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Dagwon, certainly not my favourite entry in the brave series but nonetheless was decent overall. In terms of a continuation, I thought this OVA would be great; we'd get to see more of the dagwon team and friends (with some possible new ones) along with an expected new threat which they'd defeat in an epic finale. Sadly...this OVA isn't really that; instead it acts as a self contained story set after the events of the series which would be fine if there were more episodes, however within the 2 it had, this OVA fails to expand on any story, characters and setting in any meaningful ... way.


First off I'd just like to point out the upgrade in animation and art. Whilst there is little mecha to be seen (and what does appear is the main team's mecha which is used for an all new gattai/combination) the actual character designs look great. Benefiting off the strength of being an OVA, they are consistently on model and i really like the casts new outfits, as they have gotten older by 1 or 2 years i believe. Our main protagonists definetly look prettier now (along with the new shota character), so much in fact i wouldn't blame anyone for thinking it looks like a Yaoi (of which it isn't really).

Somehow though, the henshin/transformation suits of the dagwon members look worse than the series. One of the few drawbacks of the OVA upgrade is that these suit now feel overly designed and detailed, with some added colours and spikey bits that just don't look as cohesive as they did in the show. Overall the I'd say the art benefited from the switch to OVA (7/10)


The actual characters however....pretty much the same. En (the leader) is still a hot head, righteous shounen protagonist, Shin is still a lover boy, Kai is still an uptight older sibling figure (who suprisingly has a hot, younger gyaru sister now..oh and he's also a teacher), Yoku is still a nerd (who's quite annoying in this ova), Ryu is still cool, Geki is still a jerk and Rai is kinda just there. I'd say maria is a bit cuter now, but there's no sign of her younger brother here. Overall i was glad to see these characters again, but was really disapointed by the fact that we didn't see Gunkid or Lian (who's story could've been continued) or Luna (which I didn't mention in my show review, but she wasn't all that notable to me).

Our new shota boy however (which was just more of a plot device i guess) doesn't really have much explanation to his existance and is the root of most of this OVA's problems, which are in the story.


(SPOILERS AHEAD if you care...)
Flashing back to En's childhood 8 years ago, him and his dog were just playing and he was zapped by some light and that was it; that's it, no proper explanation to what it was other than a half-assed one from Rai saying it was an alien called a 'deandozol' I guess.

8 years later that alien somehow became a clone of the younger En and is being chased by Rai and the space police force and when this lil boi runs into En, En unknowngly takes him in and treats him like a brother, nicknaming him Kenta, thinking he's a lost child. All im asking right now is why couldn't Rai just ask the dagwon team for help and let them know of its existance sooner, instead of keeping it secret and injuring En in the process.

After trying to escape for a while (an En's house disappearing), kenta arrives at the beach with En, with him reaching a Level 4 evolution, he is about to destory earth, as the Dagwon team stare at him dumbfounded at the mistake they made protecting him (although it is mainly Rai's fault). The truth is then revealed and the dagwon crew discover that this alien is a clone of younger En. When the earth is about to be destroyed, the deandozol decides not to destroy the earth, as he grew attached to En and asks him to take his life. In true Evangelion fashion, the newly formed dagwon mecha grasps the orb like form of the deandozol in its hands and crushes it, restoring the earth (but not En's house?, because they didn't even explain it) in a bittersweet victory, as En yells to Kenta!. Overall this story is just bad in my opinion and I thought the characters acted pretty dumb (especially rai) (4/10).


My final question to this OVA, is just why?; why call this a continuation if it doesn't really expand on the story of the original series in any meaningful way, otherwise I'd say its just mediocore as a throwaway episode. Very disapointed, overall a 5/10, this definetly isn't a must watch if you've already seen the dagwon series.

Dagwon, the penultimate and 7th entry in the brave series. By this point in time the brave series had gone with several themes, including trains, treasure hunting and the police force, but what makes dagwon stand out from those previous entries?. Well...basically its SUPER SENTAI/TOKUSATSU inspired theme. From pure concept alone, dagwon may just be my absolute favourite in the whole of the brave series, however in execution dagwon isn't really all that impressive.


Story - 5
When I said 'SUPER SENTAI' inspired I really meant it; dagwon's story feels like its been flat out ripped off of a toku series. With a mysterious alien empire led ... by Ark seijin invading earth, its up to a group of teenagers with attitude (literally) En, Kai, Shin, Yoku, and Ryu recruited by brave seijin to save the world from destruction. If you're familiar with toku or even power rangers this set up should sound very familiar to you. Whilst the is pretty predictable; with new mechas, team members, gained along the way, resulting in more villians revealing themselves from the shadows and some casualties in the main cast, dagwon isn't at all groundbreaking in terms of its story and what i deem the weakest element of the series.


Art - 6
From the designs of the mecha alone, Dagwon probably has some of my favourite designs in the whole brave series (particularly 'Shadow dagwon' and 'Dagfire'). With the legend himself kunio okawara credited as the main mechanical designer, the blocky, bulk look of the robots with some bright popping colours to go along with them, the mecha of dagwon are excellent in my opinion. The henshin suits/devices of the dagwon members aren't of anything to note really, however the actual character designs are another story.

Compared to previous series entries, dagwon seems to have opted for a more realistic and plain design for its main cast of characters compared to a more stylized and cartoony look seen in the likes of Goldran or Might gaine. Aparently with the young females of its time, and that definetly shows in the character designs, with the more 'Bishounen' aesthetic for the main cast, its non my cup of tea, but it certainly isn't bad. The consistency of the designs vary between, but i genuinely felt like it looked pretty flat and dull, atleast untill around ep 37, where there is a sudden upgrade in art and animation which was certainly a treat.


Sound/OST - 6
Getting the sound design out the way first, it wasn't anything bad or that special, with nothing really standing out in that department in my opinion. The actual OST was ok, it doesn't have many stand out tracks (except for the OP and ED), and wasn't too memorable so I'll say it was probably the second weakest element of the series.


Characters - 7
By far the strongest element of the series, Dagwon's characters are very entertaining; the chemistry between the main dagwon members is pretty good, as they really develop into a team who can rely on one another in the most dire of situations (with the expected quarreling along the way). The auxilary mecha in this one did have some personality though, with gunkid and Lian get some good focus and a satisfying conclusion to their story arc. My favourite member overall was probably ryu, as he was pretty cool whenever he showed up along with ninja skills. My least favourite was probably Geki, as he was kind of annoying and definetly had my least favourite mech/design (however I did feel bad for when he didn't end up with maria in the end).

The rest of the reccuring cast is nothing worth mentioning except for the ark seijin villan (who was pretty generic, and there's not much to say as we really didn't get a backstory for him and the villan trio later down the line) and maybeMaria and her little brother sometimes getting saved by the dagwon team, but other then that weren't that significant and maria especially was annoying and just hanged around the leader En alot.


Overall - 7
Dagwon definetly isn't my favourite entry in the brave series, but it has alot to like in it and those strengths really do help to raise its overall score to a 7 (because otherwise it would have been a 6.5 at best). Some strong characters and great mecha design, dagwon is highly recommended to big fans of mecha, tokusatsu or just big fans or just brave series completionists. Otherwise...i dunno....it was aparently popular with bishounen fans i guess...

Brave Express Might Gaine is the first of the 7 brave/yuusha shows i ever saw back in early 2018 and one of my main gateways into the world of Super robot anime. Going into this based on clips i saw way back, i was expecting a very fun and exicting thrillride of an anime, and i can safely say that it mostly delivered on that, while also becoming one of my all time favourite mecha anime.

(WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)


Story: 6
The story follows Senpuuji Maito, a rich young man who is the CEO of his deceased father's company and on mission to rid his home City ... (and the world i guess) from evil, as part of a final request from his father before he and Maito's Mother were killed in a supossed accident. To do this, he'll need the super robot Might Gaine and the rest of the Brave Express team to thwart the ambitions of evil with help from his best friend Hamada kun.

Might Gaine follows the monster (or rather villian) of the week formula, with a new foe every ep from each of the 4 reccuring antagonists, always defeated in the same way. Things do get a little more interseting once the rival character 'Ace no Joe' arrives after 10+ eps, posing a greater challenge to the main protagonist and raising the stakes of each battle. There's also a reccuring plot to do with Ace no Joe trying to discover his Father's Murderer

The main Villian of the show the 'lord of Darkness' to me was pretty disapointing. Only fully revealed around the last few eps, we find out it's actually an evil God, and is responsible for the death of Maito's parents and Ace no Joe's Father. It's motives for such were pretty vague, to do with being part of a Game and outright stating that he created humans just to be apart of it. Whilst i found the Villian quite lackluster, the final encounter with it and it's minions resulted in a very intense and exicting climatic battle, all wrapped up by a very Happy and somewhat questionable ending. Overall the weakest element of the show for me.



Art and Animation/Sound: 7
I really like the art design for the main characters of Maito and Sally, although i think it's a little inconsistent. I presume the main Art/character designer for the show was also responsible for the designs of 'Magical Knight Rayearth, with very sharply drawn faces and very detailed eyes, i'd say this is the prefered look for me. However, some episode will have the characters look like they came out one of the previous yuusha shows like Fighbird or Exaizer, with more rounded faces and less detailed smaller eyes. This wasn't really a big problem for me tho, as it's something i only really noticed later on. The actual animation (outside the Final attacks and combination scenes) is okay at best and nothing to write home about.

I really love the music for Might Gaine, whilst I think the OP is ok, Might Gaine's Gattai/Combination theme sounds awesome, very upbeat and gets me exicted to watch the mecha fight begin. The Great Might Gaine theme was is also pretty epic. The 2 EDs are pretty good too, with ED 2 being my favourite. Most of the background music reminds me of old Noir flims, which i really think sets the mood for the show. Can't really say to much in terms of sound design, so i'll say it's Ok.


Characters: 7
Whilst not the most complex, i enjoyed majority of the characters whenever they were on screen, even the villians. I thought Shogun Mifune was pretty funny, with him being one of the 4 reccuring Bad Guys, his goal was to revive the fedual era of japan, resulting in some pretty wacky moments and funny dialouge. Another Villian 'Catherine Vuitton', i thought more of the opposite of, finding her voice and character very annoying i didn't enjoy alot of episodes with her in it (except maybe the Natto episode)

My favourite Character however, had to be Maito. One of my favourite mecha anime pilots, whilst a pretty basic character with a pretty basic motivation, his views about nature and taking care of the world was a suprising trait. Along with cool design and a Hot blooded, powerful voice from legendary Seiyuu 'Hiyama Nobuyuki', he was a joy to watch. Other characters like his butler and best friend Hamada kun were good and fit into their roles fine, i will say tho that Sally chan is pretty cute and Maito's grandfather had a pretty funny episode about 'Natto'.


Mecha: 8
Might Gaine has in my opinion, some of the best the designs in the Yuusha series, Might Gaine and Might Kaiser were my favourites and the auxiliary ones like Battle Bomber and Guard Diver looking pretty cool aswell. With outstanding designs from Shoji Kawamori and smooth animation from Masami Obari (parricularly in the OP) might gaine's mecha did not disappoint. The combination scenes also looked very crisp, fluid and full of that sweet mechanical detail, truly a treat for the eyes.


Overall: 8
I think Might Gaine was a pretty fun experience, not doing anything new or suprising in the genre but still managing to be engaging with it's great music and lovable goofy characters, it mostly kept me entertained. Fairely underrated in my opinion, this is definetly worth checking out for super robot lovers, anyone curious about 90s mecha and earlier yuusha shows before Gaogaigar. For anyone else....try it hopefuly you'll enjoy

If your reading this and you have finished all 46 episodes of this show, i congratulate you for doing so. If you plan to watch/are currently watching, hopefully my review will convince you to watch/continue watching.

Going into Kotetsu jeeg I didn't have very high expectations, but after finishing it I can safely say that in some ways I was pleasantly suprised. Running in 1975 along with Grendizer, Jeeg is another entry into Go Nagai and toei's (going under the name dynamic productions) yearly lineup of super robot shows and i don't want to sound too presumptuous, but this might stand out as one ... of the best of 70s super robots.

(WARNING,THERE IS SPOILERS FURTHER DOWN)

Story: 5
Kotetsu jeeg's story is about as basic as you can get for this type of show. An ancient evil race awakens from the ground to reclaim the surface of japan and rebuild what was once the Yamati (or jamati in the subs) kingdom. A professer who is the father of the protagonist Hiroshi Shiba, is assasinated by this while researching a defense mechanism to this invasion and his final gift to his son is a pair of gloves. These gloves give him the power of 'Kotetsu Jeeg' and with the the help of the Build Base crew and friends, Hiroshi vows to fight for justice and defeat Himika and her soldiers.

Jeeg follows the 'monster of the week' structure, with the stakes getting higher as the series progresses. There were a few twists along the way, playing out how pretty much how you'd expect. I was disapointed by how the 'Bell' subplot was handled, being the source of Hiroshi's power, they didn't really say what is was or how it works and why Himika really wanted it. Hiroshi's dream to be a top racer also seemed to be forgotten after some episodes and never brought up again, with him pretty much giving it up to save the world and protect his family.



Art and animation/Sound: 6
I think the artstyle is fine, the characters look like basically all the other toei 70s mecha shows, i will say i like the designs for Hiroshi and Uzuki the most. The villians especially queen Himika and her generals look pretty cool aswell. Jeeg's robot design is what I can only describe as a 'Diaper-wearing lemon', with Watermelon like arms and legs. Its pretty goofy but i do quite like it, his different forms feel quite tacked on and probably there just to sell toys, but i did like his drill form and patheroid even tho it looked quite ridiculous. The animation seems pretty standard for the time, with the stock footage for the Gattai/Combination scenes being the only possible stand out (which aren't really all that impressive in terms of animation, but i dig the magnet gimmick). I did feel during must of the fights Jeeg's head looked too big most of the time, however it is from the 70s so i didn't really dwell on it. Not much i can really comment on in terms of sound design, so ill say its Ok.



Characters: 7
I'd say that i did enjoy most of the characters when they were on screen, but a part from Hiroshi Shiba, none of them were all that suprising or interesting. I think that Hiroshi was a really good main character, as he's first displayed as an tough, uncaring sort of cocky guy, but we see how the death of his Father really affects him throughout the series. Beyond the grave his father gives him several words of encouragement, turning him into a serious compassionate hero, who pushes the limit of his body and really becomes the new father of his family, as will defend his mother and little sister in harmsway. He also gets some pretty badass fight scenes.

The villians consisting of Queen himika and her generals, were pretty basic villians and didn't really say or do anything too note-worthy, i will say tho i did like Himika and her Voice, she did seemed very evil and i enjoyed whenever she was on screen, shame she was replaced by Satin in the second half

Don and Pancho were probably my 2nd and 3rd favourite characters, but i'd like to address some wasted potential. Don is first potrayed as Hiroshi racing rival, and during a race he'd often scheme to try and sabotage it in a goofy, comedic relief fashion with his dumb lacky Pancho. For some reason they also build a robot and try and compete with jeeg, even tho they lack reason to, as they don't and no one except for the build base crew and Hiroshi's mother, know that he's kotetsu jeeg. From there that's it, i suppose Don turns into a nicer guy in the end, but all him and pancho do is show up at a random mech fight and get blown up for comedy which gets really repetitive, and one more thing...THEY WEREN'T IN THE FINAL EPISODE, and Hiroshi's racing career and they're rivalry are never mentioned again, WASTED POTENTIAL.



Music: 7
Jeeg's music is very Catchy. I really like the opening, getting me pretty exicted to watch the show and the ending sounds pretty good too. I feel like the OP/ED are extended for a bit too long but its not too bad.



Overall: 7
Desipte my issues with it, i did have a fun time with jeeg, with its goofy design, main protagonist and villian and catchy music being the best of the series in my opinion. Being relatively unknown to most anime fans except for Hardcore mecha junkies, i'd say its probably only worth checking out if you are super into the history of mecha and super robot anime, and i wouldn't blame you for dropping it or skipping some eps (believe me i felt like it). Not expecting too much but I hope the sequel 'Kotetsushin Jeeg' can aleast recon some of my problems.


Extra:
Interestingly, i found that jeeg has somewhat of a cult following in italy, even inspiring a live action superhero film there called 'they call me jeeg', so i guess they must have really liked it back in the day.