Line #44 Anime/BrainPowerd


1	[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Brainpowerd-jp.gif]]
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3	One of the most bizarre anime by Creator/YoshiyukiTomino, ''Brain Powerd'' takes place in a future Earth ravaged by earthquakes and flood, all of which are the result of the activity of a mysterious sentient alien spacecraft called Orphan, buried in the depths of the Pacific Ocean and home to a group of scientists and researchers known to the world as Reclaimers. Orphan's true objective is to eventually rise from the ocean and start a new journey into space... which, however, would cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, since Orphan needs to feed on the organic energy of all living beings to sustain itself in its journey. The Reclaimers do not seem to care much, though, and are willing to go through with Orphan's plans, seeing themselves as Orphan's chosen ones that will become the seeds of a new humanity. To fulfill their plans, Reclaimers make use of [[EmpathicWeapon Empathic Weapons]], living organic mechas known as Antibodies or Gran Chers, and endlessly search for the Plates from which they originate, in order to swell their numbers. However, not all is lost, for the Novice Noah, a group of Antibody pilots using the Brain Powerd, infant forms of Gran Cher, intend to stop the Reclaimers' plans.
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5	The series mostly follows the adventures of Yuu Isami, a renegade Reclaimer seeking freedom from Orphan's oppressive environment and his family's aloofness, and Hime Utsumiya, an orphaned girl who accidentally stumbles upon a Plate under Revival process and finds her own Brain Powerd, which she almost immediately makes friends with. After their first encounter results in a battle, the two teenagers find themselves reunited when Yuu escapes Orphan and a group of Reclaimers gunning for his blood; this is only the start of an adventure rife with surprising reveals, well-developed characters and government conspiracies, which will allow Yuu and Hime to understand more about themselves, the world around them and the complexities of human feelings and mutual relationships.
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7	''Brain Powerd'' focuses quite a bit more on CharacterDevelopment than HumongousMecha action compared to many other anime of this genre.
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9	The series is also notable for being Creator/YoshiyukiTomino & Creator/MamoruNagano's first completed collaboration in over a decade.
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11	The show is basically Tomino's take on ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
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14	!!This series provides examples of:
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16	%% * ActionGirl: Hime. Higgins and Kanan also count.
17	* AloofBigBrother: Played straight and subverted: Quincy is an Aloof Big Sister (to Yuu) when she's the fanatical leader of the Antibody attack squads, but a warm and caring individual when showing her true personality.
18	* AntiVillain: The Reclaimers aren't really bad guys, with the exception of Igor. They're mostly people with a tragic past who were drawn to Orphan in an attempt to find a place where they could belong and ease their suffering. Come to think of it, [[spoiler:Orphan ''itself'']] is very much an AntiVillain.
19	%% * ArabOilSheikh: Mohammed, assumedly.
20	%% * BelligerentSexualTension: Yuu and Hime.
21	%% * BigScrewedUpFamily: The Isami and Glenn families. Not really that big, but most definitely screwed up.
22	* BrokenBird: Sheila. [[spoiler:With three younger sibling who died horribly before her eyes, while she was unable to do anything about it, it is quite understandable why she turned out like this.]]
23	%% * CallingTheOldManOut: Both Yuu and Jonathan do this. [[spoiler:In the former case, his parents just shrug it off and stubbornly continue on their path. In the latter... well, [[FromBadToWorse it did not quite go as planned...]]]]
24	%% * CharacterDevelopment
25	%% * ChessMaster: [[spoiler:Gaybridge]]
26	* CombatTentacles: The Baronzs' shoulders can grow into tentacles with blades on the ends.
27	%%* CoolMask: Baron Maximillian, [[spoiler:complete with a voice synthesizer and a pretty cool armor and cape to make ''her'' impossible to recognize.]]
28	%% * CoolShip: The Novus Noah.
29	%% * DarkActionGirl: Quincy and Sheila.
30	* DeadlyUpgrade: The Baronz, an evolved form of Antibody who results from the revival of a Gran Cher. [[spoiler:Both Jonathan and Quincy obtain it. Moreover, Yuu's Brain gets upgraded about halfway through the series, through a HeroicSacrifice on Nelly's part.]]
31	%% * DysfunctionJunction: Pretty much everyone except Hime and the children have problems with their life. Mostly Freudian.
32	* {{Eagleland}}: The United States at one point attempts to claim Orphan for themselves, going so far as to call it their "51st State." [[spoiler:It doesn't go too well.]]
33	%% * TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: What will happen if Orphan leaves the atmosphere.
34	%% * EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:No matter how much Jonathan says otherwise.]]
35	* EverybodyLives: The death count for this show, apart from backstories, is pretty much nil. Shocking considering that Tomino worked on it.
36	%% * FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Captain Anoha.]]
37	%% * FirstKiss: Hime got hers in a manner she probably didn't expect at all...
38	%% * FreudianExcuse: ''Everyone'' has one in this series.
39	%% * GentleGiant: Nanga.
40	%% * GiantRobotHandsSaveLives: All over the place...
41	%% * HeelFaceTurn: Kanan. [[spoiler:Quincy/Iiko almost does this as well, but...]]
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43	%% * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Lasse almost does one, but miraculously survives. Later on, this is played straight with Nelly]].
44	%% * HumongousMecha
45	%% * IBangedYourMom
46	* ImprobableAge: Kant is a world authority of Organic energy and the Vital Net... and he's only 10 years old!
47	%% * IneffectualLoner: Yuu at the beginning.
48	%% * {{Jerkass}}: Jonathan.
49	%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nakki Guys. Some fans refer to him as "the anti-Jonathan."
50	%% * KickTheDog: We ''did'' say Jonathan is a jerkass, right?
51	%% * KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Igor, then Nelly.]]
52	%% * LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Captain Anoha aka Baron Maximillian.]]
53	%% * MadScientist: Yuu's parents show traces of this.
54	%% * MamaBear: Probably the most [[AxCrazy twisted]] version of this ever, as [[spoiler: the things Captain Anoha is willing to do for Johnathan at the end of the series is truly something to behold.]]
55	%% * MildlyMilitary: The ''Novis Noah'' doesn't exactly have the strictest discipline.
56	%% * NippleAndDimed: Pretty much the entire OP.
57	%% * NotQuiteDead
58	%% * OfficialCouple: Quite a few. [[spoiler:Yuu and Hime, Kanan and Lasse, Higgins and the Kimerias commanding officer, possibly Nanga and Komodo.]]
59	%% * ParentalAbandonment: Pretty much this anime's breath, bread and water!
60	%% * ThePowerOfFriendship
61	%% * ThePowerOfLove
62	%% * TheReveal: So, so many of these...
63	%% * RousseauWasRight
64	%%* ScrewDestiny: "We make our own fate!", says Sheila to Higgins.
65	%% * ShoutOut: Mostly to ''Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine'', one of Tomino's earlier works.
66	%% * SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Definitely on the idealistic side of it.
67	%% * SmugSnake: Jonathan.
68	%% * TheSocialDarwinist: The Reclaimers.
69	%% * SplitPersonality: Quincy Issa. Or is it Iiko Isami? Oh, well...
70	%% * {{Tsundere}}: Definitely Hime. Also, Higgins, who is an aloof-warm type.
71	%% * WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Gaybridge.]]
72	* WigDressAccent: Taken to an extreme with [[spoiler:Baron Maximillian. Remember that Captain that fell off the boat some dozen episodes ago? Yeah. Same person. Between the mask, the extremely ''buff'' figure and voice synthesizer, it really does a good job at throwing the viewers off.]]
73	%%* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Jonathan, Quincy and Baron Maximillian are much more unhinged when piloting a Baronz.
74	%% ** Earlier on, Igor also plays this trope.
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Context Anime / BrainPowerd