|
I'm gonna put down my theory now: Bravern is, in some sense, Smith. He was made from Smith's dreams and ideals somehow, and his personality is Smith's. Maybe manifested him somehow, or got scanned, or he gets himself turned into a robot in the future and comes back. Maybe the girl and her alien technology is involved. See, Bravern is explicitly Smith's perfect dream super robot, and he and Smith are awfully similar. The reason he can't be piloted effectively by Smith is because he'd be piloting himself. It'd be the same as just Bravern. He has to be keyed to someone else - and that person is the one Smith believes in the most. There's no contradiction in the ending theme at all. It's not a love triangle. Smith trusts Isami and Isami trusts Smith, he just doesn't know he is putting himself inside Smith. And Bravern may not even know why he's all about Isami, but it would all make sense if he got it from Smith.
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2024 05:31
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 15:46 |
|
|
The bigger question raised here is when the captain wonders why Bravern is already registered in their IFF database, symbol and all. That makes it seem like more of a conspiracy... but why so specific?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2024 16:57
|
|
|
Weed Wolf posted:It's because in other Super Robot shows they use the same trope without explanation. And in this one, those tropes are presented as invasive and/or surreal rather than normal and unremarkable. That's kind of the whole thing.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2024 04:32
|
|
|
Hellioning posted:I'm not a big fan of the character archetype Lulu apparently is/is riffing on but if everyone treats it as weird as they treat Bravern I suppose that would be acceptable. All of the main three boys got at least one girl with an crush scene this episode and, like a lot of Bang Bravern, it felt like a genre thing that they were pointedly not reacting "correctly." With Smith in particular, that entire sequence is connected with him walking out of the "girls' changing room" and not reacting at all, as well as the moment where the hotel clerk goes from the usual ribbing to "maybe they are siblings..." It doesn't feel like the usual main boy obliviousness, either (Sasaki and Peeps is over that way). All that said, why did he take his shirt off to do CPR?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2024 18:23
|
|
|
"Actually Smith" continues to intensify as only Smith and Bravern use the name "Japan" rather than "Nihon" or "Nippon." Bravern will be the last thing Lulu refuses to stop calling "Smith."
|
|
#
¿
Feb 2, 2024 00:22
|
|
|
Caphi posted:Bravern will be the last thing Lulu refuses to stop calling "Smith." Close enough I think.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2024 16:54
|
|
|
Kwyndig posted:It was just weird that the bad guy wanted to die, but it had to be in a specific way. They're called "Death Drives!" This is just spoiled outright by their profiles on the site, which have been up for a couple weeks now (the thread even linked them!) and spell out what kind of death each of them seeks. Superbia's is a gallant warrior's death, while Cupiridas' is an absurd, chaotic death.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 23, 2024 16:58
|
|
|
Anyway I have new theories. Put simply, we're in a triple time loop. The line about the brain system "picking its own targets" is extremely sus. The way it goes is this: 1) The brain system is originally developed. Lulu Prime is the subpilot. At some point she dies and the system goes Skynet from negative feedback. Being based on rage and depression, it creates the Death Drives, robots that want to die in ways based on the 2) The Death Drives go back in time, possibly because they've killed everyone else and there's no one left to kill them. Someone, possibly Smith and/or someone connected with the alternate Lulu, successfully hijacks a Superbia and manages to pilot it. Because of the brain sync, Superbia (the Death Drive of Pride, known for liking a brave and noble fight) begins melding with Smith, a hero fanboy, and realizes that the Drives can get more power from actual, active human emotions than just the motions of life, possibly mutating into a "Life Drive." 3) Superbia/Smith remodels itself based on Sparkaiser and goes back in time again, seeking out Smith's rival/boyfriend to be its second(?) pilot. We are here. The main hitch in this theory is that Bravern didn't know about Lulus, and the new Superbia seems to know what a Lulu is, if not that they're potential human beings. It's possible that the information was lost when Superbia's mind turned into Bravern's, but that's a bit of a stretch. e: also the final boss will be an evolved version of the brain robot, or have the brain robot hidden in its core. An Edgy Smith will be in it, and Isami will have to G Gundam it. Caphi fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Feb 23, 2024 |
|
#
¿
Feb 23, 2024 18:26
|
|
|
Incredibly gratifying whenever one or two people go "you know, I'm starting to think this might be a time loop" or "you know, I'm starting to think Smith might somehow turn into Bravern" every week.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2024 18:58
|
|
|
Guess I'm finally vindicated once and for all. That'll show everyone who said that time loops were some sort of crazy crack theory and not an extremely pulpy scifi device with a lot of established trope signals to the point of being cliche. The good news is that seeing it coming did not make it any less of a wild goddamn ride. Outstanding questions: I still think the final boss is going to be some sort of alternate Punished Smith - or maybe Isami - who is grieving and suicidal over the death of his husband and/or Lulu, and is the heart of the Deathdrive system to that end. It would be a nice loop-closing on both Bravern and the Deathdrives, it would explain where Lulu Prime comes from, and beating it would be the ultimate end to the cycle. It could also explain what the psychic TS is for - I don't think it was introduced to the show purely to get Smith into the Cyber-Death Dimension. Whether Turned Superbia is a factor in the cycle or a factor in breaking it is also a fun wild card and I'm proud of Lulu for being the one to put him in play. Is, uh... Is someone supposed to go in the Brave Dragon?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2024 17:58
|
|
|
The weirdest little hint that was there all along: only two characters use the name "Japan." Every other American says "Nippon." Once I twigged I started watching for it and I don't think there are any exceptions.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 9, 2024 19:07
|
|
|
Oh no they made it weird. Guess I'm wrong for once - there was a double time loop, but beyond that, I'm full of poo poo about who looped, why, and when. Never been happier to be dumb. Outside of the weird bit, some really good gags - the I <3 ROBOTS shirt and the ga-ga-pi subtitles switching absolutely got me.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2024 17:15
|
|
|
We're only through seven Deathdrives. Let's take inventory! Superbia: Superbia/Pride. Wants a glorious death in battle. Likes meeting people in battle. Hates cowardice. Cupiditas: Avaritia/Greed. Wants an absurd, over-the-top death. Likes ostentatious things. Hates boring things. Cunnus: Luxuria/Lust. Wants a death at the height of the greatest pleasure possible (definitely a "little death" joke). Likes stimulating things, Smith. Hates mood-killers. Vanitas: Vanagloria/Vanity. Wants a death illuminated by bright light. Likes, and this is a quote, "beautiful things, i.e. moi." Hates anything more beautiful than moi. Pessimism: Tristitia/Despair. Wants a death consumed by unprecedented sadness. Likes things that makes him sad. Hates psych-ups. Segnities: Acedia/Sloth. Wants a death achieved by doing nothing. Likes doing nothing. Hates working. Ira: Ira/Wrath. Wants a death after going completely mad with rage. Likes enraging things. Hates things that bring down the vibe. The outstanding one is Gula/Gluttony. What's that about?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2024 00:47
|
|
|
Bless this show that aimed to be two things, gay and robots, and never stopped escalating both right to the end. The karaoke was a beautiful final gift to us all.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2024 16:18
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 15:46 |
|
|
Supremezero posted:In fact I think it's been a while since we had an SRW that didn't have multiple Japans, at least if you count "We had them in our backstory before we ended up here because reasons" What do you mean? The two Japans thing is a meme from Z2, back in 2011. There was a rash of multiple alternate Earths since then but the last two didn't have those either.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2024 23:12
|
|