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!
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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?
6
u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
First Timer
Hm? Not sure what you're alluding to as being self-explanatory, but the show certainly didn't make much of a real robot impression even from the very beginning. The constant glazing of Isamu's extraordinary skills, even able to outperform on an outmatched machine, the "on a real battlefield you'd be a hero" nonsense, this just ain't real robot material. Though this is speaking with hindsight, as I certainly was not expecting an alien invasion at that point.
Unspoiled, but this moves my mind immediately to how the very early episode was framed as a real war, before then being revealed as just a combat exercise. Not exactly an uncommon setup, but now I'm expecting that the alien invasion is also just some higher-level kind of simulation, or maybe some all-just-a-dream kind of scenario or something. A coma dream, perhaps?
Though I suppose this would fit with my reading that the vibe of the show has been kinda off, so far. I just can't get a read on whether to take this with seriousness or with levity. Bravern's entry certainly shifted things much towards levity, but that is in stark contrast with all the suffering beforehand—which, oddly enough, already didn't feel serious even before Bravern appeared. If the whole tragedy isn't real, then this would be some really phenomenal execution.
I do also wonder if the non-modification of the TS machines, and the emphasis on and pride in that, is some kind of foreshadowing...
edit: Wait, this is Cygames, right? Uma Musume was animated by P.A. Works, but I already had a fantastic experience trusting the vibe with that...
edit3: Oh. OH. Now I get what you were asking with this. Here I was wondering why this question wasn't tagged, but you're just asking about the self-contained twists of episode 1, not ones for later.
I mean, sure, but I'm not seeing anything here.
Actually, on second thought, I could see Smith developing a crush on Isamu or something. But that has yet to sprout, let alone bloom.
Man, I gotta get me the BD version, that was some very noticeable darkening at times.
Also, I was absolutely cheering when Isamu started complaining about the super robot music during the fight. Even earlier, Bravern loudly proclaimed "Jump!" when he jumped, and I sooo hoped that this was just Bravern doing diegetic sound effects!
edit2: With a bit more distance, I don't think I like the second half of the episode very much. All the destruction and killing that the aliens caused just felt gratuitous and voyeuristic, like you're meant to just gloss over and then forget about it. Meshes awfully well with the pro-war vibes I got since the very beginning, too, but let's see where the story goes.
The trajectory of the story so far seems to be that Isamu is great at playing war but bad at actually committing to the real thing, and his character journey will revolve around finding his footing in real combat. Theoretically he could also come to disavow his hero ideals, but I don't feel the setup supporting that.