Gunbuster started off slow in my opinion, but the last couple episodes more than made up for that. :3
Indeed it did. As shallow as it seems, I think one if the reasons that the first few episodes were so weak compared to the second half was because of how much of a cry baby Noriko was. The reason for it was definitely understandable and sympathetic (Especially after what the girls did to her in the first episode. That was just cruel), but it did leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Even then, she still remains one of my favorite female protagonists ever. Of course, Noriko growing a spine of titanium so quick was pretty jarring, but I forgiven much worse offenses, and the Gunbuster emerging was so damn awesome!
Diebuster... Well, nothing really comes close to Gunbuster in my books, but in the end it's a worthy sequel (plus Nono is moe~).
I've always been surprised by how few people like both Diebuster and Gunbuster. It's probably because I watched Diebuster first, but I always thought they were about equal in terms of overall quality.
Currently reading: Ichinensei ni Nacchattara...guilty pleasure and all that. I find the concept pretty intriguing, if only for the originality of it...unless there's some other book about a normal high school student (tm) getting turned into a little girl for an indefinite amount of time I haven't heard of. It actually gets really interesting when the story stops with the slice-o-life normal elementary school stuff for a moment and addresses the main character's outrageously awkward situation. Like when his mother, who thinks he just ran away, shows up on the scene.
