[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Bokurano 17 and 18
“…in the back seat there was a gun/Words were passed in a shotgun blast/Troubled times had come…”
Wow, talk about plot progression! There appears no downtime from my change of domain name host either (I figured that since my web host now does domain names too, I might as well transfer the domain name over to them) so it’s business as usual. If there is any downtime this week, it’s not lupus. It’s because the transfer didn’t go as planned. So…happy second birthday to CB.net (hence the temporary celebratory banner image) and back to Bokurano and the angst. And more of why I fucking hate Dung Beetle.
Machi confers with her asshole brother…I can’t believe they’re related at all.
First up is Aiko, who exhibits a bit of a poorly explained an unexpected emotional attachment to Kanji. In one memorable scene he comforts her after she learns of a shocking family development; he reaches out and I expect him to force a kiss out of her as a guy of his age (in an anime show at least) would be expected to…but instead he just hugs her and says “I’ll be there for you.” Kudos to the guy. She shows an inner strength in the face of domestic strife that is reiterated in the following episode by Takami, but more of her in a minute. Aiko comes through in battle - helped by Machi, who as we learned in the previous episode is in a very informed position - anyway, Aiko does well and dies in a dignified fashion. A bit on the melodramatic side for some perhaps, but then this is the successive ending of young lives we’re seeing here.
Aiko, a reluctant heroine, steps into the breech
Takami’s battle, or more specifically the impressive way in which she retaliates, depends heavily on understanding the background to understand its significance. The subplot concerning the leaking of the Zearth Report and Takami’s father going public over the affair has been progressing pretty quickly; I’ve brought up the mercenary and generally crappy attitude that certain parties have been showing towards the kids’ struggle but after what happens to Takami’s family it’s easy to see why she took the stance she did - equally I can see how she may have momentarily decided, like some of the others, that their world isn’t worth fighting for.
Fortunately, courage is hereditary in this family…
There’s a lot going on in these episodes that takes attention away from the mecha battles a little. Tamotsu’s proving to be a little odd but pretty likable ‘anime only’ character, and even Ushiro is turning from a little shit to a kid with a conscience. Dung Beetle is still the bastard of the piece though, so it amused me when Kanji said “screw you!” and got him a bit riled up. The mention of the ‘masterminds’ struck me as almost cheesy though - I don’t know why but it reminded me of Robotech for some reason. Hopefully it isn’t a sign of an impending train wreck, because I’ve been enjoying the plot twists so far.
…See what I mean?
This post’s lyric quote, by the way, just popped up as I was writing this review. I happened to be listening to the Boss (I like to have something playing in the background as I write) and it seemed to fit. If the choice of quotes was always this easy, I’d have the motivation to do it more often. 
Posted on September 21st, 2007 @ 6:17 am
I was worried about Aiko, since she seemed the most hysterical of the lot, so I was reassured when she received comfort from Kanji, but it did come out of the blue, didn’t it?
But another universe destroyed …
I’m torn about Kanji’s strange revelation while he held the dying Aiko in his arms. I personally didn’t think it cheesy, but I haven’t seen the shows you’re comparing it to. To me the vision was fascinating information. Can you hold the victors as they die and always see that? What a clue! I think by now, especially since the adults they can trust are being mowed down and the rest don’t give a shit, the kids would be trading as much info as they possibly could.
So why didn’t Kanji tell the others what he saw? Especially after he pissed off the dung beetle, a moment which made me smile. I want the remaining kids to go in and taunt the beetle every time they see him. “Doggie! Doggie!” They’re going to die anyway, right?
Finally, how the hell did Tagami win? Some super-powered glowing light blue power? It seems that this show can’t handle all the explanations it needs to give us and still keep the story rolling. Not a good sign, but I’m with it until the end …
Posted on September 21st, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
@Peter S: Yeah, I’m a bit concerned too. Actually, the concern began with the introduction of Tamotsu but he’s turned out okay. The Robotech comparison comes from the clumsy way in which three separate series were spliced together to give one show - the ‘bad guys’ of the next segment were slipped into the later episodes of the previous one as premonitions of ‘forward flashbacks’. It was a necessary move under the circumstances but it looked pretty obvious and out-of-place. In terms of Bokurano, the ‘Masterminds’ appeared to be a hastily thrown together idea that felt similar. It could stem from Kokopelli and provide the promised ‘non manga’ conclusion - I’ll have to start reading the manga now actually, since it’s unlikely to be licenced.