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Seiso Anime Collectibles
Gunbuster(OVA): Script #3 "First Love/First Contact" *Hideaki Anno*
Gunbuster(OVA): Script #3 "First Love/First Contact" *Hideaki Anno*
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1 production used script with handwriting
A landmark work for Studio Gainax and the legendary director Hideaki Anno, it established many of the studio's trademarks and influenced many later anime.
"First Love, First Sortie" (初めてのときめき☆初めての出撃) is the third episode of Hideaki Anno's legendary 1988 mecha OVA series, Gunbuster (originally titled Top o Nerae!). It marked a crucial tonal shifting point for the series, transitioning the narrative from a lighthearted "sports anime in space" parody into a tragic, hard-science-fiction space opera heavy with emotional weight and relativistic physics.
Plot Summary
The episode begins aboard the massive space battleship Exelion. While the crew celebrates the ship's upcoming sub-space warp capabilities with a launch party, the white text scrolling across the screen ironically delves into complex, pseudo-scientific mathematical engineering formulas.
The narrative quickly shifts focus to Noriko Takaya, who meets a charismatic American pilot named Toren Smith. Toren is deeply impressed by Noriko’s latent potential and her drive. The two quickly form a strong emotional bond, giving Noriko her very first taste of romance. Toren convinces Noriko to bypass the mecha's automatic balancers to practice purely manual control, helping her overcome her insecurity and gain real confidence in her capabilities. He asks her to form a pilot partnership with him for the impending conflict.
The romance is abruptly shattered when the Exelion fleet is suddenly ambushed by an overwhelming swarm of Space Monsters. Noriko and Toren deploy together into the chaotic void of deep space for their very first actual combat sortie. In the frantic, terrifying skirmish, Noriko panics, freezes up, and loses her situational awareness. Toren maneuvers his machine to protect her, but his mecha is utterly vaporized by the alien forces right before her eyes.
Noriko is pulled back to safety, utterly traumatized by the horrors of war and the sudden death of her first love. The episode ends on a devastating note as Noriko weeps uncontrollably on the floor of the locker room, realizing that Toren is gone forever.
Key Elements & Technical Concepts
- Time Dilation introduced: The episode heavily emphasizes the tragic consequences of relativistic space travel. The characters must accept that executing combat runs near the speed of light means hours for them will translate to days, months, or years passing back home on Earth.
- The "Toren Smith" Homage: The character of Toren Smith was named as a direct tribute to the real-life American writer and translator Toren Smith, who founded Studio Proteus and was instrumental in translating and pioneering manga in the Western market.
- Famous Insert Song: During the early lounge scene, Kazumi Amano and Coach Ota sing a karaoke duet. The song is "Otoko to Onna no Love Game" (A Man and a Woman's Love Game), a genuine Japanese enka pop hit originally released in 1986.
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