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Brave Series is technically nothing new or interesting.

Stories that are based on classic Fantasy RPG tropes are as old as the RPGs themselves, and they continue to be an oversaturated genre. Even Dragon Quest-like shows pop up.
Subversion on the Good Race = Humans, Evil Race = Demons is so cliché you should be groaning when hearing it.
Childish shows having awfully dark and brutal themes is nothing new. Some people might get a kick out of how little the show emphasizes its horrible brutality, but that's a satire common with the subversion.
CGI shows that look exceptionally well are also out there, especially with the simplistic Children's ... TV style that this series has.
Protagonist whose defining characteristic is being an ass is and always was a trope that pops up regularly. A band of misfits aren't anything new to explore.
Mind-blowingly spectacular animation, especially in fight scenes, is remarkable, but most won't stand out in a sea of sakuga. And beautiful direction isn't special, it's just desired.
Web-comics with a cult-following getting amazing anime adaptations also keep cropping up every year, including ones outside of Japan.
There's a ton of fun anime in Chinese, too.


It's absolutely exactly what it sounds like, and it's as generic as the title suggests. There's nothing special about BAS. Even the actual stories of each character are simple tropes told again and again.

It is a simple show. And it's absolutely amazing.
As unremarkable as all of it may be, it still manages to have its own charms and pulls off what it's trying to do excellently. It does little and it does it the best out of anything of its niches. In this, it is truly one of a kind.
It's clearly a labor of love, and so much wonderful creativity has been poured into this simple show that it is consistently a great watch. It's funny, it's fun, it's pretty, it's crafted carefully and it goes all out at all times.

If even a single trope listed interests you, or you liked shows like One Punch Man or Adventure Time, try this show out.
It's officially released free with ENG subtitles on YouTube by PTS Plus, the Taiwanese broadcast station.

The most solid slice-of-life coming-of-age rom-com of its generation.

The main character is a lovably pure-hearted idiot whose charming presence brings out the good nature in any metropolitan cynic in her new school. It's her naive, (mostly) well-intended, and honest struggle that gives this series the humorous tone to make all the dramatic parts digestible, fun, and addictive. It's hard not to root for everybody to do well.
And although most of everybody keeps on their good side, every character gets rounded with their own set-backs: delusional narcissism, manipulative tendencies, two-faced demeanor, social anxiety, workaholism, bad fashion sense, being too damn beautiful and popular. All without splitting ... the characters into trivial/serious phases.

The main focus is over the whole cast with a variety of issues that always keep a balance of impact and light-heartedness without the least bit of absurd whiplashes. Teenage melodrama and introspective revelatory monologue is kept to a comfortable minimum without sacrificing any understandability.
The understated hook throughout becomes a relationship that builds up slowly and subtly, and does so based on the pair's chemistry as everybody gets to know each other, instead of a forced first-day set-up followed by a 10 volume stale-mate.

It has an old-school-ish art-style with great sense for expressiveness, whether it's in its plentiful humorous moments or the cool serious ones.

Despite all that, it is still a generic Shoujo set-up with essentially the same well-worn formula. A girl with room for self-improvement meets nice, popular and pretty, slightly mysterious and troubled boy. Sprinkle in some love triangles and you've got a plot.
Where the series shines is in the execution and everything surrounding the romantic drive. Simply put, it's a well-written and personable coming-of-age romance. It treats its characters well and gives everyone the space they deserve.

It's still very early in its run and it takes on a lot of things and does them slowly. Currently emerging drama could get too edgy for its own good, and the pair might not grow as steadily as they should. Still, what's out now is worth the time of any coming-of-age and rom-com fan.

A fresh Japanese interpretation of European folklore, somewhere between an adorable and wholesome children's story and an odd grimm fairy tale.

Initially, it's fun to discover a mystical world through a painfully innocent and unaware protagonist. There's this weird charm to it all.
It starts off more episodic, but eventually grows into a gripping story. However, as the plot starts to escalate, the writing and world become much less interesting, as do the characters.

It is a fun story, but if you are looking for something to bite into, it's mostly thematically simple, and what there is isn't explored or applied thoroughly enough. A bit of a missed ... opportunity, but still a sweet time.

This is the most charming gag comedy.

There's all the needed ingredients for a solid comedy series.
Vibrant characters, sufficient range of personalities with good chemistry, personable humor, fun art-style, the right amount of progression to keep things fresh, and even some heartwarming moments.
It's mostly just goofballs with a childish sense of humor being childish goofballs, one gag every single page. And it's the most wholesome juvenile manga there is.

It's not an amazing series by any stretch.
The art isn't the most expressive and sometimes gets hard to read. The gags aren't special at all, and sometimes too culturally referential. It has very little to say and does ... mostly one thing in different ways (not that the gags would be stale or unvaried, it just has a recognizable formula and pulls it off right).
But the enjoyment in it is exactly what a good sitcom should be: a short relaxing time with characters you get to know and love. And it's extremely effective in that. The more the cast expands and gets to know each other, the more you start to care to see them goof off. Just like the character Kuraki watches the siblings be idiots to cheer up, it becomes a joy after a hard time that allows you to kick back and unwind with these dumb jokes.

If you want something quick and light, this series is a great staple for daily reading. It also updates often, is free online, has good English translators, and hundreds of chapters out.

A collection of unhealthy relationships.

Broadly each story focuses on outcomes of dealing with clashes in desired relationships, often in its most messed up and uncomfortable misdeeds. Sex out of frustration, exploitative relationships, rape, teacher-student abuse, awkward and messy coming-of-age, pornography, ghosts, homosexuality, divorce, insufficiently requited love, loneliness, and so on. Though not always downers, these are heavy stories.

It's a love-it-or-hate-it kind of dramatic writing.
Stories start somewhere in the middle and taper off rather than climax.
Impactful plot-points are glazed over or skipped.
Scenes are short and tend to move on abruptly, to the point that it's hard to tell how much time passed.
Most things aren't ... told.
Its almost mumblecore-ish dialogue is either mundane or, if dramatic, direct and subdued.
Characters tend to talk over the other with plenty of abrupt declarations or dismissals from awkwardness.
It all gives the pacing a very jumpy feeling, which works great with tiny shifts in drama and humor under a heavy blanket of damage.
Rather than telling a story, the focus is on characters' actions and reactions, either silently emotive or in their contemplative monologue. You have to read between the lines. The pay-off is satisfying and subtly emotive experience, perfect for dealing with trauma.

The art-style is more on the realistic side and usually stiff and flat (not to say it isn't nice in its Josei appeal). It makes up for it with emotive framing and by going well with the tone of the stories.

If you like your romance uncomfortable and drama sexual and depressing, but without too much intense and over-blown emotions, and with some points of relief, it's fine and consistent.

Melancholic moe comedy with surreal decaying brutalist feel.

In its core it's a standard laid-back 4-pannel gag series and a nice one at that. Most jokes aren't great, some are very miss, others fairly too absurd for some people's liking, but it's all about the atmosphere and that it has in spades.

It acts like any other cute girls in high school manga, but adds contemplative tone and fittingly under-explained semi-surreal setting. The world is eerily empty and seemingly vast and complex. Strange anomalies get hand-waved and nobody seems to know or care about what's going on, the manga included. All the while it adds more comically ... absurd elements to keep things light-hearted. This lends the manga enough leeway to seamlessly switch its tone as it needs, making for a dynamic read.

What elevates this above the standard is that it takes the 4-panel format loosely, both in the gags and how it does the panels. Half the time the manga finds interesting ways to add to or circumvent the 4-pannel structure. Most of the gags flow into each other or set the other up. Some sequences aren't gags but instead add to the characters or the feel of the scene. It's not afraid to often switch to traditional manga and away from any gags. It all adds up to a more relaxing and complete experience.

If you like things a little absurd and don't mind a bit of ennui or other pretentious philosophical waxings, it's a fun manga.
Though it may not be as serious as other surreal exploratory mangas such as Termina, Ashizuri Suizokukan, BLAME, or Tsukumizu's own Girls' Last Tour, its groundedness and lack of focus makes it a much lighter read, which makes the more surreal parts that more interesting.

Early adult deals with avoidant depressive personality.

The initial chapters are simple personal vignettes of depressive episodes reminiscent of Watamote, but without much for deprecating cringe comedy, and focusing more on self-conceited introspection. These are done well enough if you look for something to identify with, but where the story begins to shine is past chapter 9 after adding to the cast. You get multiple views on experiencing avoidant anxiety, introversion and loneliness, with models to fight these issues. Though told overly simply, it's a pleasant and well-done surprise.

The artwork is competent, though it lacks a little in character design and distinguished art-style. Some panels can ... feel muddy, while the more important emotional scenes could do with more inventiveness. For what it is, it doesn't get in the way. That said, it seems to try for some moe appeal, but ends up too stale. Softcore half-nudity can add intimacy, but some choices get hard to interpret without cynicism.

It's a good healing story, sweet and short, exactly as it needs to be.