Bokurano
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| Bokurano | |
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| ぼくらの (Bokurano) |
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| Genre | Seinen, Mecha |
| Manga: Bokurano | |
| Authored by | Mohiro Kitoh |
| Publisher |  Shogakukan |
| Serialized in | Ikki |
| Original run | – |
| No. of volumes | 5 ongoing |
Bokurano (ぼくらの?) is the newest manga by Mohiro Kitoh, serialized monthly in Japan in Ikki since 2003; currently 5 tankōbon have been published by Shogakukan. An anime series produced by studio GONZO is scheduled to air sometime in 2007.
[edit] Plot summary
During a summer camp, 15 children, 8 males and 7 females, find a grotto by the sea. Deep withen they discover working computers and some electronic equipment, and later the owner, a man called Kokopelli. Kokopelli claimed to be a programmer working on a brand new game, in which a large robot has to defend the Earth against fifteen alien invasions. He persuades the children to test the game and sign a contract. All but one of them signs, barely a moment later they mysteriously awaken on the shore believing what happened was just a dream.
That night, two giant robots appear suddenly by the beach. A small creature, calling itself 'Dung Beetle', appears and claims to be their guide. It then teleports the children into the black robot. They find Kokopelli already inside and controlling the black robot in order to defeat the white enemy robot. During battle he gives the children a brief tutorial on how to pilot the robot as he destroys the enemy. Once he has finished he tell the children that they are on their own now and sends them back to the beach. As the children are teleported out, one child observes Kokopelli whispering "I'm sorry".
Bokurano's stories tend to focus exclusively on one character - the next pilot. It starts with some backstory on the character, their underlying motivations, while building up to their battle. The chapters themselves are named after the character of focus.
The first pilot, Waku, named the robot Zearth. Upon winning the fight, he was accidentally 'knocked' into the sea by Ushiro. The second pilot, Kodama, died unceremoniously after defeating Cancer. Dung Beetle explains to the children that Zearth ran on life force, and the cost of every victory would be the life of it's pilot.
The next two pilots, Daichi and Nakama, lose their lives similarly. Nakama utilises Zearth's abilities to help save a friend of hers. Before her victory death, she managed to give the others costumes as pilots. Through Komo, the military finds out about the children's connection with Zearth, and they are brought together for their own protection. The next pilot, Kako, became too cowardly to fight. Chizu killed him, and became the next pilot. Before fighting the enemy robot, she exacted her revenge on the people who had abused sexually. Attempting to kill their ringleader, she is stopped by her sister. Both her life and her baby's life were taken as Zearth's payment, revealing that there was another person besides Kana who was exempt from the contract.
Moji was the next pilot. Their enemy, Gonta, trapped them, but Moji used the spinal cord of Zearth to attack Gonta's core. It is revealed that Zearth's cockpit resembled that of their enemies. Maki, the next pilot, realised that they were in an alternate universe when an unknown fighter jet attacked them. She prised open the enemy's core and revealed that it was comprised of pilots as well. Dung Beetle explains that these battles were to weed out parallel universes.
[edit] Major Characters
- Kokopelli (ココペリ Kokoperi?)
Kokopelli was the man who involved the children with Zearth and was also the first pilot of the series. When the children first encountered him he was hiding in a cave by the bay where the children were exploring. He seemed surprised to find them, but persuaded the children into becoming pilots of Zearth by telling them he was looking for volunteers for a new game. Later when the first battle takes place he appears before the children within Zearth's cockpit wearing a jet-black jumpsuit and sitting in a futuristic chair. From there he teaches the children how to pilot Zearth as he destroys the first robot, Arachne. During the battle he explains that he is a human but not from Earth and that he has no concern for the lives of the humans who are killed in the crossfire. After the battle he tells the children that it is now their responsibility to protect the Earth, and as they are teleported out of the cockpit Komo hears him whisper; "I'm sorry."
- Takashi Waku (和久 隆 Waku Takashi?)
- AKA: Waku (ワク?)
- Grade: 7th
- Height:155cm
- Blood Type: B
Waku was an energetic and confident young boy who acted like a stereotypical shōnen main character. He was previously a talented soccer player and is considered popular. He wanted to become a professional player and his friends thought he had the talent for it. However, he found out that his salary-man father was a soccer player just like him in his youth and even played at the national level. The fact that someone just like him didn't make it shook Waku's resolve and he stopped playing soccer. If he had not quit the team he wouldn't have been at the summer class and become a pilot. He was chosen to become the first pilot of the children. After the battle with, Bayonet they celebrated on Zearth's shoulder. When Ushiro patted Waku on the back he fell off the side into the ocean. They thought that Ushiro accidentally pushed him but he actually died a moment before when his time as a pilot ended. His chair was a simple plastic folding chair.
- Masaru Kodaka (小高 勝 Kodaka Masaru?)
- AKA: Kodama (コダマ?)
- Grade: 7th
- Height: 145cm
- Blood Type: O
Kodama was the boy chosen to pilot Zearth during the third battle with the robot, Cancer. He was a relatively quiet boy who liked to keep to himself. His father was a loathful individual who ran a civilian contracting company. Kodama's two gifted older brothers hate their father and try to go towards a different path, however Kodama looked up to him and his status as a "chosen" man. He even wore Kokopelli's glasses to seem smarter like his father. Being raised by his father seems to have warped Kodama's sense of ethics and morality to the point where he enjoys to take shots at stray cats with a pellet gun. During his time as a pilot he made no attempt to avoid casualties and marveled at the death being caused because of him. This sense of wonder was cut short when he was sent crashing down on top of his beloved father's car killing his father instantly. For a moment he was left totally stunned but he managed to shake himself out of it in time to kill Cancer using knowledge gained by having an understanding of construction. He died unceremoniously a moment later. Kodama's death alerted the other pilots to their fate. His chair was a plush office chair.
- Daiichi Yamura (矢村 大一 Yumura Daīchi?)
- AKA: Daichi (ダイチ?)
The boy who fights the fourth robot. Hard-working, Daiichi lives with his siblings in a house rented out by their uncle, their parents being deceased. When the battle is finished and he breathes his last breath, he says he "wants to go missing," so his little sister wouldn't have that same sad face as when their parents went away. He dies in Chapter Nine.
- Mako Nakarai (半井 摩子 Nakarai Mako?)
- AKA Nakama (ナカマ?):
Chosen to fight the fifth robot. A girl who, by her mother's occupation as a prostitute, is constantly abused by her classmates. To this, however, she can't stick up for herself. When she pilots Zearth, she "saves" one of her classmates in the midst of the attack, and finally has the power to smack her. Her end comes with chapter twelve, changing the lives of those who'd abused her.
- Isao Kako (加古 功 Kako Isao?)
- AKA: Kako (カコ?):
The boy chosen to fight the sixth robot. Selfish and spoiled, he always tried to impose himself over others, but in the end he did not bring himself courage to fight the enemy and was killed by Honda Chizuru who assumed his place.
- Chizuru Honda (本田 千鶴 Honda Chizuru?)
- AKA: Chizu (チズ?)
After killing Kako Isao she completed the sixth battle. She fell in love with his teacher, but was lured by him and blackmailed to have sex with some of his friends. During the combat she revealed she was pregnant and used Zearth's power to kill all of the men who assaulted her except the teacher, because her older sister (who was in love with him too) stopped her. After her death the children discovered that the baby was also one of the fifteen initial pilots, which means that one of them (beside Kana Ushiro) is not bound to the contract.
- Kunihiko Moji (門司 邦彦 Moji Kunihiko?)
- AKA: Moji (モジ?)
The boy chosen to fight the seventh robot. A boy with great intuition. His childhood friend, a boy named Nagi, had a heart disease. Upon checking, Moji found out that his heart was a perfect match for him. After his victory, Moji has Dung Beetle transport him to a hospital where Nagi could receive his heart.
- Maki Ano (阿野 万記 Ano Maki?)
- AKA: Maki (マキ?)
The girl chosen to fight the eighth robot. The adopted daughter of an anime otaku, she was expecting a baby brother. Her battle begins the night after her mother enters labour. As she finishes her battle, she uses Zearth's powers to see the birth of her baby brother. Her 'chair' is a baby cot. Later is revealed that Maki's her family was not informed of her fate, and continue to look for her hoping that she may be alive.
- Yosuke Kirie (切江 洋介 Kirie Yosuke?)
- AKA: Kirie (キリエ?)
The boy chosen to fight the ninth robot. Fat and weak-willed, he was often bullied. His depressed hikkikomori cousin made him wonder about the worth of his life, and that of others. Yet, after Honda's battle, he stabbed, non-fatally, the teacher who had used her. He discussed his views about the lack of importance of individual human lives with Captain Tanaka. In his battle, he shows himself to the opponent robot before they battle. Their opponent does likewise, and their pilot, a girl, appears and shows the many cuts and slits along her arm. They then return to the inside of their robots and begin to battle.
- Takami Komoda (古茂田 孝美 Komoda Takami?)
- AKA: Komo (コモ?)
The only daughter of a Navy official, Komoda is chosen to engage the tenth robot. She was almost losing the battle when the enemy pilot gave up and ran away. The fact is that he lost the will to live or to protect his planet after his daughter was killed by relatives of victims of previous battles occurred in their world. The Japanese government set up a plan to lure him up in a piano recital held by Komo after revealing to the world some bits of information regarding Zearth and its pilot's name. In the end the enemy pilot attended the recital and moved by Komoda's performance, he allowed himself to be killed by her father a few minutes before the time limit ends.
- Kanji Yoshikawa (吉川 寛治 Yoshikawa Kanji?)
- AKA: Kanji (カンジ?)
- Jun Ushiro (宇白 順 Ushiro Jun?)
- AKA: Ushiro (ウシロ?)
A boy with a short fuse, found almost always beating up his little sister, Kana. We learn in a later chapter that Jun's mother died giving birth to Kana, which would explain his hatred toward her.
- Aiko Tokosumi (往住 愛子 Tokosumi Anko?)
- AKA: Anko (アンコ?)
- Yoko Machi (町 洋子 Machi Yoko?)
- AKA: Machi (マチ?)
- Kana Ushiro (宇白 可奈 Ushiro Kana?)
- AKA: Kana (カナ?)
Ushiro's little sister; she's the only one of the children who didn't sign the contract, because Ushiro, who's generally rude to her, didn't want her to.
- Dung Beetle (コエムシ Koemushi?)
A weird creature who becomes the children's tutor after Kokopelli's disappearance. It is able to communicate verbally, and is usually very sarcastic. It responds to the children's call, which includes Kana even though she didn't sign the contract. It is able to teleport the children, as well as others from the outside world to the cockpit, and vice-versa. However, it cannot teleport directly between two places, and must go through the cockpit beforehand. Between battles, it can be seen conversing with Zearth.
- Masamitsu Seki (関 政光 Seki Masamitsu?)
An officer who assumed one of the empty places in Zearth's group. Joined the military thanks to his fascination with an anime.
- Misumi Tanaka (田中 美純 Tanaka Misumi?):
The female officer who assumed one of the empty places in Zearth's group. An intelligent woman, she is married with a 10-year old daughter.
[edit] Dimensional Robots
The robots featured in Bokurano all share similar traits as well as differences;
Size: The most obvious trait is their surprisingly large size, each roughly 500 meters (around 1,640 feet) tall. Considering the average size of mecha and monsters featured in Japanese productions, these robots are unbelievably huge.
Armor: Each of the robots featured are covered in thousands of layers of armor that makes conventional weaponry useless in regard to both offence and defense. It was estimated by the JSDF that Zearth could destroy the entire American military in approximately 48 hours.
Lasers: It seems that every surface of the robots bodies are capable of firing lasers of incredible power (enough to destroy a mountain with a single volley). However, the lasers are insufficient in damaging any of the robots until they have had their armor stripped off.
Faces: Each robot has a panel somewhere on there face with fourteen illuminated slits. With the death of each pilot, a slit darkens so it is possible to tell how many pilots are left by counting the number of glowing lights.
Cockpit: The pilots seats are always within a bulb-shaped cockpit. Destroying this is the goal of each bout, most specifically killing the current pilot. The pilots of the robot have their individual seats, reflecting their personalities.
Order of Pilots: After Masamitsu and Misumi 'sign' the contract, Dung Beetle mentions that their chairs would appear after the children had finished their fights. This implies that the order of pilots is determined by the order of signing the contract.
List of dimensional robots:
- Zearth
- Arachne
- Bayonet
- Cancer
- Drum
- Enigma
- Fig
- Gonta
- Humbug
Note: Beside Zearth, all of the other robots with codenames are those fought by the kids in their own planet. Robots they fought on enemy worlds are not included.
