Bang Brave Bang Bravern Ep.1 Review: The glorious (unofficial) return of the Brave
It’s hard to find a perfect couple than the Brave/Yuusha series and Masami Obari. Brave series is a franchise of Super Robot anime series produced by Sunrise in the 90s, which greatly influences the Mecha genre in particular and anime in general, and Obari is one of the major contributors to this influence. While working on the Brave anime projects, Obari, as an animator, created many classic animation pieces, and the Brave series brought his talent to all of Japan. Perhaps for this reason, he always remembers the Brave series and always pays tribute to it through the series he directed, through the animations he made, such as the anime Gravion. However, Sunrise stopped producing Brave anime years ago, and it has been quite a while since Masami Obari participated in a Super Robot project. Because of this, fans of the Brave series, of the Super Robot genre in particular and of Mecha in general, were extremely surprised when Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern premiered.
Even though most of the first episode is devoted to action scenes, viewers still easily grasp the basics of the plot, thanks to the anime keeping the setting and characters simple and easy to understand. The episode begins with a joint exercise between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the US Army, focusing on the two main characters, Ao Isami of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Lewis Smith of the US Army, and gives a short introduction of other characters. The opening scene is quite reminiscent of Pacific Rim, with the main character monologuing about something big while starting up his robot.
Throughout 2/3 of the first episode, Bang Brave Bang Bravern conveyed the serious and realistic vibe of the Real Robot genre very well through sound design, realistic character design, and fierce destruction by the invaders, not to mention the way the soldier piloted the mass-produced machines and the fact that they operated in a very orderly and disciplined manner – truly giving it a military feel. I like how everything suddenly went from 0 to 100 really quickly – the death and destruction from the sudden alien landing happened swiftly and were conveyed quite well, visually, allowing the viewers to feel the panic of the army and the characters at that time.
All of the above makes Bravern’s appearance even more awesome. First, praise must be given to Masami Obari and the anime’s marketing team for hiding the main robot for more than 7 months and tricking everyone into thinking that the anime was a Real Robot series until it premiered. The complete contrast between before and after Bravern appeared must have astonished everyone who didn’t expect it. Even people like me who didn’t watch the first episode live were amazed and moved when we saw Bravern on the series’ poster. Once watching Bravern’s arrival, it’s hard not to laugh at the way Bravern overwhelms Isami with very Super Robot tropes, such as fighting with Showa-esque music (played from inside the cockpit of Braven), slamming head first into the enemy, calling out the name of the sure-kill move, it’s hard not to be moved when witnessing Bravern’s extremely eye-catching battle scenes inspired by the Brave series. This reveal was a really nice and pleasant surprise. Bravo Obari.
While the cast of characters did not impress me, the contrast between the two main characters caught my attention: Isami is proficient in controlling robots but lacks the courage during real combat, yet was chosen by Bravern as his pilot, while his rival Lewis, who wanted to be a hero, was not afraid of real combat, and was willing to sacrifice his life to protect others, was not chosen by the Brave robot. This contrast will certainly be the driving force behind the plot of Bang Brave Bang Bravern.
The animation quality in the first episode is truly remarkable. Not only are the 3D and 2D animations very smooth, but the storyboards of the action scenes are also very dynamic and refreshing. While the Super Robot fight scene is filled with Obari’s classic tricks, such as the Obari pose, and is absolutely hype, the Real Robot fight scenes in the episode are equally great. My favourite scene in terms of animation is the scene where the 3 Titanstrides of the US military simultaneously attack the alien enemy. The camerawork in that scene is truly eye-catching. Speaking of Titanstride, mechanical designer MORUGA did a great job designing this robot line; they look very cool in animation. The design of the JSDF machines is also quite good, but I prefer Titanstride’s face and slick appearance. The star of the series, Bravern, was designed by Obari himself, and of course, Barified Super Robots are always beautiful. On the contrary, the character designs are not too unique, but because the show wants to create the most realistic feeling possible, I think this can be ignored.
The sound department is also a plus in this episode. The sound design is really too good: right from the first few minutes, I was impressed by really thick sound effects from the movement of machines, from iron colliding with the ground, from gunshots and missiles, etc., truly pure ear bliss and can be said to have reached movie standards. Besides that, the background music is also quite good. Still, the real highlight of the episode is BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BRAVEERRRRRN – The series’ opening performed by Kenichi Suzumura himself, who also voices Bravern. With its extremely Showa-like melodies, that opening song probably triggered the joy nerves of many Super Robot fans, including me. Speaking of Kenichi Suzumura, the experience of voicing a heroic character gained from SSSS.Dynazenon must have been brought into this series because Bravern’s voice is as full of courage and strength as the Braves in the Brave series.
The sound department is also a plus in this episode. The sound design is really too good: right from the first few minutes, I was impressed by really thick sound effects from the movement of machines, from iron colliding with the ground, from gunshots and missiles, etc., truly pure ear bliss and can be said to have reached movie standards. Besides that, the background music is also quite good. Still, the real highlight of the episode is BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BRAVEERRRRRN – The series’ opening performed by Kenichi Suzumura himself, who also voices Bravern. With its extremely Showa-like melodies, that opening song probably triggered the joy nerves of many Super Robot fans, including me. Speaking of Kenichi Suzumura, the experience of voicing a heroic character gained from SSSS.Dynazenon must have been brought into this series because Bravern’s voice is as full of courage and strength as the Braves in the Brave series.
A Super Robot series, inspired by the Brave series, directed by someone extremely dedicated and experienced with the genre and, above all, with high production value, is rare, especially these days. The first episode of Bang Brave Bang Braven is an opening that is hard to fault and certainly captured my attention and probably that of countless other Mecha fans. Let’s wait and see if director Masami Obari, screenwriter Keigo Koyanagi and the crew have more surprises like this one in the next episodes.
Getter Andy
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Getter Andy
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