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.
