Brain Powerd

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Brain Powered

Japanese: ブレンパワード

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 26

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 8, 1998 to Nov 11, 1998

Premiered: Spring 1998

Broadcast: Unknown

Producers: Bandai Visual, WOWOW

Licensors: Bandai Entertainment, Sentai Filmworks

Studios: Sunrise

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Theme: Mecha

Duration: 25 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 6.28¹ (scored by 3,086 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #8266²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #6110

Members: 11,100

Favorites: 42

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Synopsis

In the not so distant future much of the earth has been submerged under the sea or destroyed by earthquakes. At the center of the turmoil is the mysterious Orphan. Orphan may or may not be the original cause of the cataclysms. Orphan's goal is to raise a ship hidden deep beneath the sea to the surface, but doing so would result in the destruction of all humans except for the small number which are loyal to Orphan.

Orphan's agents pilot mysterious mecha known as Grand Cheres, and search the world for mysterious, giant disks which occasionally appear, flying at high speeds and wrecking much of the countryside, or cities, when they hit the ground. After a dying disc almost kills Hime, a Brain Powerd is born from the disc. Brain Powerds are another type of Mecha, similar to but not the same as Grand Cheres.

Hime becomes the Brain Powerd's pilot, forming a symbiotic relationship with the living mecha and joins an International Organization dedicated to stopping Orphan, or at the very least saving humanity should Orphan succeed.

(Source: AniDB)

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Adaptation:

Brain Powerd

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Isami, Yuu

Main

Shiratori, Tetsu
Japanese

Utsumiya, Hime

Main

Murata, Akino
Japanese

Isami, Iiko

Supporting

Watanabe, Kumiko
Japanese

Green, Jonathan

Supporting

Aoba, Gou
Japanese

Isami, Midori

Supporting

Kanoki, Shouko
Japanese

Glass, Shiela

Supporting

Tanaka, Atsuko
Japanese

Brankan, Edgar

Supporting

Nanba, Keiichi
Japanese

Maximillian, Baron

Supporting

Isobe, Masako
Japanese

Lundberg, Lasse

Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro
Japanese

Gimms, Kanan

Supporting

Park, Romi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Tomino, Yoshiyuki

Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Urakami, Yasuo

Sound Director

Kobayashi, Tomoki

Episode Director

Iwasaki, Yoshiaki

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"In My Dream" by Eri Shingyoji

Edit

Ending Theme

"Ai no Rinkaku (愛の輪郭)" by KOKIA

Reviews

Dec 21, 2010

Seabury

Recommended

There are a few series out there that claim controversy as part of their aura. These are shows like Evangelion, who for some reveal a mess of whine, and for others a complex basket of goods. Brain Powered falls in to this controversy in a matter I can’t quite fathom, because for some it is incomprehensible. The reason I can’t fathom the controversy is because it made perfect sense to me, and I don’t exactly see where the confusion lies. Despite the fact that for many fans watching this is among the worst anime experiences in their lives, I am going to proudly proclaim this ... a masterpiece, and hopefully give a satisfying reason why.

When Tomino promoted this film, he claimed it was “even better than Evangelion”. This is an extremely brash statement for any director to make, but in a sense he’s right. It touches the same issues as Evangelion at many parts, but ultimately it’s better for the soul. It is an uplifting defense of the power of love at its core, and thus while I would *not* agree that it’s higher quality, it might be better to watch and enjoy.

So what exactly is this show that defends love against all? Brain Powerd is about biomechanical living mechs fighting for or against Orphan, a ship that will sail to the stars, but requires draining the energy of all life on earth to succeed. On both sides are troubled teens from broken families, who struggle to overcome their hangups as much as their enemies.

What makes this show a masterpiece is the characters. I’ll grant that they aren’t by any means easy characters. They are difficult to understand, and some of them are almost impossible to relate to, such as the antagonist Jonathan. The way the characters behave is complex, and they hide a lot of their feelings. This is what underlies many of the complaints about this show. Without their hearts on their sleeves, sometimes a character will do something “random”, such as Yuu’s defection in the first episode. But once you piece together the characters, everything they do makes sense. Until then, trying to read them is like trying to read real humans. And it’s important to note that the characters are weird. They aren’t weird in the sense that they are incomprehensible, but rather that they have unique modes of expression that don’t conform to stock anime archetypes.

This show, basically, refuses to ever pander to the audience. It requires your full attention to understand. It’s no secret that that which demands the most out of you gives the greatest rewards. I could talk about the plot and characters all day, there’s plenty to chew on in those regards. Instead, I’ll give a brief word to the other aspects of this work.

The animation is interesting, though maybe not conventionally beautiful. This especially applies to the fights, which function in a specifically non-fluid manner. The antibodies (mechs) sort of “blink” short distances, giving the whole fight a surreal vibe. They often take place over water, specifically utilizing these two mediums in an interesting manner. I really think the fights over water are quite elegant, some of the more memorable mech fights out there. The character designs have been criticized as rather bland, but I never got that impression. I especially like Hime’s design.

The music is the only thing about this series that is universally acclaimed, and that’s with good reason. Yoko Kano, famous for Cowboy Bebop, is the one on charge of this front. The opening by Eri Shingyoji, “In My Dream”, is one of my favorite openings of all time.

While we’re on the topic, this is another key gripe about the show. The opening features every character naked for no apparent reason. It’s a bit abstract, but my interpretation has always been that when they are stripped bare, at their core what they need is love. Of course, the clothes represent the revealing of their emotions, and the lyrics are what implies that it’s about needing love. This fits in because it is, arguably, the key concept of the show.

To sum up my overall impression of the show; Brain Powerd is a drama of the most intriguing characters whose outside conflict mirrors their inner struggles. It’s a bit hokey at times, and it’s not as philosophically deep as it thinks it is, but Tomino directs cheerfully and with a good sense of humor, leading to a show that is downright inspiring. It is basically the optimistic version of Evangelion. I can’t recommend it to everyone, only a few viewers will “get it”, but for those who do this is a fantastic and sublime show.

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Oct 21, 2023

ggultra2764

Mixed Feelings

Will admit it's been a while since I've had some rather complicated thoughts regarding an anime series and looks like Brain Powerd has done just that with me. Being Yoshiyuki Tomino's answer to Evangelion in the late 1990s, the series is set on a future Earth where the planet is being ravaged by earthquakes and floods due to the massive power emitted from a massive alien spacecraft called Orphan that an enemy faction called the Reclaimers are attempting to learn more about how to harness its power and leave the planet, which would result in humanity's destruction should this happen. Opposing Orphan are those aboard ... the battleship Novis Noah, a resistance movement seeking to halt the battleship's restoration and flight from Earth, and whom our series leads, teen orphan Hime Utsumiya and Reclaimer defector Yuu Isami, are aligned with.

Many over the years have dismissed Brain Powerd as a shallow "Eva ripoff" attempting to take after similar complicated storytelling beats as Gainax's famous mecha series and as a result, reception to it has been quite mixed. While I'm not interested in knocking the series as such, I will admit that my thoughts on Brain Powerd are rather mixed. I guess I'll go over the positives to the series I have for it first.

First off is that the series does have a good bit of substance to its story and themes that it makes an effort to lay out, and isn't just doing things for aesthetic effect. While I do want to be careful on how deep I dabble into things to avoid spoilers, I guess the major element of the series to consider are the mecha used by both the Reclaimers (that they call Grand Chers) and the crew of Novis Noah (that they call Brain Powerd). The mecha within the series are shown to have an empathic connection to their pilots, which shape the relationships that the pilot and mecha each have with both one another and those around them. This is rather noticeable in the different environments that both the Reclaimers and Novis Noah have due to whatever beliefs and personalities are forming within the different factions. This empathic relationship also shapes events going into later episodes as more about the mysterious Orphan spaceship gets dabbled into. Plus, Brain Powerd is consistent with applying its themes and the abilities demonstrated with its various technologies, as I never got any sense of things feeling tossed in just for the sake of plot convenience. I'll just say that the series is rather cryptic and takes its time with how it develops its story and themes, hence it does require the viewer to be attentive to minor details with the series as they develop as it doesn't get into the habit of explaining things too upfront. Because of this angle to the series, I can see where folks could get frustrated and choose to ditch Brain Powerd during its earlier episodes.

Another high point is the anime's soundtrack. Composed by the legendary composer Yoko Kanno, the series consists of a good amount of lively and energetic insert tracks, even coming with a catchy opener in the form of "In My Dreams." My only real gripe with the soundtrack is the show's rather questionable placement of insert tracks at points, as they usually don't fit the intended mood and tone of certain key scenes throughout Brain Powerd.

Major areas I would consider weaknesses with the series are its characterization and melodrama. For the former, I'll admit that it is rather hit and miss with the quality of the character stories that are dabbled into. Yuu's character story gets perhaps the best development within Brain Powerd as the bonds he gradually develops with his Brain Powerd, Hime, and the Novis Noah crew help him get over his lone-wolf mentality and the hatred he has for the Reclaimers. Some other characters get reasonable fleshing out of their personalities and motives, though the series doesn't go deeply into exploring them. The more weaker character stories within Brain Powerd involve a decent number of those among the Reclaimers, whose motives for their alignment with the group border on the ridiculous with how simplistic and over-the-top they can get with their unhealthy family issues.

Melodrama is tied to some of the character backstory issues I have with members among the Reclaimers. But like many mecha titles directed by Tomino, this also comes into play when characters are in the annoying habit of angrily debating one another during heated mecha fights due to their opposing ideologies that can distract from the action.

In short, Brain Powerd is certainly quite a mixed bag in terms of quality as an entry in the mecha title. It does have a solid foundation for a story and themes that become more apparent and engrossing as episodes progress, though the slow pacing of its first half and the cryptic approach to its storytelling can turn away first time viewers. It comes with a catchy soundtrack from Yoko Kanno that unfortunately usually has some questionable insert track placements. Characterization is also a mixed bag, with the series also having the typical melodramatic beats from Tomino that usually rear their ugly head. While not the worst anime I've seen of the mecha genre or from Tomino (the latter honor would go to Garzey's Wing), I'll just say your mileage would definitely vary to Brain Powerd with how its storytelling plays out.

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Sep 13, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Not Recommended

Man, was this one a drag! It gives you the impression that it will be an interesting and weird series but in reality it is totally boring and simple. This is one of the worst titles Tomino (the Gundam dude) ever made and studio Sunrise was out of its mind when it allowed for this thing to be made.

The intro was full of naked chicks and weird imagery. And the song was catchy too. It really managed to make me interested in the series. And then the series begins… And it’s nothing much to look or listen to. Where is the nude? Where are the ... weird / spiritual backgrounds?

-The general artwork is just your average looking mechas, military bases and rural countrysides.
-The character figures look very generic.
-Animation was kept at minimum.
-Colors and details are done simply, without multiple layers of shading.
-The visual effects are very crude. Just laser beams and energy barriers for a few minutes per episode. Even the funky disks that were creating meckas got old fairly fast.
-On the flip side, voice acting was decent. And the context of the dialogues was full of science, metaphysics, teen angst and more. Too bad even that was ruined by repeating words. Terms like ORPHEN, BRAIN and BIO-ENERGY were mentioned at least 20 times per episode, making the dialogues quite repetitive and tiresome.

The story? Alien powers threaten the balance of the world and a team of teens piloting mechas tries to salvage bio-energy disks and prevent the destruction. At the same time a secret organization plans to release an alien ship that will devastate the world, save for its chosen few believers that follow its cause. It’s not a typical “one-eyed monstrous aliens vs kind-hearted humans” story. It’s selfish people vs selfish people, so it is quite dramatic at times. The alien part is a plot device rather than the main story. The main theme is not really “saving the world”. It’s more like “mommy doesn’t love me” and “my family is obsessed and lost its way” kind of story. The several flavoring elements concerning science, philosophy and mystic powers help to create good foundations for an interesting story… But what was built atop was without the supervision of an architect.

-The characters are cardboards. Stereotypes that you can find in most mecha series. Undeveloped to the point of not caring about them. With generic looks and movements. There is no reason to remember any of them.
-The story is so slow-paced that could easily be summed up in 6 episodes. It didn’t deserve 26 boring episodes.
-The battles are awfully simple and short. I skipped them without missing a thing.
-The conclusion was sudden and rushed. The producers must have intended to create a movie sequel to wrap things up, but eventually didn’t; leaving us with a completely vague and dry ending.

TL;DR: I find no value in this series. Characters aren’t there, story is an illusion, ending sucks! It is boring, slow and anti-climactic. The only thing I really enjoyed was the one and a half minute opening song.

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Poll: Brain Powerd Episode 26 Discussion Seabury - Dec 19, 2010	14 replies	by Jimgus »» Apr 12, 9:43 AM
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Isami, Yuu

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Green, Jonathan

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