[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Bokurano 13 and 14
“You hide your eyes but the ugly truth just loves to get in the way…”
Ah, back to normal. My fave subbing group for this show seems to be really on a roll with releasing new episodes so expect more angst-ridden Bokurano goodness before the week is out. Anyway, these episodes reveal quite a bit about the nature of the war the kids are fighting, and it sure as hell knows how to twist the knife.
I’m sure we’ve all had an inkling about what - or more specifically who - the enemy is for a good couple of episodes or so but it’s confirmed now; the really heart-wrenching thing is how the series shows us. That is to say it doesn’t pull its punches is depicting crowds, families and individual HUMAN BEINGS watching the events unfolding, knowing all of their lives are hanging in the balance (interestingly, I don’t think the government of the kids’ home world has allowed its populace to be as well-informed as the people in this universe are). As much as I despise Dung Beetle and his tactless tone, his explanation does make cruel, but good sense: it’s us or them, a basic Darwinian law of natural selection. Whichever way the battle goes, one planet Earth with its human inhabitants will vanish, so why not fight to save the Earth that contains the humans you know and love? Isn’t achieving that preferable to favouring a different world, which contains nobody you care about? Of course, this is pretty logical when you’re detached from the situation but it’s a painful realisation that I don’t envy the kids for having to understand.
The battle was pretty good to watch actually, which made me feel just a little bit guilty. For sure, it has huge mecha slogging it out but in Bokurano more than most mecha shows, the fact that this war is killing an entire universe every time comes back to slap me around the face. I was expecting everyone on board Zearth to avert their eyes and get the nasty business over and done with but strangely Maki looked inside the capsule first, which showed what we’d feared was inside. Morbid curiosity perhaps? Some ‘honour’ issue unknown to me that requires a warrior to look their vanquished enemy in the eye before delivering the final blow? Maybe it’s some Japanese thing related to the battlefield traditions, I don’t know. Explanations welcome, guys.
Episode #14 was completely devoid of this sort of stuff, choosing instead to bring up issues surrounding the kids’ situation and the war. The issue of tracking down info regarding Kana’s mother certainly piqued my interest (I’ve already forgotten what we were led to believe about her whereabouts or what’s happened to her) and Tanaka’s obviously a mole of some sort who has worked her way into the military; I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to who she’s really working for though. Regardless of their identity - or her link with Kana - they’ve provided her with a second leaked Zearth Report, which states how the metaphorical vultures of financial corporations are circling the whole affair, waiting for their cut.
Being the eternal cynic, I was shocked but not unduly surprised that, even in a situation like this, someone is always looking for an opportunity to work things for their own benefit. If these faceless organisations were aware of the gravity of the predicament no doubt they’d have their priorities set a little differently…but yeah, that’s human nature for you. And as I’m rapidly learning, Bokurano likes to hammer home how bad human nature can be.
On a more general note, the technology used in the hacking chips was a bit far-fetched. If that stuff was kicking around in labs today we’d have found a medical (or business! :p) use for it by now. This and little details such as vehicle designs or the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque building in which the lab is housed leads me to believe that the world that the story is set in is not ours. Maybe placing the whole series in a different universe may be a lead-up to Morita’s infamous altered ending. Just thought I’d toss that idea in. ^_^
Posted on September 13th, 2007 @ 6:11 am
Well, I was hoping for a return to dread, fear and pity in this show. #13 gave it in spades (then the hiatus in episodes, grr).
For me at least, the tone of the show forever changed when they showed the desperate people on the alternate universe, the hippie and the “Don’t destroy us!” sign, the mother consoling her son … I can’t look at another battle and feel grateful that they won. Of course, if they didn’t win that’d be the end of the show, wouldn’t it? Hmm …
As for Maki opening up the capsule, it make sense to me. After what they had just learned she just had to know. Who was in there? Were they like us? Most awful of all, they were. And they were grimly looking at her. That blew me away.
I notice Maki’s death blow was deliberately gentle.
And you’re right. They fought an “enemy” whose society was free enough to know what was going on, and to cry out about it. Should the kids’ world, more secretive and greedy for profit, actually deserve to win? And #15 adds a twist which I won’t spoil in case you haven’t watched it yet.
I feel that for “away games” they should have a banner the Zearth holds up which says “SORRY.” And I wonder what would happen if both machines decided not to fight at all.
Maybe the strangest moment of the ep was Maki’s happily holding a baby. After she had wiped out a universe.
Posted on September 14th, 2007 @ 12:19 am
@Peter S: “As for Maki opening up the capsule, it make sense to me. After what they had just learned she just had to know. Who was in there? Were they like us? Most awful of all, they were. And they were grimly looking at her. That blew me away.
I notice Maki’s death blow was deliberately gentle. ”
It makes sense in a way but at the same time it didn’t fit in with her reluctance to face the hard truth. I guess curiosity to know this truth won out…her show of mercy as the victor wasn’t lost on me either.
You’re absolutely spot on with the portrayal of the enemy though: all the way through we’re shown how cruel, pitiless and generally crappy the kids’ world is, alongside another crying out for survival. I love the way the moral ambiguity and juxtapositioning of cruelty and kindness are portrayed, as painful as it is to watch. I wonder what would happen if the worlds did call a truce and refused to fight…would that wipe out both?
I’ll be watching #15 and #16 later this week though, no worries about that!
Posted on September 15th, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
@ConcreteBadger: “I wonder what would happen if the worlds did call a truce and refused to fight…would that wipe out both?”
I think the anime mentioned it early on, but the manga is definitely very explicit: if the battle is not resolved within 48 hours then both Earths are destroyed. There really is no way out.
It was a rather inspired piece of knife-twisting by Dung Beetle to make them watch, though. The stars going out was a lovely touch.
Posted on September 15th, 2007 @ 9:32 pm
@Adam: Cheers for clarifying that. Talk about harsh choices! I really want to read the manga now…
Posted on September 16th, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
@ConcreteBadger: Do. Seriously. The anime is good, but the manga is outstanding. (The two have also diverged significantly now, so no need to fear spoilers.) MangaScreener are your friends.