Brave Perspective

1990Animation technique / visual tropeclassic

Also known as: Brave Stance (勇者立ち) · SUNRISE Perspective (サンライズパース) · SUNRISE Stance (サンライズ立ち) · Obari Sword Pose · Weapon Tip Focus

Brave Perspective is a 1990 anime animation technique from Brave Exkaiser where mecha warriors strike wide stances, wielding two-handed weapons drawn in extreme forced perspective to make the blade look enormous.

Brave Perspective (勇者パース, *Yūsha Pāsu*) is an iconic animation drawing technique in which a mecha or warrior character strikes a wide stance while two-handing a weapon, drawn with extreme forced perspective to make the blade look enormous. It first appeared in the 1990 anime *Brave Exkaiser* and spread through two decades of Sunrise robot anime before Japanese fan communities turned it into a parodied and celebrated visual meme starting around 2010.

mecha anime memesanime mangajapanese internet memesanimation memes

Overview

The Brave Perspective shot depicts a character standing in a low, wide stance with arms lowered and center of gravity dropped, gripping a large weapon (usually a sword) with both hands. The camera angle is tilted so the weapon's tip points toward the viewer, making it appear absurdly large compared to the character wielding it1. The technique relies on forced perspective for dramatic effect rather than any practical storytelling purpose, and it's almost always paired with audible sword-whoosh sound effects1.

While the pose works with any weapon, the classic version features a longsword or melee weapon held at a diagonal from left to right5. The exaggerated proportions give the scene a sense of weight and power, making even small characters look imposing. The style became so ingrained in Japanese mecha anime that fans eventually codified it with a specific name, borrowing the naming convention from the famous "Kanada Perspective" coined after influential animator Yoshinori Kanada5.

The technique traces back to *Brave Exkaiser*, the first installment in the Brave Series franchise co-produced by Sunrise and Takara. The show aired on Nagoya TV from February 3, 1990, to January 26, 19913. The specific shot appeared in Great Exkaiser's finishing move, "Thunder Flash," where the robot combines the Kizer Sword and Dragon Archery into the Great Kizer Sword and takes the now-famous wide-angle stance before striking1.

The man behind the shot was Mitsuo Fukuda, who served as chief unit director on *Brave Exkaiser*6. Fukuda was specifically brought onto the project because of his work establishing mecha animation on *Mashin Hero Wataru* and *Madö King Granzört*, where he had directed the first episodes and built the foundational mecha sequences2. On *Brave Exkaiser*, his role was narrow but critical: he handled all opening/ending sequences, combination/transformation sequences, and finishing move storyboards and direction2.

Fukuda later explained on Twitter that he designed the Thunder Flash sequence by referencing other designers' work, pushing for exaggerated, child-friendly spectacle2. "I was thinking first about making it easy for kids to understand and feel cool, so I used pretty over-the-top expressions" (translated from Japanese)2. The drawing style he referenced belonged to Masami Ōbari, whose distinctive animation approach on earlier shows like *Dancougar* and *Bubblegum Crisis* had already shaped Sunrise's robot anime aesthetic7.

Here's the twist: Ōbari himself rarely used this exact pose in his own credited works1. It was Fukuda who crystallized the technique into its recognizable form. But because Fukuda openly credited Ōbari's style as his inspiration, the animation community attributed it to Ōbari, giving rise to the alternate name "Obari Sword Pose"1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Nagoya TV (*Brave Exkaiser* anime)
Key People
Mitsuo Fukuda, Masami Ōbari
Date
1990

The technique traces back to *Brave Exkaiser*, the first installment in the Brave Series franchise co-produced by Sunrise and Takara. The show aired on Nagoya TV from February 3, 1990, to January 26, 1991. The specific shot appeared in Great Exkaiser's finishing move, "Thunder Flash," where the robot combines the Kizer Sword and Dragon Archery into the Great Kizer Sword and takes the now-famous wide-angle stance before striking.

The man behind the shot was Mitsuo Fukuda, who served as chief unit director on *Brave Exkaiser*. Fukuda was specifically brought onto the project because of his work establishing mecha animation on *Mashin Hero Wataru* and *Madö King Granzört*, where he had directed the first episodes and built the foundational mecha sequences. On *Brave Exkaiser*, his role was narrow but critical: he handled all opening/ending sequences, combination/transformation sequences, and finishing move storyboards and direction.

Fukuda later explained on Twitter that he designed the Thunder Flash sequence by referencing other designers' work, pushing for exaggerated, child-friendly spectacle. "I was thinking first about making it easy for kids to understand and feel cool, so I used pretty over-the-top expressions" (translated from Japanese). The drawing style he referenced belonged to Masami Ōbari, whose distinctive animation approach on earlier shows like *Dancougar* and *Bubblegum Crisis* had already shaped Sunrise's robot anime aesthetic.

Here's the twist: Ōbari himself rarely used this exact pose in his own credited works. It was Fukuda who crystallized the technique into its recognizable form. But because Fukuda openly credited Ōbari's style as his inspiration, the animation community attributed it to Ōbari, giving rise to the alternate name "Obari Sword Pose".

How It Spread

After *Brave Exkaiser*, the pose became a standard element in subsequent Brave Series titles. Shows like *Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger* and *Nekketsu Saikyo Gosauger* from the Eldoran Series (also produced by Sunrise) adopted it for their own finishing moves. The *Gravion* series, an Ōbari-directed show, featured God Gravion taking the stance when using the White Steel Fang attack. Because Sunrise kept reusing the technique across its 1990s mecha output, Japanese anime fans began identifying it as a house style and calling it "Brave Perspective," mirroring how "Kanada Perspective" had been named after Yoshinori Kanada.

The style got a major visibility boost in the 2000s when Fukuda directed *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED* (2002) and *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny* (2004). Both series drew heavily on the technique for dramatic mecha scenes. In *Gundam SEED Destiny*'s first episode, Shinn Asuka's Sword Impulse Gundam makes its entrance by drawing twin swords, combining them, and striking the Brave Perspective pose, a shot that also appeared in the show's first opening sequence. These high-profile Gundam titles introduced the drawing style to a much wider audience beyond the Brave Series fandom, and fans started also calling it "SUNRISE Perspective" or "SUNRISE Stance".

The jump from anime fandom knowledge to internet meme happened in late 2009 and 2010, when compilation images collecting shots drawn in this style began circulating on Japanese Twitter. These side-by-side comparisons made the pattern obvious even to casual viewers and sparked widespread discussion. Soon after, Japanese illustrators on pixiv and Nico Nico Seiga began posting fan art and parodies using the Brave Perspective, applying the exaggerated weapon pose to characters from completely unrelated franchises and everyday objects.

The trope kept appearing in modern anime productions. *SSSS.GRIDMAN* (2018) featured a memorable instance where Gridman equips the massive Gridman Calibur sword and takes the pose, with Studio TRIGGER's trademark exaggeration making the character look tiny next to the blade. The official Figma figure of Gridman even shipped with a "forced perspective blade" accessory specifically designed so collectors could recreate the pose. *Jujutsu Kaisen* applied the technique to Choso's Piercing Blood attack, an unusual case where the "weapon" was a magical technique rather than a physical sword. Even *Dragon Ball DAIMA* (2024) got in on it, with Tagami Number Three posing with a hammer in Brave Perspective style.

Ōbari's own 2024 series *Bang Brave Bang Bravern!* naturally included a Brave Perspective shot as Bravern prepares a finishing move, treating the pose as a knowing self-reference.

How to Use This Meme

The Brave Perspective shows up in two contexts: serious anime production and internet parody.

In anime/illustration: Typically, the character takes a low, wide stance with bent knees and lowered center of gravity. They grip a large weapon (sword, axe, hammer, or even a non-weapon object) with both hands, holding it at an angle. The "camera" is positioned low and to the side, looking up along the weapon's length so the tip dominates the foreground. This forced perspective makes the weapon look several times larger than it actually is.

In meme/parody form: Artists on pixiv and social media apply the pose to characters who don't normally wield weapons, or swap the sword for absurd objects (brooms, chopsticks, pens). The humor comes from applying the dramatic, heroic framing to mundane situations. Compilation images arranging multiple examples side by side are a common format on Twitter, letting viewers spot the recurring visual pattern across different shows.

Cultural Impact

The Brave Perspective's influence extends well beyond its original Brave Series context. The technique became so associated with Sunrise's animation identity that it functioned as a visual signature for the studio's mecha output across three decades. When Fukuda directed the *Gundam SEED* franchise, he carried the technique into one of anime's best-selling properties, with *SEED* winning the Anime Grand Prix and selling over a million DVD volumes.

The naming convention itself reflects a broader Japanese fan culture practice of codifying animation techniques after their perceived originators. Just as Yoshinori Kanada's dynamic, distorted key animation spawned the term "Kanada Perspective", the Brave Perspective label gave fans a shared vocabulary for discussing visual style in animation, blurring the line between technical craft and fandom lore.

Merchandise has directly referenced the meme. The Figma action figure line produced a Gridman figure with an interchangeable "forced perspective blade" part, designed to let buyers physically recreate the Brave Perspective pose on their shelf. This kind of product design, where the manufacturer builds a meme into the toy itself, shows how deeply the visual gag penetrated fan consciousness.

Fun Facts

Fukuda's combination and transformation storyboards for *Brave Exkaiser* alone added up to an entire episode's worth of footage, and some animated sequences were completed but never used.

Ōbari, who gets credit for the style, married professional model maker Ritsu Togasaki in 2016. His younger brother Takami served as president and CEO of New Japan Pro-Wrestling from 2020 to 2023.

The naming pattern "X Perspective" (X パース) in Japanese fan communities started with "Kanada Perspective" after animator Yoshinori Kanada, whose work on *Galaxy Express 999* and *Harmagedon* inspired an entire generation of animators.

Fukuda's *Brave Exkaiser* finishing move animation was so lavish that the show's producer complained about the quality gap between the stock footage sequences and the regular episodes.

The technique doesn't require a bladed weapon. *Jujutsu Kaisen* used it for a blood-based magical attack, and *Dragon Ball DAIMA* applied it to a hammer.

Derivatives & Variations

Compilation images on Twitter

Side-by-side collections of Brave Perspective shots from different anime, which drove the meme's spread starting in 2009-2010[5].

Pixiv fan art

Thousands of illustrations applying the pose to characters from non-mecha franchises, tagged under 勇者パース and サンライズパース since around 2010[4].

Nico Nico Seiga parodies

User-created illustrations on the Nico Nico illustration platform riffing on the technique with humorous subjects[5].

Gunpla box art

Official High Grade model kit packaging for the Barbatos Gundam (4th and 6th forms) from *Iron-Blooded Orphans* depicted the mecha in a classic Brave Perspective pose[1].

Figma forced perspective blade

A dedicated accessory part included with the SSSS.GRIDMAN figure that recreates the exaggerated blade angle[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

Brave Perspective

1990Animation technique / visual tropeclassic

Also known as: Brave Stance (勇者立ち) · SUNRISE Perspective (サンライズパース) · SUNRISE Stance (サンライズ立ち) · Obari Sword Pose · Weapon Tip Focus

Brave Perspective is a 1990 anime animation technique from Brave Exkaiser where mecha warriors strike wide stances, wielding two-handed weapons drawn in extreme forced perspective to make the blade look enormous.

Brave Perspective (勇者パース, *Yūsha Pāsu*) is an iconic animation drawing technique in which a mecha or warrior character strikes a wide stance while two-handing a weapon, drawn with extreme forced perspective to make the blade look enormous. It first appeared in the 1990 anime *Brave Exkaiser* and spread through two decades of Sunrise robot anime before Japanese fan communities turned it into a parodied and celebrated visual meme starting around 2010.

mecha anime memes anime manga japanese internet memes animation memes

Overview

The Brave Perspective shot depicts a character standing in a low, wide stance with arms lowered and center of gravity dropped, gripping a large weapon (usually a sword) with both hands. The camera angle is tilted so the weapon's tip points toward the viewer, making it appear absurdly large compared to the character wielding it. The technique relies on forced perspective for dramatic effect rather than any practical storytelling purpose, and it's almost always paired with audible sword-whoosh sound effects.

While the pose works with any weapon, the classic version features a longsword or melee weapon held at a diagonal from left to right. The exaggerated proportions give the scene a sense of weight and power, making even small characters look imposing. The style became so ingrained in Japanese mecha anime that fans eventually codified it with a specific name, borrowing the naming convention from the famous "Kanada Perspective" coined after influential animator Yoshinori Kanada.

The technique traces back to *Brave Exkaiser*, the first installment in the Brave Series franchise co-produced by Sunrise and Takara. The show aired on Nagoya TV from February 3, 1990, to January 26, 1991. The specific shot appeared in Great Exkaiser's finishing move, "Thunder Flash," where the robot combines the Kizer Sword and Dragon Archery into the Great Kizer Sword and takes the now-famous wide-angle stance before striking.

The man behind the shot was Mitsuo Fukuda, who served as chief unit director on *Brave Exkaiser*. Fukuda was specifically brought onto the project because of his work establishing mecha animation on *Mashin Hero Wataru* and *Madö King Granzört*, where he had directed the first episodes and built the foundational mecha sequences. On *Brave Exkaiser*, his role was narrow but critical: he handled all opening/ending sequences, combination/transformation sequences, and finishing move storyboards and direction.

Fukuda later explained on Twitter that he designed the Thunder Flash sequence by referencing other designers' work, pushing for exaggerated, child-friendly spectacle. "I was thinking first about making it easy for kids to understand and feel cool, so I used pretty over-the-top expressions" (translated from Japanese). The drawing style he referenced belonged to Masami Ōbari, whose distinctive animation approach on earlier shows like *Dancougar* and *Bubblegum Crisis* had already shaped Sunrise's robot anime aesthetic.

Here's the twist: Ōbari himself rarely used this exact pose in his own credited works. It was Fukuda who crystallized the technique into its recognizable form. But because Fukuda openly credited Ōbari's style as his inspiration, the animation community attributed it to Ōbari, giving rise to the alternate name "Obari Sword Pose".

Origin & Background

Platform
Nagoya TV (*Brave Exkaiser* anime)
Key People
Mitsuo Fukuda, Masami Ōbari
Date
1990

The technique traces back to *Brave Exkaiser*, the first installment in the Brave Series franchise co-produced by Sunrise and Takara. The show aired on Nagoya TV from February 3, 1990, to January 26, 1991. The specific shot appeared in Great Exkaiser's finishing move, "Thunder Flash," where the robot combines the Kizer Sword and Dragon Archery into the Great Kizer Sword and takes the now-famous wide-angle stance before striking.

The man behind the shot was Mitsuo Fukuda, who served as chief unit director on *Brave Exkaiser*. Fukuda was specifically brought onto the project because of his work establishing mecha animation on *Mashin Hero Wataru* and *Madö King Granzört*, where he had directed the first episodes and built the foundational mecha sequences. On *Brave Exkaiser*, his role was narrow but critical: he handled all opening/ending sequences, combination/transformation sequences, and finishing move storyboards and direction.

Fukuda later explained on Twitter that he designed the Thunder Flash sequence by referencing other designers' work, pushing for exaggerated, child-friendly spectacle. "I was thinking first about making it easy for kids to understand and feel cool, so I used pretty over-the-top expressions" (translated from Japanese). The drawing style he referenced belonged to Masami Ōbari, whose distinctive animation approach on earlier shows like *Dancougar* and *Bubblegum Crisis* had already shaped Sunrise's robot anime aesthetic.

Here's the twist: Ōbari himself rarely used this exact pose in his own credited works. It was Fukuda who crystallized the technique into its recognizable form. But because Fukuda openly credited Ōbari's style as his inspiration, the animation community attributed it to Ōbari, giving rise to the alternate name "Obari Sword Pose".

How It Spread

After *Brave Exkaiser*, the pose became a standard element in subsequent Brave Series titles. Shows like *Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger* and *Nekketsu Saikyo Gosauger* from the Eldoran Series (also produced by Sunrise) adopted it for their own finishing moves. The *Gravion* series, an Ōbari-directed show, featured God Gravion taking the stance when using the White Steel Fang attack. Because Sunrise kept reusing the technique across its 1990s mecha output, Japanese anime fans began identifying it as a house style and calling it "Brave Perspective," mirroring how "Kanada Perspective" had been named after Yoshinori Kanada.

The style got a major visibility boost in the 2000s when Fukuda directed *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED* (2002) and *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny* (2004). Both series drew heavily on the technique for dramatic mecha scenes. In *Gundam SEED Destiny*'s first episode, Shinn Asuka's Sword Impulse Gundam makes its entrance by drawing twin swords, combining them, and striking the Brave Perspective pose, a shot that also appeared in the show's first opening sequence. These high-profile Gundam titles introduced the drawing style to a much wider audience beyond the Brave Series fandom, and fans started also calling it "SUNRISE Perspective" or "SUNRISE Stance".

The jump from anime fandom knowledge to internet meme happened in late 2009 and 2010, when compilation images collecting shots drawn in this style began circulating on Japanese Twitter. These side-by-side comparisons made the pattern obvious even to casual viewers and sparked widespread discussion. Soon after, Japanese illustrators on pixiv and Nico Nico Seiga began posting fan art and parodies using the Brave Perspective, applying the exaggerated weapon pose to characters from completely unrelated franchises and everyday objects.

The trope kept appearing in modern anime productions. *SSSS.GRIDMAN* (2018) featured a memorable instance where Gridman equips the massive Gridman Calibur sword and takes the pose, with Studio TRIGGER's trademark exaggeration making the character look tiny next to the blade. The official Figma figure of Gridman even shipped with a "forced perspective blade" accessory specifically designed so collectors could recreate the pose. *Jujutsu Kaisen* applied the technique to Choso's Piercing Blood attack, an unusual case where the "weapon" was a magical technique rather than a physical sword. Even *Dragon Ball DAIMA* (2024) got in on it, with Tagami Number Three posing with a hammer in Brave Perspective style.

Ōbari's own 2024 series *Bang Brave Bang Bravern!* naturally included a Brave Perspective shot as Bravern prepares a finishing move, treating the pose as a knowing self-reference.

How to Use This Meme

The Brave Perspective shows up in two contexts: serious anime production and internet parody.

In anime/illustration: Typically, the character takes a low, wide stance with bent knees and lowered center of gravity. They grip a large weapon (sword, axe, hammer, or even a non-weapon object) with both hands, holding it at an angle. The "camera" is positioned low and to the side, looking up along the weapon's length so the tip dominates the foreground. This forced perspective makes the weapon look several times larger than it actually is.

In meme/parody form: Artists on pixiv and social media apply the pose to characters who don't normally wield weapons, or swap the sword for absurd objects (brooms, chopsticks, pens). The humor comes from applying the dramatic, heroic framing to mundane situations. Compilation images arranging multiple examples side by side are a common format on Twitter, letting viewers spot the recurring visual pattern across different shows.

Cultural Impact

The Brave Perspective's influence extends well beyond its original Brave Series context. The technique became so associated with Sunrise's animation identity that it functioned as a visual signature for the studio's mecha output across three decades. When Fukuda directed the *Gundam SEED* franchise, he carried the technique into one of anime's best-selling properties, with *SEED* winning the Anime Grand Prix and selling over a million DVD volumes.

The naming convention itself reflects a broader Japanese fan culture practice of codifying animation techniques after their perceived originators. Just as Yoshinori Kanada's dynamic, distorted key animation spawned the term "Kanada Perspective", the Brave Perspective label gave fans a shared vocabulary for discussing visual style in animation, blurring the line between technical craft and fandom lore.

Merchandise has directly referenced the meme. The Figma action figure line produced a Gridman figure with an interchangeable "forced perspective blade" part, designed to let buyers physically recreate the Brave Perspective pose on their shelf. This kind of product design, where the manufacturer builds a meme into the toy itself, shows how deeply the visual gag penetrated fan consciousness.

Fun Facts

Fukuda's combination and transformation storyboards for *Brave Exkaiser* alone added up to an entire episode's worth of footage, and some animated sequences were completed but never used.

Ōbari, who gets credit for the style, married professional model maker Ritsu Togasaki in 2016. His younger brother Takami served as president and CEO of New Japan Pro-Wrestling from 2020 to 2023.

The naming pattern "X Perspective" (X パース) in Japanese fan communities started with "Kanada Perspective" after animator Yoshinori Kanada, whose work on *Galaxy Express 999* and *Harmagedon* inspired an entire generation of animators.

Fukuda's *Brave Exkaiser* finishing move animation was so lavish that the show's producer complained about the quality gap between the stock footage sequences and the regular episodes.

The technique doesn't require a bladed weapon. *Jujutsu Kaisen* used it for a blood-based magical attack, and *Dragon Ball DAIMA* applied it to a hammer.

Derivatives & Variations

Compilation images on Twitter

Side-by-side collections of Brave Perspective shots from different anime, which drove the meme's spread starting in 2009-2010[5].

Pixiv fan art

Thousands of illustrations applying the pose to characters from non-mecha franchises, tagged under 勇者パース and サンライズパース since around 2010[4].

Nico Nico Seiga parodies

User-created illustrations on the Nico Nico illustration platform riffing on the technique with humorous subjects[5].

Gunpla box art

Official High Grade model kit packaging for the Barbatos Gundam (4th and 6th forms) from *Iron-Blooded Orphans* depicted the mecha in a classic Brave Perspective pose[1].

Figma forced perspective blade

A dedicated accessory part included with the SSSS.GRIDMAN figure that recreates the exaggerated blade angle[1].

Frequently Asked Questions