The King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final is a Japanese OVAanime series produced by Sunrise and Victor Entertainment. It is the direct sequel to the 1997 animetelevision seriesThe King of Braves GaoGaiGar and the first Brave metaseries officially funded by Bandai, following the acquisition of Sunrise. The series is directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani and written by both Fuyunori Gobu and Yuichiro Takeda. It was released in Japan from January 21, 2000 to March 21, 2003 with a total of 8 episodes. A 12-episode TV re-imagining, with the subtitle Grand Glorious Gathering was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 11, 2005 to June 27, 2005. A crossover sequel light novel, which focuses on the unused concept of the series, was released on Sunrise's Yatate Bunko imprint on September 30, 2016.
Plot
The year is 1999, a year after the invasion of the Zonders and Mamoru's departure to the Tri-Solar System with Galeon, the Gusty Galaxy Guard is tracking down mysterious black machines called Q-Parts which possesses high regenerative properties. The criminal group known as BioNet stole one of the machines that were being researched at CERN. Guy, who is now working with Renais-Kardif Shishioh and the biologist Papillon Noir to take back one of the Q-Parts from BioNet using GGG's newest trump card: the GaoFighGar. However, beyond the GGG's concern over the Q-Parts, a familiar figure reappears and along with it, an upcoming calamity that would destroy the universe. Thus, the King of Braves is again dragged into a new conflict...
Production
Premise
The series is comprised eight episodes and is chronologically set after the events at the end of the original television series, featuring new and returning characters from the television series and other GaoGaiGar media. Notable inclusions are the return of Mamoru and Galeon; the first anime appearance of Renais Kerdif-Shishioh, Guy's cousin from GGG's sister organization Chasseur (as first seen in the novel "The King of Braves GaoGaiGar: Queen of Leo <Leon Reine>". as well as GaoGaiGar's successor mechanoids GaoFighGar and Genesic GaoGaiGar.
Themes
Final has a very different set of themes from the original series, focusing primarily on two central themes. The first is "together with the oath sworn through courage", a phrase which Guy and many of the other heroes reference many times throughout Final. The oath is not an actual oath per se, but rather an embodiment of the will of the heroes to fight to their last breath. It is the concept that, as Papillon Noir says in the finale, they will always overcome the difficulties ahead of us as long as they have courage. The second primary theme is Christian Mythology and the recurring imagery of God versus the Devil, a concept briefly touched on during the last fight of the original series. It forms the core philosophy of the Planetary Master Palparepa, who believes that when two great powers clash, the victor becomes God and the vanquished becomes the Devil. He quite clearly sees himself as God, and at two points he mentally sees Guy as the Devil, the demon who brings ruin. The theme is also evident in Palparepa's ultimate attack, "God and Devil"; a powerful technique that mirrors Guy's "Hell and Heaven" attack. Later in Final, Guy is revealed to be the God of Destruction, the one who brings the hope of a fresh start from zero, the challenge of infinite possibility. The dualist nature of GaoGaiGar suggests that there must then be a God of Protection - all factors indicate that this would be Mikoto Utsugi, herself an invincible life-form formed from the remains of the power of Zonder Metal.
Grand Glorious Gathering
Starting in April 2005, a twelve episode "re-imagining" of the series, GaoGaiGar Final: Grand Glorious Gathering, aired on TV Tokyo. Due to the different running lengths of the OVA versus the space allowed on TV, the episodes were re-edited and spread across those twelve episodes. Footage from the original TV series and new voice recordings were used to fill in the allotted time, as well as new footage which almost exclusively serves to further establish a connection between GaoGaiGar and the anime series "Betterman", which takes place in the same world and setting. Several incidences of nudity found in the OVA were also censored or omitted.
Media
Anime
The original OVA series ran from January 21, 2000 to March 21, 2003. The opening song from Episodes 1-6 is titled "Yuusha Oh Tanjou -Mythology Version-" by Masaaki Endoh while Episode 7 is titled "Yuusha Oh Tanjou -Ultimate Mythology Version-" by Masaaki Endoh with the GGG Sound Choir. The first ending song is titled "Leon Reine", performed by Saeko Suzuki for Episodes 1-6 and by MIQ in episode 7 while the second ending song is titled "Itsuka Hoshi no Umi De -Character Version-" by the anime's official cast. The anime remaster was then broadcast in TV Tokyo from April 11, 2005 to June 27, 2005 before being replaced by Gun Sword on its timeslot. The opening theme is titled "Yuusha Oh Tanjou -Gathering Mythology Version-" by Masaaki Endoh while the ending songs reuse the songs from the OVA except for certain episodes.
No.
Title
Original air date
Light novel
A sequel web light novel, titled King of Destruction: GaoGaiGar VS Betterman was written by Yuichiro Takeda and released by Sunrise under the Yatate Bunko imprint on September 30, 2016. It serves as a crossover to Betterman, following after the events of the OVA, and uses unused concepts from GaoGaiGar Final Project Z. The first novel volume is released by Shinkigensha on June 22, 2017. A web manga adaption was released in September 2018. The manga is written by Yuichiro Takeda and illustrated by Naoyuki Fujisawa.
Video games
The series has been included in various video games, starting with Bandai Namco Entertainment's long running Super Robot Wars franchise, starting from .
