After dealing with computer problems that culminated in me getting a new laptop, Gunbuster and I are back after a week-long break for the second to last episode.

Gunbuster has been waiting for you.

Minor NSFW warning due to gratuitous fanservice.

We start off with Noriko and Kazumi returning home after their mission in episode four so that they can finally complete their high school graduation ceremony.  I thought Kazumi was about 24, but apparently she hadn’t graduated yet.  Go figure.

Many things have changed in the six years that have passed on Earth.

The She-bitch from episode 1 is back as an instructor, hot, sexy, and mean looking as ever:

Noriko’s friend graduated.

Ewww.  She didn’t age well.  Actually, she looks kind of like a female version of my dad when he was in high school from what I have seen of old pictures.  All you’d have to do is shorten the bottom part of her hair and convert some of that hair on the sides into sideburns, and BAM!  you have Martindad.

However, her college years must have been very kind to her.

MILF

She also has a kid now, who is about 3.  (yes, its a girl, yes, I’m pretty sure she is single)

From Earth they can see the construction of the newest starship that will double as an escape vehicle or something.

While this brief view of the spaceship has nothing on the sequence from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we can tell that this ship is going to kick some butt.  Noriko’s friend wants Noriko to get her daughter on board.

Never tell me the odds.

Noriko doesn’t want to hear the odds either, and apparently had a falling out with her friend, who she later calls to apologize.

Call this number for a good time.

We get to see some shots of Noriko’s room that reveal some goodies.

I’m a big Nausicaa fan too.  I’m liking Noriko more and more.

More goodies:

We get some more random nipple shots (is that a Space Battleship Yamato poster behind her?), and then this, the item that makes Noriko the hottest, most awesome anime girl ever.

I have a confession to make.  I am a HUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEE Van Halen fan.   I don’t know what the heck they are doing still touring in 2021 though.  I saw them in 2005 or 2006, and I don’t think they are gonna last that long.  Although the Stones are still around, so who knows.

Anyway, Noriko gets summoned to Coach, who is in a heated discussion with Kazumi, and Coach shows her who wears the pants in the relationship.

Kazumi, leaves in a rage, Noriko comes in, and Coach collapses on the floor with blood coming out of his mouth.

Indeed.  Did you know that 12% percent of BA anime characters suffer from some form of Tuberculosis?  Also, 72.5% of statistics are made up on the spot.  True Fact.

Just then, a big enemy fleet is spotted on the outskirts of the solar system.  I’m talking a HUGE fleet.  Like, millions of ships.  I thought the numbers in Legend of the Galactic Heroes were huge, but this just dwarfs them.  Since the only working item seems to be Gunbuster, a plan is hatched to combat this menace.  Noriko and Kazumi will escort an unmanned battleship to the middle of the fleet and detonate its engine in order to create a black hole and wipe out the enemy fleet.  Or something like that.  Noriko and Kazumi will be off Earth time for a while.

Sounds hawt.

The resulting battle involves a lot of this:

Then some of this, involving a transformation sequence that was surprisingly realistic, and kind of reminded me of Power Rangers.

Noriko >> Kamina, and he totally ripped this position off of her.

The two of them decide to use the Lighting Kick to get through the aliens to the ship so they can blow it up.

Looks like they managed to do some damage in the process.  Now we get to that awesome shot from the start of the post.

This may be my favorite shot from the whole series.

Now for some beamspam.

Think the Gawain, but on a solar system scale.

Now for some Homing Lasers.

We also get some missile spam that has an interesting effect.

Finally the alien fleet gets their act together and counterattacks.

It’s Count Gunbustula!

They finally get the battleship’s engine to go critical, and Space Akira is formed.

With the mission a complete success, Noriko and Kazumi rush back to Earth to visit Coach in the hospital before he dies from space radiation sickness.  As typical of mech anime, the characters land in the hand of the mecha.  Gunbuster is so huge though, that they are literally in the hand.  I thought that was kind of cool.

Coach is still alive, and Kazumi is happy to see him.  Noriko has no one left, so she goes and stares at Gunbuster.

“Coach!”

“Veda.”

“Gunbuster.”

And the episode is over.  I’ve already watched the last one because I couldn’t wait, but I’ll wait to blog it.  See you next week.