[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Bokurano 15 and 16
I now know what Peter S meant when he said in his comment that episode #15 had a plot twist! It all comes out after a gangster named Tamotsu is released from jail and returns to his former employer. The old boss suggests he ‘goes straight’ and sets off to look after an old friend and her kids instead of returning to a lifestyle which is apparently not what it was in the good old days.
This is a great change of pace and atmosphere, which offers new information regarding the characters and, thanks to this new cast member, it has a bit of humour too. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and strikes me as the well-meaning but rather clueless type - I can see how he not only got dragged into the criminal world but also wound up getting caught! It all confirms what I suspected after #14 but as is so often the case with this show I’m reluctant to jump to conclusions because nobody is what they appear to be at first.
So, this was Kirie’s fight. To be honest I can understand why he didn’t want to save the world at first: earlier on in the series I was really critical of Kako’s reluctance when he was next up but for some reason I’m a little more sympathetic towards Kirie’s point of view. He too wasdealt a bad hand in life and had to put up with a lot of crap that wasn’t his fault. He was a harmless and pleasant kind of guy as well, but came across as a little slow on the uptake at times. I felt so sorry for him when he said how unhappy his mother was, yet didn’t fully comprehend what was going on during her suicide attempt. It’s here that I can even give myself a break from calling Ushiro a bastard because he actually did the decent thing and helped Kirie out. Anyway, it’s not surprising that Kirie didn’t believe his world is worth saving at this point. I’m more sympathetic towards him than Kako though because Kirie is such a decent, harmless guy: he doesn’t knowingly hurt other people or offload his emotional baggage - he reached a logical conclusion based on his own unfortunate experiences.
The first battle was a surprise though, not to mention a monumental stroke of luck if only from the kids’ point of view. With Kirie’s sentiments and our prior knowledge of how the pilots are chosen, we can only guess at why the opponent went even further than Kirie did and forfeited the contest (boy, is that a euphemism). What was going through his or her mind? What exactly brought him or her to the conclusion of overriding all instincts of self-preservation for their sake? This pilot knew nothing about Kirie or the others, and they (and we) knew nothing about the nameless, unseen individual who sacrificed themselves and their world…nor are we ever likely to find out. Even though it saved the kids’ lives, I can’t help but think that it was utterly tragic.
Episode #16 was one heck of a turnaround, even discounting the earth-shattering revelation at the end; Kirie goes from being hopeless and lost to a more confident character who is able to find a reason to carry on. Our friend Tamotsu is to thank for all of this after he helps Kirie’s mother find a job and gives the lad an inspirational pep-talk prior to the battle. After this, Kirie is able to go into battle with quiet confidence…and what a battle it is. Kirie’s final hour reminded me of the first time I saw Eva unit 01 clobber the third Angel - it was meticulously executed feral savagery, with a timid and unassuming soul at the centre of it. I take back everything I said about Kirie being slow!
There were some other bits going on in the background too, such as the Zearth Report being leaked and so on but I couldn’t really give that my full attention until I’d seen Kirie give it his all. It certainly makes me glad that the Triad have been able to sub recent episodes so quickly because this series is really hotting up. Additions such as the character of Tamotsu feel a little odd but he at least had a positive effect on the story; I’m hoping it can maintain this level of quality through to the end, even after so many changes from the original.
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