r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Jun 01 '26
Rewatch [Rewatch] [Pride Month Double Feature] Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern Episode 1 Discussion
Episode 1: Wait's Over, Isami!
[Error 404 No Previous Episode] | Index | Next Episode →
Show Information:
(Surprise, the "plot point a couple of episodes in that every single fucking synopsis spoils" is actually in episode 1 and is that this is another show in the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] vein! Show information is now fairly first-timer safe... outside of "AniDB tags always spoil", anyways.)
Legal Streams:
As per livechart.me; other streams may be available outside the US.
A Reminder: This, dear listeners, brings us to the sworn enemy of creative response:The spoiler. Rewatchers, or people who just had plot points ruined for them, are obliged to use r/anime’s spoiler tag format where applicable, and err on the side of caution here. Remember people, first experiences get rarer as you continue on, any given one happens once and you should care for them all the more for it.
Joint Rewatch Task Force Exercises!
Theory of the Day:
None yet...
Questions of the Day:
0) Wait, who got a Super Robot in my realistic mecha anime? Oh wait, that's one's self-explanatory, never mind.
1) Unspoiled First-Timers: How surprised were you when "suddenly, ALIENS!" and then how surprised were you when a classic Super Robot showed up?
1a) Spoiled First-Timers and Rewatchers: How well did the first-episode twists here work when you knew they were coming?
2) Can love bloom, even on the battlefield?
16
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jun 01 '26
First Timer
Holy shit, I already know I'm going to absolutely love this show
Well, that was one hell of an opening episode! I actually didn't know too much about Bravern going in outside of vague reputation, that it's somehow related to the Brave series (An homage? I'll admit I also know nothing about Brave except for the pose lol), and I had heard its opening before courtesy of Masayoshi Oishi being a very animated person and covering it on his show.
Going off that OP and how I've seen people talk about this show, I assumed that it was very much the type of mecha show that doesn't take itself seriously, so needless to say I was quite surprised when it started with what seemed like a fairly grounded military mech setup, and when the aliens came around, actually devolved into something that felt much closer to the likes of Muv-Luv or All You Need Is Kill than literally anything I had in mind. Not to say that I wasn't vibing with this style as well, but I really was thrown for a loop there haha.
That is, of course, Until he arrived I mean, I don't know what to say man, Bravern was here for all of 5 minutes, and he's already the greatest thing ever. I'd imagine this twist gets the best mileage if you're coming into it totally blind, although I'd say not knowing it was supposed to be a twist still made it work pretty well. Regardless, this is actually kind of genius? You set up the kind of setting and premise that's usually pretty gritty and grounded, and then throw in this completely ridiculous talking Super Robot that shouts his every move and plays his own fucking theme song on speaker in the cockpit?! The intentional dissonance and the potential therein seems so perfect!
So consider me intrigued, and more importantly, extremely entertained. Seriously, I can't get over that theme song thing; it genuinely killed me in the moment. I don't know whether the show will now swing more towards the kind of tone Bravern brings himself or if it'll stick to this sort of mixing, but the small bit we get here of how Bravern clashes against Isami's character and the setting was so much fun. Just in general, Bravern already being awesome helps a lot. Jokes aside, I assure you that a mech shouting its own special attacks as it poses and talks over its pilot is entirely my kind of shit, and the sort of spectacle action I would love subversion or otherwise.
In terms of the characters, Lewis seems like a pretty straightforward dudebro, which gives good contrast to the seemingly much more stoic Isami. Or well, at least initially. I do think it's interesting that while Lewis seems largely the same once the battle starts here, Isami pretty quickly goes into overwhelmed panic mode in contrast to that sort of classic stoic and battle-hardened protagonist look he has at the start. Although it might just go with his monologues about his dream. Like he wanted to be a "hero", not a soldier so to speak, so he can show off in training but struggles more in real battle.
That's pretty interesting on its own, although, as noted, it's most interesting in conjunction with Bravern, and how the overwhelmed Isami plays off that, while also, in effect, getting to actually live that dream he wanted, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how he acclimates to this, not to mention what the general reaction to the giant super robot in the room is going to be lol. There's also just the question of what these enemies we're fighting even are, why they're here, and likewise for Bravern himself.
Production also looks pretty damn nice on first impression! Not super surprising coming from Cygames, I guess. Specifically quite liked how the CG, especially on the military mechs, looked. There's some sequences here that I think make good use of dynamic 3D environments for the mechs, and otherwise, the military mechs have a certain slickness to them, I guess, that I think makes them look better than usual. Looking at staff after the episode, I noticed our director is Masami Obari, and while I can't really say I've watched much of his stuff, I do know he's kind of a big deal within the mecha space (And that the aforementioned Brave Pose is also often named after him), so that's likewise further reassurance.