Bullbuster is a multimedia franchise by Kadokawa, which started as a novel in 2018, based on a concept book launched in 2017 at Comitia122 and Comiket. An anime version was released on October 4, 2023, which was written and directed by Hiroyasu Aoki and produced by NUT. Takahisa Katagiri adapted Kubonouchi's original designs for animation, Junji Okubo served as mechanical designer, and Masahiro Tokuda composed the anime music. In Japan, it airs on various Japanese television stations. In the Asia-Pacific, Medialink streams it with regional subtitles. In North America, Crunchyroll streams it online.
This was later followed by a manga version on October 5, 2023. It's written by Hiroyuki Nakao and P.I.C.S. with illustrations by Hishio Itami. It's published by Media Factory with serialization done in Monthly Comic Flapper.
The story takes place in the near future where Ryugan Island was designated off-limits due to the presence of Giant Beasts, even though Tokyo said that gas leaks were on the island. Namidome Industries (NI) was contracted to take out the beasts in order to ensure that the residents can return. Tetsurō Okino is the new employee assigned to NI from Kanie Technologies (KT), who serves as the pilot and mech designer of the Bullbuster.
Bullbuster contains the following tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The audio drama posted on the official KADOKAWAanime Youtube channel gave more details on the world of Bullbuster. It's not available anymore.
- Gas Leak Cover Up: Tokyo justified the evacuation of Ryugan Island that gas leaks were reported, forcing the residents to leave. It's not revealed in the public that Giant Beasts roamed the islands. They're responsible for killing some of the residents early on, not the gas.
- Insistent Terminology: Fighting the monsters is classified as "pest control" by the government. This leads to further trouble when the government tries to stiff payment on NI because, well, it's pest control - not exactly a top budgetary item, is it?
- Kaiju: The Giant Beasts.
- The Masquerade: Namidome Industries are not allowed to reveal the existence of Giant Beasts to the public due to contractual reasons, mainly due to the fact that their main clients, the islanders, are concerned the government might seize Ryugan Island. Averted near the end of the show when NI learns that Shiota Chemicals is trying to weaponize the bacteria in Ryugan Island for a potential weapons program.
- Oh, Crap!: In "Okino Steps in It! The Islanders are Angry...In the Company's Hour of Need, Its President Stands Tall!", Tetsurō finds out that he accidentally uploaded a video of the Bullbuster fighting the Giant Beasts since he was told that it's suppose to be a secret.
- Plot-Based Photograph Obfuscation: Whenver Kōji is in his apartment, the image of his family photos shows him and his elementary school-aged daughter. His wife's face is not shown since light is covering it.
- Real Robot Genre: The Bullbuster is constantly shown to be a resource and money sink and with a very stout design that resembles industrial machinery. A significant amount of the series' air time goes into trying to figure out how to make the company's ends meet with said money sink dragging them down.
- Sequel Hook: Shiota's plans are ruined, but Washizu escapes with a stolen bacteria sample. When meeting Washizu at the airport, Tajima vows that should Washizu continue to create more Giant Beasts, Namidome will stop him with Bullbuster, concluding that The War Has Just Begun.
- Shout-Out: Tetsurō suggests the use of a new logo as an attempt to revamp NI's corporate image, and some of his ideas are based on the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise and the first Mobile Suit Gundam. His suggestions are shot down since the last thing NI wants is to get sued in court.
- Title Drop: Bullbuster is the name of the mecha used by Tetsurō after he joins NI as a mech pilot.
- Wham Episode:
- At the end of "No Money! No Ship, Either?! The Only Way To Survive Is to Rebrand Namidome!", the revamped NI website was uploaded online. A website data tracker showed that traffic from people seeing it online was picking up.
- In "The Incredible Operation to Capture a Giant Beast Alive Begins!", Arumi mentions that one the beasts she saw on Ryugan Island was a dog named Shiro, indicating that something was responsible for changing its physique.
- "The Merger Draws Near! Shiota's Plot, and the Origin of the Giant Beasts, are Both Revealed! What will Namidome do?" reveals details on how the Giant Beasts came to be. It came from HR-E, a Shiota Chemical nanomachine originally for desalination purposes by creating genetically modified electrogenic bacteria. But said bacteria had a side effect to creating the beasts.
- "Namidome Strikes Back! The Secret Weapon To Resist an Evil Corporation Is... Leather Coral?!" has Shiota planning to use Ryugan Island as a breeding ground for Giant Beasts for commercial reasons due to the loss of plans to make a desalination plant.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Tetsurō has definitely seen too much Godzilla and mecha shows (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mobile Suit Gundam get not-quite-explicit references) and gets told the This Is Reality spiel every time.
