A fabled Hideaki Anno project is getting another lease on life. Gunbuster, the 1988 Gainax series that served as his directorial debut, will be coming to Blu-ray, with Discotek Media revealing their acquisition at Washington, D.C’s Otakon.

Discotek admitted they were “letting the cat out of the bag a little early” at their panel, so details about the rerelease were scarce. They did confirm that the OVA will get a remaster, as well as including many special features that are still in the works. However, arguably the biggest announcement was that they were partnering with dubbing company Sound Cadence Studios to record an English dub, a first for the series. The studio said that the Blu-ray will be available for purchase sometime in 2022.

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Image via Discotek Media

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What makes this announcement, especially with the reveal of its English dub, so special is that Gunbuster has been inaccessible to American audiences for years. While its film counterpart Gunbuster vs Diebuster Aim for the Top! The GATTAI!! Movie received a Blu-ray in 2008, this was merely an abridged version of the anime combined with 2004’s sequel series Diebuster. As for the original series, it was only briefly distributed in the 1990s with loose English translations. Having the full series remastered with an English dub, especially one from Sound Cadence Studios, for the first time is exciting.

If you are unfamiliar with Gunbuster, here is a brief synopsis. It is the year 2023 and Earth has had its fair share of battles with extraterrestrial Space Monsters, forcing them to open training schools for pilots. Noriko Takaya is one such aspiring pilot who wants to avenge her father, an admiral who went missing during a battle. The six-episode series chronicles her journey, as well as tackles concepts such as revenge and time itself.

Gunbuster originated many tropes and iconography that would carry on throughout both Anno's career, and that of Studio Gainax, particularly the famed "Gainax Pose" that would be recreated in such projects as Gurren Lagann. In addition to an exhilarating sci-fi action story, Gunbuster also features one of the biggest gut-punch finales in an anime, ever, while giving Christopher Nolan's Interstellar a run for its money in its use of time dilation for emotional devastation.

Watch a remastered scene, complete with brand-new translations, from the upcoming release below. Although Gunbuster’s Blu-ray release is currently undated, you can watch the entire Rebuild of Evangelion series on Amazon Prime starting on August 12th in the meantime.

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