Reviews for Bokurano

“I have no choice but to pretend I am a warrior who knows no fear.” Truer OP lyrics have rarely been attributed so well to an anime series. Fifteen children are tricked into participating in a battle for Earth itself. However, don’t be fooled by video clips of huge mecha fighting each other – this is not a classic mecha series with epic space battles and the like. Instead, each child who comes to pilot the mecha known as Zearth faces not only the struggle to save the world but also a struggle of their own. What do they fight for? Some fight for their loved ones.Others fight for themselves. A few see it as their duty. Some don’t know why and struggle to find a reason to look death in the face for the sake of complete strangers.

Each story arc deals with the next pilot set to fight on Earth’s behalf. Each child has a story to tell, a conflict of some sort to work out before they fight. One wants to prove himself to his workaholic father. Another deals with bullying because of her mother’s reputation. Another grapples with his disappeared dad while supporting his three younger siblings. And so on and so forth. At first, getting to know all the kids all at once is overwhelming, but as each one is explored and developed, they become unique and well fleshed out. Each arc then becomes a “coming of age” story for each of the kids, culminating in their final battles as they reflect on their lives and the world they fight for. In the meantime, the group of children draw unwanted attention to themselves from the government and military and they must deal with the implications of their actions.

As you can imagine, it’s heavy on drama and it gets amped up even further as the story progresses and the children learn more about this twisted “game” (but to discuss them here would be very spoilery). Bring tissues.

For the more technical merits of Bokurano, it fares pretty well. Animation and art aren’t overly detailed and there aren’t any bright, glaring colours. Realism is what the animators seemed to be aiming for. Still, it slips up here and there, and sometimes obviously so. I also caught some re-used animation a few times, too. The mecha are done in CG and while it’s noticeable, it doesn’t stick out too much in a bad way, and Zearth and some of the other mecha designs are well rendered.

The OP and the two EDs are all sung by Chiaki Ishikawa. The OP, “Uninstall”, carries a rather haunting melody and is well-suited to the anime. The EDs are, unfortunately, more forgettable. Still, it’s notable that the lyrics of each song fit the anime to a T, so the translated lyrics are well worth paying attention to. The background music is, for the most part, unremarkable – not noteworthy but not bad, either. I have no complaints about the seiyuu as they all did a great job.

Overall, Bokurano was a surprisingly strong series that gives viewers plenty to think about. No magic tricks here, no fairy tale endings. Nevertheless, despite all the hardships the characters face, I can’t help but feel a bit hopeful, like I should appreciate life a little more and all the good things in this world. After all, we never know when it’ll all be over.

I posted this review on a forum as a recommendation to someone who was looking for a depressing and slice of life anime, and I was told by two people that my review was able to get them to watch the series and I believe they enjoyed it, so I decided to share my review here in hopes of intriguing more people into watching it. Thoughts: This anime cannot be completely enjoyed unless you have the patience to watch it all the way through. Even if you do not have much patience, I still think the first episode ends in a way that compels thewatchers to continue watching because it really does leave you at a cliffhanger. I would go more into detail, but I really rather not spoil it for anyone. Even though Slice of Life is not one of the genres for this anime, I still think it has its moments where this genre is applied. The children have to go through a lot, and there are many times throughout the anime where you feel sorry for them, since they lose, let's say, something very close to them after each battle. Again, I do not think the first episode will be as exciting if I go into more detail, so that is as far as I will go.

Story: While watching the scenes from the opening song, you figure that the anime will be a typical mecha with the typical battles, and since you are told that there are 15 children and 15 alien battles, it is hard to be persuaded the battles are going to be very unique. That is partly correct. The battles do seem overused a lot, but the actual plot for the anime is rather unique. As you continue watching, you learn that there is more to the actual battles with the "aliens" each time. There is a deeper meaning in the anime, but it is the watcher's duty to figure it out, which is a good and bad thing. If you are just watching an anime for enjoyment, then I really do not suggest this. However, if you wish to analyze the anime and find the deeper meaning, then this will probably interest you.

Animation: The art is rather simple, and I did not have any problems with it, but I think it could have been better. Sometimes simple art works well for certain kinds of anime, but I think it was not completely fitting for this one. There have been plenty other anime out there that have successfully been able to pull off the simple style of animation before, but unfortunately this one could not. The 3D for the mecha battles were actually pretty good, any way.

Sound: The opening song, Uninstall by Chiaki Ishikawa, was impressive, I thought. She has a pretty powerful voice, and it really worked for the opening. I think the music could even make up for some of the disappointing animation, but that is just my opinion. The ending songs work too, but Uninstall was mainly the only song that captured my attention.

Character: I really could not favor one character over another in this anime (partly because almost all of them "disappears" by the end), but I liked how one of the characters in the beginning acted like a total jerk, and eventually lightened up in the end. There is actually a side story that explains why his attitude is like that, but I cannot be bothered to explain everything in that area. You will learn that some of the characters live depressing lives, pretty much like any other anime, but I do not think there is any one perfect character in this show, which makes it more enjoyable.

Enjoyment: I just really liked how this anime played out overall. I think I said this before, but it is a rather unique story. I do not recall there being much comedy or any at all, but I think that works for some people. I believe most watchers will definitely cry during some episodes. I have to admit that I did.

Title: Bokurano Manga, Light Novel, Anime: Bokurano was originally a manga done by Mohiro Kitoh. It began running in Shogakukan's Ikki magazine in 2004, and is still running at present, at a total of eight collected volumes. It has yet to be licensed Stateside. A light novel entitled Bokurano ~alternative~ written by Renji Ohki and with character designs done by Mohiro Kitoh began running in May of 2007, and is still running at this point in time, with three volumes released this far. It also has yet to be licensed Stateside. The anime series clocked in at a total of 24 episodes, and was doneby Studio Gonzo (famous for Gankutsou: The Count of Monte Cristo and Saikano) and directed by Hiroyuki Morita (famous for his work on The Cat Returns). It ran from April 8th to September 25th, 2007 on Japanese TV, and has been licensed Stateside by Funimation, though they have yet to say when they're actually going to release it. EDIT: As of this time, Funimation has only ordered cease and desists to fansubbers on behalf of Gonzo, but a NA liscensor has yet to be announced for this series.

Story: So, there are these fifteen kids, all in middle school except for one girl in fourth grade, and they're at this summer camp. They end up finding a grotto with a random guy in it, and he enlists them in a "game" involving robots. What he fails to mention is that the game is real, and that they actually do have to pilot a robot. There are fifteen robot enemies, one for each kid. They have to beat them, or the Earth goes bye-bye. The robot they pilot runs on their life forces, though, so even if they win, they die, too.

The story focuses on the backgrounds of each of the kids as they're called up to pilot initially, but there are subplots involving the government and the overall game added in after the halfway point, along with some AMAZING plot twists.

The story isn't quite as good as Gankutsuou was, but this is up there with Gonzo's better works. Yeah, the story's just a bit depressing, but there are little rays of brightness that peak in every once in a while, and it's enough to keep you going through. Each kid gets development enough that you care as they go to face their deaths, and you'll at least be able to remember either their first or their last name, as do other people who become involved in their situation.

It's a good story and all, but it didn't quite have the impact on me that I thought it would. I mean, just looking at the show's description, I thought it would be Saikano-esque levels of depression, but it never quite reaches those.

The show's also very self-aware at times, and pokes fun at the mecha genre (the kids naming the robot, shouting out their attacks, getting "uniforms" to wear as they ride in it, etc).

If you're going into this as a mecha fan, though, be aware that the robot fights aren't central to the story; there's at least one every episode, but the story's more centered around the children than it is around the robot.

Also, let's cover a big controversy that came up while this was being released, and contains slight spoilers, so read ahead at your own risk. The creator of the manga, Mohiro Kitoh, made a blog entry while the show was being released that claimed that the author hated the source material (he did dislike it, admittedly, which begs the question of why he was even chosen to do this), and has asked if there was a way that he could save the children. Kitoh supposedly gave the go ahead, but asked for fans of the manga to stop watching the anime, because it wouldn't be anything like the manga. Well, I went and compared what I could find for information about how the manga unfolded and how the anime turned out, and the only real difference that I could find was in how some characters were handled and the order in which they were called to be pilots. Again, yes, different from the original, but the children were not freed from the contract and the fifteen who are contracted do end up dying, and the changes that did happen were nothing that would call for Kitoh to ask fans to boycott the series. I think this is a case of overreaction from the original author. It's all the more ironic and hypocritical since he's involved in a complete retooling of the story (the Bokurano ~alternative~ light novel).

Art: The style that Gonzo chose to use for this is a bit simpler than I've seen with other productions that they've done. It just doesn't look very good, honestly -- I've seen other series that have done simple well, like Kino no Tabi, but it just doesn't work as the series goes on.

3D is obviously used for the mechas, and it looks pretty good. Yeah, it stands out quite a bit, but then again, it's highly doubtful that one could do a robot entirely in 2D, and the thing's SUPPOSED to stand out.

Music: The background music for this series is, like Toward the Terra and Elfen Lied, one of the few scores I've actively listened to and noticed since Gankutsuou. Excellent recurring themes.

The OP, "Uninstall", is done by Chiaki Ishikawa, and is an absolutely beautiful piece that fits the series perfectly. Both of the EDs are also done by her, and are more of the typical female JPop ballads, but I like the second one ("Vermillion"), more than the first one ("Little Bird").

Seiyuu: Kenji Nojima, who replaced Takemoto's seiyuu in the last episode of Honey and Clover, plays one of the children, Tomokazu Sugita (Soldier Blue in Toward the Terra and Mayama in Honey and Clover) also appears as one of the children, and another child's seiyuu also appeared in Paranoia Agent as Shounen Bat. The rest of the cast gives excellent performances, as always.

Length: This feels about right, though there were some character's arcs who took more than one episode and probably could've been shortened a bit. Any longer and it just wouldn't have worked.

Overall: A good, solid mecha story centered around the children who pilot it, with decent art and length, beautiful music, and pretty good seiyuu.

Story: 9/10

Art: 8/10

Music: 9/10

Length: 8/10

Seiyuu: 9/10

Overall: 43/50; 86% (B )

Bokurano is a show that sets itself apart from most conventional standards and clichés. It doesn't have the high-tempo, flashy battles of most mecha anime, nor does it have characters which fit into any standard role, or any of the type. The first episode of the show can be quite overwhelming to some; you will rather suddenly be introduced to the entire cast of fourteen seventh-graders and one fourth-grader. They are gathered from various places on a summer camp, enjoying a seemingly peaceful summer. That is, until they decide to explore a hidden cave. here they encounter a peculiar man with an even more peculiar name,who invites them to play a certain game...

To put it simply, they are tricekd into a contract binding them as pilots for a giant robot, and what's worse, they have to fight other giant robots, unless they want Earth to face acopalypse. And so they decide to fight. But there are a lot of secrets revolving around the impeding fights, the robots and why they have to fight. And some of them are more horrible than others...

Of course, the outside world isn't going to stand still as rampaging robots duke it out across cities, killing thousands and ruining property for billions. This results in some intricate side-plots with some, well, some standard mecha parties/groups. Namely, the military, and some separate group of scientists. And these side-plots, which plays out quite well and interestingly, are pretty much what you get of a real, continuous plot; because aside that and the fighting it's much more about each of the characters struggling with problems in their life.

And the characters, sure, they get their screen time and it is done very well. Extremely well. Though I must admit that for seventh graders they act a little on the mature side. Maybe they shoulda been a few years older and it owuld have been completely believeable. Anyway, they are normal children, thrown into an unescapable battle with everything at the stakes if they lose and nothing but despair to the victor. Since they each know what cruel fate awaits them when they get chosen as the pilot for the robot, they end up living out their last days doing what they feel compelled to do before parting with this world. And yes, you get to see inside the lives of each of the teenagers; some getting more screentime than others, and it would seem that each of them have their troubles in life. Love, forbidden or not, revenge, family problems, there's a ton of stuff these adolescents have in their life.

Oh, it plays out quite beautifully, except for the aforementioned fact that they seem to young to actually react to these problems, at least in the way they do; they seem overly mature for their age.

And along with the main cast, there's quite the few interesting side characters. who have their important say in the plot and the lives and struggles of the main characters, while shining wonderfully on their own.

There was one thing which struck me when I watched Bokurano. It was that it seemed very dispassionate, almost cold in its emotions. When there's a battle, it's not like one would feel the adrenaline. When characters face problems, it's not like they seem overly emotional about it; at least the viewer will not go as far as to become emoional with them. The voice actors, they were all quite quiet and calm, and so was the mood set forth by the animation and the soundtrack. This was, to this reviewer, a good thing for the show. It is great to see that the show is never rushed; yet, at the same time, it doesn't get bogged down with unecessary scenes or anything. It just is placid.

Together with this, the animation is quite marvelous to look at. It's not breathtaking or meticulous, but it's good to look at. There's no sharp, glaring or bright colours. There's no rough edges or anything. The light and shadow efffects are lovely to look at, too. It's all very temperate. Even the massive mecha, which are all made in CGI, aren't too glaring or disturbing to look at in the environments it is put into. Movements in eneral are qutie smooth; they certainly didn't skip ahead on frames when making this anime, and that is really nice.

Going along, the opening and ending themes are quite melliflous tunes. Chiaki Ishikawa has a serene voice and sings three stunning songs thereafter, all of which are themes I would want to listen to over and over. "Uninstall" is very mysterious, almost a bit adventurous; yet very inviting and makes you feel that the show has something for you to experience. The ending themes, "Little Bird" and "Vermillion" both are interesting themes to listen to. The first is something I could gladly listen to after going to bed at night, to fall asleep to, or simply and plainly relax to. "Vermillion" leans towards the J-pop side of things, but has its interesting tone, like you're just drifting off somewhere, in a world of dreams, illusions.

The background music is composed mainly of calming string tunes and mysterious, inexplicable piano songs. It sets up the mood quite well, albeit keeping mainly to a single one or two; making sure that your emotions keep within the doldrums; reposed and quiet.

If I were to sum it up, I would have to say that Bokurano isn't a show that stands out very well. It doesn't leave a lasting impression, but while you watch this, you will most certainly be affected by an aura of melancholy; of placidity and stoicism. It drags you into the lives of a group of unsuspecting adolescents and shows you what would happen if someone suddenly had the choice between not doing anything and watch the Earth go asunder; dying along with it, or try and save it, with a risk of failing, and still dying. It shows you what a variety of people would do with their final days, if they knew they were about to die. To me, Bokurano was quite good, but not entirely up there.

Overview: Time for a totally random review! Today, I'll be covering the always polarizing Bokurano. One of my offline buddies loves this series, so he let me borrow it. I really wanted to like it but...yeah. Story: The story is that God is an utter asshole. He arbitrarily decides that there are too many universes and now a fighting tournament is needed to see which universe survives. This series has the same plot as Dragon Ball Super Tournament of Power, but plays it DEAD FUCKING SERIOUS! You are setting yourself up to fail if you create a plot that Akira "poop on a stick is funny" Toriyama wouldcome up with and take it this seriously. Each parallel Earth chooses a bunch of random children and forces them to pilot a giant robot in a best of 12 contest. However, the robot is powered by the souls of children, so the kid dies even if he or she wins. The kids of our Earth decide to name their robot "Zearth" because I guess Dio copyrighted ZA WARUDO! Zearth is OP as fuck and easily wins each and every battle...then the kid dies. That's basically every episode. Our universe survives, the others die and...that's really it.

Characters:

Bokurano has a lot of characters...but they all die shortly after introduction and leave zero emotional impact. You're left going "oh no...so and so's dead...what a shock!" Let's introduce kid #1. He's an athlete who was sad that his dad never came to his games, so he quit sports. Then he pilots a giant robot and says goodbye to this cruel world. I don't even remember his name. I can't remember what he looked like. Is that the point? That we are all disposable cogs in the machine of this horrible existence? Is this anime just a sophomoric foray into nihilism? Maybe there is some deeper meaning the author intended, but I sure didn't see it. I was probably a tad distracted by how fucking stupid the plot is.

Art:

Did you think the CGI in Full Metal Panic aged poorly? You ain't seen nothing yet! I think this anime at least looked sort of acceptable upon release, but now it's a visual abortion.

Sound:

I at least liked the opening theme and its chorus of DELETE! DELETE! It sadly just reminded me that I could be re-watching Matt Hardy's The Final Deletion again, which is far better than this anime. Yes, watching 2 redneck wrestlers launch fireworks at each other and spew total nonsense is a million times better than this anime.

Overall:

I obviously didn't care for this anime, but maybe some other people found enjoyment or profundity where I didn't. That's cool. At least this anime started some fun conversations.

Me: "I'm sorry man...but this anime is just abject trash."

My friend: "Oh really? Coming from the guy who loves Elfen Lied? At least my anime doesn't involve a plethora of naked children!"

My other friend: "Guys! Guys! BOTH of your anime are trash! Instead you should watch a REAL anime...the first season of Slayers from 1995.

everyone: "Yeah...Slayers is pretty good"

I started watching bokurano thinking it would have a good story and some cool fights but that proved to be partially wrong, it has a good story but the fights, not really good. I still enjoyed it but its quite different from the story summaries, previews, etc. At start the story seems lame and rushed, just a little excuse to put some kids fighting for earth in some big robots, the fights are quite dull as well and the animation is quite average with some bad parts even but thats mostly at the start. I'm glad I kept watching it because it gets much better, the storytwists, or better, it unveils a completely different plot from the first appearances becoming rather interesting. The fights improve allot compared to the first ones but this is not a mecha style anime with lots of cool fights and moves, its a story driven drama where each episode u get to known one of the characters better, usually before their respective battle portraying their will and reasons to fight or give up. The mystery behind the robots and the battles is also unveiled slowly and I'm afraid I can't say much more to avoid spoiling the development, one of the good aspects of the show.

The music isn't bad, the opening becomes quite enjoyable after a couple episodes and theres the usual backtracks accompanying the crucial moments.

Overall its a good show, with a decent story about a couple kids who are put into a non desirable situation without even being asked, and are now carrying the burden to save earth, their own problems and doubts are explored while they find a meaning to fight for earth, themselves, protecting someone or simply giving up. Don't expect much action, its a show for people who like good stories with a slow but decent development and some epic moments filled with sadness, anger, and self sacrifice.

Bokurano was one of those shows that you can't really like unless you really look at the deeper meaning. If you're looking for a series that you can watch without thinking about, then you might as well stop reading right now. STORY: Bokurano's story is very unique and interesting. You may think of it as just mindless killing, but similar to Gantz, it is a psychological anime that shows what happens when normal people are put into hopeless situations and are forced to put their lives on the line. ART: The art was not as good as it could have been, but I had no problems with it. Itwas a bit annoying having to switch from 2d to 3d a few times in every episode, but it wasn't something intolerable.

SOUND:

I thought the sound was pretty good, and was able to partially cover up for the slightly disappointing art. There was nothing wrong with the sound in Bokurano, but I wasn't blown away by it in the least.

CHARACTER:

This is where Bokurano really stands out. There were 15 main characters in the series, and depending on how you look at it, there could even be a few more. At first, I was a bit skeptical, seeing as though there are only 24 episodes in the show. But amazingly, I learned about the back story of every single character and realized that each one was very much different from the others. And even though there was so much character development, it did not take away from the story.

ENJOYMENT:

I really enjoyed seeing how each character reacted. There may not be enough action for some people in Bokurano, but there was plenty of drama to keep you interested throughout each episode.

OVERALL:

With all that said, I'll give this series an 83/100, a solid score.

At the end of the day, what makes "Bokurano" work is its interesting subject matter and the fact that it has all of the foundations of an amazing story. Unfortunately, it sets the bar higher than it can actually reach and ultimately fails to live up to its potential. (This review contains major spoilers for both the manga and anime). My first impression of this show was really good. It seemed like it was setting itself up for an intelligent story that would leave you thinking about it long after it was over. The kind of story that deconstructs popular concepts within fiction (in this case the"giant mecha genre"), in order to drive them to their dark and desolate conclusions. One that ultimately brings you a new reflection of reality, that can only be seen through the lens of fiction. That is the kind of story it was setting itself up to be.

At first, I had thought I had hit the jackpot seeing as how the content was pretty much the darkest thing I could never imagine. Kids, having to sacrifice their lives in order to save the crapsack world that doesn't care for them; the revelation that they are in the process, destroying other worlds that have people setting out to do the same; having what may very well be the highest death count in any story of all time. In fact, it was more than just dark, it was pitch black.

However, as I continued to watch it, I realized that the show being dark was pretty much all there was to it. Even though it clearly presents itself with the ambitions of being profound and thought provoking, and with the presence of a show that has lots to say, it ends up saying not much at all, almost as if believing that the subject matter itself is enough to get your interest, leaving you instead with emptiness. The worst part is the ending which is so bizarrely out of place, nonsensical, and naive, that it becomes downright insulting that the writers would expect you to swallow it.

Before I get into details, let's talk about the "Bokurano" manga series. I began reading the manga immediately after finishing the anime. Not because I liked the anime so much but because I had heard that the manga was a lot different. I learned that the anime had been produced while the manga was still going and so I reasoned that the story must have suffered solely due to the anime making it up on its own when it no longer had the manga to go by. I was convinced that the manga was where the story would reach the hights it was setting itself up for, and so I gave it a try.

Although the manga did in fact redeem it to some degree, it wasn't by a whole lot. The biggest difference with the manga and the anime is the level of cynicism. The manga may be the most cynical one I have ever read, which fits the tone of the dark story and subject matter. It still feels empty in what it wants to convey, but at the very least it feels like it is supposed to. The anime on the other hand tones down most of the cynicism of the manga and tries to portray this pitch black story with an air of optimism, which makes it absolutely ridiculous. Especially when contrasting it with the manga does this flaw become apparent.

The best example that I can think of comes from a chapter in the manga that didn't make it into the anime. Kirie has been selected as the next pilot and talks about how he doesn't want to go through with it with Tanaka. In this scene, he talks about how he sees no reason to protect a world that has done nothing for him, just because it is the world he himself belongs to. The surviving world consists of people just like this one, and it would be hypocritical to justify sacrificing one world to save another, just because one of those worlds is your own. Especially when the world in question is one that you do not care for. At the end, Kirie ends up fighting after all because he realizes by watching the pilot of the other world that both of their worlds are just as bad, and there is no reason for saving or sacrificing either one of them over the other. So he fights, because that is the role he was given and it ends up being the only role he is able to live up to.

In the anime it's a tad bit different. First off, the entire scene with Kirie and Tanaka doesn't take place whatsoever, and although Kirie's position to piloting the ship is retained, it is incredibly dumbed down. However, the most striking difference is in how this arc is concluded. Kirie sort of just changes his mind and gains confidence that his world is awesome and worth protecting after all. Then he proceeds to fight as if it was the most obvious thing there ever was. As if his previous attitude was just some temporary mood swing. Oh, and when he starts fighting, he does a bunch of elegant fighting moves and stuff, because that's cool right?

However, this is nothing in comparison to what I am about to write next. If you have only been skimming through this review until this point then at least read the following couple of paragraphs carefully because it is pretty much the most spot-on illustration of my problems with the anime that I can think of.

In the same conversation as above, Kirie and Tanaka also talk for a while about movies. Kirie explains how he never sees happy endings in movies as actual happy endings because of the means that are used to get to them.

(Paraphrasing)

"A hero that kills a 100 faceless bad guys, rescues the girl, and saves the world, is always depicted at the end of the movie with a smiling face even though there were a lot of sacrifices made for him to get there. Why doesn't anyone in the audience feel sad for any of the 100 faceless mooks whom may have had families of their own, whom loved and cared for them? What if they weren't actually that bad? What if they just happened to take a wrong turn that eventually led to them getting in the way of the protagonist? Why does the audience only get upset when something happens to the main characters anyway? Does the protagonist even have to be a sympathetic character to gain the audiences respect? Or does his presence as the centre of the story dignify every action he makes? It seems that as long as the story ends with the hero being alive and happy, everything is alright and we can end it on a happy note, ignoring all of the bad stuff that actually happened before it."

This here is one of the few parts of the story that actually made me think a little. If only there was a central direction for the story to take that would head deeper into this kind of content, it would have made for a much more rewarding experience. One thing I love about this conversation is how meta it is. If you think about it, everything Kirie says in this scene can be applied to the readers of this very manga. In a way, it is as if the author is making fun of you.

However, the reason I brought it up is to discuss the message that the author is giving us. What this conversation basically is telling us about "Bokurano" as a whole is this: The ending of this story will be just as harsh as everything that has preceeded it. It will not contrive itself to bring you a false happy ending that defies logic and insults your intelligence.

This exactly is why the anime fails, because the thing is, well... it perfectly describes the exact kind of ending the anime got, doesn't it?

I mean think about it. That has got to be the defining quality of a failed adaptation. Sure, this might not have been the easiest story to write a fitting ending for but if the adaptation becomes the very kind of work that the original is criticizing and using as a source of social commentary, then you have created the antithesis to the story you were supposed to make. The people who made the anime, simply had no idea what they were making an anime out of or they didn't have the ambition or the guts to actually make it, and that is all there is to it.

Speaking of endings, the one in the manga was expectedly in a much harsher tone, consistent with the rest of the story, it ends simply by going full circle, ending up where it started with everything starting over again but with new people. It's not a happy ending nor a sad one. It comes off with the empty sense of insignificance you have been feeling throughout the entire read, and plays it off as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which by that point it is.

Although the cynicism of the manga makes the story work well enough as it is, the premise is too good to be wasted on a story that could have been so much more than just a nihilistic presentation of "a million is a statistic". The manga aimed to be amazing yet it managed only to be pretty good, while the anime aimed to be pretty good and ended up being nothing more than decent. The manga wanted to go somewhere but didn't, while the anime wanted to go somewhere until it changed its mind and went back. This story had so much potential but it led absolutely nowhere. It told me to think but gave me nothing to think about. Somewhere in here there might be a masterpiece, but it is shrouded in a story that amounts to nothing. Though for the premise and subject matter alone, it still holds up to being an entertaining enough watch to sit through.

i am a diehard giant robot junkie. but be warned. this is not an anime about giant robots. this is an anime about feelings. not just regular feelings. teary-eyed, near rape, sibling abusing feelings. these feelings get brought up every episode, giving each character a uniquely depressing flair. this drives them to literally pilot their hearts out, fighting any moral feeling they may have against killing enemy pilots. this anime is terribly bogged down in cliche and emotions, with not a single climactic fight. the cg makes the action clunky and slow, leaving me wondering what the point of even having giant robots was. thisanime tries to combine a lot of better things, most notably neon genesis evangelion, but it comes up with something not worth mentioning.

if youre looking for true giant robot action, run away.

I‘d like to start this review with this first thought. Gonzo fucks up everything. Now that this is out of the way let me explain why and how I mean it. Bokurano isn‘t a bad anime don‘t get my wrong. I just feel it could have been a better one, when done by a different studio and different budget. But I will cover this whole issue in the single segments of this review. Also note, this review will most likely contain minor spoilers, so please don‘t read it if you don‘t wanna get spoiled anything, even if it's just slightones.

This is due to my comparison with the manga (but only superficial I don't mention any characters and what happens to them, just themes and some emotions that might come across)

All I can say to you is, watch this show it‘s good, but bad presented.

And now let‘s review this show:

Starting with the worst first and then we gradually go to the better things about this show.

Animation

Lets establish what animation even means. It‘s not just moving pictures, it‘s also art and quality how it is presented.

Some of you who know about Gonzo might have heard about it, but Gonzo likes to mix some bad CGI into their drawn shows, and Bokurano is a good example for this bad habit. I even go so far and say that the animation is almost non existent for the most important parts of a semi-mecha show but was replaced by boring CGI robo-fights.

It looks so awkward to see 2 giant CGI robots fight slowly against each other, and is by far the most boring shit in the entire show.

But when there is no CGI it doesn‘t shine either. Crooked faces, movements, quality loss. You name it. It‘s all there. Basically the show looks like it was made in the early 2000s or even late 90s.

And it is especially sad when a show like Neon Genesis Evangellion from 1996 looks better than this show made in 2007! 10 years later and a show manages to do not even a half as good job in animating it as something else.

Why are the Evas animated in NGE but ZEarth is not in Bokurano, and was replaced by some shitty CGI model?

Despite that it doesn‘t offer anything else in return, no memorable, or especially well done moments, no great artstyle or amazing quality. The backgrounds look generic and forgettable, and the character designs (though very close to their original Manga version) are bland and forgettable.

My verdict: 1,5/10 (I give it a 2/10 out of mercy)

Sound

Moving on from the bad animation, the sound-department did a quite well job.

Starting off with the OP „Uninstall“ by Chiaki Ishikawa is by far the best piece of music this show has to offer. It‘s gloomy, melancholic and has a bit of a childish touch to it. It fits the show very well, the lyrics as well. I loved to listen to the song before very episode and never got bored of it.

The EDs were good as well but couldn‘t hook me like the OP did.

The rest of the OST fit well but wasn‘t outstanding. Decent tough but not worth mentionable or a good reason to get your hands on the OST.

The voiceacting ranged from average to awkward at moments. The most outstanding job in my opinion did Akira Ishida, who voice Koemushi. Who did an infinite amount of rolls already, but to be honest I‘m not too familiar with his works.

My verdict: 5,5/10 (rounded up to 6/10 because of it‘s overall fitting nature to the show)

Overall the presentation of this show is lacking and could have done (and should have been!) better. A different studio (like Madhouse, Sunrise or even Gainax) could have made a better job (maybe) with some other people in the staff.

Moving on to the content...

Story

Mohiro Kitoh, the original creator of the Manga Bokurano (ours) has some sort of weird fetish for shows with dark themes and children.

He seems to be obsessed with themes like, death, suicide, rape, depression and apocalypse.

Those are the themes presented in Bokurano. And not by adults, no by children. To be exact 13 year old middleschoolers.

At first the concept might sound overused. A cast of teenagers/children ride a gigantic Robot to save the world against invaders. But after finishing the show, it wasn‘t really about that but more about the implications of death and sacrifice.

Would you give your life for the world? Do you even think it is worth protecting? These concepts are in the spotlight and each of the 15 children reacts differently with these implications.

It all start out as a game but becomes all serious right in EP2. And this is where this show shines. Tension, cliffhangers, and bit of pieces of information that are feed to you.

There is every time something new that gets revealed and that is what gets you hooked.

So many questions so little answers, but it all (?) makes sense in the end.

It never feels boring (unless there is a shitty CGI fight but those never really drag on too long) and gets you truly involved with everything.

Hiroyuki Morita (who didn‘t really direct anything besides The Cat Returns by Ghibli) did a great job here.

Something else that is noticeable is the difference to the Manga. I have only read parts of it but the chronological order is very different in the anime, as well as some events and the behavior of characters are different. And I feel the anime might even be superior (even though the manga looks pretty good!). I will certainly read the manga and find out what is really different.

It‘s a thrilling experience and goes to all sorts of emotions. Laughter (though little), Anger (a lot of hate towards some characters), Sadness (some tears poured out) and also a sort of emptiness at some point.

My Conclusion: 8,5/10 (rounding up to 9/10 for being a great show in regards to story)

Characters

The other strong points of this show were the characters.

Though most of them not really relatable or likable in the beginning, become later much more interesting and even relatable.

The show follows the LOST formula.

What does that mean?

Well if you‘ve seen Lost you might now what I mean, if now let me explain.

Take a bunch of different people and throw them into a mysterious dangerous situation. And then show everyone backstory as they progress to the story, while building up a desired emotion for each given character.

All of them have some sort of a dramatic or interesting background story. Some more dramatic than others but all are kinda dramatic.

But in the end everyone is kinda interesting and different.

Some characters change from unlikable to likable, while others make you wanna hate them even more, and then there are those you feel very sorry for. It tries to be realistic and not just makes you wanna love each one of them, or only hate the villain.

And as I said, some stories brought me to tears while other let me scream at the screen „DIE DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!“.

My Conclusion: 8/10

The last segments talks about the Values and my overall enjoyment of the show, as well as my final Verdict.

Value

The show sure got me thinking, and now I even want to read a Manga. Me who doesn‘t read manga at all! (almost non)

It‘s a remarkable anime and one of those shows that will leave a mark in my mind that will let me remember it.

Though it didn‘t do anything groundbreaking, it sure is one of those shows that are talked about when you look for something mature, dark and sad.

6/10

Enjoyment

As Mentioned, my enjoyment almost only came from the Content of the show and not its presentation.

A good show doesn‘t need good presentation, while a bad show with good presentation will still be a bad show, is the saying.

But I disagree.

Anime is anime because it‘s animated. If the animation sucks I feel as if it‘s a wasted medium and would have been better only as a manga or something else.

It offered some visual pleasing moments but it overall was crap from a presentation side of view and that lowered my overall enjoyment quite a bit.

That said the story, characters and overall experience was very much enjoyable and that‘s why I recommend everyone to watch it and bare with the shitty CGI and sometimes sloppy animation quality. The Manga is different and will not offer you the same experience as the Anime does.

6/10

My final verdict:

Bokurano was a show that ended up being better than expected, had me gripped for 24 episodes and was a themepark of many emotions, though all mostly on the sad spectrum.

It‘s something that makes you question motivation for your actions and your reason why you live.

It‘s not an outstanding anime, but a very good story, so watch it with that in mind.

6/10 Fair

An aspect of Bokurano that I love is how well it executes the story effectively. The anime is an ensemble character study of fifteen kids who pilot a mecha to save the world and the anime makes efficient use of its 24-episode run. If you pay enough attention to the first episode, it does an excellent job of foreshadowing future events early. It gives hints of what the characters are like, these minute details help you understand why the characters react in certain ways later. As for the characters themselves, they are intriguingly distinct, in a matter of fact their personalities are almost polarizing. Morethan once, while watching this anime, I have seen nuances about their personalities that reminded me how I might react like them in comparable situations.

Mohiro Kitoh is great at expressions. In his original manga, every character on the screen has a unique expression that is essential to the character’s personality, and it translated well into the anime. There is a scene where all the characters are together during an emotional moment. The camera pans across the screen showing each one’s face. Just looking at each of them you can read their minds. Even with more than one person on the screen, every character has a unique expression, and the animation depicts it with authenticity.

Just like the art, the music sets the mood very well. The music was soft, warm, and reminiscent, almost like a dream or a memory. It is warm, yet somber. Listening to the soundtrack separately I can vividly recall scenes from the show. Each track is distinct but simple enough to tell you without words what each track represents in the anime. The music suggests images, places, and characters when listening to it.

Another element that I enjoy is how the anime depicts the characters. They are simple and average, which is how the mangaka, Mohiro Kitoh depicts all the characters in the stories he tells. There is no strangely colored hair, no cartoonishly shaped bodies, no one is too charismatic, too strong, or too smart. They are all drawn and written in a way you can relate to and that does not distract from their actions and motivations.

If you have seen Bokurano, you know that it is anything but a saccharin story. It addresses hard-hitting issues about individuals and society in general. Child abuse in blended families, grief, the burden of legacy. The anime discusses all these topics in an honest but non-exploitive manner. The cast is large and yet the story does not lose the characters in the background.

In the anime the mecha (robots) that the characters pilot are tools to teach the audience about the characters. These kids are not orphans or estranged children clamoring for the attention of their absentee parents which is a trope that anime that revolves around adolescents often exploit. They have families that come in different shapes and sizes. They have goals. It is quite easy to put yourself in the shoes of a Bokurano character, the anime grounds the angst in the story so you can empathize with the characters.

"Where in my frail body am I supposed to find the strength to stand?" --Ishikawa Chiaki - Uninstall This review is written with the intention of being spoiler free, but I will attempt to analyze various aspects of the show which may result in me giving hints to events of the show to some viewers. I apologize in advance if I do this and I hope to avoid spilling the beans on a very good anime. I'll admit my review is also kind of long. For a tl;dr, go the second to last paragraph. Bokurano has always seemed to me to be a very contentious and controversial anime.Viewers and commenters appear to either love it to death or hate its very existence. Enjoying Bokurano is highly dependent upon bonding with the characters, feeling their pain, weeping with them, and leaving each episode like you have just left a funeral. In anime such as this, viewers tend to either develop this connection with the protagonists in which they love the series or the viewers do not and so they find themselves hating it. I can't promise that you will like Bokurano, but I can promise that I will tell you why I like it in the hopes that you will find out if you will enjoy it like I did.

Bokurano is about 15 teenagers who are tricked into piloting a massive mecha to defend Earth against other massive mecha who are attacking for an unknown purpose. Each of these kids has their own reason for fighting, these reasons are very personal and most are not caught up in the idea of protecting humanity. The series is structured around arcs of one or two episodes focused on each of the pilots. In each case, we see the life of the character in question, their families and people around them, why they seem beaten down and driven into a corner, and finally, why they choose to fight the attacking mecha.

I see Bokurano as the ultimate "feel-bad" anime. There are very few happy or funny moments. Each heartwarming moment turns to sorrow within 10 minutes and many of these moments are intertwined with suffering. Gutwrenching events occur almost every episode and I often found myself wanted to go sit in a corner after watching. I would not recommend seeing Bokurano as an anime similar to CLANNAD or Steins;Gate. These anime begin with humor, happiness, and charm to introduce you to the characters and then put them through hell in the pattern of what TVTropes has called Cereberus Syndrome. Bokurano does not take any time trying to win you over with hints of a happy series. By the end of the second episode, it is clear that things will not go well for our heroes and heroines. The fights are never shown as something cool or fun and aren't even that interesting to watch. A minor amount of strategy in these fights is discussed, but it's not a big focus of the series. The battles bring the kids together and connect them to each other, but are primarily used as a plot device to keep things moving.

You may have already noticed that Bokurano seems very similar to a much more famous anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion (abbreviated NGE). NGE seems to have been a major inspiration for Bokurano and both anime have significant similarities. Indeed, I find it pretty hard to discuss Bokurano without comparing and contrasting it with NGE so I'll get that done here. Both NGE and Bokurano go heavily into the implications of using emotionally unstable teenagers as the first and only line of defense against mysterious, eldrich beings who attack and fight for apparently no reason. Neither anime is particularly happy or uplifting and the protagonists in both can seem distant and hard to get along with throughout the series. The mission control and support for the children piloting the mecha is very limited and the pilots commonly feel like no one in the world is there for them. The most obvious antagonist in both series is the one driving the protagonists to keep fighting (Gendo Ikari and Dung Beetle for NGE and Bokurano, respectively). Be aware, however, that there are major differences as well. NGE is not solely about the suffering of its protagonists. It heavily uses Judeo-Christian naming and symbolism and the battles against the Angels can be interesting and cool at times. NGE also heavily goes into Freudian psychology and often has a highbrow, even pretentious feel to it at times. Bokurano has none of these things. Bokurano's sole focus is to rip into the Humongous Mecha genre and show why it is not fun, cool, interesting, or a good idea to enlist young, emotionally unstable children as the soldiers against enemies who threaten our species. I personally feel that if you like one of these anime, you will like the other, but I know many NGE lovers who did not enjoy Bokurano as all, so please be aware of the differences between these series if you came from NGE looking for something similar.

Bokurano uses much less symbolism than NGE, but there is one major symbol I would like to comment on: chairs. Each of the chosen pilots has a chair they are transported into the robot with. The significance of these chairs differs for each of the pilots, but each one relates to their dissatisfaction and unhappiness with their life. A sadistic, socially Darwinistic boy is associated with his father's office chair. His father is a nasty caricature of a heartless businessman who seeks to profit off the destruction of the battles occuring throughout Japan. Another boy has a floor cushion, used as a symbol of his family's poverty and the troubles he goes through in order to support his siblings who were all abandoned by their parents. A girl brings a piano bench; her parents love to hear her play, but she doesn't particularly enjoy it. All of these chairs provide insight into the protagonists and their lives and each helps the viewer understand them better and to emotionally connect with these characters. I think the use of chairs was done extremely well by the series and is used to great effect to demonstrate how each of the protagonists is both and different from all the others.

Now that I have finished my initial discussion and analysis of Bokurano, I am going to discuss each of the official ratings MAL gives its reviewers to rate anime. If you have read this far, you likely still have some interest in Bokurano and I will attempt to use this section to help you make a final decision of whether to watch it or not:

Story: Bokurano has the saddest story of any anime I have seen at the time of writing this. The characters all go through hell and get very little for their troubles. There are so few happy moments that the most common criticism I see of Bokurano is that the viewer can become apathetic to the trauma suffered by the characters due to the mostly uninterrupted melancholy of the series. I personally did not have this happen to me, but I can easily understand why others say this. Note that Bokurano is also very dependant on surprising plot twists and does not hesitate to make its cast miserable for the sake of the plot. If anime are to be classified as plot-driven or character-driven, Bokurano is definitely plot-driven. Overall, I give the story 8/10 for its capacity to be touching, but it probably could have used some contrast.

Animation: The animation in Bokurano is not particularly eye-catching or attention-grabbing, but I feel that a bright, colorful animation style would be out of place. The characters are all animated realistically except for Dung Beetle whose slightly cute appearance is contrasted with his sadistic behavior. I really like that Bokurano avoids the animation caricatures that anime often slips into such as huge eyes, brightly colored hair, and flamboyant outfits. The overall gray tint to the show adds to the gray mood of the story. Because the animation fits the theme, but isn't particulary remarkable, I give it 9/10.

Sound: Bokurano opens with one my favorite anime OPs of all time, Uninstall by Ishikawa Chiaki. I absolutely love this song and still play it regularly while driving or working. In fact, the tagline for this review is a line from the OP. Be sure to look at the lyrics as they describe a lot of the general feeling of the series. Both endings to Bokurano, Little Bird and Vermillion (by the same artist), are much less interesting, but still are good to listen to and capture the feel of the series well. The voice acting and background music didn't particularly get my attention as it is neither very good nor very bad. I personally think that this works out well overall when the sound doesn't distract from the atmosphere and Bokurano isn't a series where much would be gained from music and voices grabbing one's attention. Mostly due to Uninstall, I give the sound 10/10.

Characters: Bokurano has a very large character list. 15 children pilot the robot. In addition to them, Dung Beetle and various government officials make regular appearances. Add all these up and we get a series with at least 18 main characters (and arguments can be made for others). As a result of this huge cast in a 24 episode series, characterization is somewhat limited. While each character changes throughout his or her arc, there really is only time to designate one major change. Series with so many important characters also run the risk of not showing much of their cast besides the designated protagonists, but Bokurano averts this nicely and makes each of them essential to the progression of the story. Everyone changes and develops and I found myself sympathizing with each of the protagonists, something that is quite rare with such a large number! This rating might get me some hate, but I give the characters 10/10.

Enjoyment: It's always hard for me to describe enjoyment for a series that really isn't fun. I would be lying if I said that Bokurano was a blast. It made me cry repeatedly and I felt rather like a dung beetle after every episode. Moments of happiness and hope get squashed very quickly and moments of sadness permeate throughout. You will see horrible things and gutwrenching moments on a regular basis while watching Bokurano. I doubt that many viewers will "enjoy" Bokurano in the way that the word is generally used. However, it was very emotionally cathartic so I'm going to give an enjoyment rating of 8/10.

Based on these numbers and how I liked the series, I give it 9/10 as one of the more powerful anime I have seen, but not quite good or consistent enough to warrant a perfect rating.

I will end this review by making a few comments to help if you are still undecided on whether to watch Bokurano or not. If you are looking for a dark action series, go elsewhere. I recommend Wolf's Rain or Ergo Proxy. If you want a dark series with black humor while keeping a lot of pain and suffering, I would try Mawaru Penguindrum or Kaiba. If you want a more positive story with a large amount of feels, I'm not the best person to ask since that's not really my thing, but I would try The Place Promised in Our Early Days or Millennium Actress. However, if you want to watch an anime completely and entirely about how much saving the world sucks with a story which does not hesitate to make its characters miserable, watch Bokurano. If you like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, or Texhnolyze, I highly recommend Bokurano.

Note: This is the first anime review I have written and is a repost of the review I made for Bokurano on hummingbird found here: https://hummingbird.me/anime/bokurano/reviews/10222. If anyone has suggestions for making this review better, please let me know in a message! Thanks for reading!

Acknowledgment: I took the idea for opening my review with a quote from Uninstall from Aeterna's review of Bokurano. Thanks!

This will contain spoilers. The worst plot of an anime, which takes itself so very very serious, I've ever seen. Natural selection of parallel universes, this doesnt make any sense in any possible universe. Dont get me wrong, Im not mad because it doesnt make sense, Im mad at the constructed nonsense of this anime. Given the fact there are several parallel universes - How does them competing make any sense? It doesn't, like at all. Why can the creators of this system only leech "energy" from a world that wins 15 robot fights? No reason. In a world where there ARE parallel universes, wouldntthere only arise even more universes? I.e. the ones that died in the first fight, the ones that died in the fourth fight etc.

The dramaturgy doesnt work for me, we see a portrait of every kid for 20 minutes, then it dies. Too many times. What remains are shallow characters, boring predictable repetitions.

This anime will bore people who arent easily influenced by tragic music and pretentious depth weaved through far fetching words. Overall its a rather expensively produced anime, but how can this fix this boring, stupid crap?

Also awfullness-bonus points for the consant light hearted depiction of child abuse ( not only with kana and her brother but that one episode where one of the kids being beaten by her dad is used as a running gag).

Avoid.

Bokurano was recommended to me by another MAL member on the IRC channel, because I said I liked Clannad. According to him "Bokurano is an instant feels trip from start". Now, that I watched the series, I do understand where he is coming from, but I have to disagree with that. Here is why... If I had to summarize what Bokurano is, it's a mix between Neon Genesis: Evangelion and Gantz, sans blood. The story follows 15 high-school students, who are tricked into piloting a giant mecha, fighting off periodically arriving enemies to save the world from certain doom. Now, as far as basic premise goes,this is as simple and cliché'd as it gets. But what sets Bokurano apart from all the tons upon tons of mecha anime is the tone and the underlying story behind the mask, full of symbolism and metaphors.

See, Bokurano is built entirely upon the "Reluctant Hero" trope. The 15 kids never asked to be the saviors of humanity, they never wanted to fight or bear the enormous responsibility, having the destiny of the entire world resting upon their shoulders. (This is why I mentioned NGE up there.) They were all tricked/forced into this situation, and from then on it's "do or die", there is no going back. But unlike many other similar anime, this is NOT a heartwarming coming-of-age story, not in the slightest. The 15 kids didn't know each other beforehand, they kind of only just met. And now each of them faces the same predicament of having to fight to save the world with a bunch of (almost) complete strangers. (Hence the mention of Gantz.) Unlike other mecha anime, and the case of Shinji from NGE, these kids are NOT a team. They are but a bunch of confused and terrified children, who want nothing to do with the whole thing. They fight, but not because of some lofty goals of justice, valor, heroism, or because "it's the right thing to do". No, they fight because...what's the alternative? Let it all just end? They don't even try to be heroes, Bokurano tears down the pretentious, overblown morals of other such anime, and replaces it all with true grit, the feelings of how a real human must feel when thrown in that situation. These kids never really come to terms with what is demanded of them, they each have to muster some kind of reason to fight. Some personal reason to fight for a world they barely even had the chance to experience.

There is a resaon I haven't mentioned the "big mecha battles" yet, because those are but a tiny piece of the whole story. Bokurano is NOT about mecha battles, but the people involved. So, if you came for that, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's almost entirely a character driven piece, where the mecha fights are nothing but backdrop, without any flashy "attacks" or "moves", only a means to an end. Don't get me wrong, Zearth and the other mechas look fantastic and full of symbolism, but they are only there for show, this tale is not about them. The story itself is very slow-paced and structured like a Lego house. Each episode follows a single kid's story. As we progress through the series, we get to know the 15 kids, their backstories and their personal battles in their lives. Broken and dysfunctional families, child neglect, bullying, tarnished friendships, hard life choices and a LOT of anger, fear, angst, regret and "could've/should've/would've". The drama is real, and mostly well written, but it's really nothing to cry on or get a feels trip about, unless some of the kids' stories hit a little bit close to home. It is very diverse and has many thing going on at any given time, but sometimes the scenes just drag on too long with unnecessary exposition and side-arcs that ultimately lead to nowhere, and it sometimes makes the whole thing confusing. I guess the creators bit off just a bit more than they could chew. I feel having so many central characters in a regular length (24 episode) anime is just a bit too much. There are too many to really flesh them out individually and because of that I couldn't really get invested in any of them.

The animation quality is okay, and I particularly liked the character designs and the art direction. The visuals are well suited for the subject matter, there are no bright colors, flashy special effects or comical cuts and trasitions. This is a very down-to-Earth anime in this respect, discounting the futuristic setting and the obvious giant mechas. There is also an absolute abundance of symbolism and visual metaphors for the keen-eyed, a really good addition that complements the story in various ways. Well done!

A special mention goes to the music, especially the opening song, "Uninstall" from Chiaki Ishikawa. The very second I heard the song I fell in love with it. Such a beautiful song, beautiful voice, and the whole tone and the lyrics suit the anime so well, it's simply perfect.

In conclusion, Bokurano is a pretty unique piece of anime. It's a little tamer in tone than NGE or Gantz, but exactly that's why it's so powerful. It doesn't need the shock value, graphic and psychological brutality and gallons of blood and tears to get it's message across. The devil is in the details. Make no mistake, Bokurano is a pretty dreary anime with lots of emotion, and if the belt catches you, you will go on a feels trip. It really all depends if you can connect with the characters and the source material or not. There is also a lot of symbolism, both in the narrative and in the visuals (and the title itself), so the literately and visually inclined will have a field day with this anime for sure.

I wanted to watch a MECHA anime and saw this one, Bokurano, had very good reviews. Without spoiling anything, this anime is NOT ABOUT mechas. The CGI is badly implemented and stands out in a terrible way. The characters are poorly drawn too and the animation... Oh my... The one thing you should know is every episode more or less, ends with a mecha fight. But there's NO SATISFACTION. 90% of an episode is about the character's life and drama and it literally cuts / jumbs into the mecha fight which lasts 1min. The whole show is depressing from beginning to end. Would not recommend at all.

Well i thought a lot before picking up Bokurano.I don't quite remember why, but i did have some doubts about it.I feared it would turn out just your everyday crappy mecha.And the previews of the story line suggested so. Anyway in one boring afternoon i decided to try out the anime.It tunred out very good.Way beyond my expectations. The story goes on and unravels into something that you haven't quite expected,becomes really interesting and complicated. The Art, well, what can i say about it.Some people find it quite ugly while others like it.As for me,it didn't bother a bit.It's true that sometimes the 3D can get underyour skin, and that sometimes the art gets rather simple.But at the other end, sometimes the art is really helping you get into the "flow of emotions" if i may say so.

As for sound.Sound was so-so.It was there when you needed it and it wasn't sort of in the way.The opening was very nice.I personaly enjoyed it a lot.Pretty nice song.The two endings were nice both in visual and audio aspect.

Characters.This is where the series excels.At the start i thought that 15 characters would be too much of a number for 24 eps.I feared that the characters wouldn't be fully developed.All my fears were put to waste.Each and every one of the kids is so unique and different from the other.Each with it's own problems and toubles.And yet all of them bound by the same thing.

Enjoyment.Hmm what can i say i enjoyed it.Hope you do too.

Overall I'll give it an 8 because of the sound and art.

And if you're looking for your everyday mecha,this is NOT for you.If you want to see how people interact with each other in interesting situations and you want to see how kids can feel and act in their darkest hour, this is the anime for you.

So, what would you do if tasked with saving the world? That’s the question each one of the fifteen middle school children are forced to answer after having been bound to a contract. At first, they just believe it to be some computer game created by a man named Kokopelli that they encounter. But, by the time the first episode ends, we, along with the fifteen children, realize that something far more sinister is at play. Bokurano starts out incredibly well. The pacing is excellent, the hints and foreshadowing are all expertly woven to induce a sense of dread to the audienceand the children. This is not a happy show. It explores the psyche of each one of the children, their pasts, and how they deal with adversity, all before they are required to fight the next alien invader.

Now, some of the issues I have, or issue, is that the stories of the first half or so of the children are more interesting than the rest. They delve into some complex moral and psychological issues that many mediums tend to ignore or gleam over. I won’t go into too much detail on exactly what the situations are, but they are definitely horrifying. This leads to the first half or 2/3 of Bokurano being more interesting than the last third, which is a shame, but doesn’t discount the incredibly addictive nature of this show.

I tend to put a lot of emphasis on shows with what I consider great endings. I want the last episode to be one of the best in the entire series. Sadly, that leaves me weighing a little too much on the ending and not giving enough credit to what came before it. Not always, but it’s something I’ve realized. Bokurano is a strong show that explores a vast amount of psychological topics, I only wish that the final stretch was where the stronger episodes lied. Still, the show offers an interesting look at how each one of the children react to their past, their present, and what they want for the future without being over-dramatic or apathetic. A great show that was slightly let down by it’s final stretch. Still, I’d easily recommend this anime to anyone looking for a melancholic, yet entertaining and addictive ride through the ups and downs of these tragically flawed adolescents on a grand scale.

Verdict:

8.5/10

Ok when i first started watching this i thought the same thing everyone does... "WTH". It is not something you expect from a show about kids. It is well writen and almost scary. At the same time the author managed to draw me in with the sick story line. I found myself both appaled and atracted. He managed to take an old time dream of many children and twist it into a dark sinister thing. If you are looking for a good story to make you happy this is not it, but if you are looking for a deap story that makes you think thanthis is one you should watch.

Spoiler free. I found this show by browsing through related anime of my favorite shows, and I'm so glad that I did. Bokurano follows the events of a group of children who have inadvertently been thrown into a large scale event, thinking it was just a small game. From there, they have to fight to secure the safety of everything they know. About now, I imagine some of you are yawning. Something like this is seen in so many different shows, and the concern I had was it was going to be another show just like that. I was surprised tofind that wasn't the case.

Bokurano had no problems with kicking off immediately. I thought there were going to be a few primer episodes, but if I recall correctly, you're being introduced to the main plot point in the first episode. This can either succeed or fail, in Bokurano's case, it didn't really do either, it's just how it was. Another interesting thing Bokurano did well was not introducing the children alltogether. For reasons I won't get into, their back story is introduced individually throughout the show, and I thought this was fantastic. Everyone had their time in the light, and it's hard to pin down just who the main character really is. After finishing it, you could argue who it was, but the point is I don't feel like it matters so much. With that said, I really enjoyed how the characters were developed, if not for just a short while.

Another interesting thing was the fight scenes were slow paced, and ended abruptly. Half the episode wasn't spent sequencing robots hitting each other. A couple of them were fast paced based on the pilot's ability, but generally, you could feel the weight of each machine. This is another thing that could have bothered me if the show hadn't been able to pull it off so well. I was actually more interested in the story than I was watching a couple hunks of metal hit each other. That isn't to say it didn't have its great moments, in fact, it kind of presented a nice build up to the last fight, which was really good.

This show is relatively older, so it doesn't look as 'clean' as some of the newer shows. I guess people care about that, but even with that aside, the overall design of the show was really great. Some of the mechs had awesome designs, and I really enjoyed each of the environments presented. I couldn't say this show was visually lacking at all.

The only complaint I might have is I would have liked there to be a couple more episodes that really emphasized on the gravity of the overall situation. As with any show, there's a point where you realize things aren't so black and white, and something larger is presented to you. Bokurano had a nice set up, but unfortunately didn't have a lot of time to go deeper into what was going on behind the scenes. I wouldn't say it's a huge downside, considering it was mostly just focusing on the story of the characters, but even so, I was really interested in the large picture. But I suppose that's what the manga is for, right?

Lastly, the music. The music playing throughout the show was really good, but the main theme is amazing. Few anime out there have a really good opening song, and I'm overjoyed whenever I find a good one.

In the end, this show is still kind of "just another robot show" in a small way. I feel like some things could have been explored, but overall I'm happy with how it played out. It wasn't really a leader in terms of doing things differently, but even so, I really enjoyed every moment of it. If you haven't tuned in, you need to. It's a humble reminder that sometimes things don't need to be revolutionary, and sometimes something so simple can turn out really great.

I don't think I've enjoyed anything this much for a long time. Writing a spoiler-free review is hard as the entire thing consists of tragedy. At first everything seems to be going fine but by the end of episode 2 it's fallen into the depths of heartbreak and it only gets worse from there. One of the reasons I adore Bokurano with a passion is the characters. I can say for certain that I enjoyed every one of them. You really learned about all of their lives and that only served to make it all the more painful as the show went on. Many of them havea reason for fighting that makes it even harder to bear the pain of what's happening to these kids. And there's a huge amount of character development for a particular character that left me in tears by the end of the show.

Note that characters do die- no one is safe. At all. If you're looking for something positive then this is not a good pick, but I would venture to say it's inspiring.

Another reason I love Bokurano is because it's exactly the kind of anime I'm into. Call me an emotional masochist but I love feeling pain as I watch characters I've come to love go through hardships and death. If that's the kind of thing you're into as well, then let me tell you this anime is absolutely perfect for you. It's so easy to get drawn into and the pain never ends, even at the very last few seconds of the show.

I won't go into detail about the resolution, but it was excellent in my book. I didn't expect it in the least and it did leave me in tears.

Overall, this has been one of the best shows I've seen. I strongly recommend it to anyone and I'm very happy to have stumbled across it. It's one of those things that you're not going to forget and that haunts you when you're trying to fall asleep at night. 10/10, amazing anime.