The Brave of Sun Fighbird


The Brave of Sun Fighbird, also known as The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird on Japanese DVD releases, is a 1991 anime television series created by Takara and Sunrise under the direction of Katsuyoshi Yatabe and the second incarnation in the Brave series.
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Story

In 2010, the evil energy being Drias comes to Earth and allies with evil scientist Dr. Jango, with the Universe Security Force pursuing him. In order to interact with Earth and disguise themselves, its members put their energy-formed spirits into either special android vehicles built by Japan's scientist Hiroshi Amano, which have transformable bodies and were intended to be rescue units, or service vehicles. Their commander, Fighbird, uses a human-shaped android created by Hiroshi and assumes the identity of his assistant Yutaro Katori, transforming into Fighbird when danger strikes. While fighting against Drias and Jango's forces, he lives with Hiroshi and his grandchildren, Kenta and Haruka, while adjusting to life on Earth.

Characters

  • Yutaro Katori / Fighbird
Yutaro Katori is an artificial human whose form Fighbird takes after merging his soul with an android that Hiroshi created to handle his world peace machines, taking his human appearance from a drawing made by his granddaughter Haruka and posing as his assistant. He has artificial blood and skin made of super silicone foam that disappears when he transforms; while disguising himself as Katori, he channels some of his people's natural properties into Fire Jet, his true body disguised as a jet. Despite his lack of familiarity with Earth culture often causing issues, he is kind, protective of Earth and his loved ones, and skilled with technology. He later adopts the alternate identity of Granbird when Fighbird is unusable or not ideal for the situation, with him and Granbird fusing into Great Fighbird through the Strongest Combination.
  • Hiroshi Amano
Hiroshi Amano is the 65-year-old head of the Amano Peace Science Laboratory, which develops machines to achieve world peace. They always fail, but he learns his mistakes and often saves the day, especially after the vehicles he designed and built host the souls of some of Fighbird's Space Police teammates. He has financial problems with the land he lives on and is considered an eccentric by his neighbors and fellow scientists.
  • Kenta Amano
Kenta is Hiroshi's grandson and the first friend that Katori makes, who looks up to him as an older brother. Along with Katori, he is a special member of the Space Police Force, aiding him in battle and keeping him in touch with the Rescue base. He owns Wrister, a wristwatch robot given to him by Katori.
  • Haruka Amano
Haruka Amano is Kenta's cousin and Hiroshi's granddaughter, who lives with him since her parents work abroad. She created the picture that inspired Katori's human appearance and has a precocious crush on him.
  • Champ
Champ is Haruka's pet monkey, who was a gift from her parents.
  • Yoshiko Kunieda
Yoshiko Kunieda doctor who works at a local hospital. She has doubted Katori's identity ever since he tried to donate his artificial blood and she noticed strange things in its sample, but was unable to fully analyze it due to him and Kenta taking it away. Over time, she learns about the Universe Security Team's mission and falls in love with Katori. Her ambulance hosts the soul of Guard Rescue.
  • Inspector Satsuda
Inspector Satsuda is a detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who believes Hiroshi to be connected to a robbery that took place three years ago. While his tactics often backfire, he displays courage and willingness to help people when the situation calls for it. His police car hosts the soul of Guard Star.
  • Momoko Yamazaki
Momoko Yamazaki is a news reporter who develops a crush on Fighbird after he saves her when her attempts to report on his battles put her in danger, but is unaware that he and Katori are the same person.
  • Ippei & Goro
Ippei and Goro are thieves who planned to steal the crimson diamond from the Persian Treasure Exhibition, which fails due to an encounter with Yutaro and an attack by Drias. During the final battle, Drias enslaves them to build the Devil's Tower, but Katori saves them and they join the Amano Peace Science Laboratory's rescue team soon after.

Universe Security Team

Fighbird

  • Great Fighbird:
The Strongest Combination of Fighbird and Granbird.
  • *Fighbird:
The true identity of Katori when he reunites his life-force with his true body, disguised as Fire Jet. Fighbird also has an Armament Combination formed by combining with the body's auxiliary mecha, Flame Breaster.
  • **Fire Jet
One half of Fighbird's disguised form, with his body being disguised as Hiroshi's jet while his life-force inhabits Katori's body.
  • **Flame Breaster
Fighbird's auxiliary mecha, which resembles a fighter jet and wields the Flame Cannon.
  • *Granbird:
An alternate identity that Fighbird takes on by using Fire Shuttle as a body when Fire Jet either has been damaged or is not ideal for the situation. Additionally, Granbird has a Jet Combination with Breaster Jet.
  • **Fire Shuttle
Granbird's disguised form, which is based on the NASA space shuttle.
  • **Breaster Jet
Granbird's auxiliary mecha, which wields the Gran Rocketer.
A team whose disguised forms represent Earth's three public civil service occupations—police for Guard Star, firefighting for Guard Fire, and medical for Guard Rescue—with Guard Wing joining later on.
  • Super Guardion:
The Four-Body Combination of Guard Star, Guard Fire, Guard Rescue and Guard Wing, with Guard Wing's power providing an enhanced form and flight abilities.
  • *Guardion:
The Three-Body Combination of Guard Star, Fire, and Rescue.
  • **Guard Star:
Leader of the Guard Team, who disguises himself as Inspector Satsuda;s police car and forms the head, chest, and back of Guardion.
  • **Guard Fire:
He disguises himself as a fire truck and forms the arms and under-torso of Guardion.
  • **Guard Rescue:
He disguises himself as the ambulance belonging to Dr. Kunieda's workplace and forms the legs of Guardion.
  • *Guard Wing:
The fourth member of the Guard Team, who disguises himself as a twin-gyro plane and forms the feet of Guardion.
A five-member team whose vehicular disguises can assemble a special team transportation formation known as Thunder Jet.
  • Thunder Baron:
The Five-Body Combination of the Baron Team. Furthermore, each member is "numbered" with a number that appears somewhere on their bodies.
  • *Ace Baron:
The leader of the Baron Team, who disguises himself as a tank and forms the torso, head and upper legs of Thunder Baron, with his firing weapons serving as forearm-mounted firearms.
  • *Road Baron
Disguises as a trailer and forms the right arm of Thunder Baron.
  • *Drill Baron
Disguises as a drill tank and forms the left arm of Thunder Baron.
  • *Aqua Baron
Disguises as a submarine and forms the right leg of Thunder Baron.
  • *Sky Baron
Disguises as a small jet and forms the left leg of Thunder Baron.
A special team attack formation formed when Thunder Baron switches into Thunder Jet and links up with Super Guardion and Great Fighbird.

Antagonists

  • Drias
Drias, also known as the "Universe Emperor", is the main antagonist of the series, who allies with Dr. Jango and aims to plunge Earth into darkness. He possesses two forms:
  • *Death Team
Drias' three alternate identities, who form the Three-Beast Combination.
  • **Death Eagle
The head, chest, back and wings, shin guards, and feet.
  • **Death Tiger
The right torso half, arm, and leg, which provides the back-mounted Death Cannons.
The left torso half, arm and leg with the wings becoming a Death Shield that acts efficiently as the sheath for Drias' Death Blade
  • *Drias Jet
A vehicle form for transportation.
In the final battle, Drias assumes the "organic"-themed transformation Organic Drias after bathing himself in the negative energy from deep space using the Devil Tower.
  • Doctor Jango
Doctor Jango is a mad scientist who is Hiroshi's biggest rival and Drias' ally. He operates from an undersea base while having Zol and Shura work for him and secretly planning to overthrow Drias.
  • Zol and Shura
Zol and Shura are Drias' subordinates, who command the Teshita, humanoid robots, and the Mecha Beasts, mechanical monsters built by Jango and powered by Drias' minus energy.

Mecha Beasts

Mecha Beasts serve as the series' monsters of the week.
  • Sand Tremor: Appears in episode 1. Powers include burrowing, launchable centipede legs on cables and a mouth flamethrower. Reappears in the Famicom adaption game without its legs being launchable and under the name Sand Pedron.
  • Frabirah: Appears in episode 2. Powers include swimming, giant lobster claws armed with purple beams, separating its body's manta-ray-like section named Shigurabu armed with red beams from the wings and abdomen missiles.
  • Benmabent: Appears in episode 3. Powers include emitting CFCs absorbed from its tentacles, treads and purple mouth acid.
  • Mantisor: Appears in episode 4. Powers include flight and dual shoulder energy cannons.
  • Sukeagan: Appears in episode 4. Its only known power is a large extendable drill for the right arm.
  • Gurobil: Appears in episode 5. Powers include swimming, strong jaws, coiling, resisting underwater pressure as deep as 7300 meters, mouth torpedoes and a pink energy cannon on each head side.
  • Go Top: Appears in episode 6: Powers include emitting strong winds and red lasers from its top-like body, levitation and three wired grappling hooks.
  • Sutangia: Appears in episode 7: Powers include leg treads, a red laser from the head strong enough to obliterate mountains and yellow lasers from both the right hand pincer claw and torso.
  • Dabias: Appears in episode 8. Powers include a saucer mode armed with three purple lasers from the underside, flight, explosive yellow lasers from the head, bladed claw hands and energy resistance.
  • Barbus: Appears in episode 9. Powers include flight, mouth-spewed pink "GP Liquid" acid, an underside tractor beam, a tail laser and a machine gun in each wing. Dr. Jango calls it the "Mechadragonfly" in the episode shortly after its destruction. Reappears in the Famicom adaption game with only its GP Liquid spewing ability and under the name Dragon.
  • Vice Kid: Appears in episode 10. Powers include burrowing, a red laser cannon from the head, three lesser red laser cannons on the underside and high jumping.
  • Bekusa: Appears in episode 11. Powers include burrowing, toxic spores from the back, using the launchable spikes on its back for emitting electric bolts, giving it long-range teleportation in a blinding light, and firing electric balls, a pair of green laser cannons on the neck's back and a mouth flamethrower.
  • Beinbul: Appears in episode 12. Powers include swimming, emitting red tide algae and white acid from the mouth and pincer claw hands on its four arms. Reappears in the Famicom adaption game with different powers and under the name Shired-Tide
  • Parasite: Appears in episode 13. Powers include disguising itself as a Mayan temple, eighteen yellow energy cannons, and purple glue from the mouth.
  • Dorauta: Appears in episode 14. Powers include a turbine for spawning tornadoes and levitating, burrowing, retractable limbs, a green laser cannon on each shoulder and a head-equipped flamethrower.
  • Destroid: Appears in episode 15. Powers include swimming, a global magnetic field, pincer claws tentacles armed with red lasers, six homing torpedo launchers, and a red energy beam from the underside.
  • Growler: Appears in episode 16. Powers include swimming and a jackhammer for each arm armed with a launchable spear.
  • Skull Bites: Appears in episode 17. Powers include four mouth guns and meat hook arms.
  • Mouru Toad: Appears in episode 18. Powers include burrowing, emitting structure acid from the holes on its body, energy cutters from the pupils, a long sticky tongue armed, yellow mouth lasers, high jumping and finger spikes.
  • Diabolada: Appears in episode 19. Powers include flight and tooth missiles.
  • Insulabor: Appears in episode 21. Powers include flight, green lasers from the mouth, an energy cannon for the upper left arm and a pair of extendable tentacles for the lower arms.
  • Flygan: Appears in episode 21. Powers include lasers beams from its gun-like mouth and capture rings.
  • Terra Grant: Appears in episode 22. Powers include disguising itself as a cargo plane, six grapple arms, a 36-tube bomb launcher on each side of its body, a 28-tube bomb launcher in the front center of its body, a 12-tube bomb launcher along the top of its front, a 7-tube bomb launcher on each upper corner, levitation, and a red large bladed claw.
  • Goljira: Appears in episode 23. Powers include flight, burrowing and mouth suction.
  • Decashita: Appears in episode 23. Powers include division into construction robots with a pair of lanterns and flight.
  • Irushida: Appears in episode 24. Powers include the growth of devil flowers around it, flight, six extendable electric tentacles, an explosive pink laser from each of its six peddles, a saucer mode, and a fan in the center of its body.
  • Inamasu: Appears in episode 25. Powers include burrowing, blue energy balls from its elephant trunk, a pair of elephant tusks for goring and firing red energy balls, and flight.
  • Dazzler: Appears in episode 26. Powers include flight, pectoral tractor beams, red claw beams, and devil stone energy from the forehead.
  • Drotasu: Appears in episode 28. Powers include creating cold weather by redirecting snow, burrowing, reflective ice armor, green eye bolts, an ice cannon on the back, a circular saw in each shoulder, freezing breath, and flight by head and limb retraction to execute a spin attack. Dr. Jango refers to snow re-director as the Super Freezer.
  • Griper: Appears in episode 29. Powers include flight, launchable fists on cables that emit red electricity, and a railgun on each shoulder.
  • Sabeja: Appears in episode 30. Powers include a rhino horn and a 7-tube missile pod on each front hip.
  • Giros: Appears in episode 31. Powers include flight, tank treads, a large drill, and a machine gun in each eye.
  • Mass Jiva: Appears in episode 32. Powers include flight, large claws, electric bolts from the bridge, a pair of 9-tube missile launchers in the bow, and three energy cannons on the bridge.
  • Hercas: Appears in episode 33. Powers include flight, a mouth tractor beam, and a club.
  • Fly Doll: Appears in episode 34. Powers include capture bubbles, a vacuum in the abdomen, a pair of machine guns on the rear end, mouth flames, a bow stored in the back armed with explosive cluster arrows, flight, and waist machine guns.
  • Pipokibu: Appears in episode 35. Powers include flight, four energy cannon legs, a pair of missile pods in the back, and a pink suction beam from the mouth.
  • Stain Bat: Appears in episode 36. Powers include flight, mouth sonic waves, fangs, and a machine gun on each wing.
  • Anomeras: Appears in episode 37. Powers include swimming, electric squid tentacles, and three machine guns on each side of its nautilus shell.
  • Minus Energized Gorilla: Appears in episode 38. Powers include swimming and strength. It is a regular gorilla mutated with Drias' minus energy.
  • Impairer: Appears in episode 39. Powers include an ultrasonic hypnosis eye that causes muscle stiffness, burrowing, treads, claw arms, four green laser guns in each side of the head, a high-strength coating gun on its top, and a pair of double-barreled green laser turrets on each side of the coating gun.
  • Toransanto: Appears in episode 40. Powers include dividing into three robots, three pink energy cannons, and foot wheels.
  • Plainmanto: Appears in episode 41. Powers include flight, projectile-resistant bladed mantis arms, mouth missiles, extendable knee blades, red eye beams, and a pair of blades from the back.
  • Jinmen: Appears in episode 42. Powers include burrowing, a pair of scythe-like claw arms, a pair of electric restraining tentacles in the face, and a pink laser cannon on each shoulder.
  • Garbaji: Appears in episode 43. Powers include green explosive lasers from the fingers, shoulder cannons that fire capsules of poisonous gas composed of chlorine and carbon monoxide, fan blades in the waist, and heat-resistant hands.
  • Epidemia: Appears in episode 44. Powers include a blimp disguise, emitting a biological contagion that resembles black snow, flight, bladed boomerang antlers, a drill arm, a chainsaw arm, and an electric capture gun.
  • Medosoid: Appears in episode 45. Powers include swimming, eight extendable octopus tentacles, and purple energy beams from the underside.
  • Sodom and Gomorrah Combination: A fusion of Sodom and Gomorrah, who appears in episode 48. Powers include flight and strength.

Video games

A vertical rail shooter based on the series was released on the Game Boy on December 20, 1991, with a Famicom version released the next month on January 11, 1992.
Fighbird also appears in the Brave Saga and Harobots games.

Internet meme

In 2011, a scene from the third episode in which Katori sees a butterfly while speaking to Inspector Satsuda and asks "is this a pigeon?" was uploaded to Tumblr, spawning many variations and becoming a popular meme that had a resurgence in 2018.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal airdate