The story of Girls Bravo begins with one Yukinari Sasaki. You see, Yukinari is a rather wussy fellow, but is kind and has a big heart (Sound familiar?). When he was young, he was picked on rather frequently by girls, enough to the point that he develops an actual allergy to girls later in life (Basically, when a girl touches him, he breaks out in a rash). After coming home and seeing the only girl that talks to him, Kirie Kojima, in a towel, about to take a dip in the tub. Kirie gives Yukinari a roundhouse kick to the face, and sends him flying into the tub. Somehow, this transports him to the world of Seiren, where most of the population is women. The first girl he meets is Miharu, and to his surprise finds that she’s the only girl that doesn’t cause his allergy. After getting back to Earth with Miharu in tow, Yukinari attempts to return to his normal life. This fails, as more girls arrive at his doorstep, and his life goes down the booby-covered tanker.
The story is Girls Bravo’s first positive. It’s not a very deep premise (More on this later), but it’s very easy to understand & comprehend. You meet the main male and one of the main females immediately, and shortly afterwards over the course of a couple episodes, you meet the other girls that show up at Yukinari’s house, as well as another male, Kazuharu Fukuyama. The story never tries to delve into deep philosophical areas: the show is just a lighthearted comedic romp, filled to the brim with fanservice. Speaking with fanservice......
That’s the next positive of the show. I can say that this is perhaps one of the dirtiest anime I’ve ever seen. There’s been a bunch of fanservice that I’ve watched over the years (Kekko Kamen, Rosario + Vampire: Seasons 1 & 2, and the Burn Up franchise are just a couple of the fanservice-oriented shows I’ve seen), but Girls Bravo just goes overboard. You have it all: panty shots & butt shots, exposed breasts (Big & small), yuri moments, and a massive host of other situations to see nude and semi-nude girls in. At the same time, however, the fanservice is something of a negative aspect as well, but that for later.
The third positive of Girls Bravo is the cast. This is a really likable group of characters, almost on par with the cast from Tenchi. Yukinari is an absolute wuss, but he’s quite kind, and if the situation demands it, can actually form a spine and buckle down. Kirie is strong & stoic, prone to violence towards Yukinari when he peeps in on her, but can be quite emotional & kind at certain times. Miharu is the essential magical girlfriend: cute, bubbly, innocent, very voluptuous, and takes up a fair amount of the screen time. These three characters have the most screen time in the show, but there are other main characters as well.
There’s Kazuharu Fukuyama, a very wealthy & very perverted male who follows Yukinari and the girls around, and has a similar allergy to Yukinari (Fukuyama is allergic to girls). Lisa is Kazuharu’s younger sister, a master of black magic, and has the serious hots for Yukinari. Koyomi was the second girl to come from Seiren, originally looking to bring Miharu back, but later staying on Earth to look for a husband for Miharu’s older sister, Maharu. Tomoka is a little girl that comes along with Koyomi when looking for Maharu’s future husband. She bratty, whiney, and a master of (flawed) magic. Finally, there’s Ebi, who like the pet/mascot/weapon (Don’t ask) of the show. There’s plenty of secondary characters as well, including Miharu’s sister, but I’ve dealt with the characters enough.
The animation is the show’s fourth positive. Everything has a nice, crisp, and clean look. A lot of bright colors are used all over the place, and the various characters look great (Not to mention cute & sexy......the ladies, that is). If I had only one complaint about the animation, it’s that the faces in the show look a little strange. The various males all have different faces, but girls in this show seem to have somewhat similar faces, with only slight touches to separate them. Even Tomoka, the youngest of the main characters, looks remarkably similar to most of the girls in the show. It’s just weird.
Girls Bravo also has some good voice acting. The voice actors really seem to put in an effort into their roles, and because of that, their voices fit the characters. Kazaharu sounds very snide, arrogant, and perverted, a big difference from Yukinari, who’s speaks with a kind, sensitive, yet slightly cowardly tone. Miharu sounds sweet, innocent, and incredibly naive. Kirie is a mix between aggressive, thoughtful, and a surprising amount of kindness. These are just a pinch of the voices with the show, and the rest of them sound equally well done.
The sixth positive of Girls Bravo is it’s length. Measuring in at 24 episodes, split among two seasons, the show lasts for a fair amount of time. With each episodes running at 22 to 24 minutes, it can take a little bit of time to watch the whole series, but I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing.
The last positives of Girls Bravo is it’s availability & pricing. Although finding the original Geneon release is somewhat hard to find, Funimation re-released the series in 2010, along with a S.A.V.E. edition (Super Amazing Value Edition) in 2012. Both are readily available on Amazon, but it’s going to come down to price. There aren’t enough used copies for sale, but new copies of the 2010 start at 25 to 30 dollars, but the 2012 S.A.V.E. edition starts at 16 to 24 dollars. I will say that if you’re looking to save some change, go for the 2012 edition, but if you have some extra money to spare, then go for the 2010 edition. Either way, it’s not a big punch to the wallet.
Despite being a fun series, Girls Bravo has two big chips on it’s shoulders, and the first is the fan service. It’s in your face all the time (No pun intended), or at the least in your face half the time. If you’re not a fan of fanservice, then you’re not going to like this show. Second, if you don’t like fanservice.....why are you watching the show!?
The next chip on Girls Bravo’s shoulder is how it tries to be serious at times. Although this happens throughout the series, it’s much more apparent towards the end of the second season (Quick note: both seasons of the show are on this collection). At various points throughout the series, the shows throws off it’s comedic aspects, and attempts to be more dramatic/serious. It’s not that the dramatic/serious moments don’t work, because they surprisingly do. It’s that they don’t quite belong in this show, mostly due to the comedic/fanservice content that composes most of the show. On top of that, despite the story of the show sounding epic & serious, it’s really used as a vehicle for the comedy & fanservice.
Girls Bravo gets a 7.5 to 8 out of 10. It’s an easy story, it’s filled to the brim with fanservice, the characters are fun, there’s some nice animation, the voice acting is great, it lasts for a while, and it’s readily available & not too expensive, but the fanservice is a detriment to anyone who doesn’t like the subject, and the seriousness of some moments doesn’t seem to fit properly.
See you all next week, when we’ll reunite with the 501th Fighter Wing. Until then, stay Otaku!
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