No. 294 Music also explodes ~Courage explosion Burn Bra Burn~

“Courage Explosion Burn Brave Burn” is a TV anime that aired from January to March 2024. This is an original robot anime written by Cygames, directed by Masami Obari, and produced by Cygames Pictures.
A joint military exercise involving the use of the humanoid mobile weapon Titanostride was held in Hawaii. Self-Defense Forces pilot Isami Ao and US military pilot Lewis Smith meet during an exercise and hit it off. However, the military base in Hawaii is suddenly attacked by the Death Drives, mysterious invaders who came from space, and the military base in Hawaii is in danger of being destroyed. In a desperate situation, the giant robot Braeburn appears and saves Isami and his friends. Braeburn, who has chosen Isami as his partner, promises to fight alongside humanity against the Death Drives.
Contrary to the title, which is reminiscent of the 1990s robot anime “Yusha Series,” the first episode begins on a serious note. However, towards the end of the story, there is a development that makes you think, “This is what’s going to happen!”. As the title suggests, the super robot Braeburn appears.
Braeburn is a sentient robot that can understand and speak human language. This area is similar to the Brave series. However, why and where it came from was shrouded in mystery. The mystery is gradually revealed, but the setting is twisted. It’s a simple and passionate homage to robot anime, but it’s also quite unique.

The music is by Takashi Watanabe, who is active in music for movies, TV dramas, commercials, etc. This is Watanabe’s first time working on a robot anime.
In an interview published in the soundtrack/album commentary, Takashi Watanabe took on the challenge of “creating a worldview of music that mixes the music of Showa heroes, which he loves, and music with a Hollywood movie feel.” says. Although the two sounds are quite different, he chose not to force them to merge, but instead chose to let them mix as is.
In fact, when you listen to the soundtrack, you can hear songs that are reminiscent of Showa era robot anime and songs that are reminiscent of modern hero movies like “The Avengers.” The mix of exhilarating songs and serious action songs doesn’t feel strange, but it is also a characteristic of the work “Courage Explosion Burn Bra Burn”. That is the flavor and charm of the work. It was a good decision not to unify the sound.
One of the musical highlights is the “burning song” that is reminiscent of the super robot anime. It flows through the scenes of Braeburn’s appearances and activities, and adds to the excitement. The bold melody also has a humorous feel to it at times.
The battle songs on the human side are composed in a relatively serious tone. The military depictions are realistic, and the music is full of tension. The aim was probably to create a contrast between the serious portrayal of humanity’s crisis and the exhilaration of Braeburn’s success.
In the heart-throbbing piece, the piano and orchestra co-star in the song, which leaves a lasting impression on my ears. Many so-called “emotional songs” were created and decorated famous scenes. The music of this work uses a combination of live instruments and synth input, but I get the impression that the sound of live instruments is carefully created for the heart songs.
The song attached to the enemy Death Drives is also interesting. In particular, the themes given to machine lifeform executives such as Superbia and Cupiridas are excellent. Since it’s an unknown enemy, the music is also unique. It can be said that this is another highlight of this work.
The soundtrack album for this work was released by Cygames on November 15th with the title “Original TV Anime “Courage Explosion Burn Bra Burn” Original Soundtrack”. The songs included are as follows.

47 songs are included on one CD. One of the highlights is that it includes Isami Ao’s version of the opening theme song, which was only played in the final episode.
According to an interview with director Obari, he ordered over 50 songs for the soundtrack, all of which were used in the play. If so, this album is not a complete collection, but most of the memorable songs are included.
The composition seems to be based on an image album concept that emphasizes the image and musical flow of the work rather than reproducing the story.
The first song, “Brave fight!!”, is the song that plays during the scene where Braeburn appears. I guess it serves as a prelude to the album. It’s a Showa-style song that is reminiscent of historical dramas. Unfortunately, only the second episode was used in the main story.
The second song “Combat start!” is a battle song that is used without distinction between Braeburn and humans. The fast, undulating string phrases evoke the image of a fierce battle. The theme of the Japan recapture operation used in episode 6 is “Operation Uprising” (Track 3), followed by the military march-style “Daedara Squadron” (Track 4), which is a song reminiscent of military activities, and the world view of this work is continued. Make it clear.
It’s interesting that in track 5, the mysterious heroine’s theme “Lulu” appears. It’s a mysterious and exotic song, played by flutes, synths, and human voices. At the beginning of the third episode, the scene where Smith meets Lulu on the beach on a moonlit night was played. The next song, “Innocent,” is also a song written for Lulu.
Track 7 “Lana” and track 8 “Rum Fire” are light everyday songs. Since it is set in Hawaii, it uses tropical sounds reminiscent of the southern islands.
Starting from track 9, there are songs reminiscent of Braeburn. “Return of the Hero” is a song that can also be called the hero’s theme. In episode 4, there was a scene where Braeburn chose Japan as the first place to be recaptured from the invaders. “Courageous Combination! Burn Brave Burn!!” (Track 10), which was used in the combination scene in episode 9, is followed by the action song “Absolute Bravery” (Track 11), which starts with a trumpet solo, and the atmosphere of a hero story becomes more exciting.
“Absolute bravery” is a famous song that was used from the scene where Braeburn appeared in the first episode, and has been used frequently since then to depict courage and determination.
At this point, “Enemy attack” (Track 12), which depicts enemy attack and battle, appears. The scale-rich melody reminiscent of Hollywood movie music expresses the enemy’s overwhelming power. This song was used from the Death Drives attack scene in the first episode.

From here, I will introduce the songs by type.
First of all, it’s a fiery song in the style of a Showa robot anime.
Track 20 “Look at my transformation!” is the song that plays in the second episode, etc., when Braeburn transforms into his flying form Bray Thunder and takes off. The same song is used when returning from Braysander to Brayburn.
Track 36 “Gokuhagane! Spargeiser” is the theme song of the hero show “Kikaku Tokkei Spargeiser” that Lulu is watching in episode 5. The punchy brass sound and Showa pop song-style melody line are very reminiscent of this song.
The theme song “Babaan to Ousan! Baan Brae Burn” and karaoke (not included in this album) were often included as songs to enliven Brae Burn’s success.
Next is a song that depicts a serious battle.
Track 32 “Great Melee” is an intense song that depicts a deadly battle with Death Drives. Track 38, “Anxiety,” which features thrilling string instrument movements, was also used in the tense battle scene.
Track 40 “Titanostride” and “Titan’s Roar” are songs that depict the fighting spirit of humans who stand against the Death Drives. “The Roar of the Titans” was used in the 8th episode when Smith stabs an enemy executive, Kunus, which left an impression on me.
An emotional song that expresses courage, friendship, and determination. It is an important song that supports the drama part of this work.
Track 18, “Island”, composed of piano and orchestra, is a hopeful song that evokes the image of a beautiful southern seascape. It was used in the scene in episode 4 when Isami goes to a bar and is thanked by the soldiers, saying, “Here’s the hero!” and in the scene in episode 8 when the Brave Knights are formed.
The next track 19, “Are there lights…” is a song full of exhilaration that develops from the rhythmic movement of the strings to the powerful performance of an orchestra centered on brass. The scene of the soldiers preparing for Operation Uprising in episode 5 created a feeling of decisive battle.
Track 22 “Hagane no Kizuna” is a song that expresses the bond between Braeburn and Isami. The delicate sound of the piano develops into a relaxed phrase of brass and strings, and the finale concludes with a heroic and dynamic orchestral performance. This song is used in the final episode (episode 12) when Braeburn performs his final special move.
Track 25 “ATF” is a song whose title is the abbreviation for “Allied Task Force,” a multinational force formed by the militaries of various countries. The introduction of the piano and strings develops into a flowing string melody, and the rhythm and electric guitar join in to build excitement. In episode 3 The songs were selected for scenes depicting friendship and the bonds between friends, such as the scene where Commander King introduces Braeburn to the soldiers, and the scene in episode 7 where Braeburn tells Superbia about the joy of fighting alongside Isami.
Track 34, “Mana/Marine, When I Reincarnated, I Was a Super Robot” is, as the title suggests, the song used for Smith’s reincarnation scene in episode 9. The second half of the song uses the same motif as “Hagane no Kizuna”. This song has a nice transition from stillness to movement.
Track 35 “Bloodline of the Brave” is also a song that expresses friendship and bonds with piano and orchestra. The same melody is used in “Return of the Hero,” “Destiny,” and “Bloodline of the Hero,” and we can imagine that this is the motif of the hero in this work.
Track 44, “Absolute’s Bash, and…” was used in the climax of the final episode, the confrontation scene between Braeburn and Verum Vita. Rhythm, orchestral music, and chorus depict how the courage of the friends coalesce into one. It is a “burning song” that expresses passionate feelings in a style different from Showa era robot anime music.
Lastly, Death Drives’ unique music.
Track 16 is a song named “Death Drives”. A mysterious chorus and synth sounds overlap with a heavy orchestral sound. The music is more “weird” than “creepy” or “scary.”
The songs assigned to the executive mechanical lifeforms are Superbia’s theme “Wings of Pride” (Track 15), Vanitas and Pessimism’s theme “The Radiance of Vanity and Pessimism” (Track 26), and Kunus’ Theme “Flash of Debauchery” (Track 39), Cupiridas’ theme “Flame of Greed” (Track 42), Verum Vita’s theme “True Life” (Track 43).
Superbia later fights alongside Braeburn, so “Wings of Pride” is made to be heroic while mixing Japanese sounds. However, the remaining four songs are different in their own way. The combination of modern music sounds, male and female choruses, exotic rhythms, digital sounds, etc., creates “strange music” (a complimentary term) that cannot be classified. This is challenging, avant-garde music that breaks the pattern of “this is the kind of song that is the enemy of robot anime.” As I wrote before, the music in this work is a big highlight.

I think the music for “Courage Explosion Burn Brave Burn” goes beyond being an homage to fiery robot anime, and is an ambitious, modern work. At the other end of the spectrum are hot songs in the style of Showa era robot anime and strange songs by Death Drives. The two pieces of music swing in completely opposite directions. It makes me want to say, “What is this!” like Talorman. It’s not just courage that’s exploding. Music is also exploding.

Original TV anime “Courage Explosion Burn Bra Burn” Original Soundtrack
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