(L) Bokurano

[Guido]

Out of all the stories so far Mako's earned happy ending, or Mako came to realize that she was blessed with the lightest shade of gray in her life; the world would never be black and white to my understanding.

Spoiler:

Her mother fought against all misconceptions and prejudices and kept on doing so in order to give Mako a stable, healthy, and happy home.

Mako, until before she saw who was her mother for real, got carried away by people's comments about her mother being a shameless "slut" that was ruining the image of their so-called "perfect" society.

Miko didn't give a shit about them. All she cared about was to properly raise her daughter in an environment that could be filled with love, then started fighting for herself in order to leave that deprecated life and advance into something better, more of her liking.

The owner couldn't quite properly explained to Mako why once her mother immersed herself on that life. That's why he arranged the meeting with the man, who had long ago proposed to Miko, so that he could met Mako and explained her who was her real Miko and taking her to the bar.

The people at the bar all really loved Miko, but it was because of being in contact with her true personality and not just because of her looks only.

At that happy scene, Mako understood that her mother was actually a fighter, and hard worker in life, that gave all her effort hor her daughter.

Mako left the world, but made a beautiful memory for herself and thanked her mother for having raised and loved her.

[Shiroth]

Rewatching episode 10 reminds me how happy i was that all of Mako's adorable facial expressions were kept in the anime.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 10

The problem with this show is that the bad kids are the most interesting. In all honesty, the last two eps, where good kids have died, have been rather bland.

[Diedrupo]

Nakama's story wasn't really done justice by the anime. I criticized ep 10 earlier and I'll criticize it again. It's like the anime producers simply did not understand her story and just threw in random bullshit to pad ep 10 (the whole bar scene) rather than attempt to recreate her story (it doesn't even have to be faithful to the manga, as Daichi and the kid in the ep 11's stories illustrate).

The first half of the episode was pretty good, i'll admit. It all went downhill after that (especially in the end when Nakama has some kind of epiphany. That crap wasn't how her character was supposed to develop).

The Bokurano anime has its ups and downs and ep 10 was definately one of the downs.

[Deathkillz]

ep 15 ~

Spoiler:

wtf just happened...nothing much to say for the first 3/4 of this ep cause it was rather boring (not being able to understand the heavy dialogue ofc) but kirie decided not to move at all... okey really now i cant stand emo kids like that and even if he isnt like that he sure did come across to me who just wants the whole world to die with him cause his mother tried to commit suicide...he is lucky that the other team decided to commit suicide for whatever hell reason

but i found dung beetle's reactionthe best he nearly died laughing when they thought that kirie was off the hook because he didnt fight...thinking again as next time he will be the pilot again until he dies

[Diedrupo]

sounds like

Spoiler:

Kirie's story ends very similarly to the manga story. I'm surprised yet relieved that the anime is still on track with the manga despite some of the stupid changes implemented.

This kind of ruins Kirie's story though, since it sounds like they changed his intentions (he did not want to fight in the manga because he did not want to kill 10 billion people. he only found the strength to fight after the enemy pilot appeared before him and showed off her suicide scars).

I will watch when I get home but I am expecting some grade A gonzofuckery based on that description.

[Lion and the sky]

Hey! Maybe thers isnt really a reason for this, but why is the anime showing the character battles in such a random order? (well, mako at least...?)

[Diedrupo]

haha wow, watching ep 15 now

Spoiler:

This episode is absolutely terrible by far.
Why the hell does Jun go to visit Kirie? Completely out of character for him.
They got rid of Kirie's suicidal cousin, and made Kirie's mother attempt to kill herself. So stupid.

The animation is absolutely terrible in this episode too. Jun is full of QUALITY frames.

Kirie flat out refuses to fight, announcing his intentions and everything. Big change from the manga, where Kirie decides to show himself to the enemy. Completely ruins his character.

And Deathskillz already mentioned the big LULZ that happens in this episode. The enemy kills itself without any explanation.

I guess they did this to give an illustration of hope that Kirie might live, but lol...

Kirie: "Am I saved? I don't need to fight anymore?"
Dungbeetle: "Hmm I wonder!"

Separate spoiler for the shittiest moment in the Bokurano anime ever

Spoiler:

KIRIE LIVES

[Iriliane]

Watching this episode... I've just lost all faith in the anime team. They've broken the rules of the game three times now.

Manga spoilers including a vague spoiler about Komoda's arc... not that it'll happen in the anime...:

Spoiler:

-Kako was killed by the enemy robot... and the world wasn't destroyed.
-The enemy robot destroyed all of it's pilots and as a result Zearth could not kill the pilot... yet the earth wasn't destroyed.
-Kirie survived... SAY WHAT! This was SPECIFICALLY covered in Kako's section of the manga. Even if you don't move and the military or someone else does all the work for you you'd still die. Komoda's section of the manga also suggests this given she isn't even piloting Zearth yet dies when the enemy pilot is killed.

Admitadly the anime hasn't really put forward the rules of the game and the nature of Zearth as much as the manga does so it within itself may not have violated the rules existing in the anime universe if there even are any but still...

Also, WHY must they keep botching the development of all the good characters. Hopefully Kirie will at least get to go through some of his manga development before the end of the arc.

EDIT: Also, before anyone start's thinking I'm having a knee-jerk reaction just because it's different from the manga... watch the episode and try to explain why the enemy robot does what it does. Also, for an example of changes to the original done right (at least for now) try reading Bokurano alternative.

[leongsh]

Originally Posted by Iriliane

Watching this episode... I've just lost all faith in the anime team. They've broken the rules of the game three times now.

Manga spoilers including a vague spoiler about Komoda's arc... not that it'll happen in the anime...:

Spoiler:

-Kako was killed by the enemy robot... and the world wasn't destroyed.
-The enemy robot destroyed all of it's pilots and as a result Zearth could not kill the pilot... yet the earth wasn't destroyed.
-Kirie survived... SAY WHAT! This was SPECIFICALLY covered in Kako's section of the manga. Even if you don't move and the military or someone else does all the work for you you'd still die. Komoda's section of the manga also suggests this given she isn't even piloting Zearth yet dies when the enemy pilot is killed.

Admitadly the anime hasn't really put forward the rules of the game and the nature of Zearth as much as the manga does so it within itself may not have violated the rules existing in the anime universe if there even are any but still...

There you go. The rules have not been elaborated on in the anime as much as the manga and you are applying the specific rules in the manga to say that in the anime they have broken the rules of the manga. But did it break the rules as known in the anime? So far, it hasn't. Now, let's recap rationally and logically instead of with a jaundiced eye.

Based on what has been shown in the anime, the rules and consequences are:

Spoiler for Rules in the anime known so far, its finer points and implications:

1. They are supposed to have match-ups against 15 mechas.
2. To win the match-up, the control sphere of the opposing mecha has to be destroyed - as informed by Kokopelli at the beginning.
3. The destruction of the control sphere will result in the wipe out of the world/universe it represents.
4. Zearth (or the mechas in Bokurano) are powered by the lifeforce of the pilots.
5. The pilot of the winning mechas will thus forfeit their lives in piloting it if they win the match-up as their lifeforce will be absorbed by the mecha.
6. If the selected pilot is unable to pilot the mecha due to being killed before then, another will take his/her place.
7. There is a time limit of 48 hours to finish the match-ups. After which, presumably, both sides lose and their worlds would be wiped out.

That's the main part that we know with regards to the rules in the anime.

Now, with regards to Kaku, in the anime, he did not pilot Zearth. He died before piloting it. Thus, Honda was selected to replace him as the pilot for the match-up that he was supposed to fight.

Did Kirie pilot the mecha? The fine point is that he didn't move the mecha. If he did move the mecha, his life would have been forfeit as his lifeforce would be absorbed by the mecha (which I presume is used to power it up for the next encounter). In this case, he didn't and he "won" his match-up by default due to the opposing mecha destroying its own control sphere - thus, the world/universe which it represented is presumably wiped out. Because the control sphere of Zearth is not destroyed, why would this Earth and its universe be wiped out?

That brings us to an additional finer point:

8. Until the selected pilot is dead, he/she will continue until he/she dies.

The more interesting part now is that with one opposing mecha having destroyed its own control sphere and Kirie not having moved the Zearth means that if they are only supposed to go up against 15 mechas, they now need one pilot less - yes, another of those who signed up and still alive will get a "Get Out Of Jail" card, i.e. survive this game if they overcome all the planned 15 opposing mechas.

Originally Posted by Iriliane

EDIT: Also, before anyone start's thinking I'm having a knee-jerk reaction just because it's different from the manga... watch the episode and try to explain why the enemy robot does what it does. Also, for an example of changes to the original done right (at least for now) try reading Bokurano alternative.

Responded as per above in the spoiler. The changed order and some changes made in their earlier stories may have been on purpose with the director's intention to try and save some of the children. So far, no anime-known rules have been broken and no magic used so far. He is keeping to the mangaka's directive.

[tsurumaru]

Originally Posted by leongsh

There you go. The rules have not been elaborated on in the anime as much as the manga and you are applying the specific rules in the manga to say that in the anime they have broken the rules of the manga. But did it break the rules as known in the anime? So far, it hasn't. Now, let's recap rationally and logically instead of with a jaundiced eye.

Based on what has been shown in the anime, the rules and consequences are:

Spoiler for Rules in the anime known so far, its finer points and implications:

1. They are supposed to have match-ups against 15 mechas.
2. To win the match-up, the control sphere of the opposing mecha has to be destroyed - as informed by Kokopelli at the beginning.
3. The destruction of the control sphere will result in the wipe out of the world/universe it represents.

Actually in ep 13 of the anime Dungbeetle explains the real way each match is ended.

Spoiler:

The current pilot of the enemy mech must be killed. Crushing the control sphere obviously achieves this, but is not the deciding factor of the battle, its the death of the "active" pilot.

If this is the case for Kirie I'll be disappointed as it essentially cheapens his character. I always thought his story was fairly poignant.

[leongsh]

Originally Posted by tsurumaru

Actually in ep 13 of the anime Dungbeetle explains the real way each match is ended.

Spoiler:

The current pilot of the enemy mech must be killed. Crushing the control sphere obviously achieves this, but is not the deciding factor of the battle, its the death of the "active" pilot.

Fair enough.

Originally Posted by tsurumaru

If this is the case for Kirie I'll be disappointed as it essentially cheapens his character. I always thought his story was fairly poignant.

However, Kirie is still the active pilot as he still has the mark as we can see from the preview of the next episode. His story is not done yet.

[Iriliane]

Originally Posted by leongsh

Spoiler for Rules in the anime known so far, its finer points and implications:

Did Kirie pilot the mecha? The fine point is that he didn't move the mecha. If he did move the mecha, his life would have been forfeit as his lifeforce would be absorbed by the mecha (which I presume is used to power it up for the next encounter). In this case, he didn't and he "won" his match-up by default due to the opposing mecha destroying its own control sphere - thus, the world/universe which it represented is presumably wiped out. Because the control sphere of Zearth is not destroyed, why would this Earth and its universe be wiped out?

Okay, I'll explain this one. As you've said it probably doesn't apply to the anime but...

Spoiler for For Kako, Chizu, Kirie, Moji and Komoda's arcs in the manga:

After Chizu tears Kako's throat out in the manga it's explained that they won't lose because it only counts if someone from the opposing earth kills the pilot. So if they happen to step out in front of a bus or be murdered by their comrades like Kako was and Kirie suggested he be if he couldn't bring himself to fight, then they simply move on to the next pilot. (Note:I attribute Kako's death in the anime directly to the enemy robot's attack but if you want to think of the building being crushed as an accident it may not break the rule.) However if the enemy pilot is killed by someone from our world like the JSDF pilot in Moji's arc or Komoda's father in her arc then it does count. So if the enemy eliminates themselves entirely like the robot did this episode it does not count as a victory and neither side wins because Zearth or the people of our world in general can not eliminate the now non-existant pilot in 48 hours and so our planet goes boom along with theirs.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Diedrupo

Separate spoiler for the shittiest moment in the Bokurano anime ever

Spoiler:

KIRIE LIVES

I'm sure you already knew how long i've been waiting for Kirie's story....

So yeah, they changed it all.

Spoiler for manga:

I can understand why they changed Kirie's story around, especially with this 'save the children' crap, though not having his cousin being apart of the story --- the part which i found to be most strong within the manga.

Gah.

I'll see what happens with the next episode, but seriously.. wth Gonzo --- it finally happened.

[stpehen]

Ouch... episode 15 was like a kick in the nuts. And I thought this series would actually look nicer than Narutaru!

[Dragosmore]

I couldn't agree with stpehen more. What a disaster.

[Iriliane]

What I had been hoping for in the beggining would be that they'd handle the animation Evangelion-style with awesome battle scenes but limited animation elsewhere. I was actually kinda pissed off when I found out they were using CG for the mechs because CG mechs = 0% chance of the series ever showing up in SRW (and Zearth as portrated in the manga make an absolutely awesome unit.). I wouldn't mind so much if the CG battles actually looked good but they don't. They're oversimplified and I've ranted about this several times already so I'll stop. For now...

Anyways, in terms of Kirie's arc they can still salvage it if they handle the next episode right.

Spoiler:

His survival for one more battle doesn't much affect the other kids anyways. Tanaka or Seki will survive woohoo who cares. It'd take someone surving three battles before any of the kids who are contracted have a chance of surviving.

[Diedrupo]

speculation post ep15

Spoiler:

Kirie definately has to die at some point. His name was first in the credits for this ep, indicating it was his storyline, if he never dies, he'd remain as the main character for the rest of the series. Something's gotta give.

If everyone dies like I expect them to, I'm just hoping there won't be a Mai-Hime style copout

[Diedrupo]

ep 15.5 was a stupid recap episode. I hate those.

[Iriliane]

Originally Posted by Diedrupo

ep 15.5 was a stupid recap episode. I hate those.

Well that sucks... but hopefully they'll spend some of the money they'll have saved this week on actually half-decent animation for next week's episode.

It's kind of interesting though how the industry seems to have taken to giving the recap episodes 0.5 numbers. It's as though they've finally stopped trying to convince themselves that recaps are real content.