Cygames’ upcoming original anime, Bang Brave Bang Bravern, sees the return of mecha veteran Masami Obari in a creative role. Unusually for the latter, the new anime seems to be skewing more towards grounded visuals, with robots that look plausibly mass-produced for conflict. The official trailer has set a premiere date for January next year, so mecha fans can look forward to a heavy metal winter.
Cygames Pictures doesn’t frequently produce anime on its own, and Obari hasn’t directed a full-length anime in a while, so it’s surprising – but welcome – to see them team up for a mecha show. More surprising is that, despite its outlandish title, the trailer shows a grounded military thriller.
While the footage is certainly action-packed, it’s still a far cry from the colorful battles of Gundam. Still, fans of the genre will surely be happy to see Obari back at work, and they have high expectations for this new series.
Bang Brave Bang Bravern Promises Near-Future Mech Thriller Action
The first official trailer from Cygames, hosted on its YouTube account, includes a synopsis for the anime. Translated, it says:
It is a time when the humanoid armored weapon “Titanostride” (TS) has been developed. The armies of many nations have gathered on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Isami Ao of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and Ao and Lewis Smith, both members of the U.S. Marine Corps, meet in the middle of battle. Suddenly, they are attacked by planes of unknown origin, and the soldiers are helplessly scattered.
The near future isn’t a commonplace setting for mecha, with the last notable take being the YouTube original series Obsolete. It’s also not what one would expect Cygames Pictures to produce as their second TV broadcast work, since they last worked on Princess Connect! Re:Dive, an adaptation of the company’s mobile phone game – which essentially makes it an in-house production. Still, that is not to say they are completely unfamiliar with sci-fi, as they are also the ones behind the excellent Blade Runner: Blackout 2022. Between these two, Cygames has proven they can achieve high standards of animation excellence.
Obari, who is directing this new production, is a familiar name for mech enthusiasts. He has been behind the mechanical designs for anime like Gravion and Dancouga, and directed many mech shows, the last being the Gundam Build Metaverse ONA. Typically, he’s associated with “super robot” anime, where larger-than-life machines, fueled by exotic power sources, unleash implausible but visually stunning attacks. It’s quite surprising, therefore, to see his name attached to a show depicting mass-produced weapons that are being piloted by military pilots. Even the show’s title, Bang Brave Bang Bravern, sounds like it should be about a heroic robot.
With a premiere date of January 2024, Bravern will be airing in proximity to the second season of Synduality: Noir, making it an exciting winter for mecha fans. The two shows provide plenty of options; Cygames’ next work has some fantastic-looking machines, and the real-world setting should provide lots of juicy intrigue with governments and militaries jostling up against each other both in and out of the battlefield. Either way, Bang Brave Bang Bravern is another welcome addition to the winter lineup, and a chance to finally see Obari back in the director’s seat of a full-length TV production.
