Bokura no

As fifteen children at a summer camp enjoy their carefree vacation together, they stumble upon a small cave near the beach. The group finds a mysterious room deep within its caverns, where they meet a strange man who calls himself Kokopelli. The man invites the children to play a game that involves taking turns controlling a robot to protect the Earth against aliens. Thinking it might be an interesting computer game, all but one of the children sign a contract agreeing to play.

Later that day, the giant robot appears in person and the children are teleported into its cockpit, where they find Kokopelli, who pilots a fight against a similar robotic creature that has appeared nearby. After winning the battle, Kokopelli tries to apologize but is interrupted as the children are teleported back to the ground in the midst of the carnage.

As the bewilderment following the fight settles, the robot suddenly disappears and the children are left scared and confused. Despite seeming like a harmless game at first, the children never anticipated the stakes of this game and how their pasts would intertwine with their decisions going forward.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ushiro, Jun Main

Minagawa, Junko Japanese

Koemushi Main

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Yamura, Daiichi Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Moji, Kunihiko Main

Miyata, Kouki Japanese

Honda, Chizuru Main

Takahashi, Ao Japanese

Nakarai, Mako Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Kirie, Yousuke Main

Asanuma, Shintaro Japanese

Machi, Yoko Main

Sanpei, Yuuko Japanese

Ano, Maki Main

Higa, Kumiko Japanese

Yoshikawa, Kanji Main

Nojima, Kenji Japanese

Nagai, Masaru Producer

Nanba, Hideyuki Producer

Morita, Hiroyuki Director

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Reviews

Aug 31, 2024

monachina666

Recommended

I started watching "Bokurano" with high hopes for an engaging narrative and thrilling battles, but I found myself a bit disappointed. While the story has its merits, the fight scenes left much to be desired. I still found some enjoyment in it, but it diverged quite a bit from what I anticipated based on the summaries and trailers.

Initially, the plot felt a bit disjointed and rushed, almost like a flimsy excuse to throw a group of children into giant robots to defend the Earth. The battles were rather lackluster, and the animation quality was inconsistent, with some moments looking quite subpar, especially in the beginning.

However, ... I’m glad I persevered because the series eventually picks up. The narrative takes unexpected turns, revealing layers that make it far more intriguing than it first appeared. The quality of the battles does improve as the story progresses, but don’t expect a typical mecha anime filled with flashy combat and dynamic moves. Instead, it focuses on character development, allowing viewers to connect with each child’s backstory and motivations before their respective confrontations. The gradual unveiling of the mysteries surrounding the robots and the conflicts adds depth, and I’d rather not spoil any of the twists for future viewers.

The soundtrack is fairly enjoyable; the opening theme grows on you after a few episodes, and the background music complements the emotional scenes effectively.

In summary, "Bokurano" is a solid series that tells the story of a group of kids thrust into an unwanted role as Earth's defenders. Their personal struggles and uncertainties are explored as they grapple with the meaning of their fight, whether it’s for themselves, someone they care about, or simply the choice to surrender. If you’re looking for non-stop action, this isn’t the show for you. It’s more suited for those who appreciate a well-crafted narrative with gradual development and poignant moments filled with emotion and sacrifice.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 17, 2023

The_Real_MC_Ride

Mixed Feelings

Bokura No has pretty unique way of telling it's story with it's 15 "main" characters. Basically every one of the 15 get an episode or two dedicated to them and them alone during which their personal story is fleshed out and they get their turn in the spot light. During these short story form character arcs the show will tackle a number of heavy topics, all the meanwhile the primary overarching plot is slowly fleshed out and the "mainer" characters (of the 15 "main" characters a couple are more centric and focused on harder) go through a bit more growth. It's an interesting concept and ... whether or not you like it will depend largely on your personal tastes.

Personally I found it hard to grow attached to many of the characters given how little time the show spends on each one of them individually. It tends to be very episodic and you get very little time to get to attached to each character during their brief spotlight time. Again it all depends on how you connect to it. The show does to a pretty good job of characterizing and fleshing out these characters in the short time they get and has very good 'short story' form backgrounds for them. So if that sounds appealing to you, then you'll probably get a lot out of this show. Another huge complaint I have is the action/fight sequences. They basically don't exist. A couple of them have neat gimmicks or cool moments attached to them, but as a whole the fights are super short and bare bones. The overarching story is neat though.

Overall I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the concept of a collection of short backstories that explore a variety of heavy topics that all string together in an overarching story, but I'd warn anyone expecting good action sequences or long term character development that those things are largely absent here. It's certainly unique, I personally prefer long term character growth over this short story format and found it hard to care about most the characters because of it, but I appreciate the uniqueness and I still think it makes for an interesting watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Feb 10, 2022

Gsarthotegga

Not Recommended

Bokura no I don't want to watch this anymore.

I dropped this series a little bit past the halfway point... perhaps on episodes 14-15. Not sure. I did read up on what happened later, and it just gets bleaker, and very apocalyptic--except on a cosmic scale. For a point of reference, the direction it goes in reminds me a lot of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series--which I'd definitely recommend over this, because it's better in pretty much every way.

Anyway, this is known as one of the MOST DEPRESSING ANIME EVAR!!!11... Yeah, it's sad, depressing, I'd even say affecting. There's something about Mohiro Kitoh's stories that ... are compelling at first, but they never quite enrapture me. The characters always look so sad, there's realistic drama, and many of the scenarios are upsetting. I was similarly underwhelmed with his Shadow Star Narutaru, a series that's like an edgy wrist-slashing version of Pokemon.

I like dark, depressing media, but something about Kitoh's work feels incomplete or superficial. I'll chalk it up to subpar, on the nose social commentary and weak scripts. I've never read much of his mangas, so it could be something lost in the anime adaptations.

The concept here is that giant enemies are attacking the earth, and 15 middle school kids are forced to pilot a mech to prevent the destruction of the world. THEN THE MAIN PILOT DIES. Yup, so the formula is one character is focused on for 1-2 episodes, then they pilot the mech and, poof, they're gone. There's very little time for character development, and most of the other characters develop very minimally because the whole focus is on the character who will die. It just feels very shallow, and there aren't any surprises. I usually found myself yawning while I waited for them to die.

Pretty much everything about the show is fairly mediocre. The art is okay at best, the animation is weak, the CGI fight scenes are pure garbage; I honestly wish they could have somehow explored these ideas without the combat. Ugh. The episodes were almost episodic, and I find writing has to be really strong or have flashy visuals and presentation to keep a viewer interested for a whole series--writing stuff like this effectively is not easy.

About the best we get is a pretty good opening episode with effective character drama, a nice opening animation and song, and a few emotional scenes here and there. Yawn.

Also, if you like seeing sadsacks moping around and staring off into space while they countdown the seconds till their impending doom, this is your show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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