Scum of the Brave 1×01 and 1×02 Review: “Meeting of the Braves” and “A Brave’s Magic”

Scum of the Brave anime season one episode 1 ‘Meeting of the Braves’ and episode 2 ‘A Brave’s Magic’ did a good job of setting the stage for a fictional world where certain humans have undergone surgery to gain superpowers.

Talking about yet another new anime where the male lead finds himself mentoring a bunch of younglings (yeah, I think I’m in some kind of phase right now), Scum of the Brave is set in a version of the near future where you can surgically enhance yourself to access a variety of powers. The surgery is called Ether Enhancement. A bunch of undergound criminals have had such surgery to transform themselves into Demon Lords. To face such a threat, the government has allowed mercenaries known as Braves to operate in the country.

Similar to the Demon Lords, the Braves have approval to use a drug (called E3) that can enhance their durability, powers, etc. However, unlike the Demon Lords (from what I could understand), the effects of the drugs were temporary, with the Braves needing to carry E3 with them and injecting it in their neck before battle.

Our male lead is a guy named Yashiro. He’s got the experience and skills necessary to face Demon Lords. However, he’s not the type to go out of his way to pick a fight with them. As far as Yashiro’s concerned, it’s better to go for easy money instead of risking your life to help make society better.

But things take a fateful turn when Yashiro’s forced into action while protecting a young female Brave named Aki Jogamine. Unlike Yashiro, Jogamine’s all about taking her job as a Brave seriously. She wants to be the best Brave ever and rid society of the Demon Lords and their numerous minions. However, she’s severely lacking in experience. And so are Jogamine’s two young teammates.

It was clear Jogamine was going to follow Yashiro and ask him to be her mentor in the very first episode. And, with how such narratives usually pan out, you can expect Yashiro to find himself slowly appreciating Jogamine’s company. I’m already interested in seeing Yashiro change for the better due to being around Jogamine’s very bubbly personality. Also, given the dangers of such a world, I expect Jogamine to grow and realize the importance of taking certain situations more seriously than she’s used to.

Apparently, there’s an institute that trains young girls to become Braves. The lore stated that it’s because women were more adept at accessing Ether. Episode 2 did show how using his powers encouraged Yashiro to tap into his dark side. So, I would like to know if women didn’t have to struggle with such a challenge, hence, the creation of the institution that only focused on training women as Braves.

Also, what would happen if a guy allowed himself to scummb to his dark side while using Ether? Would he turn back to normal when the E3’s effects wore off?

As for Jogamine’s current mission, she and her two teammates, named Indo and Sara, were supposed to gain field experience as part of their coursework. The three decided to go up against a Demon Lord named Thorn, resulting in Sara getting kidnapped. Again, while the girls, especially Jogamine, thought of the mission as a heroic adventure, I liked how Yashiro took a different perspective. As far as he’s concerned, the academy training Jogamine and the rest of the girls was simply a factory to produce female assassins to do the government’s bidding. To Yashiro, serving as a Brave didn’t mean you were some kind of hero.

With Yashiro being hesitant to aid Jogamine, I liked Indo being impatient and deciding to rescue Sara herself. It’s revealed Indo’s capable of sensing tears in time and space, allowing her to teleport short distances. Another thing I liked about Indo was how differently she fought compared to Jogamine. Unlike the bubbly Brave who didn’t kill, Indo was okay with murdering any foe that blocked her way… You know, as a trained assassin would.

I don’t know why Jogamine operated differently from Indo. I also think Sara will be revealed to be quite the brutal fighter. The three went to the same academy, and yet Jogamine’s not into killing. I would like some more context about her reluctance.

Using Indo’s rampage as a distraction, Yashiro and Jogamine easily broke into Demon Lord Thorn’s HQ in episode 2. That’s also the episode that explained Demon Lord Thorn as well as Yashiro’s abilities. Thorn could see and control invisible vines with his fingers. This allowed Thorn to not only attack but also restrain people. To the invisible eye, the sensation would be similar to paralysis or a sharp pain, depending on how Thorn used his ability.

On the other hand, Yashiro’s able to slow down time, allowing him to move incredibly fast. He can dodge bullets as if they’re nothing. However, the downside was Yashiro’s ability causing him to experience anger and being encouraged to let the dark emotions take him. Again, I would like to know if that’s an E3 effect men are prone to, or if it’s specific to Yashiro.

Being familiar with Thorn’s powers, Yashiro had the idea to detonate a smoke bomb so he could sense Thorn’s invisible vines moving through the air. Yashiro’s idea did work, but there’s a difference between fighting an opponent solo and fighting one while also trying to keep three young girls safe.

There’s also some drama happening in the mafia world. Yashiro (a good liar) played into Thorn’s concern that Yashiro was possibly sent by someone mysterious as an assassin to kill Thorn. Criminal organizations are full of territorial disputes. So, Thorn assuming someone was out to get him wasn’t surprising.

However, I think there might be some unnamed entity targeting all of the Demon Lords for some reason. Thorn’s surgical enhancements forcing him grow a monstrous arm he couldn’t control, did insinuate that every Demon Lord might share a similar experience if they overused their powers or had a limb or two cut off. Who created the surgery in the first place, and why? I would like to know.

Episode 2 concluded with Jogamine dealing the final blow to defeat Thorn. She made sure not to kill him. Also, it’s revealed that Jogamine could read thoughts. I would like to know the scope of her mind-reading powers. Being privy to dark secrets and lies might explain her bubbly personality as a distraction from what she telepathically receives from other people. But yeah, with Yashiro learning about her ability, I’m interested in seeing the student/mentor dynamic they will settle into.

Did you watch Scum of the Brave anime episodes one and two? What did you think of them?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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