The is a Japanese toy and
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
originally produced by
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
(now the primary division of
Bandai Namco Filmworks
, previously and still famously known as Sunrise Inc., is a Japanese animation studio founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo. Its former names were also Soeisha, Nippon Sunrise and Sunrise Studio.
Its primary division, , is r ...
),
Nagoya TV
JOLX-DTV, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 22), branded as is the Chūbu region flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network, owned by the , with its headquarters in Nagoya. It is broadcast in Aichi Prefectur ...
,
Victor Entertainment
, also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...
and Tokyu Agency, originally created by
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture").
Products Toys
In ...
(now
Takara Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
). The franchise ran from 1990 to 1998, producing eight official series and several side media including
Original Video Animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s, Toys and several memorabilia in Japan. It was one of Sunrise's notable productions in the 90's, and its run play a key role in the reintroduction of the
Super Robot
Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...
genre to the Japanese mainstream.
As of 2022, the rights to the series were now owned by
Bandai Namco Entertainment
is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...
, following the 1993 acquisition of
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
, who produced and animated the series.
History
Creation
The Brave series was first conceived by Japanese toy maker
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture").
Products Toys
In ...
after the fallout between the company and
Toei Animation
() is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
regarding continuing
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
in Japan. Following a decline in the series' popularity that led to the cancellation of the
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
series ''
Transformers: Zone'', Takara struck a cooperative deal with the animation studio
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
to develop a new franchise and set of toy lines. Japanese candy maker
Kabaya
is a Japanese confectionery company founded in 1946.
References
External links
*Kabaya Foods
Food and drink companies of Japan
Snack food manufacturers of Japan
Companies based in Okayama Prefecture
Food and drink companies establi ...
also sponsored the franchise as well, also once working with Takara in the Transformers franchise.
At the beginning of the series, the slogan for the franchise was "animation that does not appear in anime magazines", and the intended audience were aged 3 to 5 years old.
In fact, the first work in the series, "Brave Exkaiser", was originally planned and produced with the theme off "eliminating complicated themes and settings" in order to be a "pure children's program". However, as the series progressed, the target age and the range of settings and styles of each work gradually expanded, up to the final installment of the series, "The King of Braves GaoGaiGar". It has also gained support from non-fans up to that point. In response to its popularity, the franchise was also developed in various media such as OVAs, games, and drama CDs in addition to the TV series.
As the franchise ended, news of it was announced in the newspaper as the top article of the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun Nagoya edition on December 22, 1997, and two weeks later, the national edition on January 5, 1998, saying that any mecha animation will be halted due to the declining birthrate and the popularity of video games in Japan. Also, on page 13 of the morning edition of the Tokyo Shimbun on February 4, 1998, the end of this series was reported under the heading "The disappeared giant robot", and in the same article, the audience rating and toy sales were sluggish as to the reason for the end of the series.
During the Takara-Tomy merger in 2006, the ''Brave series'' wasn't part of the franchises that will carry over to the new company, with the intellectual rights to it were sold to
Bandai Namco Entertainment
is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...
.
Themes
The overlying theme of each series is "Bravery", the interaction between the robot "Brave", who has a heart and the boy, the will of the mecha, the union of the robots, and other unique themes for each series. With the exception of the relationship between "Brave Exkaiser" and "The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird" , there is no direct relationship between each series in terms of world view or time. Therefore, almost all the works are different to each other in terms of themes and motif, and that changes every series.
The robots that appear in the series are called "Brave Robo".
Vehicles familiar to children, such as police cars, ambulances, fire engines, airplanes, and bullet trains, are transformed into the brave robos.
This is because it was judged that it would be easier for children to sympathize with a familiar vehicle as a motif. Brave Robo can talk at will, and were classified into three types: "advanced life form type" where their life is transferred to a machine such as a vehicle and turned into a robot while "super AI type" where brave robots is made by human hands and granted advanced human-like intelligence and "fusion type" in which the main character fuses with a brave robot at will.
Design
All of the main hero robots' mechanical designs in the Brave series were those of prolific Sunrise mechanical designer
Kunio Okawara
is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer. He designed mecha for the ''Gundam'' and ''Brave Series'' franchises, as well as those of numerou ...
. In most of the Brave series, there is a main hero robot (usually the most or second-most expensive toy in the line), backed up by one or two support combiner teams and later receiving one or two combiner partners, upgrading the hero to more powerful forms. (The most or second-most powerful form of the hero robot is usually known as its "Great," "Dai," or "Super" form.) A number of supporting characters and enemies across the Brave Series had designs or remolds derived from earlier and present (for the day) Generation One Takara Transformers designs, most notably those of ''Transformers: Zone'' and ''Transformers Battlestars: Return of Convoy'' (the latter never having its own animated series). The enemy "Geister" characters in ''Brave Exkaiser'' (save for their leader, Dino Geist) were actually remolds of first-generation Dinobot toys, for instance. Ultra Raker was also one of those designs whose origin was intended for Transformers and bore little resemblance to their final designs.
There are also similar design elements between the Brave toys and Generation 2/Beast Wars Transformers, which were released around the same time. Many of the Da-Garn toys have light-piped eyes thanks to transparent pieces of plastic in their heads, a design element which many Generation 2 Transformers share. The Goldran DX toyline contains many projectile launchers, something Generation 2 shared as well. In particular, Advenger contains a rotor-launching gimmick identical to that of Rotor Force from Generation 2. Lastly, the elbows of Leon from DX Leonkyzer contain ball joints, a design element that gained much broader use during Generation 2 and even more so during the Beast Wars toy line.
Toys for these robots were created in two sizes: DX ("deluxe") versions that contained more gimmicks and more complicated transformations, and STD ("standard") versions that contained fewer gimmicks and more limited transformations, but often also higher accuracy in reproducing the look of the robot from the anime series. Generally, the transformation of the robots was created by Takara, while the look of the robots was created by Okawara.
Brave series overview
There are currently a total of eight original entries in the Brave Series: one new series released every year, from 1990 to 1997, each with an episode count exceeding 40 in length. Each series is set in separate, unrelated timelines from each other. No further series appear to be planned for development in the near future.
They are the following, sorted by year of first airing:
To date, only ''GaoGaiGar'' and ''Betterman'' have been licensed for distribution in the United States; their licenses originally held by
Media Blasters
Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment corporation that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American ...
and
Bandai Entertainment
was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
Most of the anime and f ...
, respectively; each company releasing DVD's of the series in the 2000s. ''GaoGaiGar'' and its OVA sequel were recently licensed for distribution in Asia via
Muse Communication
Muse Communication Co., Ltd. (also known simply as Muse) is a Taiwanese distributor and licensor that specializes in the distribution of anime. Based in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, the company also distributes Asian and European films i ...
and
Discotek Media
Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
in the United States while ''Bettermans license now belongs to
Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
.
Unproduced installment
Before GaoGaiGar ended, another show, , was planned to continue the franchise but shelved. Fully titled Brave of Light Photogrizer, the show would involve designs based on, at the time, the new technology of digital cameras and then-modern cell phones.
Additional Brave works
''Brave Saga'' and ''Brave Saga 2''
(title has also been translated by fans as ''Brave Crusade Baan Gaan'', Also occasionally transliterated as ''Burn Garn'') is a game-original series appearing in the first ''Brave Saga'' video game for the
Sony PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...
. It is worth noting that Sunrise's official Brave Series web site considers ''Baan Gaan'' the ninth Brave series, even though it was not fully produced. Sunrise even produced animated transformation and merging sequences to go with the game and a fully animated intro. Just like in Exkaiser, the Braves are digital alien spirits possessing bodies made by VARS (Valiant Attack and Rescue Squad). Fighting toys used in tournaments, to be exact. The main character of the series is the shy Shunpei Serizawa. Baan possessed his toy to help his master, Astral fight the evil forces of Grandark. Shunpei's friend Hiro and Baan's teammate Spherion were corrupted by Grandark into the evil Guilty and Guildion. Baan combines with the Gaan Dasher truck to form Baan Gaan, while Spherion/Guildion combines with the Mach/Dark Fighter to become Mach Spherion/Dark Guildion, When Mach Spherion is purified, he and Baan Gaan combine into Great Baan Gaan. Additionally, VARS made Baan Gaan 3 support drones he can combine with to fight on different terrain: a narwhal turns him into Drill Baan Gaan, an eagle turns him into Wing Baan Gaan, and a saber-toothed tiger turns him into Power Baan Gaan.
''Brave Saga 2'', also released for the PlayStation, can be considered a final re-telling of the Brave Series as it features virtually all Brave Series characters, mecha and human alike, from the previous generation. Although parallel universes are used to explain why series such as Brave Express Might Gaine can be involved in the plot, the story assumed that at least some of the series, noticeably GaoGaiGar and Baan Gaan, happen at around the same time and in the same world. Generally, GaoGaiGar storyline is considered to be the 'side-story' while Baan Gaan served as the main event, with other Yūsha participate in either of the story. Also, a general time line is given to some of the work, such as stating that the entire events within The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn inspired the creation of Grand Police Department in Brave Police J-Decker, while the events in The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird is part of the reason why Brave Command Dagwon is formed.
Similar to the
Super Robot Wars
''Super Robot Wars'', known in Japan as is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the ''Compati Hero'' series, the main feature of the franchise is ...
series of games, there are some non-Brave Series series being involved in the plot, and they are consider to be Real Robot, among them is
Armored Trooper Votoms
is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon Sunrise, created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi' ...
which was animated by Sunrise with the toys and merchandise being provided by Takara. Shizuma of the Sword clan his the vessel of an ultimate weapon against transdimensional demons called Asmodians. But in a surprise attack, he lost his physical body and his soul was split into the weapon's six elements: fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness. His mother, the priestess, gave up her life so Shizuma would have a provisional body to fight back. Shizuma has machines called the Varion series that allow him to fight the Asmodians. Motovarion is a motorcycle that interface with a jet, an armored fire truck, and an amphibious bullet train that can combine into 3 different robots: Saber, Ace, and Max Varion. It is later revealed that there was a robot called Varion sealed within Motovarion that can combine with a hi-tech space shuttle to form Victorion, And when Shizuma finally gets all the elements of his soul, Victorion evolves into Galaxion. Additionally, 2 of Baan's teammates called Magna and Flash arrive as trains. They can combine into Magna Bomber, and/or Flash Kaiser.
A spinoff game called ''Brave Saga New Astaria'' was released for the
Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
. A robot called Gunbar can combine with a dog robot called 01 to form Gunbar 01. Zetter combines with an aircraft to form Zetter 99. Their father combines with the Big Condor, a
subterrene
A subterrene ( lat, subterrina, russian: Подземная лодка) is a vehicle that travels underground (through solid rock or soil) much as a submarine travels underwater, either by mechanical drilling, or by melting its way forward. Sub ...
, and a rescue vehicle to form Big Father.
As the consideration of toy-safety measures, sharp edges and parts were avoided in animated Brave Series to prevent redesigning parts. As Baan Gaan was not made into animation, the mechanical design were slightly different from other leading Brave Series robots - many sharp edges can be seen in Baan Gaan, Mach Sperion, and Great Baan Gaan. The combination process of aforementioned Brave Series robots basically proceed features of every previous Brave Series' combinations. The CM Company did make toys of Baan Gaan and Mach Spherion, but not of the Varion robots or train brothers.
''New Century Brave Wars''
''Brave Wars'' is the first and only ''Brave'' series game to be produced for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
. ''Quantum Leap Layzelber'' (''Ryoushi Choyaku Layzelber'', title can also be interpreted as ''Quantum Leap Rayzelver'' and ''Quantum Leap Rayserver''. It is worth noting that ''Layzelber'' is not counted among the Brave series by Sunrise). Chyota is the partner of an advanced robot called Layzer, who transforms into a
Bugatti Chiron
The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The successor to the Bug ...
and combines with a VTOL jet called the Rayhawk to form Layzelber, who aims to stop the 6 Knights of Varios from conquering the multiverse. Layzelber can also combine with another jet to form Sky Layzelber, a drill tank to form Ground Layzelber, and a high-speed submarine to form Marine Layzelber. Or Layzer can skip the Rayhawk and combine with the other 3 support vehicles to form Dailayzer. Chyota's rival Gallio has a robot called Emperios that can combine with a racing limousine to form Emperios Forte, who can combine with an armored vehicle to form Emperios Fortissimo. Gallio is aided by his servants Roberto and Fiore. In a nod to Baan Gaan, Layzer is blue and Emperios is red, and the robots are rivals. Layzer's small support vehicles also function like Baan Gaan's animals. Both boys’ families each have some scientific skill used to make the robots.
The first entry in the ''
Eldran series
The is a toy and Japanese anime franchise begun by toy company Tomy in Japan. Tomy struck a cooperative deal with the animation studio Sunrise (known for its mecha series, most notably Gundam) to develop the new franchise to sell their toys.
Ser ...
'', ''
Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh
is a 51 episode Japanese anime television series, and the first series produced for the Eldran franchise funded by Tomy and produced by Sunrise. It aired in Japan from April 3, 1991 to March 25, 1992. The story revolves around a group of ele ...
'' was also added to the game. This is mainly because of the many similarities between the ''Yūsha'' series and the ''Eldran'' series as they all featured transforming and combining robots and both series were animated by ''Sunrise''. The only key difference was that the ''Eldran'' toys were produced by ''
Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
''. However ''Tomy'' and ''Takara'' later merged into ''Takara Tomy'', so that both series fall under the same corporate ownership allowing ''Raijin-Oh'' to be part of the game, along with ''Might Gaine'', ''J-Decker'', ''Dagwon'', ''GaoGaiGar'' and the non-canon ''Layzelber''. The other ''Brave'' robots and the other ''Eldran'' robots were not featured in the game. Unlike the Brave Sagas, Brave wars was made by
Winkysoft
was a Japanese video game developing company. They have made video games for console systems primarily for the Japanese video game market, as well as a handful of arcade games. On December 1, 2015, Winkysoft filed for bankruptcy.
Notable game ...
and published by
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
rather than Takara, who only licensed the game.
Cultural influence
The influence of the Brave Series can be officially seen in various anime and manga works produced after the franchise's cancellation. Character designer
Hirokazu Hisayuki
is a Japanese character designer and animation director for Sunrise. His major works include the ''Queen's Blade'' game series which was later made into an anime adaptation, the ''My-Hime'' and ''My-Otome'' series, and numerous titles from the '' ...
and director
Mitsuo Fukuda
is a Japanese animation director and scriptwriter from Tochigi Prefecture. He was married to anime screenwriter Chiaki Morosawa until her death in 2016.
Career
Fukuda is a graduate of Waseda Senior High School. While in school, he was a member ...
used the concepts from the first Brave Saga game in the anime ''
Gear Fighter Dendoh
is a Japanese robot anime television series produced by TV Tokyo, Yomiko Advertising and Sunrise. It was directed by Mitsuo Fukuda, with Chiaki Morosawa handling series scripts, Hirokazu Hisayuki designing the characters and monsters, Satoshi ...
'', with the plot and concept similarities between ''Dendoh'' and ''Baan Gaan'' are extremely numerous including the mechanics for how the machines combine with their animal-robot helpers, an emphasis on a running conflict between two particular Super Robots (one blue and one red), the dual-protagonist structure, and the idea of child pilots fighting with the support of a group of older pilots and technicians (VARS in ''Baan Gaan'', and GEAR in ''Dendoh''). While ''Dendoh'' was only a modest commercial success, the show was received warmly by critics, and the team has since gone on to become responsible for profitable series such as ''
My-HiME
is a Japanese anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by Masakazu Obara and written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, it premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from September 2004 to March 2005. The series focuses on the lives of HiMEs—girls with the capa ...
'', ''
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, ''Gundam SEED'' takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has devel ...
'' and ''
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
is an anime television series, a direct sequel to ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise. It retains most of the staff from ''Gundam SEED'', including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Se ...
''.
Following ''Dendoh'', Sunrise took a final stab at resurrecting the Brave style of television series by having some ''Dendoh'' staffers return to work on ''
Machine Robo Rescue
is a 2003 Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It's the third incarnation of the ''Machine Robo'' anime trilogy, which is based on the toyline by PLEX and Bandai. It is directed by Mamoru Kanbe (''Cardcaptor Sakura'') and ...
'', based on a modern-day reworking of Bandai and PLEX's own
Machine Robo
is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe and Machine Men in Australia. A large portion of these toys were expo ...
toy line. ''Rescue'' combined all of the basic storytelling tropes of the original six, kid-friendly Brave series with a truly vast toy line and an early Sunrise attempt at blending 2D animation (the characters) with 3D animation (the robots). While the toys were popular and the anime did well with older audiences, the 3D animation was widely criticized, and overall the effort failed to recapture the original popularity of the Brave Series. Sunrise would not attempt another 2D/3D series until 2006, with the well-received series ''
Zegapain
is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise. The series premiered in Japan on April 6, 2006 on TV Tokyo and also later aired on BS Japan and AT-X. On October 2, 2007, Bandai Entertainment released the first Region 1 volume of ' ...
''.
Takara briefly returned to the Brave series' overall premise—that of producing interstitial properties with themes similar to that of Transformers—with the release of ''
Dennou Boukenki Webdiver'' and ''
Daigunder
is a Japanese anime television series about humans using robots in tournaments. Created by Aeon and Takara and animated by Brain's Base, the studio’s first television production, the series aired on TV Tokyo from April to December 2002. A ser ...
''. Both properties yielded anime television series featuring transforming robots with either their own minds or the ability to "meld" with heroic children, and toys that could interact with TV screens as video games. However, both Webdiver and Daigunder seem to have faded into obscurity. 15 years later Takara again returned to the Brave-like premise once again this time collaborating with
OLM, Inc.
, formerly Oriental Light and Magic, is a Japanese animation and film studio headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, founded on October 3, 1990.
Establishment
OLM was founded as Oriental Light & Magic, Inc. on October 3rd, 1990 by Toshiaki Ok ...
to create shows like ''
Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidō Kyūkyū Keisatsu'', ''
Tomica Bond Combination Earth Granner
is a Japanese anime television series produced and animated by OLM, Inc., based on the long running ''Tomica'' series of die-cast metal cars created by Takara Tomy and released for the franchise's 50th anniversary. It is directed by Shinji Ush ...
'' and ''
Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion THE ANIMATION''. Takara also once brought the Brave-like premise to Transformers with ''
Transformers Go!
is a ''Transformers'' anime series and toyline exclusive to Japan. It features several Autobots teaming up to battle the evil Predacons seeking to conquer Earth. It is the first animated series in the franchise to be produced in Japan, followi ...
''.
There are currently no plans to continue the Brave Series, nor produce another children's anime series in its vein—although Studio 7 has been allowed to continue ''GaoGaiGar'' projects for older fans. The franchise's "30th Anniversary" occurred in 2020, with an official exhibit hosted by Sunrise from December 11, 2020, to January 17, 2021.
References
External links
*
{{Brave_Series
Anime companies
Toy brands
Transforming toy robots
Takara video games
Takara Tomy franchises
Bandai Namco franchises
Sunrise (company)
Super robot anime and manga
Mass media franchises introduced in 1990
Video games about mecha
Transformers (franchise)