Brave Bang Bravern!

Episode 10

Brave Bang Bravern! episode 10 doubles down on the show's longest-running themes while adding new wrinkles to the recently-introduced time travel surprise.

The biggest reveal this week by far is that Lulu is a time traveler as well. I'm not sure I would say that I'm surprised by this revelation, as after last week's reveal, anything is on the table. I still had a lingering expectation that she was somehow connected to the alien invasion in a present-tense sense, so it was eyebrow-raising. I also tend to dislike the trope of an older person in a younger person's body, but I have to admit I'm pretty impressed with the implementation here. The idea that the time travel not only removed Lulu's memories and capabilities but also made her young again is… interesting. I think time travel is a difficult trope to get right though writers can get a lot of mileage out of a unique cost to the practice, and this one fits the bill. Paradoxes and space-time aside, it's clear why this solution is not a silver bullet to all life's problems, and I like that.

There is not a lot of giant robot action this week, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. We get a preview of the bad ending so to speak, a vision of things going awry should Lulu, Bravern, and Isami fail. This is a smart move showing the audience this just before the final battle kicks off and lets us see very clearly the bloody and heartbreaking stakes should they come up short. You know you've done your character-writing correctly when the audience is less concerned that the world is exploding and more concerned with the lead and his boyfriend being tragically separated in death.

The episode is also littered with hilarious comedy beats. Isami wiggling around on the floor half-naked under the sight of his gunpla kits, Lulu pulled off her jacket to reveal an I HEART GIANT ROBOTS shirt and a terrific human-robo training montage to boot. I got a good laugh out of myself when Lulu and Superbia were merging and I thought, “A man and a WOMAN having intercourse? Fascinating and novel concept.” This show is something else.

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Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Brave Bang Bravern! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.