Title: Brave 10 Premium Edition

Director: Kiyoko Sayama

Studio: Studio Sakimakura / TMS Entertainment

U. S. Distributor: NIS America

U. S. Release Date: Oct. 8th, 2013

Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 309 Minutes

Genre: Historical, Action, Adventure, Romance

Age Rating: TV 13

Overall Grade: B+

Synopsis:

Life is tough during the Warring States period of medieval Japan: lords battle lords for control of the country, while samurai and mystical warriors do their bidding from the shadows. Backstabbing and betrayal are common, and legendary ninja Saizo Kirigakure has had enough. He lives only for himself – until a girl with a mysterious dark power falls into his arms.

Saizo quickly finds himself dragged into a struggle between powerful warlord Ieyasu Tokugawa, and the strange but alluring Yukimura Sanada. He becomes one of “Sanada’s Ten Braves,” who use their mystical powers and ninja abilities to protect the people and things they care about the most.

Commentary:

Brave 10 is the newest release from NIS and once again they find a way to bring us a fun and entertaining anime. Brave 10 does plenty to reference the historical myth of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Iga and Koga ninja. This loose connection to history makes the series even more fun. The richness of the blend of fantasy and history keeps you trying to tie the two together. The Japanese love to add mystical powers to their warrior and Brave 10 brings out all the stops by giving each a power that should have no rivals and of course the reluctant hero ends up bring the brightest star of them all.

The animation is well done and plays an important part of holding the story together. Without the visual strength the plot would have ended up being flat and lifeless and all too often these types of stories tend to lean on the strength of the writing and loose a bit of punch in the animation but there are a few others that have given the production value this type of high attention to detail. It is refreshing to have the genre come out of NIS and even more fun to just sit back and watch it.

Extra:

As with all of the premium editions from NIS there is a large format book included with the package. Brave 10’s book provides a synopsis of each episode and then a rather slick presentation of the characters and their abilities and powers. The print quality of the book is top notch and does a great job of rounding out the overall package.

Overall Grade: B+

While I enjoyed Brave 10 very much I did find myself getting lost from time to time and a little frustrated with the overall writing. Other than that I found the other parts to come to gather and help hold up the series for what it was. I am disappointed that as of now there is not a follow up of the series, it did leave us off with the beginning of a great war approaching but it doesn’t look like we will ever get the opportunity to see. For all of you fans of historical anime and in particular the Edo Period, Brave 10 will be something just right for you. If you are just looking for a entraining series that offers plenty of action with a little romance thrown in then you should try to check it out, I think you will be pleased.