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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | Stretch | # | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): Bokurano is a surprisingly intense and fascinating show which hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Perhaps that's because it takes a while to get going. I wasn't all that impressed by the first episode; a couple things which struck me were the slick visuals and CG animation, and the strange style of character designs which somehow reminded me of something you'd see in a Hiyao Miyazaki film. One potential problem I noticed was that as of the end of the episode, not a single character stood out as an interesting person, which might be all the more serious since there's a cast of 14 or 15 kids involved in the game. My hopes weren't all that high going into episode two, but I was surprised at how well it held my interest (and a very unexpected and mystifying twist at the end). My first impressions had been way off: Bokurano is in fact a fascinating show, with a remarkably clever and well thought-out plot which goes infinitely beyond what you'd expect from the typical mecha series. Once it gets going, the characters do behave in a quite plausible manner for kids caught in such a strange situation (which would be an easy thing to screw up and thereby seriously damage the watchability of the series as a whole). It's definitely the characters, not the mecha, which get center stage here. In fact, each one gets a sort of episode to his- or herself, allowing plenty of skillful character development. Some are jerks while others are admirable people you can sympathize with--in other words, a realistic mix. Actually, you feel sorry even for the a--holes. I especially liked the episode in which a boy who has no parents and is the guardian of his siblings learns it's his turn (I swear, that was Tomokazu Sugita's voice!). I was surprised when some adults learned what's going on, and extra contestants were allowed to join the game, but it has worked out well. I was even more surprised when one adult, who I was sure would take command and become the primary character, meets an untimely fate. Better yet was an episode which contained no mecha combat at all, but rather related this character's past in a moving way. Then there's the sarcastic "Dung Beetle" who acts as an intermediary between the contestants and the robot itself. Bokurano is really remarkably good; there are genuinely funny touches here and there, and as the "rules" of the game become apparent, the players find themselves in a gripping damned-if-they-do-an Unfortunately, I found the final episode to be disappointing. It wasn't a bad ending, just not a great one--and a great one was what I was expecting based on the series up 'til that point. That's the problem with shows which are exceptional early on; they raise your expectations to a point which is very difficult for them to meet. A show with such a potentially disturbing premise as Bokurano especially needs a rousing, heart-warming finale; just winning isn't enough, there's a certain point-spread that's got to be beaten as well. Previously all sorts of problems with the logic of the plot seemed insignificant since the drama was being handled in such a slick and professional manner. But with a so-so conclusion they are no longer quite so forgiveable and come back to haunt the show (side note: I read that the Bokurano manga was incomplete when work began on the anime, and the crew was authorized to come up with their own ending, which might explain a few things). Up until the next-to-last episode I was genuinely intrigued by this show and certain that I'd rewatch it once I was finished; now I'm not so sure. If the ending had been outstanding I'd have rated this as a Buy, but the best I can do now is a Rent. But like I said, my expectations for the conclusion were very high, and at the end I still remain in awe at the sheer professionalism with which the bulk of the series was handled--for the most part, these people really knew what they were doing! My favorite line: "How screwed up does this have to be before they're satisfied?!" Last updated Friday, December 07 2007. | ||||||||
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| Unevaluated | Big Fire | # | ||||||
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Finished the first episode...Will I watch episode 2? Yes...but it didn't get me jumping for joy over it...It is a nice twist in the ever popular robot comes down to earth to take out mankind genre, but i am not fully sold...This show makes Heroic Age much more pleasing to watch...
Last updated Monday, April 16 2007. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Bokurano | http://bokurano.jp/index01.html |
| Official Site | |
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