Gunbuster Science Lessons (トップをねらえ！科学講座) is a series of animated shorts which explains the fictional science of the Gunbuster universe. In this series, Noriko Takaya and Kazumi Amano, in chibi form, teach the viewers about various scientific topics. Typically, Noriko displays lack of knowledge on said subject and Coach pops in to lecture her on the importance of studying.
The series has 4 original episodes from 1988, an extra fifth and sixth episode from 1994, and seventh and eighth episodes from 2012. There are also three episodes created for Top o Nerae! 2: Diebuster, featuring Lal'c and Nono.
The shorts feature chibi versions of the show's main characters standing in front of a display similar to that of a 1980s Apple computer. In the 1994 episodes, this background was updated, and in the 2012 episode, it was replaced with an iPad display.
Episodes[]
Gunbuster[]
- "Ethereal Space Theory"
- "Starbow and the Urashima Effect"
- "All About WARP"
- "Types of Extraterrestrial Creatures"
- "Spaceships" (1994)
- "The True Sol System" (1994)
- "Orbital Elevator and Orbital Ropeway" (2012)
- "The Galactic Nucleus and Black Holes" (2012)
Diebuster[]
- "Topless"
- "Buster Machine Development History"
- "Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis"
Trivia[]
- The series references a fictional scientist named Tannhauser and cites him as one of the three major physicists, along with Newton and Einstein.
- It is in this series that it is revealed that Noriko is a fan of 20th century anime. In it, Noriko discusses some of her favorite series, to which Kazumi responds, "You are the greatest otaku in the universe."
- A subtle anachronism occurs in Lesson 6. When Noriko names the planets of the Solar System, she quickly dresses up as the Sailor Moon characters corresponding to Mercury, Venus, Earth (as Tuxedo Mask), Mars, and Jupiter. However, Noriko is unable to continue her Solar System cosplay for the planets Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. This is because the Sailors Guardians that represent these outer planets would not make their first appearances in the Sailor Moon universe until after Lesson 6 was animated. Noriko, as a person alive in the 2030s, would have known what Sailor Saturn, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Pluto looked like. However, Gainax staff didn't know at the time of animation! Furthermore, Pluto was declassified as a planet in 2006 as well.
- These shorts are the inspiration for the 2015 Steven Universe short "What are Gems?".
- In the 2012 episodes, Kazumi Amano introduces herself as Kazumi Oota, implying that she's married to Koichiro Oota.