Alternative TitlesEnglish: King of Braves GaoGaiGar Synonyms: GaoGaiGar, GaoGaiGar TV, Yuusha Ou GaoGaiGar, Brave King GaoGaiGar, Yuusha-Oh GaoGaiGar Japanese: 勇者王ガオガイガー
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 49
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Feb 1, 1997 to Jan 31, 1998
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG - Children
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.011 (scored by 1957 users)
Ranked: #4452
Popularity: #1965
Members: 5,936
Favorites: 149 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
mecha |
SynopsisIn the year 2005, a race of alien monsters called Zonders emerge from underground and launch a series of attacks on the city of Tokyo. The only defense against these creatures is the secret agency known as the Gutsy Geoid Guard (or 3G) and their ultimate weapon, the awesome giant robot GaoGaiGar. GaoGaiGar's pilot, Guy Shishio, is a former astronaut who was nearly killed two years before when the Zonders first crashed to earth. Guy's life was spared when a mysterious robot lion called Galeon pulled him from the burning shuttle and brought him to Earth. Guy's father, Leo, then used Galeon's technology to rebuild his shattered son as a cyborg, in the hopes that he could stop the aliens when they appear. Now, with Galeon as its core, GaoGaiGar fights to protect Earth. He is aided by a team of transforming robots and by a young boy named Mamoru, who has the power to purify the Zonders' cores, and seems to be connected to the mysterious Galeon.
(Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL the COMIC
Sequel: Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar Final, Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar Final Grand Glorious Gathering
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Scallion
48 of 61 people found this review helpful
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49 of 49 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
GaoGaiGar is the kind of show that makes you want to climb out of your bed on Saturday mornings and plop down in front of your PC or TV with a bowl of cereal. It's nostalgic in a lot of ways, but brings a lot of new things to the table. While it could easily be classified as a typical "monster of the week' show, with gimmicky enemies, moral lessons (in the first episode, you almost expect to be lectured about recycling) and clever plans by the good guys ending in an explosive finishing move, it manages to break from the formula at the halfway point, and delve into serious territory. And by serious, I mean awesome. Like the newest gartastic super robot hit, Gurren Lagann, GGG grows from what you'd expect to see in a series with cyborgs and talking, transforming robots (giant toy ads) into something...epic-- and I use this word very deliberately.
The over-the-top characters play a big part in this. Guy Shishio is a badass without even trying. He's a man's man, who'll never give up, no matter how difficult the odds. While this kind of character is a staple for super robot shows, Guy takes hot-blooded to new levels with his ridiculous screaming, speeches, and Zonder-breaking. He's a static character, but he's so likable that you don't really mind. I don't usually faun over voice actors, but Nobuyuki Hiyama (you'll know him as Viral from TTGL and Link from the Zelda games) does an excellent job. His yells and dramatic speeches have real weight behind them-they'll blow you away. Guy's English voice, Michael Sinterhisnameistoocomplicatedtospell does a very commendable job filling out Guy's shoes-I'd send him a bottle of throat spray if I could.
The rest of the human characters are relatively stock as well, but none of them are forgettable-especially Taiga, the Commander of the Gutsy Geroid Guard's Japanese branch. You owe it to yourself to watch this show, if only to see his dramatic pointing. Really, that guy can point. Despite the male-oriented nature of the show, there are plenty of strong female characters who play their part in the GGG epic, and aren't just fanservice, either. Guy's girlfriend and technical support also plays a role that you won't expect. One of the few characters that gets some decent development is the magical boy protagonist Mamoru-a refugee from an alien civilization that is the key to victory on more than one occasion. I can hear you groaning already, but trust me-you'll learn to love him more than you ever thought you would.
Like Transformers before it, the robot members of the GGG (you're going to see that letter a lot, so get used to it) are characters as well. They're sentient, and have distinct (and cheesy) personalities, from the ninja police car intelligence agent Volfogg (yes, this is an amazing combination, and unlike vodka and soy milk, it will not give you a headache) to the American-made rock-and-roll bard-class bot Mic Sounders XIII. Even though they're stock characters and, well, robots, you end up feeling for them.
The titular robot, while not sentient itself (or is it), has a character all its own. In the beginning of the show, GaoGaiGar moves like a creaky, slapped together bucket of bolts-it's been hastily built to defend the earth from the approaching threat from space, and it shows. The signature combination sequence barely works, and the finishing move, Hell and Heaven, damages GaoGaiGar and is slowly killing its pilot. Even until the end, GaoGaiGar cannot handily defeat any enemy without the help of the other members of the team, and the clever way the writers find a way for it to win despite its limitations serve as a handy way to break up the monotony that usually plagues shows like this.
The silly-looking design aesthetic that permeates GGG (the robot) and the show doesn't detract from how brutal it can be. GaoGaiGar breaks its enemies in the most literal fashion every episode. Even with the over-the-top antics, the show separates itself from other super robot shows, and the other Yuusha/Brave series by grounding it with a sense of plausibility and strict continuity that you don't see in a lot of anime. One look at the gorgeously animated stock transformation sequence is proof of the ridiculous attention to detail in GaoGaiGar. While most super robots are known for their "unpossible" transformations, GaoGaiGar is covered in tiny vents, treads, panels and blinking lights that you'll only catch for a glimpse. Even the inside was completely drawn out in the concept art, and you can see the mechanical designs (even for a pink VW van!), along with fictional specifications in the eyecatches. All of this comes to a frothy, delicious head with the few plot twists and "keys to victory" scattered through the series. When you see some of them, you'll gasp, and want to go back and look for them in every episode. It gets even more ridiculous when a seemingly useless and innocuous prop becomes the key to victory in the spectacular OVA GaoGaiGar Final! (Seriously, you'll shit a brick.)
The music is nothing short of a triumph. There's an amazing leitmotif going throughout, from the "Final Fusion" gattai scene to the GGG's theme, and of course, Mic Sounder's amazing power up songs. You'll be humming them on the way to work or school.
All of the pieces of the show coalesce into something both familiar and wonderful. You know a series is worth watching when you wonder what you ever did before you'd seen it, and GGG is one of the rare anime titles that I'd put up on that lofty pedestal. It's a true labor of love, filled with fanservice for every stripe. Like the show itself, the message of courage and perseverance might seem cheesy at first, but it not only grows on you, but envelops you, in a way that few other shows can.
It's must see for super robot fans, and I'd encourage everyone to buy the DVDs. If you know me well, you know that I don't like paying for anime. Fuck Luffy, I'm the true Pirate King. If you see an anime DVD on my shelf, then you know I think it's not only worth the money, but one worth celebrating. It's probably the highest praise I can give any series.
Any effort this grand deserves to be compensated for. I highly recommend it. read more
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MS06FZ
12 of 19 people found this review helpful
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49 of 49 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
I bet you can't name too many other entries in the Brave franchise, of which GGG is a part. (Others include Might Gaine, J-Decker and Fighbird, if you're interested.)
But even so, the King of Braves has achieved almost cult status - getting riffed on in Gun X Sword, featured in multiple Super Robot Wars games and so on. And with good reason. It's a brilliantly fun show that's more than the sum of its parts.
Sure the first 20 or so episodes are so-so formulaic super robot fare which could easily be any other show from the 70s onwards, but that's part of the charm in my opinion. The characters are slight but fun - you've got a spread of kids from the comedy rich girl and rich boy to the cute damsel in distress and the fat one. You've got the heroic super robot team with an all action hero, a mad scientist, a hot girl, and the President. You've got your support robots of varying degrees of usefulness.
And you've got the main characters, Guy and Mamoru. They're good fun, get some good plot development by the second half of the show and ultimately get their happy ending.
The enemies are well-designed and inventive, with ordinary household objects and industrial equipment transformed into hideous, insane cybernetic monstrosities via a method that could make a good horror movie or Dr Who plot. How many shows have their heroes fighting the LHC one week, a space shuttle in another and a steam train in another, ending up in an epic battle against a cyborg ballerina and a Cthulhu-esque mountain of living metal? It sure beats some of the more uninspired designs featured in Go Nagai or Nagahama shows (while Voltes V and Daimos are good for their own reasons, it's not monster design.)
However, it's after the midpoint of the show that it really kicks off and the ante is upped. A standard mid-season upgrade reveal is handled well and in an exciting way, and the action gets ever-crazier right up to the climactic battle in space.
Stick with GGG if you're flagging after the umpteenth one-use gimmick weapon (seriously, the Pliers were awful, even I'll admit that) or kid-focussed episode. Remember it was originally shown weekly - try watching it that way rather than marathoning it. Get some high-sugar soft drinks, regress to childhood and sing along with the OP - it might make it more enjoyable, I don't know. Once it finds its stride it's an exciting action adventure show with some brilliantly excessive mechs.
Also look out for the, of all things, cameo from Scirocco's ship. It is in there. read more
Recommendations
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Lots of non-stop mecha action and has some bittersweet ending which is good to me =3
good for those who want to start watching some serious mecha animes like getter robo,gaogaigar and stuff
Both shows are kinda throwbacks to 70s style super robot anime, but Gurren Langan does it with a lot more style and mordern sensiblities. Also, while GaoGaiGar is kinda a superhero story of mythological proprotions, Gurren-Lagann is a coming of age story that takes a super robot stable (drills) and turns it into a metaphor for life, that starts out as a battle for the freedom of those living underground and ends up involving all those who live in the universe, all the while Simon tries to find his own meaning and purpose in his life, and follow his destiny.GaoGaiGar on the other hand, follows the classic monster of the week formula of super robot shows of the 70s, but it does it with a lot of energy and over the top flair, like Gurren-Lagann. Also, like Gurren Laggan, it has a colorful cast of characters you will get to know and love, and the mecha desgins are quite pleasing to the eyes. However, Gurren-Lagann is a lot more "serious" then GaoGaiGar is (Not counting FINAL), but that's another topic of discusstion.
TTGL heralds back to different "eras" of mecha anime, and borrows from GaoGaiGar extensively. GGG should be one of the many required viewing series before fully enjoying TTGL and all of its quirky references.
If you like the super robot theme of Gurren Lagann, then GaoGaiGar has some of the same themes, and even some of the same voice actors.
Extra hotblooded manly mecha! Both series reconstruct classic kid-oriented mecha tropes that seemed to have become outdated but turn out to be lots of fun when intentionally reassembled. They run on manliness and shouting, and when they get a bit cheesy it's all the more fun. Before Gurren Lagann came along, GaoGaiGar was pretty much the standard for super hotblooded mecha anime -- it set the bar that Gurren Lagann had to surpass to be considered truly over-the-top.
Watch the whole series its like Gurren, manly men with many awesome robots and epoic epic battles
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Super robots, hotblooded pilots, attack name yelling, all the things that make you want to yell those attack names along with them.
So I heard you like heartwarming, awesome, hotblooded, charmingly cheesy 90s mecha anime from Sunrise.
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Opening Theme"Yuusha-oh Tanjou" by Masaaki Endoh
Ending Theme"Itsuka houshi no umi de" by Satoko Shimonari
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Related ClubsKing of Braves: GaoGaiGar Enthusiasts, The Jupiter Fan Club, AMVde - Bier!, The Real Man Club, Anime Revolution ♡, Super Robot Wars Fanclub, Mecha - trash or paperweight?, Gutsy Galaxy Guard, SKETCHY LINES EVERYWHERE Appreciation Club, Yuusha Club, The Super Cosplay War Ultra Fanclub, Mecha Kingdom メカ王国, Mecha Fans, /m/ - MIKU FEI-YEN, The MAHQ Club, American Anime Characters Fanclub, World of Animes (W.O.A.), Machines and Cyborgs, This Is The True Spirit of Men!, Masters of GattaiSave Media Blasters!, Club of Heroic Super Pilots see all
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