Bokurano
Bokurano: Ours

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No reviews for this? You're killing me.

Bokurano is a story about finding meaning in the absolute meaninglessness that is our lives.

In essence, it's a series of 15 short stories about these 15 kids who are trapped in a competition where they gotta pilot a 500m tall robot. If they lose, the world is screwed. Gradually, through a series of well written and shocking twists, everything about their mission ends up being bad for them and pretty much everyone around them. It's a brutally realistic depiction of what you'd get if you actually did put a bunch of middle schoolers in charge of this sort ... of thing. Some are wannabe heroes, others have mental breakdowns, at least one goes on a murdering rampage, and a few just don't care. It also turns out that people don't like it when you fight in the middle of a city and cause 10,000 casualties.

How tragic is this series? Well, sometimes you can actually hear the author chuckling in the background as one of these kids gets their lives or minds completely destroyed. On occasion a few of these tales end on a heartwarming or content note, but I suspect that's only because Kitoh had stomach worms at the time or something.

But the thing is, even though this story is soul crushing, it's continuously gripping. I read the whole thing over the course of a weekend in a feverish marathon, something I never do for anything. Each child's story is unique and interesting, and every time one ended and another one came up, my reaction would be "I don't care about this kid, that last one was so good how can this one compare?" and every time without fail, I would be blown away.That kid's unique struggle and subsequent battle would set them totally apart from everyone else, and be good enough to stand as its own story. Kitoh is that good of an author, and even though he's royally screwed up in the head(as shown by this, Narutaru, His Murder Plan, and everything else he's ever written) he knows how to put a method into his madness. The guy is a genius, but I don't think I'd ever want to meet him.

In terms of art, all the human characters are wirey and lacking in detail. Backgrounds are elaborate, but sharp and have a sort of blank feeling to them. Objects like vehicles are interesting and futuristic without being outlandish. The art style is perfect for Kitoh's style of writing, honestly. The main attraction is the "mecha" designs though. These things are not Gundams. They absolutely enormous, with styles varying between vaguely insectoid and completely abstract. Kitoh's mind is not limited to his eccentric writing, it caries over into his artwork. You generally do not see anything as weird as this guy's stuff in any comic.

Now let's talk about the anime for a sec. The anime version of Bokurano sucks. The director hated the manga's story because it was too bleak, and tried to rewrite it himself. It turns out that that guy did not have the ability to outdo our mildly psychotic author here. The result was a pretty show with an amazing OP, but a sucky story and a lame ending. Speaking of endings, the manga ending is incredible. It's not awe inspiring or anything like that, it's just a beautiful ending that completely fit the story.

In terms of being a realistic deconstruction of the mecha genre, this series completely stomps Evangelion through and through. And most other giant robot series for that matter. You actually might not be able to enjoy robot stories after this, since Bokurano turns them completely inside-out. It's almost the polar opposite of Gurren Lagann, but somehow just as awesome.

Viz is publishing this in the US starting in February 2010. I'm totally picking it up.

Bokurano is something that probably initially misled a lot of people. Nowadays it has a pretty infamous reputation, but if you were to see or read it when it first came out, or nowadays if you somehow go into it knowing nothing about it, it might seem like a pretty innocent and generic premise: a bunch of kids get signed into a contract where they have to pilot a giant robot and save the earth from aliens. It seems like something that has been done a thousand times before, but if you are perceptive you might notice that there is something...off about it all.

And then ... you keep reading and realize just what it is that you've stumbled into.

The twist comes with the knowledge that the robot will kill the pilot after a battle is over to fuel itself. Meaning that all of the children who entered the contract effectively exchanged their lives for the sake of saving the world. And there is nothing anyone anywhere can do to change that fact, these children are dead no matter what they do.

Before each battle, we get a bit of insight into every single child and find out who they are, what they're struggling with, and what motivates them.

It is in these stories that Bokurano shows just how bleak and dark it is. The stories vary in their exact tone, but they all carry an inherent despair and sentimentality because the child is eventually going to die. Some of the stories are REALLY dark, with one in particular that I think most people will definitely remember. What's most interesting is that some of these stories seem to have points of their own, usually to espouse some very unusual and cynical messages that you really don't see that often, such as a discussion about the whole "one death is a tragedy, one million is a statistic" concept that ends nothing like you'd expect it to.

Even though this manga is so oppressive, and seems to border on being dark for darkness' own sake at times, it is incredibly gripping and powerful. All of the children's stories are heartbreaking in their own way and none of them are bad. The side characters like the army guys and Koyemshi are also pretty memorable in their own right. The ending to this series is also brilliantly done.

Kitoh's art is actually kind of strange. Normally I dislike the kind of stylistic decisions Kitoh makes; his characters have pretty generic, simplified facial features common to a lot of manga, and his characters are mostly pretty skinny and have very subdued facial expressions. But he obviously knows a thing or two about drawing, his scene composition, perspective, grasp of form, etc, are all clearly displayed in the manga and help elevate the storytelling of the manga. His design sense is also quite unique; his robots look nothing like what you'd see in most mech shows, many of them are very bizarre and abstract and don't really resemble anything in particular. The end result meaning that even though Kitoh is not necessarily one of my favorite artists in the industry, I do like his style all the same and I feel that it is more than adequate to telling this story.

At the end of the day, Bokurano is probably a manga that many will find is just trying way too hard to be edgy. But if you are like me you will probably find that the execution of the heavy content is more than satisfactory and makes the story more powerful most of the time. If you want something that will give you intense feels and is unlike anything you have seen in the robot genre, this is for you. It is a pretty different work altogether from Evangelion despite some superficial similarities, so you wouldn't necessarily dislike it if you're not an Evangelion fan.

A title that will stick with you.

The story's main focus is a large cast of kids who are thrown into an almost inescapable death-trap, forcing them to rethink how they wish to spend their last moments alive. It is a concept that fascinates me to no end. Each character is unique and memorable in this anthology of death and misery.

The problem lies in its execution. Some of the twists and turns that happen in the story are truly impactful, but the characters experiencing these events simply feel alien. It is one of those titles where characters act deadpan most of the time. When the story ... is told through people that fail to represent basic human behavior, most of its messages fall flat. Add some clunky monologues about death and issues in society, and it all makes the story feel pretentious toward the later parts.

Without spoiling too much here are two examples. Out of all the kids, only one of them actually panics and thinks of how much he has yet to experience in life. Yet everyone around him acts as though he's abnormal. I can't help but think this character had more potential. Later on we also learn one of the girls was abused in the worst way possible, and yet everyone acts as if she's the villain in the drama. Heck, her parents seem to condemn her actions more than they condemn the men who put her in that situation.

Did I still enjoy it? I would say yes, the art was fitting, some of the children's stories do stand out and it captures a dire atmosphere. It makes the reader think and that makes it memorable and worth picking up if you want something that isn't just brainless entertainment.

The usual complaints I see are that characters have a lack of "emotion" and 'reaction". Subtle facial features and pent up emotions do not mean there is a lack of emotion.

In real life, when someone is happy they do not jump around in joy and their faces do not suddenly get larger with a gigantic smile. These are over exaggerated emotions. When someone is angry or upset, not all people just collapse in tears or pop blood vessels. Most pent this emotion up and most people do not notice it unless they are looking very closely.

Though Bokurano's premise is out of this world, everything is ... rather human.
This manga is fantastic, placing the characters in a hopeless and desperate situations. It forces the raw emotions out of each character and the reader themselves.

If you are into deep stories that challenge the fundamental nature of life and humans, please read this. Do not read this if you are looking for a funny or happy go lucky story. You will not find it here.

A bunch of 7th grade kids fight with a giant robot to save the world. Could it be more cliche?

I've found references to Bokurano anime on the internet, finding for mecha style animes. At first i watched the anime and found it amazing. But then I've read the manga. It was outstanding.

The main plot involves this fifteen kids who sealed a contract with a strange man. Everything they know it was they have to use a giant robot to fight with an enemy with similiar one. Sooner they discover that every fight has it price. Many people die during battles (many know people, even kids ... relatives often) and most important, the contract has horrible conditions they never knew.

Without any spoilers i can say the remaining history develops around how the kids face their fates, and how they deal with the feel o lost or despair of being in charge of mankind. Every one react in different ways. Some fall in despair. Some fight bravely. Some simple don't mind anything and some just (try to) runaway.

The way the plot develops is amazing. Every kid has it own fears, history, desires. Their history sometimes get involved into and sometimes the character has their own history. Every chapter was better than another. The only "mistake" i cant found was the art, wich particulary i've disliked. Its detailed sometimes but miss an art finalization. I dont know if i get used to it or if the drawing get more improved until the end, but this doest matter.

If you like Evangelion like anime/manga Bokurano dont you dare die before reading this. And do it before you seal the contract.

The manga series named Bokurano is a highly controversial and divisive narrative that, at its core, is a tale about human desire, nature and value. The story of Bokurano starts when a group of 15 children inadvertently sign a contract to save their world by piloting a giant mech, “Zearth”, and battling other, more dubious mechs. The start is rather slow, with the true nature of the series’ tone being initially elusive, but it quickly becomes apparent that neither the reader nor the characters were aware of the severity of their situation, which they are no longer able to escape. Once their predicament has been ... revealed, the manga becomes darker, with victory seeming impossible and the characters falling one by one.

The story, after the reveal, revolves around each of the fifteen pilots battling their own adversary, mustering as much daring and tactical ability as they can, often needing to sacrifice both the lives of their comrades and their firmly established ideologies. One of the merits of the story is that, much like Evangelion before it, it chooses to focus on sociological and psychological undertones within a context in which they can believably exist, rather than settling for a run-of-the-mill action romp. There isn’t a single punching-contest style battles; every conflict is emotionally charged and relevant to at least two characters. Not only does this make the stakes feel higher and the sacrifices more heart-breaking, but it allows huge variety between the battles, which could easily have felt repetitive and uninspired. Each struggle feels genuine, with no battle feeling like a shallow rehash or obligatory plot device. However, this can also lead to some horrifically slow pacing, which, though usually feeling relatively natural and relevant, sometimes feels like padding required for the chapter to reach its designated length. Also, in tune with the earlier variation, some of the character stories and moments don’t hit with quite the force of others. Like Evangelion, the series deviates from its monster of the week format more greatly as the series continues, becoming more and more complex, bordering on convoluted, but the depressing atmosphere and feeling of inevitable loss remain from beginning to end. On the whole, though, the story is sufficiently engaging for a reader with sufficient patience and investment. I read the whole manga series in one week, and couldn’t imagine reading it in any other way.

The characters, as was mentioned earlier, are where Bokurano is a particular stand out. Each character is deeply flawed, with the overcoming of their insecurities or weaknesses being driven by the uncertainty that they now find themselves facing. No two characters feel too identical, and they all have meaningful relationships with their families, friends and often other Zearth pilots, which ground them and give us a sense of deeply understanding who they are and what they believe in. This understanding gives us context into the part of them that’s really at the core of the narrative: if we were to die within a week, what would we want to do? Would we about business as usual, and not want to upset the flow of the world? Would we say our final goodbyes to our loved ones, devoting our final moments to others? Would we seek out our final opportunity to appease our selfish desires of violence, sex or revenge? Unless the reader is a robot or a perfect human, these questions would doubtlessly have appeared at least once to them. Given the nature of the story, I cannot go into detail without considerable spoilers, but Chizuru Honda and Kirei Yousuke do manage to stand above their contemporaries in terms of memorability.

The supporting characters serve their part well, seeming completely aware of their dire situation while also remembering that their lives lie in the hands of children, and treating them with appropriate delicacy and understanding without coming off as condescending or brash. The opposing mechs and their respective pilots are ominous and overbearing without detracting from the emotional core of the story, but the real star of the series is Dung Beetle. Much like Kyubey, he immediately arouses suspicion with his harsh attitude and cold, insulting demeanour, but even he has more layers than what is initially portrayed, and it’s easy for the audience to relate to, and even support, him towards the end of the story. This cast is ultimately what saves Bokurano when the pacing slows to a crawl or if the reader isn’t that interested in mech battles.

The art for Bokurano is just as interesting as its story and characters. At first it appears unremarkable; clean and polished, but without having much of an identity. However, that the side characters and the main characters have similar levels of detail and each individual character can be told apart from the others does set this series apart. The characters, for the most part, do not view themselves as exceptional, unbeatable individuals who deserve to be the stars of the story, and the art reflects this, painting them as regular people in extraordinary circumstances. There are also subtle differences between the characters in Bokurano and other manga, from a design perspective. The ears are oddly detailed, and the eyes are a similar size to those of real people; this gives the series a much more realistic aesthetic, which, combined with the unusually minimalistic range of expressions and simple levels of detail, makes look and feel more human than many series with a less high-concept setting. The mechs, particularly the enemies, are well-designed and unpredictable, with much of the tension in the battle arising from learning what they can do, what they will do and what their motivations and level of understanding are.

On the whole, Bokurano is not a series for people who want a flashy fun happy-go-lucky shounen with bright colours and brighter characters. It is an ugly, honest presentation of human weakness, strength, desire and nature that holds little sympathy for its readers/viewers. Its story, characters and art style all work cohesively to present a story that is simple on the surface, yet is underscored by a focus on humanity and youth.

Simply put, 'Bokurano' is about a group of children who are deceived into signing contracts which will see them pilot a giant robot, Zearth, in a deadly fight for survival against alien invaders. The catch, however, is that the robot is powered by the pilot's life energy. Regardless of the outcome, win or lose, the pilot is guaranteed to die and nothing can be done to change that. The inevitability of the characters' fates makes for a difficult and oft heart-wrenching read but one which will reward those few brave enough to see it through.

'Bokurano' can essentially be broken down into a series of story ... arcs which each focus on the child next chosen to pilot Zearth. They all follow a formula: the reader is shown a little of the characters' backstories, their motivations, how they prepare themselves during their final days and finally the fight itself. Considering there are 15 children, it would be easy for the series to fall into the trap of becoming dull and repetitive, but this is never the case with 'Bokurano'. The series does an exceptional job of developing its core cast and making each child unique from one an other. Some may be more likeable than others but all are sympathetic. Successful characterisation is achieved through a balanced mix of introspection and dialogue, effectively helping to further the impact of each character's death. The pilots aside, the most significant character is Dung Beetle, a mysterious being that first summoned the children to Zearth. Dung Beetle can almost be thought of as a guide or narrator for the series, throwing in little titbits of information throughout the series to help explain some of the sci-fi elements. Fortunately, there is enough intrigue and mystery surrounding his character that he never feels like a mouthpiece for the author. The supporting cast was largely comprised of national defence personnel and relatives of the children, and they all perfectly compliment the core cast of characters. Moreover, the role of parents in 'Bokurano' was beyond tragic. For a parent to have to stand idly by and see their children die, completely helpless to influence the outcome, is one of the most heartbreaking things you could ever see. All-in-all, 'Bokurano' should be commended for creating such a diverse and memorable cast of characters.

Just as 'Narutaru' - another good manga from Kitou - was a deconstruction of the pet monster genre, 'Bokurano' is a deconstruction of the mecha genre. That is, it looks at the practical problems that would arise from having to pilot a super robot in real life. The high chances of mass civilian casualties, the terrifying implications of failure and the massive pressure and stresses placed on the pilots are all shown as harsh truths with zero sugar-coating or beating around the bush. Most significantly, there is absolutely no plot armour. Typical mecha series leads are protected by the fact that their character is integral to the plot of the series, but this is not the case in 'Bokurano'. Anyone can die at any moment, so you are always on the edge of your seat. Now, the words “deconstruction” and “mecha” may lead some to assume that 'Bokurano' is yet another series that aimed to cash in on the success of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' during the late 90s and early 2000s, but it must be stressed that the similarities here are superficial at best. Thematically speaking the two are worlds apart, which leads us to our next point: its themes.

One of the most famous quotes of all time, oft attributed to Joseph Stalin, is, “one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic”. Whether it was actually Stalin who said it and whether it was in those exact words is a topic for another day, what matters is the sentiment behind those words and how the idea is explored in-depth in 'Bokurano'. Death is a regular occurrence in 'Bokurano', often on a large scale, and every pilot has their own take on it. Some of the children will aim to minimise casualties by delaying the fight until everyone is safely evacuated, others pay no mind to the surrounding population and consequently cause major collateral damage. It is an interesting play on the trope, to say the least. 'Bokurano' could also be seen as a series about accepting and coming to terms with one's own death. Each child knows that they are unable to alter their fate and how they all react to this knowledge is very different. Some try to live out their last days as happily and peacefully as they can, others mentally break down and cut themselves off from society. The themes in 'Bokurano' may be heavy but they are explored naturally over the course of the series. The pacing is excellent and allows the reader enough time to take everything in before moving on. The story never feels rushed or inorganic and it culminates in the most fitting conclusion the series could possibly ask for.

The super robot fights are secondary to the ideas of the manga itself. Just as Kitou used monsters (or “Dragons”) in 'Narutaru' to tell a coming-of-age story, super robot fights are simply the vehicle through which the themes of 'Bokurano' are explored. That said, the action sequences are still very good and fans of the mecha genre will not be left disappointed. The fights take place in a variety of locations, from city environments to military bases. The enemies themselves come in a variety of forms, from humanoid and insectoid designs to even weapons such as cannons. There are a wide array of attacks, all coming from different angles and ranges. Best of all, the strategies involved are all vastly different. Some fights are over almost instantaneously while some can go on for close to two full days, playing out almost like a game of high-stakes chess. While the super robot fights were never the focus of 'Bokurano', that they remain fresh and thrilling over the entire course of the manga is impressive all the same.

The art is generally solid. The super robots are one of the highlights of the series, varied in design and drawn on a massive scale. The designs are more abstract than your typical mecha series, resembling something closer to 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' than 'Gundam', but suit the atmosphere of 'Bokurano' perfectly. Also of note are the aircraft designs. Kitoh has something of a reputation for his detailed vehicle designs and his passion for aviation shows through with some very meticulous work. Shading, in particular, was used to great effect to create depth. Backgrounds are also well done and scene composition in general is sound. Where the art falls a little short, however, is in its human character designs. There are few distinguishing characteristics that set the core cast apart, so the characters can appear a little “samey”, for lack of a better word. Most are drawn with thin bodies and the same subdued expressions, so it takes a bit of time before one can discern between the cast. Ultimately, the artwork in 'Bokurano' may not be as awe-inspiring or detailed as what you would find in a Kentarou Miura or Hiroya Oku manga, but it perfectly compliments the mood that Kitoh was trying to achieve with 'Bokurano'.

Overall, 'Bokurano' is not a manga that I could readily recommend to anyone. It depicts a cruel, nihilistic world where children are at the forefront. It is a tragic story with some shocking content yet, unlike 'Narutaru', it never felt gratuitous. In the wrong hands 'Bokurano' easily could have been passed off as edgy trash but Kitoh handles it with a level of maturity which hadn't yet been displayed in any of his previous works. 'Bokurano' is and will likely remain Kitoh's magnum opus, his crowning achievement in an impressive catalogue of work. If you are looking for a darker take on the mecha genre then you could certainly do a lot worse than 'Bokurano'.

This may well be my favorite manga, and I have read a LOT of manga. The best thing about this manga is the characters, and the plot primarily serves as a way to learn about the characters. The main cast is made up of middle school students who have been tasked with piloting a giant mech called "Zearth", and after each one pilots the mech, they die. The pilot is chosen at random from those contracted to pilot it, but they are told in advance. The story is structured around each pilot's last days on earth before they fight to save it. None of the ... characters are ignored, and all of them get some nice development through the story.

Altogether, I think that the characters in this story are all written well, and resemble real people quite closely. Through the main cast, we see the world through many lenses, as they live very different lives, and we get commentary on society and on varying types of people within it. It is interesting.

One thing about this manga that is particularly stand-out is how the author handles death, in that the characters react in very real and visceral ways.

a thoroughly moving read. it oscillates between seinen and shounen at times, but honestly it thrives on borrowing from the sensibilities of each at different times. an absolutely excellent blend of serious reflections on life and boyish flights of fancy. and, as it progresses, a truly harrowing read. an experience i'm all the better for.

I love this Manga. I really really do. I think about each character's indvidual experience a lot. I've read this manga twice, the last time was about 5 year ago. Every now an then I see a chair that has been lived in and can't help but to think about Bokurano. I know a lot of sci-fi stories have similar plots but this was the first sci-fi story that had known like this.

That being said, I have never reached the last chapter of the manga. The story drags on a little bit too much and I always find myself just a few chapters away from ... the climax before I get antsy and just end up looking it up. I know that the anime and manga end very different and I very much prefer the manga ending.

Bokurano is a series that has stuck with me for quite some time now. Not because of the subject matter it was tackling but rather because it's yet another example of the "Ergo Proxy" phenomenon that happens a lot in anime and manga. Where a certain story does so much right, but at the same time does so much wrong. It has great ideas and features some great artwork, but unfortunately doesn't capitalize on any of these qualities.


Plot:
To start, what initially drew me to read Bokurano, as I believe would be the case for many others, would definitely be because of its depressing yet ... intriguing premise, reminiscent of another mecha series that shall not be named in this review.

"The story begins when a group of 15 children inadvertently sign a contract to save their world by piloting a giant mecha named, “Zearth”, and battle other more menacing forces. The children are excited by the prospect of defending their world, but not everything is as it seems. The twist is that Zearth, in actuality, is powered by life energy, meaning at the end of every battle, the pilot in command dies. So now after signing their lives away, the children must use their time left on Earth not only to defend it, but also to rethink how they wish to spend their last moments alive."

Now the idea behind this premise sounds really good on paper, but as always execution can make all that difference. To its credit, instead of being a standard all actionfest, Bokurano chooses to place emphasis on the more psychological and existential aspects of its premise. But to do this, the narrative structure that binds Bokurano, is that it is divided into short narrative arcs (ranging from 4 to 6 chapters each) that focuses on one single character and their philosophical perspective on their situation. With all of them coming from completely different lifestyles, searching for different answers, but still starting from the same existential question. However despite starting off strong, with the first half or so gradually raising its thematic questions while also seamlessly advancing the mystery and worldbuilding of the series. This structure can also lead to the more noticeable flaws in the storytelling. Such as at times, egregiously slow pacing and the whole thing feeling “on the rails” in the process. And although the chapters usually feel relatively natural, it can also come across as unnecessary padding required for the chapter to hammer home its point. But in the process of doing so, some of the character arcs and moments don’t hit with quite the same force it could have had. Especially as the later chapters become more and more convoluted.

For example, there will be chapters that would generally feature the characters in certain situations that are clearly meant for us, the readers to sympathize and relate to them. Such as seeing them have a flashback of their wasted dreams, monologuing about what would happen once they're gone, getting in touch with their loved ones, and things of that nature. Which are all good and are obviously there to gives us pieces of information about the characters and the state of their world; however, that doesn’t excuse the existence of a large chunk of material that is basically information we already know and it’s just pointless to have it repeated verbatim. What’s worse is that sometimes, the situation they are in would even come across as completely nonsensical. Like they’re was even one chapter where a thief stole the family car of one of our main characters and even broke into the house, but for some reason, the story was framing that said main character as the one in the wrong, like what? That's like that chocolate bar nonsense from Erased all over again lol.


Characters:
But speaking of character stories. The characters of Bokurano are the very core of the series, and where some people argue that Bokurano stands out in, and what makes it worth sticking to the end. Each of these characters is given focus in their respective arcs, with moments of introspection sandwiched between their battles with these titanic foes. All of them don’t feel like a hollow rehash of one another, as they all have their own set of distinct flaws, with the main crux of their arcs being about overcoming their insecurities or psychological trauma in the face of their dire circumstances.

However, that doesn't mean all of them are the same in terms of memorability. As the series has its fair share of duds and strong characters. Just to give a brief rundown, without spoiling anything. Characters like Yoko Machi, Jun Ushiro, Chizuru Honda, and Dung Beetle are obvious standouts imo, as they left more of an impact on the series. Given that they had the most amount of screen time. And comparatively, aside from Dung Beetle, the series takes it time to meaningfully explore these characters' relationships with their families, friends, and even fellow pilots. Grounding them and giving a sense of who they really are and how they internalize their situation. While the remaining other cast members can be a bit hit or miss. With their lasting impression being up to the reader. Except for Kodaka and Isao, fuck them lol.

But anyways, with that being said, this unfortunately leads to another one of my main gripes with this series, and this concerns a majority of the characters. Which is the overwhelming amount of unnecessary dialogue where it felt like the author loved the sound of his own voice too much. Like be prepared to hear a lot of “self-development is masturbation” or “we organisms live in a society” or some other pseudointellectual type bullshit like that lol. Now obviously, there has to be an underlying theme or message about human nature or personal identity or something, but much like all other great works of fiction, it needs to be conveyed in a more intelligent and subtle manner instead of being like a hammer to the face.

Symbolism, and other narrative elements that writers utilize in a visual medium such as anime or manga, though used appropriately in Bokurano, still doesn’t mean it avoids the pitfalls that many other stories suffer from. Meaning that a lot of scenes are filled with line after line of monotonous and inarticulate information that could have been communicated in a better and more efficient way through clever dialogue, discovery, or any other basic facet of storytelling.


Art:
Now in terms of presentation, the art by Kithou Mohiro is more grounded and somewhat minimalistic. With character designs maintaining a sense of identity between the cast but not at all making one more remarkable looking than the other. There is no strange looking hairstyles and characters don't have large eyes as they would have in other anime or manga. Which works in its favor, as for a series that's trying to tell a story about regular people in extraordinary circumstances, there needs to be a sense of normality in their world. Speaking of which, in contrast, the mecha designs by Mohiro are definitely eye-catching. As the mechanical art assists in enveloping these menacing foes with an aura of unpredictability that adds to the heat of battle with our protagonists. The amount of variety in their design also helps in negating any feeling of them being repetitive or uninspired.

The result of this combination of the more earthly art and the occasional religious or Freudian motif here and there, gives Bokurano the kind of depressing and ethereal atmosphere that well reflects the nature of its story, and what most titles in the “dark sci-fi” mecha anime world would normally have. Thus giving the world of Bokurano a feeling of dread and suspense, as its almost like at any moment the world could end, but at the same time giving it a sense of the day to day lives of these characters before their fatal demise. Overall, the art I don’t really see any fault in it. Even when I was a bit checked out at some parts, the artwork definitely helped in keeping me engaged throughout.


Conclusion:
On the whole, after reading this series twice, and making a review of it back then (where I completely shat on it lol), I can honestly say I would recommend it. Even with its flaws of flat and clunky monologues, at times surface level exploration of its themes, and being almost pretentious and patronizing at some points, I was still pleasantly entertained by this story. It's not a masterpiece by any means, it's not perfect at all, and I didn’t really take home some profound message that a lot of “deep” media supposedly have. No, the fun I had with this story was the intrigue of reading between the lines and trying to psycho analyze these characters. You know, see what makes them tick, and even though not all of them were that great, the ones that were, was enough to make it a good, memorable, and dramatic story about human weakness, death, desire, and sympathy for others.

tl;dr: An incredibly well written series of stories of characters struggling with finding meaning in death, though one with unfortunately bad art.

A quick glance at this manga may make it seem like a pretty typical mech story where a group of teens are chosen as mech pilots to defend the Earth against an alien invasion. However, it doesn’t take all that deep of a look for it to be clear that the mech aspect is just there to provide structure for the character stories. While the battles are obviously important to the plot in terms of them happening, they aren’t that important to what the ... manga is trying to convey. At times they matter so little that the manga even skips on showing the battles themselves. Rather, what’s important about the battles is that only the pilot selected randomly from the group may take control of the mech, Zearth, and use it to fight off the invading mech, but the price of using the Zearth’s power is the life of the pilot. However, if the pilot loses the battle or doesn’t manage to defeat it within 48 hours, the entirety of Earth and everyone living on it will die. Thus, either way, the pilot is dead.

Furthermore, though the battles occur randomly without any prior indication, who the next pilot will be is indicated immediately after the end of the previous battle. Thus, the core of this manga is each of the main character’s struggles in how to use what little time they have left. The manga is episodic with each arc focusing on a single character. There is a progression to the world in that at first the pilots are operating secretly, while still living their normal lives, but as the battles go on their identity is revealed to the military and then to a degree to the media and rest of the world, thus making it impossible to live their normal lives. This combined with the fact that each of the main characters is incredibly different results in there being a lot of variety to each arc. The core theme remains using death to show the value of life though how each of the characters question what’s worth living for, dying for, and killing for. This is a theme that has a tremendous amount that can be done with it and this manga manages to explore it with a very wide breadth. The depth of each arc as a result is somewhat lacking but holistically it feels like the writing manages to convey everything that it wanted to convey while hitting really strong emotional beats and delivering some major gut punches.

This very much isn’t the type of manga where anyone gets a happy ending, nor does everyone’s ending even reach the level of bittersweet. Still, all in all while wrapped in melancholy, it does manage to give everyone an ending that’s reasonably satisfying. Near the end of the manga it does a follow up on the stories of all the characters that passed away, which while not perfect definitely helped in providing some level of closure. The exception to that, the horrible terrible exception to that, is with Chizuru’s. A lot of characters had complicated circumstances, but only one character’s story felt like it had a true out and out villain, and for all intents and purposes he gets off scot free. And furthermore, despite villain being absolutely vile, the manga ultimately reads like it’s trying to portray him as an inspiringly good person who has a point actually, which is so utterly ridiculous that it actually made me angry.

The biggest weakness of this manga is the art. It’s overall too simplistic and not very good. The mechs while not great are fine and the action is decent enough considering it’s not important. However, the art is terrible at showing human expressions which results in emotions not being conveyed properly which I think significantly detracts from the work. This was especially bad during portions heavily focused on characters just talking, such as a long stretch of Kirie’s arc, as it’s basically just lots of text with the art contributing absolutely nothing. Furthermore, while having eye pleasing art wouldn’t really fit the manga, the art it does have completely lacks characters. It doesn’t really build atmosphere or establish tone at all.

Review in Haiku: Bokurano

Depressing manga
Worse than evangelion
Read at your own risk.

STORY:

To avoid spoilers;
Bunch of kids find big robot
... Aliens show up.

Super dramatic
It gets really dark real fast
Zero to hundred.

Please don't get spoiled
The twists in this are insane
Ten points out of ten.

ART:

Characters are meh
They are good but nothing great
Got same-face syndrome.

On the other hand
The mecha design is superb
Unearthly and strange.

It's got weird angles
Kind of hard to see some stuff.
Seven out of ten.

CHARACTER:

Each main character
Is fleshed out to a degree
You'll get all their tales.

They are all children
Tossed into a big bad war
This will not end well.

Every single one
Has a couple of problems
Eight points out of ten.

ENJOYMENT:

I didn't "enjoy"
Bokurano as one would
Enjoy a manga.

After I finished
I felt like my soul was dead
Made me want to cry.

It's a manga for
A specific reader type
Nine points out of ten.

OVERALL:

Evangelion
Go eat shit, you're nothing
In terms of sadness.

Bokurano is an amazing manga, positively and negatively speaking. But let's go by parts:

The manga's story is more focused on something intimate, focusing on each pilot and the way he deals with life and his problems while using the robot.
In this, the story does not have a definitive protagonist, but each character having their moment. This being something that generates good moments due to having interesting characters with solid motivations, Komo was great, and others with shallow characters with ideas without much depth, Kako is the greatest example of this.
Apart from Chizu's arc, which is just weird.... How her family "accepts" what happened to her ... or the lack of consequence for a minor enticer.

The most positive aspect within the story is the author's ability to take the reader by surprise. Seriously, it's really good how the moments that totally break the expectation are created. However, the author stumbles on his own quality in the final battle, as the scale of what happens is just so large that it has no impact and still leaves open the outcome of the final character development since this part is simply skipped.

The most negative part of the story is its ending. Seriously, he's pretty bad... He's the pessimistic type that's coherent
with the work, but forgets that it's also focused on people and their worldviews and how they act. So the author simply forgetting and not showing the result at all is disappointing.

Now, about the art, it's very good. Very detailed in the fights, but mainly it shines in the way it manages to pass the impact of the scenes well.

Ultimately, Bokurano is an interesting manga that develops certain thought-provoking themes and perspectives. However, the same fails to complete some of them that added to a disappointing ending ends up "staining" part of the reading experience.

A fresh take on a repeated troupe in fiction, "What happen when a bunch of kids are forced to face their greatest fear?" This conventional troupe is usually used as a way to explore the "hidden (often dark) side" of human psyche, and Bokurano has done this masterfully. At first glance it might look like a rip-off Evangelion, with the premise first introduced as "kids riding giant mecha robots to fight aliens"; But I promise you it is something totally different, and maybe even better.
The structure of the story itself is semi-episodic; similar to what you see in Cowboy Bebop or Death Parade. Every ... few chapters cover a story arc of a specific character, usually ends in a tragic, soul-crushing way. Every character is written with care; Each one of them is a unique representation of what it means to be "human".
The only thing that bugs me, is the "twists and turns" that sometimes doesn't feel right, and feels abrupt. But this is just a small flaw compare to what Bokurano attempted to offer.
Even though it IS essentially a tragedy, I wouldn't say this is one of those manga that leaves you feeling "depressed" or empty. On the contrary, this manga actually ends with a rather optimistic/hopeful touch; after tossing a common existentialist and/or nihilistic theme throughout the whole story.

(just for the record, this is a slight alteration of my anime review)

NOTICE: 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.

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 then 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.
Thus, Value is very low. (3)

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 prefer 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, Art.

ART SECTION
I won’t stick here much, sue me. The visuals on the robots are generally good. 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. Ok, I must admit they did a very good job here, despite not WOWing me in any way. 8 for Art.

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.

p.s. Here are some overall rating for Narutaru next to Bokurano. Just a last moment bonus and such…
Art: Narutaru:6, Bokurano:8
Story: Narutaru:4, Bokurano:5
Characters: Narutaru:5, Bokurano:5
Value: Narutaru:3, Bokurano:3
Enjoyment: Narutaru:4, Bokurano:5
Average: Narutaru:4.5/10, Bokurano:5.5/10

Bokurano is a depressing manga that just uses mecha as it's excuse for a premise which is completely filled with psychological trauma.

The mecha battles are not the main focus in here. Don't be fooled by the cover. For what anyone could care, the mecha could have been a space ship or a magical uniform and it wouldn't make as much of a difference.

While the manga is surprisingly good in the psychological analysis department, it is however not as good in the mecha fighting and the sci-fi department. The fights lose their touch when you know that they are, as shown by the synopsis of the ... manga, a doomed battle with no hopes of selfish victory. Rather, it feels like a Mayan ritual where people are made to be sacrificed in order for the continued survival of their race.

While this does bring a good view into questions of life and death when one is confronted with the same and the nature of the human soul, it can make one feel alienated with the plot. There is nothing to root for and the stakes are worthless from the very start. There is no glimmer of hope, no light at the end of the tunnel, so as to speak. While the mecha in question is being powered by the human will, there is not a real great display of where human will actually matters to change the status quo.
While it's true most characters display a good amount of human will, it is simply not enough to make a difference in the universal scale of things. By the end, everyone is a plaything of fate and nothing ever matters.

However, in spite of it flaws, I would agree that the manga did atleast the psychological aspect right. This manga can be heavily divisive depending upon the nature of the reader and hence you may or you may not appreciate it. You will of course, definitely not enjoy it given its depressive premise and the nihilistic aspect where nothing truly matters.

There are many other similarly depressive works, which however don't revolve around a world ending crisis and only revolve around the horrors of everyday life like domestic abuse, bullying, etc. There is not much difference between bokurano and them and bokurano isn't good enough to make a mark when compared to these.

TLDR:Read it if you like similarly depressive works like madoka magica for instance. Don't read it if you want some good mecha action or some plot resolution.

7/10

STORY: 4

A short good start and very quickly you realize you will never get any in-depth explanation about some cosmic-scale tragedy. You can feel that the mangaka has pitched the beginning of the story to the editor without having a solid vision on how to pursue or conclude. Characters are bland despite the focus being on their different personalities and all along there's a feeling of bored sadness instead of empathy towards kids that never react realistically to any situation.

ART: 5

Most of the art is similar-looking inexpressive faces and a lot of the action conveniently takes place in an empty void save for 14 or ... 15 chairs.

POLITICAL POTENTIAL: 4

A bit of reflection about responsibility and empathy. At least it's a manga that is not centered on one or two exceptional heroes, but the execution is too poor to make something interesting out of this.

FEMINISM: 3

There's naked kids having sex and the girl is tiny but with a very round ass, thanks. A girl is manipulated, rapped and blackmailed and does not find any private or institutional support. Worse, her sister is dating her persecutor and seems to know what he did! Last, another character beats his younger sister regularly without any worry and the sister just bears with it because she understands her brother's pain like she's freaking 40 years old.

CONCLUSION: 4

Bokurano is dull and boring despite potential. This is especially easy to say knowing that there is actually a good manga about kids whose private lives are intertwined in a cosmic tragedy with aliens, it's called 'Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction' and I recommend this one instead.

Bokurano ours is a story about a man who convinces 14 (I think) middle schoolers to join his crew to fight aliens(?). However the man doesn't use traditional methods to fight aliens. You see he had sadly watched too much anime and decides the only thing capable of fighting giant aliens is a giant robot. Now these kids must randomly take turns to pilot this giant robot and save the world. But Unbeknownst to them piloting a giant robot comes at a great cost. A cost they must live with the rest of there life. So this becomes an Eeny, meeny, miny, moe game from ... hell.

Despite the complicated issues this series has (as well as the reveals later), the idea is pretty simple. Big giant alien needs to be defeated using the big giant robot. So the story needs to be carried specifically due the characters and there personality, likability and traits. However when the AI looking thing has more personality than literally any other character in the series thats when you have fucked up. Every character is this person who's suffering from this dark past or this guy who the most generic good guy type you can find. Its like the author one archetype and put them in each character without playing around. They were definitely some moments where these characters felt alive and fun. But majority wise they did pretty much what i expected them too and it was boring. Maybe the author wanted to say these are middle schoolers of course they are predictable. But he's also writing himself by not making them interesting most of the time. I think the only characters i liked was 1 of them. The rest felt acceptable and some downright bad.

The action i had massive issues with. They were 2 good fights in this series and they had barely any contact with each other why? Because they were supposed this tactical. People had to use there brain whilst knowing each second they waste is another innocent's man death. I really liked that aspect of the series. Most of the fights were just hit them harder and considering the scale of the series it wasn't really all that great. Each fight had a good moment but that was small considering the overall scope of the fights. There is also this massive issue with giving the characters more *depth* by giving them a backstory during every fight. No one wants a backstory during keep them separate. You are ruining both the fights and the story. It also doesn't help like i said some of them have the worst backstories ever. Like we are just supposed to suddenly like these characters now who have been predictable this entire way.

The art is also a mess. All the effort has been put into the mecha and aliens the characters themselves look like they were drawn by an entirely different inexperienced artist. This series also throws in tons of philosophical nonsense as if we are supposed to forget the weak characters, the mundane action the weak art. Some of the bad guys in the series get away scott free. I think the author wanted to imply that they are fighting not just for themselves but everyone on earth which means every life needs to be protected. Of course reality is often different but whatever.

My issue with the philosophical nonsense is that its all been done before. Nothing i haven't seen before. Its thinking aspect is probably its strongest suit but all these thinking has already done by series both better and older than this. I honestly don't understand what the author was thinking adding all that nonsense in it. Its also never really explained why they used middle schoolers at all.

I guess some of the good parts would be how each character has to deal with the cost. And i liked that part. Most handled as expected but the ones that handled differently. Those are the interesting ones. They are ones that kept me engaged and wanting to read this series. However too many issues with unlikable cast. Underage pointless nudity. Which i can't even call fan service because the author doesn't know how to draw characters. Too many issues, too many problem, too many complication. Every single one bringing the series down. This might have been worth it if you are massive Psychological fanatic. But don't expect anything knew. If you are a psychological fanatic you've seen all this shit before.

TLDR: Too many issues to make this series actually fun and enjoyable. The only consistent and real aspect of this series was buried under a mess of weaknesses. 3/10