Bokurano

Alternate Titles: Ours

Original Japanese Release Date: 2007

Episode Length/Run-time: 24

Summary:

Fifteen kids head to a nature camp and explore a cave.  Upon searching it they find a hermit named cocopelli.  The man proposes a game where the kids will be in the robot and they will be protecting the earth as “beta testers” for the game.  When the kids do this they discover that there are consequences for being a pilot.

Review:

The mecha is really cool looking because it has these long spindly arms and no face.  In the cockpit there are fifteen chairs for each of the kids.  The mecha choses its own pilot by spinning the chairs around a glyph and choosing, then the pilot has to defend the earth from one of fifteen aliens attacking it.

The plot is kind of PG13, its very aingsty.  Asside from the fact that the kids are really young and have a heavy burden on there’s shoulders there’s domestic violence, rape, kiddy porn, student teacher relationship, mental breakdowns, pedophilia, prostitution, and mental breakdowns.  None of this is graphic or detailed but it’s all in there.

When each of the kids become a pilot you find out more about them and as the plot progresses it thickens in that the government tries to get involved to harness this technology.

The animation is clean and nice looking.  In a more modern style each of the characters have their own design which is nice.

There’s even a small critter, because no anime is complete without one.  It’s a sadistic creature that messes with the children and is quite heartless.

The idea was good but it kept feeling like filler, despite it being about each pilot and progressing that way it likely could’ve been shorter because it dragged as it went on.  There were really intense moments despite some predictability in the story.

Overall it was enjoyable and is worth watching, despite being too long.  Even though the filler keeps it from being a really good anime it is gripping and keeps you engaged.

[starrater]