Ranked #545

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. read more

Goddamn.

Just to throw out a disclaimer here, the manga totally dominates the shit out of the anime. The anime is still fantastic, but if you haven't read the manga yet, do so and then get ready to SHED SOME TEARS.

You will laugh, you will cry, you will get a boner; this anime is basically the best thing GONZO has ever produced. Strike Witches? Fuck outta here with that lame ass shit. This is the real motherfucking deal here.

Bokurano started as a manga written by Mohiro Kitoh. Remember Shadow Star Narutaru? That was this guy's creation. If you don't, I'll just sum it up by saying that this guy is pretty messed up. His collective work is probably the most depressing collection of stories ever written. "Oh look a nice show that looks like it's geared towards childre--" and then bam, the OP ends and someone gets raped or brutally beaten or j-walks or something. The majority of his productions revolve around children, too, so not only is he psychologically/physically abusing his characters, he's psychologically/physically abusing children too, which unlike NGE doesn't always result in bucketloads of angst. Sometimes it does though.

After the manga finished up, GONZO decided to adapt it into a 24 episode anime. But, the director of the anime decided that he fucking hated the manga and made some rewrites to the story, including an ending change. This is why the anime is sufficiently less depressing than the manga.

Anyway, onto the story. Basically, Bokurano is about this group of 15 kids who are at summer camp, and obviously they're just starting to get to know each other when they stumble over this cave at the beach. They decide it'd be fucking awesome to go exploring in it and at the other side is a small room with a bunch of computers and whatnot; you know, regular cave shit. After breaking shit for a solid 5 minutes, some random guy pops in, who we then learn is named Kokopelli, and is all, "stop fucking with my computers" at first but then gives the kids an offer to beta test a video game he's making. They agree (SPOILERS!!!!!111 except for one SPOILERS!!!!!111), sign a contract, and then wake up on the shore like none of that shit back there just happened. Soon they discover that the game they signed up for is actually real and that they have to pilot a big ass CGI gundam to fight against other big ass CGI gundams attacking Earth. SPOILERS!!111!!! They find out, after fighting a couple battles, that each pilot dies after his/her battle, and that if they lose, the Earth will be destroyed SPOILERS!!111!!!.

The art is pretty good. Decent character designs. Nothing too flashy but nothing shitpoor. The CGI was pretty obnoxious though.

Sound was money. The OP and ED are pretty dope. Better than Death Note's.

The thing about this show is that it's not really an action show despite being about mechas. The show is more of a character driven drama, as each episode goes into depth about the selected pilot's backstory. At first you think this is going to be some lame shit, but you do honestly end up connecting with the characters as they get more and more developed. Just be warned though, all these characters are depressing, and watching them SPOILERS!!!!111 die SPOILERS!!!1111! can be even more depressing, but sometimes it can be downright uplifting (not because you don't like them, but because it gives you hope). This shit is seriously deep, bros.

Enjoyment, well, it's pretty fucking good. Again, not as good as the manga, but I mean, it's still a well told story. If you're a woman or a man with high levels of estrogen you may cry a lot, but regardless, check this shit out. Did I mention you should read the manga too? Do both at the same time. Compare and contrast, bitches. read more

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 the watchers 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. read more

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 done by 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 ) read more

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. It was 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. read more

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. read more

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 story twists, 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. read more

I like to start off by saying that, yes, I have rated this a perfect ten score but I have a reason for doing so other than the fact that I do have special favor for this anime. I did try to be as fair as I can on the rating, but I do want to note the reason for a perfect score, which I think everyone deserves to know why. I really think that this anime accomplished exactly what it's purpose was. Many people that I have heard talk about Bokurano in the past in a negative way feel it is trying to be like Evangelion or some other mecha animes with kid pilots in giant robots. So I'm going to elaborate on exactly what I think this did well and what made it unique.

First off, this story, to me, was very well executed. The first episode builds interest while at the same time giving you a little bit of insight on the characters, and actually, if you pay enough attention, are a foreshadowing into the future of this anime. They really give very good hints of what the characters are like, these small hints really help you understand why the characters react certain ways later on in the story. As for the characters themselves they are very different, very unique, in a matter of fact their personalities are almost polarized. Several times when watching this anime I have seen the characters act in smalls way, doing small things, small nuances about their personality reminding me about how I would react to certain situations. They are all deep, 3-dimensional characters, but their action reflect what's on the inside AMAZINGLY well. Expounding on the characters in the aspect of how they are drawn, Mohiro Kitoh has a very simplistic, a very normal, average way of portraying the characters. No one has any strangely colored hair, no one's body shape is over exaggerated, no one is too cool, too strong, or too smart, they're all drawn and written in a way you can relate to. You don't look down on them as being less than you, but rather as equals. Mohiro Kitoh is also very good at expressions. In his original manga every character on the screen has a very unique expression that is true to the person who is expressing it and I feel that this was translated very well into the anime. There is one particular scene where all the characters are together during a very emotional time. The camera pans across the screen showing every characters expression. Just looking at each of their faces you can almost read their minds in that very moment by the way that they are expressing themselves. Even with more than one person on the screen, every character has a very unique expression which is drawn very in a very detailed way.

Another thing that many people have complained about in the past about Bokurano is the art being “sub par”. I, for my part, believe the art accomplished exactly what it was supposed to. You also have to realize that this anime was made in 2007, as well as the fact the art isn't meant to be so beautiful, so attractive, that the art distracts from the characters and story. To me the art style was drawn exactly the way it was on purpose. Everything is just normal, when it comes down to it, through the eyes of the characters the world isn't a very beautiful place anyway, at least not most of the time, so why should the background be drawn any differently? The way art was drawn really reflected the story in a very realistic way in my opinion.

Just like the arts the music sets the mood very well. The music was soft, warm and reminiscent, almost like a dream or a memory. It's warm, yet gloomy, and it's sole purpose was to set the mood. NOT to stand out. How can I say the Music deserved a ten? One of the ways I find best to see how effective a soundtrack is, is to watch the anime, download the OST and then listen to it from track one to the last track. How quick does it set the mood? How quick does images of the anime flood your mind? With Bokurano, the soundtrack is absolutely inspirational to me. With anime OSTs that are cool, epic, or just good from a musical standpoint, not all of them recall memories from that anime as vividly as the Bokurano OST did for me. Each track is distinct and simple enough to tell you without words, what each song represents in the anime. Images, places, characters are instantly brought back to mind when listening to this.

Now I have saved my thoughts for the story and enjoyment last, because these are the most controversial. If you have seen Bokurano, you know that the story is not a happy, frolicy, joyful one. Bokurano really addresses several problematic issues about individuals and society in general. I can't begin to name all of them. Some of the most poignant issues to me are child abuse, relationships between step family members and the effects of death, suffering and burdening responsibility on children. All of these topics are discussed in an honest non-graphic way, which I love. There are 14 different children as well as several other main characters and support characters. The cast is quite large and yet no one gets lost in the background. This anime is just so honest, so real... and one thing I want to get out of the way. This is not another Eva. I really don't think a child would react the way Shinji did, and the story of Eva, to me, wasn't really about Shinji but the Eva's. In Bokurano The robots are used as tools to teach you about people, real people, with realistic lives. These kids are not orphans or estranged kids clammering for the attention of their parents that are never there, trying to make a life with their giant mutant robots. They have families, GOALS, and things they are torn away from to serve a greater need. It's very easy to put yourself in the shoes of a Bokurano character, any angst developed in the story is so down to earth you can really feel their pain. Bokurano is TECHNICALLY a slice-of-life but so was "Star Driver". Bokurano really is a drama, a character study even, and it may take several times watching it to get everything out of it. Also, some people felt it was slow at times and yes, I do believe that that is true, but if you find the characters interesting enough I believe you'd want it to go even slower. When watching this I was deeply intrigued with the characters and I read every word in the subtitles, sometimes even pausing and rewinding, contemplating how this adds to what the character is now. At times I wish it would have gone slower because there is so much to be learned. Even if the plot was slow at times it wasn't enough for me to even drop the story rating from a 10 to a 9.

And finally, on the subject of enjoyment... I'd rather use the term appreciation. Due to the dark, gloomy and doleful nature of this anime I can say en-JOY-ment, root word "joy" or happiness isn't appropriate. But after watching this you will appreciate it and very likely come to appreciate many things. (To understand what I am talking about... watch it.)

In conclusion, if you are not a fan of dark and gloomy, you will not like this, but if you appreciate good story telling, with wonderful character development, and characters who you can relate to, you'll like this if you have the patients. Despite the Mecha this is far more. read more

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 under your 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.
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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 slight ones.
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 read more

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 than this is one you should watch. read more

I can't believe the rating for this anime at 7! The only reason I'm not giving the series a 10 is because I feel that the finale was really lacking, enough for me to dock the overall score.

Wthout revealing anything, all I can say about the story is that it is original, captivating, and at times downright tear-jerking. My only beef is, like I said, that the finale did not provide the right kind of closure that I needed as a viewer. I give the story a 9, at GREAT

I really like the drawing and art style in general throughout the entire series. A lot of the characters have similar coloring, whch is sort of confusng at times because of how many main characters there are- but I think that the drawing was supposed to be very realistic so naturally many of the characters, being Japanese, had dark hair. I give art a 9 at GREAT

The sound is overall pretty great. No lies, I was not a fan of the opening theme song. Of course by episode five I was getting it stuck in my head. There are also two ending songs, the first of which I find extrmely corny lyric wise and the second is so-so. The music played within the show itself is fine, I love love love the violin and all the heavy vibrato during the really emotional parts. I give sound a 9 at GREAT

Characters: Great. One of my criteria for me to not drop a series is that the characters HAVE to be well developed. Considering that there are so many characters,it's especially impressive how realistic they are. I love the story arcs for each eisode that allow you to really get to know them. It's really great. Characters: 10 at OUTSTANDING

I thoroughly enjoyed the psycological aspects of the series, and the undertone of mecha and action is refreshing but not boring. Enjoyment 10 at OUSTANDING

Overall: 9, GREAT, this is one of my favorite series and I was ale to actually finish it in like two weeks whereas I usually drop by the fouth episode. I love Bokurano and highly reccomend it to those who have been stufaced with shitty harem and magic girl themes constantly in every single anime you come across. -.- read more

I will be making many references to Narutaru. Can’t help making a joke about it and for all intents and purposes, this is a double review for both series. Damn things are practically the same anyway.
Also, this is one of those weird retrospective texts that focuses more on what happens around a series that in it. If you don’t like it, it ain’t my fault.

Bold letters refer to other titles. No links provided for those, do your own homework you lazy bums!

PROLOGUE
Bokurano, aka Narutaru mk2.
Ok, the guy who makes these things clearly goes for impressions through shock value around children abuse. Where Narutaru was “Let’s have kids being tortured and miserable, with Pokemon flavor”, Bokurano is “Let’s have kids being tortured and miserable, with huge robots flavor”. In both cases, the critters or the robots don’t really play a role in the actual points the titles want to show. They are there for flavor, just like milk is to tea. Down to it, the only focus to both series is “Torture kids, torture them more, and them kill them miserably.” Sounds disgusting and vile, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what makes it so damn special. It’s like Ausvich in a way. You don’t care about the area, as much about the inhuman acts that took place there during the era where being blonde and blue-eyed was totally GAR.

VALUE SECTION
Anyway, where Narutaru lacked an overall objective in its story and was mostly random arcs about kids in happy-go-lucky situations going from bad to worse, Bokurano actually tries to have one.
Saving the world with a huge robot!
…Pretty lame-sounding, doesn’t it? What are we to like this premise, twelve year olds?
(EVA 01 stares angrily towards me)
Errr… What I meant is that it basically uses a childish concept as means of shock effect. And it works too. Imagine the Care Bears dancing happily around a tree and then suddenly the tree sprouts teeth, eats them, goes “munch, munch” and them spits out their bloody sculls.
…Yeah, nice way to kill your childhood innocence.

Bokurano is similar. Just like its older brother used cute little critters, this one uses big robots. You think it’s going to be childish but then turns Happy Tree Friends … without the humorous irony.
Does it work? Erm, yes, it works as shock value for sure. It really is GASP material the first time you watch it. The thing is, shock value is a one-time special ability. Just like any super attack in any shounen series, it only works once on each individual. The second time you try to use it, the opponent has a way to counter it, block it, negate it, or in the case of the viewer “It’s not as shocking anymore!” Therefore, it needs to have other elements to keep the viewer still interested in replying the whole mess.
…And this is where it all falls down.

Narutaru was bad in this regard as the complete lack of general direction as a story meant that you have no reason for you to want to relive the whole mess. What is there to watch? Bokurano kinda fixed that problem by adding the objective of world salvation. Ok, now you can watch again the process of how they try to do it.
…And it still fails.

STORY AND CHARACTER SECTION
You see, it’s not really about saving the world. It’s about kids in miserable situations. It’s like “Wow, I will be dead soon; how will I spend my last hours alive?” So you can pretty much screw the whole battle for the salvation of Earth. Although losing the battle automatically means that Earth will blow up, it’s not really the point at all. The robot battles are as I said flashy extras that serve very little to the actual plot. They do provide mystery as in many cases the cast tries to figure out what the hell is going on here, and in some other cases it does affect the story as the damage from the battles affects the lives of the rest of the world. All that unfortunately happens too rarely and in very convenient moments to actually feel natural in-story. For example, if someone is killed by a bad robot, he will be relative to the kid piloting the robot at the moment.

Practically, the story could easily be remade as individual arcs around the last moments of children with terminal diseases. You can take out the robots and the salvation of Earth and it would make almost no difference. What I mean is that although there are 14 kids that are supposed to be the main cast, the story always focuses on one or two at the most at any given time, leaving all the rest as background decoration, until their time to fight and/or die comes along. Now, I am not an ass to demand 14 characters being exposed at the very same time. But I do demand for all of them to be equally important to the story. They could for example do a Bacanno! type of non-linear story, where we see the same events happening all the time but through different perspective, each time from a different kid. We could have 1 battle with a bad robot in the whole series and each kid gets to fight it at the same time. That would make it concrete. But no, what we got was a singing contest. The kids were taking turns, waiting like drones for an invisible force to choose their turn and then all of a sudden they would be thrown in a dreadful situation where they are supposed to resolve it before fighting for the last time in their lives.

It works as shock value but at the same time it has no overall binding with the freaking setting of the story. Not to forget to mention all that political mambo-jumbo they threw in that serve as nothing else but detracting from the main themes of the series. Why have them if they make the story even sloppier than it already is? That translates to bad storytelling. It was bad in Narutaru; it tried to be better here but in fact it ain’t.

I must also point out that the anime version pulled the adaptation decay turd on us and changed the ending to be happy in a way. Well, duh, I preferred the sad and grim manga version far better.
Thus, Story and Characters are bad for not feeling natural to the viewer because of the lack in uniformity. (5)

And I know that a series is not supposed to be realistic, but come on, the story is supposed to be about contemporary Japan of today, normal kids of today, having normal lives of today. Excuse me for expecting some realism. Not in reactions to normal problems; it does a good job in its slice-of-life drama. I mean on a level of constant uniformity where they are main characters all the time and not for a few episodes when the scriptwriter decides out of the blue to throw in a “The robot calls you to be the next pilot” ass-pulling trope to turn their role from Kid12 to Main Hero.

Hm, what did I leave out? Ah, yes, Animation and Sound.

ANIMATION AND SOUND SECTION
I won’t stick here much, sue me. The CG on the robots is generally unnatural but still better than in most series out there. The character figures look simplistic and unappealing but that is not really a minus. If they were trendy shounen leads, they would be complete sh*t in the context of the story; so at least they save face where they lose it in character motivation. So good job there for a change. Cinematics for atmosphere built-up? Sure, they are ok. BGM? I didn’t lose my mind over it but it was ok. Voice acting? … Hm, they sound natural. Even that mascot critter does not have a squeaky voice. Nice.
Ok, I must admit they did a very good job here, despite not WOWing me in any way. 8 on both of them.

And for the final entry we have Enjoyment. Boy, so hard to excuse this part.

ENJOYMENT SECTION
I sure liked the controversial aspect of the series. It’s not really about kids piloting transforming robots and happy-go-lucky protect the planet from evil aliens. It is also thought-provoking in a way, as it does make you think and feel strange about the situations the kids are thrown in.

And now the nasty part. This series is based too much on shock value. It leaves you with a vivid impression because of the horrible things that happen in it. Yet at the same time, it has very little to back it up. The second time you try to watch it, you clearly see it ain’t so dramatic and the actual plot is peanuts. Also, the focus on character exposition is pretty amateur’s work, as most feel like stunts for most of the story until magically thrown to the position of Main Hero for the sake of… well, dying. Character exposition moments before dying? Talk about Newbie Errors 101. Too many characters, too little time invested on each, too many things befalling each one at once, making it unnatural.

I know most anime fans don’t care about that and as long as it shocked them it is considered a success. I on the other hand look at the bigger picture. Does it do it better than other stories with similar elements? Just think about the most famous titles that kinda remind you of Bokurano (and it ain’t Narutaru ).
Alien Nine ? Hm, maybe.
Elfen Lied ? Far less characters and thus far more focus on each one of them.
Neon Genesis ? Sorry, dwarfed big time.
Battle Royale ? Ok, now it is invisible.
My, look at that, now it ain’t so special after all. It may rank on the better made but it still feels bad next to the titles it has similarities with. For all it maters, I admit it’s better than Narutaru.
…Oh well, let’s give it the base and call it for the day; I feel generous today. See ya next time I feel like writing something.

SUGGESTION LIST
Narutaru
Alien Nine
Elfen Lied
Neon Genesis
Battle Royale

p.s. Here are some overall rating for Narutaru next to Bokurano. Just a last moment bonus and such…

Animation: Narutaru:6, Bokurano:8
Sound: Narutaru:6, Bokurano:8
Story: Narutaru:4, Bokurano:5
Characters: Narutaru:5, Bokurano:5
Value: Narutaru:3, Bokurano:3
Enjoyment: Narutaru:4, Bokurano:5 read more

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. read more

I didn't watch this anime because it was recommended to me, or because it was hyped and I had to see what all the opinions were about. Bokurano was a relatively unknown anime to me, not that I watch anime all that much. Oddly, the reason I watched it was because it was one of several that had been left on my hard drive.
I have to admit -- it was the intro that hooked me first about this series. Sometimes, I'd keep watching the show just so that I could see the intro at the beginning. The intro itself is oddly inspiring, if not very characteristic of the show's nihilistic viewpoints. More than that though, it's catchy.
It's difficult to not spoil Bokurano, but the main reason to watch it is to figure out exactly what it is that you're watching. The plot starts out simple enough. I heard from a friend that it's very similar to Evangelion -- 15 children pilot a robot and try to stop new, enemy robots who appear and challenge them, blah blah.
But Bokurano is not Evangelion. It isn't even remotely close to Evangelion, despite the similarities in the exposition.
The mecha wasn't the reason for my watching this. I've never been a big fan of giant robots, or at least that's never been the main reason for me to watch an anime.
Bokurano is psychological. At times, it can be depressing, and if you have a simple frame of mind, I wouldn't suggest watching it. In many ways, the show questions the meaning of life itself, though I can't spoil how exactly. It takes a bit of patience to watch, but the show rewards you for your resolve.
In short, Bokurano is inspiring and depressing at the same time. Watching it was an experience, to say the least. It's a good show. I recommended it to a friend, and he's glad I did -- he's on episode eight, and thanks me quite a bit for the recommendation. read more

it wasnt sad enough honestly. Originally when i read the plot of this anime, i was expecting tears. When i started watching it, it amplified the thought. It was heartwarming and tear inducing. (not literally but im not an easy crier- so for anyone else it would make them teary eyed). Unfortunetly, the only thing that truely threatened tears, was the plot. The beginning helped formulate the storyline and exposed how depressing and traumatic the experience would be for those kids. As you go through the episodes, there are some sad moments, but after you go through half the series, it's not as touching. The individual stories are definitely heart breaking, but it never felt like the deaths of the children prior had any permanent or lasting effect to the kids that were left. The anime never emphasized how each one of them was TRUELY gone. As the anime progressed, i expected them to show how one more chair was empty, but when a character was gone, i didnt really miss them. It felt like once the characters died, it was like they never existed.

I have conflicting feelings about how they progressed the story. Like i said above, they never emphasized how hopeless the situation is. After each episode, a kid would disappear. It personally didnt seem like the characters remembered them anymore. I would rather see how the kids were tormented about their hopelessness, but the story seemed to focus on acceptance and each individual kids problems and resolving them before they died. The anime focused more on individuals instead of friendship.

I gave this anime a solid 8 because it was a great anime indeed, but it didnt focus on what i personally wanted to see. Like i said, i wanted to see a little more of how they reacted to the characters before them gone. The individual stories were amazing in itself, and maybe they didnt create character ties because they didnt have enough episodes. (24 is a set i think- ...) Maybe if they had more episodes they would have been able to emphasize how death amongst friends impacted the characters.

EDIT:
my gradebook is slightly different then most- but even if i gave it an 8, for most others it probably would have been a 9.

im bad at explaining myself but to wrap it up and repeat myself for those that STILL dont understand what im saying:
what i expected to watch was a little more trauma between the deaths of their friends- but the plot only expressed the trauma on their own deaths. The characters were heartwarming, but the ties between the characters were almost non-existant. read more

Disclaimer: if you prefer pure action before story, go back to watching naruto, bleach or powerRangers mighty force XyZ!.............. else keep reading :)


//for those who have never seen it:

recommendation: try and watch the first 2 or 3 episodes in one go.

go ahead, but dont form an opinion till you've seen more than several episodes

if you like mangas, that is probably as good or better choice to start with



------------------- Read this only if you seen episode 1+ -------------------
//for those who have only seen the first episode and plan on quiting or placing it on hold:

the short answer: Slow at first, but surprisingly twisted and enlightening later on!

The author is heck lots more twisted than the creator of "Saw"! (without having to go into lots of gore and blood.)

it surprised the heck out of me and kept me wanting to know more.

my first impression (first episode) was: this is weird and kinda slow/boring...! am going to give it a score of 6 and probably stop watching it.

but i decided to give it another chance and continue watching... totally unexpected, things just kept getting better and better

recommendation: go and watch the 2nd+ episodes now! :)

i believe that it being slow at first is totally intentional and what makes it as good of a story as it is overall

I think the manga version may actually be a superior way of enjoying this great story, because of the way it's told, its just more natural medium.

note: this was never intended as a full review, but more of an incentive
Everyone needs to form a clear opinion about an anime/story, before giving it a low score.
Never form one based on the first impressions.
Grammar: if you think it was not that good, i apologize :) read more

Let me first start off by saying, i never, ever, EVER, write reviews. But this anime, after hundreds of others, made me do it. It's just a shame that this anime isn't very popular, because it very certainly deserves it. Also, i'm more of the shounen/beat the crap out of your opponent animes, and i absolutely HATE mecha/robot animes. I totally forgot about my hate for mecha animes as i was watching this.

The anime is about 15 middle schoolers who are put into a disgustingly terrible situation. Before i saw this anime i was thinking "What, 15 main characters? That's retarded." Wow. I want to stab my leg off just for thinking that.

STORY: 10
My god. Dude. The plot of this anime is just golden. You just love seeing how these guys react to being put into such an unimaginable position. And as soon as your feeling it's getting kind of repetitive, they put in some random twist that just has you going "Woooooowww."

Art : 8
I didn't know what to think about the art. Sometimes it looks unique and sometimes it looks really weird. I have to say most of the characters are pretty ugly.

Sound : 9
The sound is awesome. It really adds to the mood and makes whatever's going on seem a lot more sad/messed up.

Character : 10
Wow, dude. There are 15 main characters and 24 episodes. I was thinking "Wow the characters must not be though out very well or something." But despite this, all the character's personalities and even their true selves are perfectly thought out.

Enjoyment : 10
I loved this anime. I literally could not stop watching it. Honestly I have not been asleep for like 2 days now because i've been up watching it. And i could not help but write this review.

Overall : 10
I would honestly like to meet the guy who would think this anime sucked. It is just so awesome. I totally recommend it. For me it is top anime of 09. read more

Bokurano is an anime series that follows a group of children as they pilot a robot named Zearth, fending of 15 alien invaders. The catch is though, is after they defeat the alien enemy, they child in control of Zearth dies. And if they lose thier fight, the Earth dies. There’s a lot more to it than that, but anything else I could say would be a spoiler.

I will say this though, it’s hard to pin down how I feel about this show.

Initially I saw similarities to Evangelion, but I quickly let those leave my mind. The plot held my interest the entire show. Bokurano has a nice and steady pace, the plot moves forward each episode and leaves you wanting to no more and more. Most everything gets answered and explained. The ending fits well with the rest of the series, there’s no sudden mood change or last second curve ball, it ends quite nicely. There was also this social commentary vibe I was getting about the “all for one” mind set Japan has. Bokurano spends a lot of time exploring the idea that individualism is just as important as a group mentality mind set.

The characters are the stars of the show, specifically the 15 kids that pilot Zearth. Each of the kids gets fleshed out nicely, but at sometimes the impacts of their deaths seemed cheap. The structure of show is easy to catch onto pretty fast, so it becomes obvious real fast when someone is going to die. The character development the kids get right before they pilot Zearth is great, but to me it seemed almost to convenient. The writers do a great job with everyone’s back stories however. They all are believable and unique. I didn’t get tired of hearing about the characters or think that the backstories were to repetitive. The characters come to life and get a reaction out of you. There wasn’t one main character I felt indifferent about.

The animation was nothing to out of the ordinary, very standard Gonzo anime production animation quality wise. Nothing that stopped me from enjoying the show though. The music was very plain which sometimes worked for the show, I was surprised by this because Bokurano is a very emotional show. There seemed to be very few pieces of music.

Bokurano does a great job at showing how even through adversity or even in the face of death, there is a reason to going forward and to keep fighting. Bokurano is an anime I see myself looking back on to think about and discuss with people. It is an anime I think will grow on me more with time, something I can definitively see myself re watching someday. read more

I wanted to like this. I really did. It supposedly had a lot I liked in Gantz, only with using characters instead of violence as it's way of telling the story. It should be something I like. And I guess it's worth a watch, if you have time to waste.

The art is rather nice, but annoyingly standard. No exciting stylistic choices, nothing high-brow. The sound is rather nice, despite the fact that I disliked the opening theme, the editing and feel are great. The characters are not boring, but tend to be very cliche. If you've watched enough anime, you already know all the themes to all of them. The plot is sub-par. It's standard, throw-away, recycled mecha stuff; Kids get giant robot, fight aliens to save the world! Evil government, military involvement, etc. My gripe is not that this is bad. My gripe is that it feels the producers chickened out. This could have been so much more.

As it is, this is a mix of Evangelion and Gantz, each of which was more daring because it went deeper into it's own thing, while Bokurano remains annoyingly neutral. It's shocking but doesn't dare to be disturbing. There is no fast paced fun, nor eery and deliberate atmospheres developing slowly. It just feels neutral. It focuses on a character each chapter, and excluding a few, none of them get enough focus for us to feel for them. This should have been an amazing show, I cannot stress this enough. And I'm sure than in the manga form, this is a brilliant work.

Yet at the end of the day, I have to sum it up as "meh, wasn't bad". read more