Brave Command Dagwon (勇者指令ダグオン) is a Japanese anime series begun in 1996, created by Takara and Sunrise under the direction of Tomomi Mochizuki (who also wrote episodes for the show under the penname Go Sakamoto) and was the seventh and penultimate entry in the Brave (Yūsha) franchise. Earth is the target of the former Sargasso prisoners who seize control of Sargasso and attack our planet - to counter this, alien officer Brave Alien selects five (and then later seven as the series progresses) teenage boys from Earth to receive the wrist-worn DagCommanders that transform them into the series' title team, the human equivalent to "brave" warriors. Drawing inspiration from anime franchises which feature transforming heroes as well as anime stock footage hero transformation sequences like live-action tokusatsu franchises (e.g. Super Sentai and its Western counterpart Power Rangers), the selected teenage protagonists transform into special DagTector (ダグテクター) battle suits, by activating their DagCommanders' transformation function with the transformation call "Try Dagwon", which grant them pseudo-elemental powers and attacks as well as protection, weapons, tools and amplified physical power. If that is not enough, they have personal basic mecha at their disposal which can turn into humanoid forms as a part of Fusion Combination (融合合体), a process that sees a character (hero, villain, or otherwise) merge with their mecha not in the sense of a physical merger but in a style where the character transforms their body into anti-matter, like they became an illusion or ghost, and becomes an embodiment for their mecha's humanoid transformation, the mecha serving also as a way of assuming a mecha form. If even greater power is needed, the heroes can merge with additional support units (or perhaps each other) to strengthen their Fusion Combination transformations by forming a physical mecha combination. In addition to the title protagonists, other friendly beings soon arrive on Earth to aid their efforts of fighting Sargasso - for example: Gunkid, whose own transformations include a tank, jet or the hand-held Infinity Cannon (無限砲), was initially on Sargasso's side before he decides to support the Dagwon team, and Lian, a robot that transforms into a sword who later becomes Gunkid's teacher. The protagonists also have DagBase (ダグベース), a base which En, one of the Dagwon team's members, uses one ability of: Super Fusion Combination (超融合合体), a form of Fusion Combination which is slightly stronger than the basic kind as a user assimilates DagBase, transforming themselves and DagBase into DagBase Robo (ダグベースロボ).

Composition

This series consists of 48 episodes, first aired on Nagoya TV from February 3, 1996, to January 25 next year. Its success, despite children being put off by its male bishōnen superhero theme and instead finding an audience in women who are fond of male bishōnen main characters (especially male bishōnen protagonists and male bishōnen superheroes), warrants the two-episode O.V.A. The Boy with Crystal Eyes (水晶の瞳の少年), which came out in September 1997. The show is currently not licensed in the US as is the status with all the other entries in the Brave franchise, except the franchises' last incarnation to span an anime presentation:The King of Braves GaoGaiGar.

Team

En Daidouji (大堂寺 炎)

Voiced by Kōichi Tōchika The fire warrior. The stereotypical hot-headed, juvenile-delinquent-like and determined type. Reckless, short-tempered and stubborn to a fault, but also brave, fearless and a loyal friend. En often locks heads with Kai, who just so happens to be his superior in school. He develops a close friendship with Ryu in the beginning of the series. En's basic mecha is Fire Stratos (a Lancia Stratos HF police car). His first auxiliary mecha is Fire Jumbo, based on a Boeing 747 jumbo jet (Fire Jumbo is equipped with two sub-ordinates: Fire Ladder, based on a Morita ladder fire truck and Fire Rescue, based on a Toyota HiMedic (H100) ambulance). His second auxiliary mecha is Fire Shovel, based on an excavator - from Fire Shovel's debut (number 31) onwards, Fire Jumbo, after restoration, becomes used less to the extent of not being used at all, instead used only for combination into Super Fire Dagwon.

Kai Hirose (広瀬 海)

Voiced by Takehito Koyasu The speed warrior. Kai is head of the student council and practitioner of Kendo. He is almost always seen carrying a shinai which he uses to enforce the rules at school. He also tries to remind the team of their job and that it's not only fun and games, but does not always succeed since his strict, no-nonsense personality tends to rub them the wrong way. Kai's mecha is Turbo Liner which is based on a 300 Series Shinkansen.

Shin Sawamura (沢邑 森)

Voiced by Jin Yamanoi The weapons warrior. Shin is a luckless flirt with girls and has an alarming tendency to get shot down whenever he talks to one. In spite of this, he is friendly and good-natured. He is also skilled at martial arts, as seen when he uses Judo to stop a purse-snatching in the first episode. Shin's vehicle is Armor Liner, based on an E1 Series Shinkansen.

Yoku Kazamatsuri (風祭 翼)

Voiced by Hiro Yūki The sky warrior. Shy and a bit geeky, Yoku is the brains of the team. He is very knowledgeable and computer savvy. He also likes to study strange and unusual things. Yoku's vehicle is Wing Liner, based on a 400 Series Shinkansen.

Ryu Hashiba (刃柴 竜)

Voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi The shadow warrior. Calm, mysterious and a puzzle even to his team members. He's the only one to have "subordinates": transforming beast mecha stored in the form of cards. He was the last of the team to achieve his mecha fusion. Ryu develops a close friendship with En in the beginning of the series. Ryu is one of two members of the team who does not gain any new after-Fusion-Combination forms after gaining one. Ryu's basic mecha is Shadow Jet, based on an F/A-18 Hornet.

Geki Kuroiwa (黒岩 激)

Voiced by Hisao Egawa The ground warrior. Geki has a rivalry with En, who injured his arm in a fight at Geki's old school. He is even more short tempered and impatient than En and has a serious crush on Maria. Geki had something of a misguided view on being a hero at first, but eventually became a valuable member. His Fusion Combination transformation combines with Kai's, Shin's and Yoku's own to assemble the super form of an already existing mecha combination. Geki's vehicle is Drill Liner, based on a JNR Class C62 steam locomotive (while Drill Liner is designed as a steam engine, it is unknown if it is based on either a complete steam engine which actually steams or a steam engine that is an electricity-powered visual replica model and which steams only for display reasons - this is due to a steam engine being used as the template of a mecha).

Rai Utsumi (宇津美 雷)

Voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi The thunder warrior. An alien officer who appears later in the series. He is very good-looking, which earns him the unwanted advances of practically every female student at the boys' school. Rai hates the attention and it easily embarrasses and flusters him. Like En, his Fusion Combination transformation is a stand-alone mecha and does not combine with the others. His auxiliary mecha Thunder Shuttle's transformation into the body of Thunder Dagwon is based on NASA space shuttle. Like Ryu, Rai doesn't combine with any other mechs to achieve an upgrade. Rai's basic vehicle is Thunder Bike, based on a sidecar motorcycle.

Allies

Humans

Aliens

Major antagonists

First-appearing in his human disguise, crashing into Luna's ship as she is leaving earth, kidnapping and then brainwashing her into doing his bidding. He tries to have her kill Kai who is able to break the brainwashing. He is killed by Brave Seijin. He is responsible for the Sargasso prison break. His power is machine and organism possession. He manipulates the prisoners throughout the entire series when his asteroid-like body crashes into Sargosso and takes over the prison's computer system. He was thought to be killed when Sargasso was split in half by DagBase. He survives and possesses Fire Jumbo (also transforming into the body of Fire Dagwon), creating a barrier of hatred that consumes the Earth. Finally killed when En forces a combination into Super Fire Dagwon and self-destructs in space.

Minor antagonists

Episodes