Tear Jerker / DieBuster

• Many moments stick out as tear jerkers, but the ending sticks out as the biggest instance of this in this series: "That night, Buster Machines No. 1 & 2, and their pilots, returned to earth. Welcome Home."
• Nono performing a Heroic Sacrifice, and leaving Lal'C with a piece of her singularity in the form of an origami crane.
• Of the sadder kind, it's actually really hard to watch the Fraternity get torn to shreds by the Space Monster. Back in the 21st century, pilots needed Training from Hell to even think about surviving a fight with a Monster. These literal children have none of that and, as we find out in episode 6, aren't even piloting their machines right. They're also used to fighting opponents who focus mostly on them and who engage in very targeted attacks; they couldn't even conceive of a creature that was a result of a Lensman Arms Race and is both capable of, and willing to, cause planetary-scale destruction. It can't even be called a beatdown; it's just a massacre. Lal'C and Tycho survive almost solely because of Nono protecting them in the nick of time due to her affection for them.
  • What does it is the shock evident in Lal'C and other's faces and voices on realizing some of their comrades have died when the Monster starts attacking. Topless almost never actually die in the line of duty, and now they're facing an enemy that can make them Die Like Animals. It's obvious a lot of the kids have no idea how to process that kind of grief, especially in a dangerous situation like this, and it ends up getting a lot more of them killed. It brings to mind Gunbuster episode 3, but a great deal worse.
  • In a way, the Serpentine Sisters are particularly sad. They were kind of creepy and weird up to this point, but they're genuinely overjoyed when the "gravity well" awakens, as they think it's a fellow Topless. They're about... 10% right. On calling out to it, the Monster simply incinerates them, and all this time they didn't realize the danger, as they never understood or could understand the danger they were in. Their genuine shock and horror at being attacked and watching each other be killed hits surprisingly hard.
• The aftermath of the above-mentioned Fraternity destruction is particularly sobering. After losing so many of their comrades, what's left for the surviving buster pilots? They're quickly tossed aside by the military and treated as dangerous threats rather than the soldiers they were happy to abuse. The only support they offer Lal'C and Tycho is restrictive headgear to suppress the talents. Its hard to blame Lal'C for struggling to heal when no one ever gives her the support she needs.

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