Interview] Interview with the Production Manager!　How did the 30th anniversary box set "DX BRAVEST," overflowing with love for the "Brave Series," come about?

The "OP & ED Blu-ray & All Song CD-BOX "DX BRAVEST"" was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the "Yusha" series, which was broadcast in the 1990s and is still loved by fans today. The 148-page booklet is a must-have item that allows viewers to enjoy the charms of the "Yusha Series" from a variety of angles.
We interviewed Hiroyuki Otorugawa of Flying Dog, Harunori Kaneko of Sunrise, and Katsuaki Otake of Sunrise, who were involved in the production of the box set. They spoke about their passion for bringing the "Yusha Series" to the present day!

This 30th anniversary box set contains everything that is currently available!

─ When the "Yusha Series" celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011, Flying Dog released three commemorative items: "More BRAVEST," "HARVEST," and "GREATEST. These were all music CD-centered items, but the purpose of this "DX BRAVEST" is different.

Otomegawa: The biggest difference is that "DX BRAVEST" is a video-based product. I am in the Video Production Department, so I wanted to include everything I could at this point in time, especially from a video production standpoint and from my position as someone who has been involved with the Yusha series for a long time. As a result, not only the visuals but also the music was a huge volume (laughs).

───Can you tell us first about your involvement with the "Yusha Series"?

O-Tomegawa: I have been in the animation production field since I joined JVC (at that time) in 1985. I have been involved in the "Yusha" series since the second film, "Phibird, the Brave of the Sun," and although not all the way through to the last film, "GaoGaiGar, the King of the Braves," I think "DX BRAVEST" is a rare product in that the person in charge 30 years ago is still involved with the 30th anniversary product with the feelings of that time. I think "DX BRAVEST" is a rare product.

───The "Yusha Series" has been broadcast on TV without interruption for one year each, from "Yusha Excizer," which started in February 1990, to the eighth series, "Yusha Ou GaoGaiGar," which started in February 1997. The first three works, "The Brave Exhauser," "The Sun Brave Phibird," and "The Legendary Da-Gaan," were directed by Katsuyoshi Yatabe; the fourth work, "The Brave Express Might Ga-in," "The Brave Police Jedeker," and "The Golden Brave Goldran," by Shinji Takamatsu; the seventh work, "Dag-on," directed by Tomomitsu Mochizuki; and "The Brave GaoGaiGar" was directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani.

Odorukawa: For me, the fact that this series was started by Sunrise producer Takayuki Yoshii (at the time) is also very significant. When I was a student, I saw "Giant God Gorg" (directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, 26 episodes broadcast on TV in 1984), which was created by producer Yoshii, and I was impressed in many ways. I remember how happy I was to be able to be involved in Mr. Yoshii's work after I started working.

─ ─ The booklet of "DX BRAVEST" also started with a greeting from Producer Yoshii. In the 1990s, when realistic robot animation was at its peak, he said that he aimed to create a "royal road" hero robot work for children, and the concept of the "Yusha Series" was clearly explained.

Kaneko Yoshii became the fourth president of Sunrise in 1994, while the "Yuusha Series" was still ongoing. I joined the company in 1997, so that was when he was already president.

─ How were Kaneko-san and Otake-san involved with the "Brave Series"?

Kaneko: Shortly after I joined the company, I participated in "The King of the Braves: GaoGaiGar" as a production assistant. That was also when I met Mr. Otorugawa.

Ohtake I joined the company in '13, so I wasn't directly involved in the production of the "Brave King" series, but I was involved in the remastering work for the "Brave King GaoGaiGar FINAL & GGG Blu-ray BOX" released in December 2016, which is when I started working with Mr. Otorugawa and Kaneko.