In 2015, a space expedition fleet led by Admiral Yuzo Takaya is destroyed by space monsters. Six years later, Takaya's daughter Noriko enlists in the Space Academy in Okinawa. She is suddenly selected with senior student Kazumi Amano to represent Japan in an upcoming space expedition. When it is known across the academy that she is the daughter of Yuzo, and that Coach Koichiro Ohta was one of the survivors of the 2015 space attack, Noriko is subjected to bullying and harassment. Ohta, however, believes Noriko has the same potential as Kazumi, and through "hard work and guts," she strives to become the best Machine Weapon pilot and take control of the experimental giant robot Gunbuster to help Earth win the war against the space monsters.
