1995), but it's really good compared to it's peers. I also enjoyed the comparison as it was released in tandem with the sequel, so I would rate my enjoyment a solid 8.

Conclusion: an excellent movie made from an excellent OVA series. Worth your time, especially to fans of the director. Recommended.