Brave (franchise)

This article is about the franchise that uses designs fromTransformers.For theCar Robotscharacter, seeEmissary (RID).

Brave( dũng giảYūsha) is a non-TransformersfranchisethatTakaraandSunrisecreated after theGeneration 1cartoon ran its course in Japan. TheBraveSeries consists of eight individual series that were released one after the other from1990to1998with corresponding TV shows in Japan. The last show in the series received a follow-up OVA beginning in2000.Although none of the series storylines are connected to one another,^[1]the basic format of each series is similar. Usually a kid befriends/creates/becomes a sentient robot, and together they fight a great evil threatening the Earth. The main robots combine with other vehicles and robots to become larger robots, and additional teams of sentient robots combine amongst themselves to form larger robots as well. This structure had been established inVictoryand would be reproduced almost beat-for-beat in everyBraveseries. TheBravefranchise has been described as a cross betweenTransformersand theSuper Robotgenre of the late '70s and early '80s.

The Brave series consisted of:

• 1990:The Brave Fighter Exkiser
• 1991:The Brave of the Sun Fighbird
• 1992:The Brave of the Legend Da-Garn
• 1993:The Brave Express Might Gaine
• 1994:The Brave Police J-Decker
• 1995:The Brave of Gold Goldran
• 1996:The Brave Command Dagwon
  • 1997:The Brave Command Dagwon - Boy with Crystal Eyes
• 1997:The King of Braves GaoGaiGar
  • 1999:The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL
  • 2016:The Conqueror-Emperor: GaoGaiGar VS Betterman(a crossover betweenGaoGaiGarandBetterman)
• 1998:Saint of Braves Baan Gaan(video gameoriginal)
• 2023:Brave Universe Sworgrader
• Photogrizer(cancelled, later appeared inBrave Universe Sworgrader)

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 fewergimmicksand more limited transformations (often resorting topartsforming), but often also higheraccuracyin reproducing the look of the robot from the anime series. Generally, the toys were created by Takara'sTakashi Kunihiroand Sunrise'sKunio Okawara,doing engineering and design work respectively. The duo had already collaborated in the creation ofStar Saberfrom the aforementionedTransformers: Victory.The toys not engineered by Kunihiro are believed to be engineered byHisashi Yuki.

Contents 1Relationship toTransformers 2Influence onTransformers 3Toys and character designs recycled fromTransformers 3.11990 -Exkaiser 3.21992 -Da Garn 3.31993 -Might Gaine 3.41994 -J-Decker 3.51995 -Goldran 3.61996 -Dagwon 4Fiction 4.1Ask Vector Prime 5Notes 6See also 7References 8External links

Relationship toTransformers

The initial concept designs forThe Brave Exkaiser,the firstBraveseries, were intended to be Transformers designs. While theBraverobot Ultra Raker was very far along at this stage, the Max team and King Exkaiser bore little resemblance to their final designs.

TheBravetoys also have design elements similar toGeneration 2andBeast WarsTransformers, which were released around the same time as theBravetoys. For example, many of theBrave of Legendtoys havelight-pipedeyes thanks to transparent pieces of plastic in their heads, a design element which manyGeneration 2Transformers share. TheGoldranDX toyline contains many projectile launchers, somethingGeneration 2shared as well. In particular, theGoldrantoy "Advenger" contains a rotor-launching gimmick identical to that of theRotor ForcefromGeneration 2,and the "Captain Shark" figure has a Gatling-gun style launcher, the same asGeneration 2Dreadwing.The elbows of Leon from DX Leonkyzer contain ball joints, a design element that gained much broader use duringGeneration 2and even more so during theBeast Warstoyline. In addition, Might Gunner's shoulders have twin barreled cannons on them, in the same manner thatScorponokdoes, due toKunio Okawaraco-designing both characters.

The Brave Series also reused character designs and toys from previousTransformersseries. It was not uncommon for the recycled designs to appear in aBraveTV show, but not in toy form. These designs were often significantly augmented to distinguish them from theirTransformerscounterparts. For example, the four Geister henchmen inExkaiseruse character models of four of the fiveDinobots(minus Grimlock), but with all-new faces, body detail and color schemes. Of the designs that did appear in toy form, some of them were retooled to reflect these changes, whereas others were simple recolors. (A complete listing of the reuses follows in the section below.)

One striking difference between theBraveandTransformerstoy lines is that very few villain robots were released in theBraveseries. This is in sharp contrast to most of theTransformersseries, in which heroes and villains are released in relatively equal numbers (with the exception ofZoneandReturn of Convoy). Generally speaking, the lack of villain toys is more the norm for such toylines in Japan, with the variousTransformerslines (save for the aforementioned two) being the exception.

Despite theBraveseries's reuse of manyTransformersmolds and character designs,Bravetoys have never been reused in aTransformerstoyline. This is likely because the characters that the toys represent are owned by Sunrise, which itself is owned by Takara's rival toy companyBandai.That said, aBravemold was finally reused in2008,when Might Kaiser's trailer was modified and included in TakaraTomy'sTomica Hero: Rescue Forceas part of the toy Zero Fire. Although Hasbro never releasedBravetoys in the West, they apparently did receive samples from Takara onat least one occasion.Similarly, in the 1990s, Hasbro UK were sent samples by Takara from their non-Transformerstoylines including product literature featuring figures fromExkaiserandFighbirdthat were considered a possible fit into the European Transformers line, although none of Takara's suggestions were ultimately taken up.^[2]

In addition, the anime would also utilize some of the animation staff who worked on the franchise prior to this, including animators Nobuyoshi Sasakado,Hidetoshi ŌmoriandMasami Ōbari,and animation studioNakamura Production.Munetaka Abe,Masahiro Yamaneand Toru Yoshida, staples of theBraveanime, would eventually leak into theTransformersfranchise itself in future instalments.

Influence onTransformers

Similar toBravebeing influenced byTransformers,subsequentTransformerslines have also been influenced by theBraveseries. The JapaneseMini-ConKingbolt's coloration and characterization arehomagesto the Brave seriesExkaiser.TheCybertroncartoonfeatured many homages to theBraveseries, most notably the wayOptimus Primecombines withLeobreakerandWing Saber,which is similar to the way GaoGaiGar combines with Goldymarg and Stealth Gao respectively. As well,Hot Shot's transformation scheme is almost identical to various car robots from theBraveseries, those being Dran, Dag Fire, and Volfogg.The final battle between Optimus Prime and Galvatroncontains several visual references to the showdown between Great Exkaiser and Dinogeist from the anime seriesThe Brave Exkaiser.TheAnimatedcharactersJetfireandJetstormare similar to Enryū and Hyōryū fromGaoGaiGar,both with respect to their elemental motifs and method of combination.Animatedalso has a brief cameo appearance byDagwon'sDag Base.Shattered GlassEsmeral's color scheme is based on Red Geist, a redeco ofherVictorycounterpart'shusband.The Brave Police J-Deckermecha Duke Fire and Shadowmaru inspired the Autobot droneDuke Fireand DecepticonGreatsix.Meanwhile, the human police superintendent Juzo Saejima inspired the Generation 1 humanSaejima.

Toys and character designs recycled fromTransformers

(Italicized namesare non-toy characters.)

1990 -Exkaiser

• Green Raker and Blue Raker— Originally designed with Transformers in mind^[3]but released under theBravebanner.
• Armor Geist—Snarl
• Horn Geist—Slag
• Ptera Geist—Swoop
• Thunder Geist—Sludge

1992 -Da Garn

• Red Geistwith Red Breaster —DeathsaurusandTigerbreast(noEaglebreast)

1993 -Might Gaine

• Atlas Epsilon—Dai Atlas
• Atlas Mk.II—Dai Atlas
• Gōryūwith Ōwashi —Dai AtlasandSpeeder
• Hiryūwith Hayabusa —Sonic BomberandSonic
• Mega Sonic 8823—Sonic Bomber

1994 -J-Decker

• Kagerō—Sixshot
• Shadowmaru—Sixshot(featured a new head, chest, chest fins, beast head, and entirely new set of weaponry to incorporate a ninja motif; also has slightly more articulation since the bar connecting the lower legs to each other was removed)
• MiniCole Secret Transforming Bases — TheMicromaster Stations(sans Micromasters and including non-transformableBrave Policefigures; never appeared in the show)^[4]
  • Police Station —Gasoline Base
  • Construction Site —Build Base
  • Airfield —Airport Base
  • Fire Station —Hot House

1995 -Goldran

• Death Garry Gunwith Missile Gear —Sky GarryandShotbomber(lacking trailer launchers)
• Revibaron—Sonic Bomberwith parts fromDeathsaurusandDai Atlas
• Zazorigun—Scorponokwith new head design

1996 -Dagwon

• Dagbase—Grandus(significant retooling, cannot combine with Star Convoy)
• Thunder Dagwon—Galaxy Shuttle(significant retooling, including an additional motorcycle/robot that combines for the shuttle's robot mode)

Fiction

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Primewas asked whether or notBravewas a part of theTransformersmultiverse.Unfortunately, the Prime seemed to have misinterpreted the question. He did, however, express a fondness for theadventures of Princess Merida and Queen Elinor.

The events of theBraveanime were later established to take place in theCymondCluster, which bordered theMegaverseand only possessed a tangential connection to the goings-on elsewhere in theTransformersmultiverse.Ask Vector Prime

Notes

• It was originally assumed thatDuke FirefromThe Brave Police J-Deckerwas an homage toNew Rodimus.However, following a discussion with Duke Fire's designer, this proved to be a coincidence.^[5]
• Transformers: Bravemasterswas an unrealized proposal byHayato Sakamoto.Art of itshown atBotCon 2015revealed that it would have utilized several offscreen toys from the Movie-related toyline (such asBreacher,whose toy would have been used for the main character) and would have been strongly influenced by theBravefranchise.^[6]
• Concept art exists of a soccer-themed retool ofStar Saber,presumably meant to be a character inThe Brave Police J-Decker.This concept may have evolved into the soccer-themed character Drill Boy in that series.^[7]
• Bandaiacquired Sunrise in1993,but seemingly didn't hold the rights to produce figures for the franchise until roughly the 2010s. As such, allBravefigures and model kits are mainly produced by Bandai and their licensees, TakaraTomy seemingly did not holds any rights to the franchise until 2024, when King Exkaiser and Genesic GaoGaiGar were announced for TakaraTomy'sT-SPARKproject.^[8]

See also

• Transforming Bullet Train Robot Shinkalion
• Tomica Bond Combination Earth Granner

References

External links

• Braveseriesat Wikipedia
• Official SunriseBraveSeries website
• The GaoGaiGar-BettermanWiki.
• MAOMAO2's Room (Japanese)
• The TFW2005 forumBravethread