Kat could be from a Gainax Anime: After god knows how many years clean, I have been watching anime again. I am currently watching a bunch of stuff I always meant to but never got around to. Diebuster was first on the list – the follow up to Gunbuster and a most worthy follow up at that. Then I worked my way through Gurren Lagan and that was a glorious amount of fun. Truthfully, watching anime again has been fun. Next on the list is Serial Experiments Lain – after that we will see. But, going back to Diebuster there was a moment where I was reminded of Gravity Rush.
There is a moment in the opening credits where the main character, Nono takes off and it gave off strong Gravity Rush vibes – like when Kat takes flight. In truth this was a culmination of smaller observations regarding Kat and Nono – they seemed to share characters traits. I wondered if there were any tangible connections between the series.
Turns out I was not the only person to see some similarities between the Gravity Rush series and the Buster series. Before I ran with this idea I put it through google first – to see if I was a crazy loner with this idea. Turns out no. Not by a long shot. A plethora of results popped up from reddit to gamefaqs, all replete with the similarities between Gravity Rush and Gunbuster and Diebuster. The more I think about it, there is a bit of Gurren Lagan in there as well.
The big one is Kat’s Gravity Kick which is incredibly similar to the Lightning Kick from both Gun Buster and Die Buster. Or to give it the correct pronunciation SUUUPPPPAAAAA IIIINNNAAAZZZUMMMMAAAA KIIIIIIICCCCKKKKKK!
Both Kat and Nono suffer from memory loss that clouds their true identity. Both take a while to come around to their true strength. Both of them have their heads in the clouds. Both of them come good when everything depends on them. Granted, that could describe a whole lot of protagonists but with Kat and Nono, I could see parts of each character in each other. Also, as both the discussion links mention, lots of space monster fighting. And going into space.
Beyond the taking flight, the vibe of Gravity Rush (particularly the 2nd) meshes perfectly with the Die Buster opening. The colours and the vibe – the colours and vibrancy of Jirga Para Llhao – Groovin Magic could just as well be Kat’s theme song. In the end of Die Buster (spoilers here for a 15 year old anime y’all) Nono sacrifices herself by warping away a black hole that threatens to destroy earth. Kat, at the end of Gravity Rush 2 does something similar to save Heksevile.
And in the case of Gurren Lagan (god that ended so awesomely) near the end, when all seems hopeless the hero’s get a power boost from everyone in the Universe lending them their belief in the heros cause. Similarly, in Gravity Rush 2 when all seems lost at the end the residents of Heksevile come together in song, giving Kat the necessary impetuous to push through the final obstacle.
Gravity Rush could be a Gainax anime. And that’s awesome.
Floating World of Gravity Rush 2: Both Gravity Rush and Gravity Rush 2 have floating worlds. Each place hangs in the air, suspended by anti-gravity crystals. Beyond that common feature, Heksevile and Jirga Para Llhao are structured very differently. Heksevile has four districts, each of them a solid block of land. Gravity Rush 2 has three districts, and they are much more fractured. There are still come larger blocks of land hanging in the sky, but there are many splinters of land, some holding things as large as skyscrapers and some with things as small as a single house.
My favourite part of this are the many tiny islands that hang in the air around the market district of Jirga Para Lihao. Whenever I boot up Gravity Rush 2 I find myself revisiting these places, sorely for the pleasure of seeing them. In terms of tangible reasons to visit these places, I have none. At one point they would have had gems hanging around them for buying more skills but they are long gone. There is no tangible reason for me to revisit Gravity Rush 2 with the platinum wrapped up, but moving around is so fun, bouncing around these floating places.
These islands are some of best and beautiful parts of Jirga Para Llhao’s architecture condensed into tiny spaces. The billboards emblazoned with unique language that the denizens of these places speak. And the vibrant artwork that accompanies those words. The style of the buildings themselves vary greatly from island to island. One looks like a house that has been stretched out and never went back to normal size. Another seems like a religious building repurposed for something else. Others look like regular houses that have accumulated various architectural affectations over the years and are now wonderful combinations of various styles.
Another thing I like about these places is the absurdity of their existence. For people living there they are separated from everyday life – I guessing shopping is a pain. And if they run as a business then I cannot imagine they would get too many customers. And that absurdity just makes me love them even more. Just some beautiful constructions hanging there in the sky, letting Kat bounce between them with her gravity powers. Sometimes it’s good to bin logic and common sense and all that stuff.
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