Brain Powerd

Lore & Background

Brain Powerd is set in a future where Earth is ravaged by earthquakes and floods, traced to a giant alien spacecraft called Orphan beneath the Pacific Ocean. Scientists Kensaku and Midori Isami work within Orphan to revive it, which would annihilate all life on Earth. Their agents, the Reclaimers, pilot organic mecha called Antibodies to retrieve Orphan's disc plates. The protagonists Hime Utsumiya and Yu Isami use a unique Antibody named Brain Powerd to counter the Orphan plans.

Reader's Guide

The series was produced by Sunrise and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, who aimed to create an 'organic' mecha story after years of metallic robots. Tomino expressed that Brain Powerd was not very entertaining and considered it a failure in that regard. The English-dubbed version premiered on Animax in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and Bandai Entertainment released it in North America as Brain Powered. The series was adapted into a manga by Yukiru Sugisaki, serialized in Shōnen Ace and published in English by Tokyopop. Light novels, music CDs, and model kits were also produced. Brain Powerd has been featured in video games such as Another Century's Episode and Super Robot Wars titles.

Did You Know?

• The opening theme 'In My Dream' was performed by Eri Shingyōji.
• The original opening sequence largely depicted nude women and was redone for the English release.
• The series was licensed by Bandai and distributed on DVD under the title Brain Powered.
• A non-scale model kit of Hime's Brain Powerd mecha was released by Bandai shortly after the show's debut.

Creative Vision & Production

Yoshiyuki Tomino, the architect of the long-running Gundam franchise, took a bold creative leap with Brain Powerd by embracing the organic mecha subgenre instead of the purely metallic robots he had defined for decades. He was clearly energized by the challenge and positioned the project as a deliberate departure from his own legacy. The series drew frequent comparisons to Gainax's Neon Genesis Evangelion given their overlapping thematic territory, yet Tomino approached the material with his own philosophy. He wanted the narrative to be engaging enough that viewers would not suffer a nervous breakdown while watching, and he hoped to demonstrate that audiences had compelling options beyond anime. Ironically, he later admitted he felt the series fell short of being truly entertaining, calling it a failure in that regard. His writing was handled under the collective pseudonym Hajime Yatate alongside a team at Sunrise. The visual and musical teams were equally distinguished: Mamoru Nagano, who had previously designed mecha for Zeta Gundam, handled the organic Antibody designs; Mutsumi Inomata provided character art; and Yoko Kanno composed the score, noting that Tomino was less detail-oriented than other directors she had collaborated with but cared deeply about making each musical piece accessible across age groups.

Plot & World-Building

The narrative unfolds on a future Earth ravaged by catastrophic earthquakes and floods, all traced to a colossal alien vessel called Orphan buried deep beneath the Pacific. Two scientists, Kensaku and Midori Isami, work within Orphan to harness its vast knowledge and eventually bring it to the surface for interstellar travel—a process that would annihilate every living thing on the planet. Their operatives, known as Reclaimers, pilot living organic mechas called Antibodies as part of the army Grand Cher, hunting down Orphan's scattered disc plates across the globe. The story ignites when teenage Hime Utsumiya stumbles upon one such plate, which awakens into a unique Antibody named Brain Powerd, forging an intense bond with her. A year later, she joins a resistance group stationed aboard the battleship Novis Noah, soon joined by Yu Isami, a former Reclaimer who defects after discovering the apocalyptic ambitions of his own parents. Together, the two young protagonists embark on a journey that will determine whether humanity survives or is erased from existence.

Broadcast & Distribution Journey

Brain Powerd first hit Japanese screens as a weekly satellite broadcast on WOWOW, running from April 8 to November 11, 1998, spanning its full 26-episode run. It also found a domestic audience on Animax and the Bandai Channel. The physical media rollout was extensive: Bandai issued a two-part Perfect Box set in mid-1999, followed by seven individual volume DVDs in 2002, a remastered collection in 2007, and a final Emotion the Best compilation in 2011. The English-language path proved more winding. Bandai Entertainment secured North American rights in late 2000, releasing the show under the spelling Brain Powered. Only a handful of episodes saw VHS test marketing, and the original opening sequence featuring largely nude figures was entirely reanimated for broadcast. Three bilingual DVD sets covering all 26 episodes reached North American shelves between May and September 2002, with the unedited opening restored for that release. A complete collection followed in 2006. After Bandai Entertainment closed in 2012, Sentai Filmworks stepped in at Otakon 2013 to rescue the title alongside other former BEI properties.

Music, Themes & Cross-Media Legacy

The series' musical identity was shaped by Yoko Kanno, who composed the score and the ending theme Ai no Fīrudo, with lyrics credited to Rin Iogi, a pseudonym for Tomino himself. Kanno performed the song, while the opening theme In My Dream was written and sung by Eri Shingyōji. Kanno recalled that Tomino was less focused on granular musical detail than other directors but was deeply attentive to ensuring each piece resonated with viewers of every age. Beyond the screen, Brain Powerd expanded into a manga prelude illustrated by Yukiru Sugisaki, serialized monthly in Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace starting with the January 1998 issue and collected into four tankōbon volumes. The manga was later published in English by Tokyopop. Additional light novels, soundtrack CDs, and assorted merchandise further extended the franchise's footprint, cementing it as a multimedia property that reached audiences well beyond its original satellite broadcast window in the late 1990s.