17 Jun 2007
Posted by Martin [Tags: Bokurano]
This episode certainly isn't for the easily offended. I've grown used to
Bokurano taking on some edgy and unsettling issues but this is probably the most uncomfortable viewing I've yet experienced with this show - we're presented with the backstory to poor Chizuru prior to her turn in the pilot's seat, and what a tragic story it is too.
The thing that hit me the hardest was not just how innocent and vulnerable young people can be exploited like this, but how easily it can happen. All the way through this episode I had a deep-down feeling of dread and unease - everyday and almost comical domestic scenes where someone seems to have done an
Arnold Layne with Chizuru's underwear, to the decidedly ordinary talk of her progression to high school, made it hardly feel like
Bokurano at all. Of course, there's always that dark undercurrent ready to bring it all crashing down, because these scenes were giving me such an eerie sense of what could only be false security.
In the end this episode was downright painful to watch. If it weren't so expertly and thoughtfully done, I doubt I'd have been able to sit through it at all. As much as I can cope with blood and gore, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to sensitive issues such as this, where innocent people suffer through no fault of their own; fortunately, it's tastefully done given the unpleasant nature of the subject matter but there's no escaping how hard-hitting and unsettling it all was.
This brings me to another recent development surrounding this show, which could possibly warrant an editorial of its own. Apparently the director announced that he was changing the ending of the series, after consulting the manga-ka, with a predictable backlash from the fans. No doubt I'll write more extensively on this later, but given how potentially distasteful parts of the series can be, I'm beginning to understand why he is willing to alter an integral part of the series.
Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of pretty much every aspect of this show, from the underlying themes to the stunning music but it's times like this when I find it very hard to stomach.
Bokurano is a work of genius and I hope it continues to be so, but it's brutal and emotionally traumatic too.
[Filed under Anime Reviews] [Tags: Bokurano]
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Posted on June 17th, 2007 @ 4:26 am
Yeah, I felt unclean after watching this one.
And I don’t quite understand why they had to go as far with the teacher. When watching I first thought “Chizuru’s developed an adolescent crush on perhaps the only adult in her life who takes her seriously. I can understand her motivations now.” They didn’t need to go farther than that. I don’t get why they had to make him such a slimeball in the end. They even could have kept the affair with Chizuru’s sister. I was fine with that.
But that would have changed the tone of the “revenge” ep coming next. She wouldn’t be the righteous victim, but another screwed-up kid dealing with emotions she can’t handle, but what’s
wrong with that? It’s not like the other kids are saints.
Still liking the show a lot, though.
Posted on June 17th, 2007 @ 11:15 am
Spot-on observation there. Part of what makes it so painful to watch is how Bokurano humanises the cast bit by bit by getting under their skin, and pulls no punches in doing so. I hope Bokurano 08 doesn’t disappoint though, because I’m wondering what else’s there left to flesh out now that Chizuru’s in Revenge Mode as the preview indicated.