[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Bokurano 3: the Secret
No, this isn’t a game any more. Bokurano achieves something that every good mecha drama should: it shows the consequences of taking an awe-inspiring robot into battle and pulls no punches. The opening scene, reminiscent of the devastation shown at the beginning of End of Evangelion, shows wrecked buildings, mangled vehicles and news bulletins reporting hundreds dead or injured; the police are interviewing the children and preparations are made for Waku’s funeral. There’s not even another battle to satisfy action junkies here: this episode deals with the physical and emotional fallout.
I know Bokurano comes across as being angsty and depressing but for those of us who are willing to put up with such things this episode boasts realism and emotional clout that many shows fail to deliver. Ushiro was not responsible for Waku’s death; his seemingly fatal gesture was completely unrelated to the tragedy when you consider what a coincidence it would have to have been. The medical examiner chillingly describes Waku’s condition as being unharmed except the fact that he was dead: the fact that ‘the only thing missing was his soul’ suggests that his demise had nothing to do with Ushiro and everything to do with Zearth. The truth is, the kids cannot explain what has happened to them so they cannot find a sufficient outlet for their feelings of confusion and guilt. I think that the reunions with their respective families, the ways in which they reacted to the interviews and the moments immediately after last episode’s battle speak volumes about their personalities. Such subtleties are lost on me I’m afraid, so will require further thought and in all probability a second viewing to appreciate.
There’s nothing on the fansub circuit quite like Bokurano right now: it’s certainly not for everyone (I’m all-too aware that my tastes are a little too obsure and pretentious for some so I’m cautious about who I recommend this to) but I’m quickly becoming morbidly fascinated with how it’s playing out. The jaunty and comical design for Dung Beetle continues to look bizarre and inappropriate when viewed alongside the rest of the show’s aesthetic but with that aside I’m finding its brooding, claustrophobic atmosphere and impending sense of doom strangely engrossing. The opening theme also becomes more and more moving every time I see it - it’s beautiful but at the same time reveals little about how downright brutal the show can be.
Posted on May 4th, 2007 @ 5:35 am
Well said. Like you, I haven’t learned all the the kids yet, but we can see that none of the kids are generic. Just look at the way each one sits in their chair in the OP! For such an outlandish premise (and any mecha show has an outlandish premise) they’re doing a great job of showing us the personalities involved, and, as you said, the emotional fallout.
I hadn’t expected to like this show so much.
Posted on May 4th, 2007 @ 6:22 am
Not OP. ED. Sorry.
Posted on May 4th, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
Yeah, I wasn’t expecting the show to be as good as this either - the scene where Waku meets his end caught me completely off-balance and I haven’t known what to expect from it since. Hopefully we’ll see another battle in ep #4 now that they’ve addressed some of the character-based themes - I’m particularly interested to see how the next kid goes about the piloting (remember the scene with the crab and the firework?).