History Anime / DieBuster

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nono [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save Earth. She never meets her idol, [[Anime/GunBuster Noriko]], who 10 years later, finally returns to Earth [[TheSlowPath after travelling through space for 10,000 years due to time dilation]]. Lal'C watches from a hill, remembering how much it meant to Nono.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nono [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save Earth. She never meets her idol, [[Anime/GunBuster Noriko]], who finally returns after being [[TimeTravel flung thousands of years into the future]] to arrive 10 years later. Lal'C watches from a hill, remembering how much it meant to Nono.]]

** In the final battle in episode 6, [[spoiler:Lal'c and Nono not only obliterate the space monster, which had taken a planet to the face and shook it off as if nothing happened, but they also CRACK a black hole. After that, what appears to be a giant pair or hands clasps over the black hole until it is subdued.]] Even the android military advisor on one of the remaining ships stated something to the effect of, "It is pointless to try and explain. They are now beyond our understanding..."

* BusterPower: It's right in the title!

* {{BFS}}: Buster Machine No. 27, Vingt-Sept.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Oh, lordy. Most of the Topless, and Lal'C is worst of all.

* WhamEpisode: Episode 4 turns ''everything'' on its head. The Topless [[spoiler:are actually the first stage of humanity's evolution into Space Monsters]]. The Space Monsters [[spoiler:are actually the ''good guys'', an automated defense system that mistook the Topless for Space Monsters]]. The Variable Gravity Well [[spoiler:is actually a ''real'' Space Monster, from ''Anime/GunBuster'', and way out of Fraternity's league]]. And Nono [[spoiler:is not just some android -- she's Buster Machine No. 7, ''the most powerful fighting machine in existence'']].
** The space monster in the first episode was [[spoiler:obeying Nono when she shouted she would [[BluntMetaphorsTrauma go out into space]].]]

The parallels between ''Anime/GunBuster'' and ''[=DieBuster=]'' are readily apparent. Both series focus on two girls - one, a hyperactive girl with natural talent but no actual skill; the other, a more stoic figure, a veteran of training, and the one person her compatriot idolizes. Both stories revolve around human emotion and the draining effect a drawn-out war can have on the combatants and their relationships. They both idealize the principle, common to the SuperRobot genre, that with hard work and determination, and ThePowerOfFriendship, anything is possible. Finally, they also realize, rather poignantly, that even with incredible power, [[PyrrhicVictory sacrifices must be made]]. [[spoiler: They even show THE EXACT SAME ENDING, from different perspectives]]. The duology is a testament to the Mecha genre and a celebration of everything Creator/StudioGainax had done up to that point, and should definitely be watched by any anime fan.

* PassingTheTorch: With a side of {{Meta}}. [[spoiler:Nono is the SupportingProtagonist for most of the series until she becomes the [[BigGood strongest of the good guys]]. But she is elevated to a [[PhysicalGod godly status]] very different from her own [[TheHero ideal]]. She ends up leaving the battlefield ''and'' her role. Lal'C is grudgingly stuck as the protagonist in the last episode as she becomes the role Nono always wanted.]]

** Aside from functioning as a generator, the [[PsychicPowers Topless' abilities]] let them [[AllThereInTheManual distort the laws of physics]]. It is dangerous and unpredictable, [[AllThereInTheManual even to the user]], to the point of needing to be sealed for daily life. This would imply [[spoiler:the real Space Monsters themselves have such abilities]].

The parallels between ''Anime/GunBuster'' and ''[=DieBuster=]'' are readily apparent. Both series focus on two girls - one, a hyperactive girl with natural talent but no actual skill; the other, a more stoic figure, a veteran of training, and the one person her compatriot idolizes. Both stories revolve around human emotion and the draining effect a drawn-out war can have on the combatants and their relationships. They both idealize the principle, common to the SuperRobot genre, that with hard work and determination, and ThePowerOfFriendship, anything is possible. Finally, they also realize, rather poignantly, that even with incredible power, [[PyrrhicVictory sacrifices must be made]]. The duology is a testament to the Mecha genre, and the talent of Creator/StudioGainax, and should definitely be watched by any anime fan.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nono [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save Earth. She never meets her idol, [[Anime/GunBuster Noriko]], who finally returns after being [[TimeTravel flung thousands of years into the future]] to arrive 10 years later. Lal'C watches from a hill with some privacy, remembering how much it meant to Nono.]]

* ShoutOut: Gainax loves to self reference.

*** This in turn was built up to by her {{Telepathy}} reaching its full potential, letting her [[LoveTranscendsSpacetime share a moment]] with a [[ChildhoodFriends childhood friend]] years in the past.

* AlsoSprachZarathustra: Before battles a mash-up of this and the tune played in ''Anime/GunBuster'' in those scenes is played.

A six-volume OVA that serves as a sequel to ''Anime/GunBuster'', released as a [[MilestoneCelebration 20th anniversary]] project for Creator/StudioGainax. With director Creator/KazuyaTsurumaki at the helm, who also directed ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', this series could easily be described as the love-child of the two series. While its source material is very story-centric, ''[=DieBuster=]'' maintains a strong overarching story while including more action and style that would set the groundwork for ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' three years later.

* ContinuityNod: Both girls make themselves [[IncrediblyLamePun Topless]] like Noriko does during Gunbuster's final episode as bookends: Nono does it in episode 1, [[spoiler:and Lal'C does it in episode 6, after taking in a degeneracy engine.]] They both precede [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Inazuma Kicks]].

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Episode 4, when the Variable Gravity Well awakens and mops the floor with the assembled Topless and their Buster Machines]]...and then again when [[spoiler:Nono merely uses it to punctuate her [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome speech]].]]

* AscendedFanboy: Nono. She admires Noriko and wanted to become a Topless. Becomes Lal'C best friend pretty quickly, helping her. [[spoiler: She even tried to sacrified herself to save the Earth like Noriko did. The difference is, while Noriko survived, [[HeroicSacrifice Nono didn't had the same luck]]]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nono [[HeroidSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save Earth. She never meets her idol, [[Anime/GunBuster Noriko]], who finally returns after being [[TimeTravel flung thousands of years into the future]] to arrive 10 years later. Lal'C watches from a hill with some privacy, remembering how much it meant to Nono.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nono sacrificed herself to save earth. To add more bitterness, she never meet her idol, Noriko, who finally comeback after 12000 years in the space (10 years after the final battle). Plus, it's implied in the ending that Lal'C still misses Nono.]]
** Also, [[spoiler:it was implied during the ending that Nono sacrified herself to avoid the second big bang, which was the result of almost spliting the black hole in two.]]

** A lot of equipment resembles toys and candy. Mostly [[WriteWhatYouKNow dated ones]]. Vingt-Sept [[PlayfulHacker hijacks]] and [[RealityWarper warps]] other machines through old RC car remotes. Quatre-Vingt-Dix comes packaged like an action figure. The Mega Nebula colony Lal'C's team lives in is shaped like an obscure Japanese candy in its wrapping.

* AscendedFanboy: Nono. She admires Noriko and wanted to become a Topless. Becomes Lal'C best friend pretty quickly, helping her. [[spoiler: She even tried to sacrified herself to save the Earth like Noriko did. The difference is, while Noriko survived, [[HeroicSacrifice Nono didn't had the same luck]]]].

* AllThereInTheManual: The series rarely stops to explain its background information. That job was given to the website so fans had something consistently updated to look at between OVA releases. Unfortunately, things like its [[http://www.top2.jp/special_gnn0503.html countless entries on the setting]] were [[Main/NoExportForYou left untranslated.]]
* AlsoSprachZarathustra: Before battles a mash-up of this and the tune played in ''Anime/GunBuster'' in those scenes is played.
* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:Nono]] is revealed to be a robot at the end of the first episode and another [[spoiler:ordinary]] one shows up as a naval advisor (this one male)

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Lal'C loses Nono for real in the end]].

* SelfParody: A drama CD track gathers up the voice actors from ''Anime/DieBuster'' and ''Anime/GunBuster'' to have them make a mock trailer for a {{troperrific}}, FakeCrossOver of the two. Or [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste at least the audio of it]]. Narrated by [[Creator/NorioWakamoto Coach]]. Rather than be faithful to either, it brings in things like the unimplemented Buster Homerun and [[EnsembleDarkhorse made up kaiju]] on the old ''Anime/GunBuster'' soundtrack cover with [[AffectionateParody even more ridiculous]] [[CallingYourAttacks shouted attacks]]. Sure, we got the movie that showed the [[AdaptationDistillation distilled versions]] side by side, but imagine if they made this [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literal ''Anime/GunBuster'' vs ''Anime/DieBuster'']] instead.

* MythologyGag: The music-box tune that plays when Lal'c tells Nono about birds is "Active Heart", the opening theme from the original ''Anime/GunBuster''. Nono hums the same song when she discovers the skeleton of Buster Machine Vingt-Dix.

** Also a LineOfSightName: sort of. Nono is the named after the first things she said when she was found by an asteroid prospector: No no ri ri. [[spoiler:Well, actually "No...no...ri...ri...'''k'''o."]]

* NippleAndDimed: When Nono takes the name TOPLESS too literal.

* SelfParody: A drama CD track gathers up the voice actors from ''Anime/DieBuster'' and ''Anime/GunBuster'' to have them make a mock trailer for a {{troperrific}}, FakeCrossOver of the two. Or [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste at least the audio of it]]. Narrated by [[NorioWakamoto Coach]]. Rather than be faithful to either, it brings in things like the unimplemented Buster Homerun and [[EnsembleDarkhorse made up kaiju]] on the old ''Anime/GunBuster'' soundtrack cover with [[AffectionateParody even more ridiculous]] [[CallingYourAttacks shouted attacks]]. Sure, we got the movie that showed the [[AdaptationDistillation distilled versions]] side by side, but imagine if they made this [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literal ''Anime/GunBuster'' vs ''Anime/DieBuster'']] instead.