I watched GGG a few years back. At episode 25 the show got really cool and probably gave me my first and only chest hair. I never watched FINAL because I'm afraid I might die from the satisfaction.

Xard wrote:you really want to make me watch this, don't you?

The MAL picture reminds me of Aquarion...

Go for it Xard. Betterman is awesome.

It's better than GaoGaiGar, I should know because I've seen them.

The Brave franchise summarized in one image:



Interestingly enough, it seems that to date only two other Brave shows besides Gaogaigar, Fighbird and J-Decker, have been completely subbed.

And aside from GaoGaiGar they are impossible to find.

Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion wrote:And aside from GaoGaiGar they are impossible to find.

Except by using that newfangled "Google" thingamajig.

They don't come up from Google.

Sure they do, my very first search brought up complete subs by Onmitsu for Fighbird, Brave Police, and some HK subs for Brave Express Might Gaine. And a bunch of incomplete unknown subs for stuff like Brave Gold Goldran, Brave Command Dagwon, and probably others if I did searches for them.

Dr. Nick wrote:Except by using that newfangled "Google" thingamajig.

And /m/ likely has a few episodes.

So, I've been subjecting my boyfriend to this delightful show.

Watching this again after not too many years, the charms of the world it's built are still very much apparent. The heroes, mechas, baddies -- all pretty fun and lovable. There are some pretty neat set pieces and lots of wacky design work. The 'story behind the story', while a bit bare bones, is interesting for what it is, and leaves plenty to the imagination (in a good way). GGG, while definitely over-the-top, does it in a pretty whimsical way that, IMO, appeals more to one's inner child than to machismo (contrast with TTGL). Having some very young and non-useless protagonists probably abets this effect.

GGG's episode structure isn't always particularly tight, though. The stock footage gets quite tiresome. Like many other anime, this one could probably have a few episodes' length of 'material' pruned off with no actual content loss. The show also looks old, far older than it should. The DVDs aren't incredibly good, but judging from the stark quality difference between the OP and the rest of an episode, the problem would not be fixed by better encoding. Remastered BDs are badly needed. Cough them up, Sunrise! The show is supposed to look colorful, not like mud!

We've reached the second arc of the show. While I'm glad to be there, because of Soldato-J (マイ・ハズバンド ), my boy misses the more overt silliness of the first arc. Most namely the Zonderians and the extremely inefficient (yet highly effective) form of therapy they inadvertently provided to random people. As a social worker, he wishes he had tools like Zonder Metal and Purification at his disposal. Being the monster of the week for GGG sounds pretty awesome. I wish I could be so lucky as to get parasitized by purple metal that looks like an open Alien egg and then turn into a shaggy monster that fuses with machines and becomes a giant mecha that gets its ass kicked by another giant mecha and its heart violently ripped out.

I've also been getting... ideas... about writing GaoGaiGar fanfic. While I doubt this will go anywhere, since my fanfic attempts never do, I have been scribbling down a lot of ideas, and what I have in mind is twofold: (A) explore J and Renee's relationship in the aftermath of Final, and (B) dig into J's past on the Red Planet. This being me, there is no way I can write about J without giving him Weird Alien Biology. The shipping would be so boring if I didn't. ...Also, J really needs an actual name already. One that's not related to food.

So... any of the relatively recent EGF arrivals like GGG? Anyone meaning to see it, but still need to?

Reichu wrote:Most namely the Zonderians and the extremely inefficient (yet highly effective) form of therapy they inadvertently provided to random people. As a social worker, he wishes he had tools like Zonder Metal and Purification at his disposal.

Don't let him watch Paranoia Agent. He might get ideas.

Having now seen two full-length Brave series (GGG and Fighbird), it's really apparent that the Sunrise kiddy show writing staff was really fond of the whole Minus Energy concept. Remember, kids: if you think too many negative thoughts, it will lead to an alien takeover of Earth. Of course, this fondness is very understandable from a writing point of view because it easily justifies pretty much any goofy villain plot / Zonder design of the week imaginable. As long as it gives people grief, anything goes.

Dr. Nick wrote:Don't let him watch Paranoia Agent. He might get ideas.

No problem there, as I seem to recall he tried watching it in the past and didn't like it.

BTW, if my bf likes the sillier parts of GGG, would he enjoy Fighbird as well? Always looking for more animu to add to our queue.

Of course, this fondness is very understandable from a writing point of view because it easily justifies pretty much any goofy villain plot / Zonder design of the week imaginable. As long as it gives people grief, anything goes.

In GGG, they definitely tried harder to justify the Zonder robos some weeks than others.

Reichu wrote:BTW, if my bf likes the sillier parts of GGG, would he enjoy Fighbird as well?

In all likehood, yes. A lot of its hilarity comes from the wildly varying scale of weekly villain plots. One week Draias might try destroying some tulip fields, the next week he's poisoning the entire Pacific Ocean, and all of these plans are treated as equally serious business.

Dr. Nick, what was your take on the last two episodes of GGG? Specifically...



The boyfriend and I have started Final. Hopefully he'll find its ending more pleasing.