Bang Brave Bang Bravern Ep.12 Review – Beyond Bang Bravern

Everything must end, even great things like Bang Brave Bang Bravern. Although not an excellent final episode, episode 12 still brings an ending imbued with the spirit of Bang Bravern, properly closing the series.
The final episode of Bang Brave Bang Bravern stays true to the spirit of the series: delving into Super Robot anime tropes while poking fun at some other tropes. The final power upgrade, turning to gold and then receiving life force from people to become stronger, are two quite common motifs in Japanese superhero shows. Besides that, the episode also references the Ultraman series, such as the Ultraman Rise sequence when Bravern grew bigger. Verum Vita, the final boss of Bang Bravern, is similar to Zogu from Ultraman Gaia, especially because they are both mass destroyers in the guises of beautiful angels. The ending of Bang Bravern is a nice reference to Yuusha-Oh Gaogaigar, as the main characters regain their organic bodies and hug each other naked in the final episode.

Episode 12’s making fun of anime tropes is quite funny. The fact that Isami shot a beam at Verum Vita, then wanted to hear her out, and eventually concluded that she was an enemy made me chuckle. The all-kill move’s name “Big Bang Ultimate Final God Ultimate Break” is also a humorous little poke at the typical special move names of Super Robots.

Besides the references to superhero shows and the humorous subversion of tropes, I also appreciate the message about the will to survive that is inherited from previous episodes and explodes in this episode. Wanting to live and doing anything to live is the pinnacle of courage, which makes Isami a hero. He is the true hero that Smith has always admired since the beginning of the film.

However, I still have some complaints about this episode. For someone who is exposed to Super Robot tropes regularly, building the climactic episode entirely out of these tropes doesn’t impress me. For those expecting crazy developments, battles, animations or a new form (rather than gold paint), episode 12 doesn’t deliver any of them. The final episode of Bang Brave Bang Bravern doesn’t have much of its uniqueness and originality, so it just stops at a “fun little final episode” for me.
Bang Brave Bang Bravern is a wonderful gift for Mecha fans, and episode 12 is a beautiful bow that neatly wraps it. Although Bang Brave Bang Bravern is not an excellent Mecha series, it cannot be denied that it has attracted many people to/return to the Super Robot subgenre, as well as that it is an Obari-directed work with the most equal quality in every area ever. Thank you, Director Masami Obari, Cygames and the filmmaking team for the past three extremely fun months, and thank you, everyone, for accompanying my weekly reviews!
//Getter Andy//

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