10 January 2012

First Impression: Brave 10 - As Bishie As It Gets

Episodes: 12
Producers: TMS Entertainment, Media Factory, NIS America, Studio Saki Mura
Genres: Action, Adventure, Historical, Seinen

I am hoping that there would be a lot of bishie for this show and that is the only reason why I want to check this out. This could possibly be another Sengoku Basara. We still have Date Masamune as one of the characters but it was to be expected. This is a story of Sengoku era after all. Brave 10 is directed by Kiyoko Sayama, the same director for the likes of Vampire Knight and Princess Tutu. Not exactly convincingbut he was also the one responsible for the storyboard of Death Note so there is still hope, my friend.


The story evolved around Isanami who was pursued by some clan who wanted her special power that she wasn't aware of. While running around to save herself, she met with Saizo, a ronin samurai who helped her out but got stuck with her in the end. Together they went to see the Lord Sanada Yukimura who protected them both and hired Saizo to be one of his 10 brave warriors to fight alongside him against the evil guys. Obviously there will be at least 1 new warriors to be introduced for every episode leading up the climax, which would be interesting indeed.

The art is colorful and the animation smooth but it lacks soul in my opinion. Even the fight happened too fast and wouldn't allow us to savor the kill or the actions, which isn't that many to be honest. The characters are designed by Yukiko Ban who has been involved in project like Gintama. Naturally I can't find fault with anyone who is involved in Gintama and indeed there is no flaws that I want to point out. The characters are bishies alright and if in real life, would most probably seemed out of place in the world of ninja and samurai. I didn't specialized in Japanese history so I wouldn't know if the background is appropriate to that era but as far as I notice, there are just trees and more trees. One thing for sure, I don't think Samurai of that era walking around with Saizo's kind of attire so the believable factor isn't something that they focused on for this show.

The OP is performed by Ono Daisuke and Tetsuya Kakihara who are also the seiyuu for both male protagonists respectively. I like Ono but I don't think that fact can make me like the OP as well. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. It made Saizo lost whatever little badassness he got left. The ED on the other hand is an improvement thanks to catchy tune by ADAPTER. The BGM however is sorta lackluster. I want to compliment the seiyuu but at some parts I feel like they are forcing themselves to be their character and as a result, it sounded kinda fake and not as crisp as I would like them to be.

As a whole, this show just pretty much provides me with a feeling of monotone. There are some parts that can used a little bit of improvement but if you are into bishie and a Sengoku era otaku, and wouldn't mind all the flaws that I mentioned above, than this show just might satisfy your palate. As for me, it was okay but I wouldn't feel bad if I missed it. The only good thing about this show is that it made me wants to collect my own 10 brave heroes.

art & animation 7/10
story 6/10
character 7/10
sound 5/10
enjoyment 5/10
overall 6/10

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