Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern

Brave Bang Bravern - *OP song plays, churns up* "Bang Bang, Bang Bang, Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang, BBRRRRAAAAAVVVVEEERRRRNNNNN!!!" *Explosion SFX* You have my sincere congratulations for being part of the spiritual revival of a long dead franchise.

What defines a dark horse? The Cambridge Dictionary describes it as such: "a person who is not expected to succeed in or unexpectedly wins an election, race, or other competition", or how the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary worded the definition even better: a usually little-known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing". And in this season, get ready for a wild goose chase of a show ... that will have you constantly be duped, bamboozled, bait-and-switched, especially for fans of this VERY specific theme in all of the history of its genre: Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern a.k.a Brave Bang Bravern!, in collaboration with Cygames and produced by their in-house studio, and directed by the man, not the myth, but THE legend himself: Masami Oobari. The good ol' fashioned Super Robot show is NOT dead yet, and it makes a triumphant return into relevancy! Who, if not ANYONE, saw this coming, if any AT ALL!?

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero. What I really wanted to be...was a Titanostrider pilot." This is the life calling of the man who belonged in the US Marine Corps's 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force: 2nd Lieutentant Lewis Smith. He is part of a joint AD-RIMPAC military exercise between the Americans and Japanese, of which he meets a close buddy that will fight alongside him for the rest of the series: 2nd Lieutentant Isami Ao of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Forces's Special Armoured Group. The two brothers who are working together, are met by fate...because out of nowhere, mysterious enemies start invading their military ground in Oahu, Hawaii, and causing everyone to burst into panic mode. You see, the normal Real Robots that both forces have, are the standard Titanostrider a.k.a TS robots, mechs that are only good from invasions to exercises in say, reconnaissance missions and the like. And these mysterious enemies? They're Deathdrives, Super Robots who rely on the power of humans to pilot them. And why do they know this? Because there is only one entity that knows this, and it's their biggest ally ever *cue Isami's "Where is that music coming from!?" Pikachu moment*: Bravern, the Superhero Robot who will be their salvation to defeating the Deathdrives.

It's incredibly creative how this show has managed to hook, line and sinker everyone by being secretive until its eventual reveal. To give some context, the Brave series was a Japanese-only old school mainstream franchise which was once produced by Sunrise, made from the remnants of the failed marketing of Transformers (yes, that Michael Bay movie franchise) in Japan, which didn't really resonate all that much with its people. Instead, at the time, the toy company Takara (now Takara Tomy) and Sunrise decided to develop a new franchise, which would spawn new toy lines and a soon-astounding anime series, with the common theme being "Bravery", the interaction between the robot "Brave", who has a heart and the boy who enters its heart and bears the will of the mecha, the union of the robots, and other unique themes. There is also no direct relationship between each series in terms of world view or time, so therefore, almost all the works are different to each other in terms of themes and motif. Bear in mind that the Brave series would go on to inspire and spawn big-name franchises like Gundam with Sunrise at the helm from the 1980s to today.

So then, where does the legendary director Masami Oobari stand in all of this? First of all, he's actually more known as the mecha and character designer, who's worked on shows like Ashi Production's 1983-1984 Special Armored Battalion Dorvack, the Japanese translation of Transformers (outsourced by Toei Animation to them sometimes), and Studio Pierrot's 1984-1985 Star Musketeer Bismarck as an animation director, with the big break at the age of 19 when he got his first major break of landing the role of mecha designer on the same studio (Ashi Production)'s 1985 Dancougar – Super Beast Machine God series. His signature mech designs basically carried his name throughout the mid-1980s and onwards from said Dancougar series to the various Brave series: Sunrise's 1991 series The Brave of Sun Fighbird, 1994 series The Brave Police J-Decker, and the most recent up to that point, Gonzo's 2002 to 2004 Gravion serie, which he personally created and directed the series alongside renowned mecha designer Kunio Okawara, the FIRST man in the Japanese industry to be credited as one. So, for mecha fans all around the world who are well-acquainted with the Masari Oobari name, it shouldn't really come as a surprise...or is it?

When you put Masami Oobari and the spiritual Brave successor in the hands of Cygames (the company who brought you Granblue Fantasy and Princess Connect! Re:Dive to name a few), the surprises don't stop there. Even the Teaser PV released was as vague as it would get for everyone both suspecting and unsuspecting that we would be getting a new mecha project series, and just about the only clue would be the way that the title is stylized in the old-school Brave series logo of all things. But this original show does one thing and one thing only: be the biggest liar that it has ever been. Cygames has always been the company to do unorthodox things, and when the main PV dropped nearer to the anime's release, it was NOTHING of the sort, leaving people to think that it's a Real Robot show. The kicker comes when Episode 1 dropped, it BLEW up the entire social internet commentary that the show IS indeed the old-fashioned Super Robot show that Masari Oobari has been known for.

At this point, you're probably wondering: "Is this it, is this all it is?", to which I say from the point of Cygames and Masami Oobari: "Do you think that our collaboration together on this original show will be as predictable as it is?" The bait-and-switch will continue, right after this.

The two brothers fated for each other, Isami and Lewis Smith, parallel as they may be, they both have different ambitions as fellow military mech pilots, trying to name a name for themselves. But all of this changes when Bravern comes out of nowhere to defend the humans from the Deathdrives, and for every attack he does, he has to shout his name in the most jovial manner. The kicker is that after he saves the humans, he only acknowledges Isami and warrants him to become his pilot. Suddenly, you're being bamboozled again: this is NOT just a Super Robot, but a Super REAL Robot! The thing is, Isami is a rather reserved man who wants to deal as much damage as possible, at the cusp of as less casualties as possible, and even the most minute of the Death Stranding vibes will force him into turmoil. On the other hand, Lewis Smith embodies the fight of any typical loyal American citizen, and wants to offer himself in exchange for Isami to pilot Bravern, which he gets rejected, saying that the fusion between human and robot will be unstable...NOT knowing that his nightmares with Bravern will become a pivotal point in the series to come.

Bravern himself has a fair few enemies of the Deathdrives, the one closest would have to be Superbia, the Super Robot who has been dealt by his hands and wants a re-match against him to prove supremacy. I did mention earlier that in every beating heart of the Brave, there is an entity who bears that will, and in Superbia's case, comes across a mysterious alien girl who only knows the words "Ga-ga-pi!" whom Lewis had the rather unfortunate way of getting to know her. With the help of Isami and the military's help, the young girl is deduced for not just her constant child-like annoyance, but her real intentions as Lulu, for which every Super Robot as a "Lulu" to pilot them. That alone, makes the Brave connection between mecha and pilot even more of an importance when it comes to the overarching unpredictable plot, which will keep you pumped from start to finish. Also, like every other old-school mecha series, you'd be unwise to NOT pair attacks while calling out your name, each and EVERY time, and Bravern does this to great effect.

When it comes to the production, you know that when Cygames are given free rein to do whatever they want to do, they REALLY mean every single nitpick of the word, especially when it's with someone like Masari Oobari. I have long since awaited their in-house studio CygamesPictures's next work with this show, based on the fact that's proven with the anime adaptation of one of my favourite mobage games of all time: Princess Connect! Re:Dive. Anyone that has watched the series will know the bombastic, nonsense nature of the show with balls-to-the-wall striking action and beautiful animation to boot, and Brave Bang Bravern! is exactly just that and more, just splendid.

Old-school mecha fans, ARISE, for your old-school opening song is dutifully respected, beautifully composed and well-crafted as a love letter to a whole genre. The feeling of anticipation when you hear Bravern's VA Kenichi Suzumura, the titular mech just singing his own song out with brilliance and gusto, singing "Bang Bang, Bang Bang, Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang, BBRRRRAAAAAVVVVEEERRRRNNNNN!!!", along with the inclusion of the SFX, which IS essential to any old-school mecha show to get its full unadulterated vibes. Bravern's OP is a banger of a song that is both the epitome of a sing-along karaoke song, and legitimately one of (if not) the best and memorable OP songs of the season. Think about how Bravern would feel if he found out that you skipped his theme song!?

For the ED, it's a whole lot of close-up interactions between the VAs of Isami and Lewis, but I heavily implore you that the emotionally musical song is part of the entire story plot in and of itself, with the fact that "Is it gay to be shirtless in the rain with your homie while you both sing about your intense feelings for each other as you delicately hold hands? YES." The inherent gay-ness is on full display, but there's meaning to it and not done without reason.

If you had told me that I was going to get a honest-to-good old school mecha anime in 2024, I would have thought you were INSANE. But this is THE reality, and I have nothing but praises for both Cygames and Masami Oobari in unironically creating one of the best underrated and ignored/underestimated surprise shows of the Winter 2024 season, WITHOUT A DOUBT. Literally NO ONE saw this coming, and for all its worth, I'm glad that I got to experience a childhood that I never had with the Brave series, now with its spiritual successor, thanks to Masami Oobari. Also, Crunchyroll, you may have goofed up almost missing this show out by a week, but you've redeemed yourself to let everyone watch this magnificent show about gay men expressing their feelings for one another, be it by mecha or just pure human interaction.

If you're intending to watch the masterpiece that is Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern a.k.a Brave Bang Bravern!, it's one of those anime that works best if you just jump into it with as little foreknowledge as possible. And if you do, I promise you with my 2 hands that this show will be one hell of an unforgettable ride: a literate Abridged take of the Mecha genre.

"Are we ready to rock? Ga-ga-pi!

Welcome to the Super Robot franchise, my friends, time to expand your catalogue with Hard Work, the Power of Friendship, and BRAVERY!"

Bang Bang, Bang Bang, Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang, BBRRRRAAAAAVVVVEEERRRRNNNNN!!!" *Explosion SFX*

Imagine, if you will, that Michael Bay decided to make a movie adaptation of Exkaiser. Now imagine that, in addition to the usual Bay staples (explosions, lots of military vehicles, Christian references, oversexualization of female characters), this movie is light-hearted, self-referential, and intensely homoerotic. Such is Bang Bravern, the first TV anime directed by legendary animator Masami Obari in over a decade.

Without a doubt, Bravern is one of the better seasonal anime in recent memory -- probably the best one since Reconguista in G from a decade ago. However, like a lot of the better seasonal anime, Bravern's story is more suited to a ... 1-2 hour OVA, which is evident in the sheer amount of filler in the anime. There are episodes where slideshow animation abounds and a lot of meaningless conversation is had. Filler character interactions don't have to be a bad thing, but in Bravern, they are, and that's because the characters are neither pleasant nor complex. An attempt was clearly made to make the characters seem complex to engage more "mature" audiences, which means that the characters all fall into basic anime tropes -- Smith is a Gary Stu, Isami is a self-insert, all the female characters are moe, and the Deathdrives' personalities are over-the-top and centred around one trait. The most fleshed-out, likeable characters are Bravern and Superbia, but their interactions are too few to support the show.

The story of Bravern is very silly -- Earth is being invaded by alien robots who love death, and the last hope of humanity is another alien robot who loves being a hero. It's the type of pulpy silly that could have worked in a 90s OVA, and it still works here. However, the story is certainly not remarkable enough to justify sitting through all the filler and otherwise grating moments in this anime. The anime is not even nice to look at. The 2D animation is eye-burning and feels like cheap plastic. In addition, all the mecha animation is done in CG, which is especially egregious since Masami Obari is one of the few animators able to direct hand-drawn mecha animation in the current anime industry. The mecha designs, save for Bravern, Superbia, Cupiridas, and a few of the military mecha, tend to feel overdesigned, uninspired, and thrown-together, as if they were designed by an AI. The only thing that makes this anime stand out are its explicitly male homoerotic moments, which are notable for being in a mainstream sci-fi/mecha anime and for involving masculine, muscular men rather than the typical yaoi soft bois who look no different from actual women.

Overall, Bravern is a typical disposable seasonal anime, with nothing to make it particularly notable except its particular brand of homoeroticism. One would be better served watching an actual Yuusha series since they have everything Bravern lacks -- good animation, engrossing stories, and likeable characters/character interactions. However, if you want to watch a gay sci-fi anime that's non-pornographic, Bravern will serve you well.

Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern is the kind of show that tries to be too many things at the same time.

It takes real talent to be able to write a story that can balance the drama of war with (often situational) comedy and gaudy mechs, talent that you won't find here, where all of these elements are thrown in together without much regard as to how they interact, leading to some serious tonal whiplash, usually to the detriment of the drama, and sometimes the fighting and humor. The humor, by the way, relies mostly on homoerotic jokes, so if you don't think gay men = funny, ... there might not be much in there for you. Personally, I did laugh at some of the double entendres (lots of uses of the word "ride"), although, now that the shows is over, I feel mostly foolish and disappointed in what amounts to lots of queerbaiting.

In terms of story and characters, there's some good to be found in the relationships of the main trio (no one else matters at all, if we're being honest) and how they interact and care for each other. Other than that, the narrative is pretty bare bones.

As for the animation, it's slick and pleasing to the eye. The fights are colorful, which gives you some level of distraction from the fact that you don't really care about what happens to the people in it. The character design feels fresh and modern, but with a retro, late 90s/early 00s, vibe.

All in all, I do not recommend you watch Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern. In my opinion, the few laughs and above average visuals do not make up for the banal, below average writing. Were I not a completist, I wouldn't have kept up with it until the end.