This review is meant for people who have already watched Gunbuster and Diebuster. Im not gonna spend time reviewing events but simply getting right into the meat of things. Watch them both first then come back. Whenever I see people discussing Gunbuster and its sequel title Diebuster most of it usually comes down to Gunbuster being this classic mustwatch anime done by Hideaki Anno but rarely ever about its sequel. And when I do hear people mention Diebuster it usually ends up being that its level of quality is generally lower than its prequel. Of course if you look at my anilist youll see I dont really agree with this line of thought or opinion but rather find Diebuster to be generally a much better experience in comparison. I do respect and enjoy both individually yet also as a pair. As in a pair I mean that Diebuster does not work if it were not its sequel to Gunbuster and vice versa Gunbuster does not work as well if it were not for the details that Diebuster adds. And there are many links between the two that are more than simply just story wise but thematically and in a meta context. As Gunbuster is a kind of swan song towards Real Robot mecha shows and Gainaxs own Diebuster is a swan song towards Super Robot mecha shows and Gainaxs own output after and before Gunbuster it included. This doesnt really mean that that exact genre stopped existing after these shows released but that era has been long gone and it simply acts as a passing of the torch between the media that defined that era and towards the new ones. Which hey is what Diebuster is about Diebuster is about many things but one part I want to emphasize more than anything is that it is very clearly a transition of the old towards the new how things can improve and change thanks to the effort new blood is able to bring about and the people that attempt to delay that change. Much of the cast dismisses the Topless and their abilities continuously believing their old ways those that are shown in Gunbuster as reliable are better than the ways the new generation brings about despite all the accomplishments which were shown. That kind of stagnation fucks them over and it becomes the responsibility of the new generation to bring about change and improve on the old. And Nono is the postergirl of this. She loves Nonoriri idolizes her in fact to the point she takes her own mannerisms and ideals to heart while also evolving on those strategies and ideals into a newer form. There are other ways to see what Diebuster really means and maybe it doesnt really mean anything but it is also how I see it and hopefully how many others see it as well. This is how Diebuster works thanks to Gunbuster. Diebuster is the natural evolution of Gunbuster it is a freak combination of the old we saw in Gunbuster and the new we see in Diebuster and it continuously evolves and changes thorought the series thanks to the new we see and their efforts to improve and change. This coupled with the fact its some of the best animation weve seen from Gainax as well as some superb character writing and music with a lot of meaning behind each episode and each character makes for a worthy if not better sequel to Gunbuster. It passes the torch while celebrating the old and what is to come and it does it in such a way that shook me to my core and made me fall in love with it.