Bokurano

Bokurano ("ours" in English) takes place during the summer vacation for school students. A group of middle school students who are enrolled in the same summer school decide to explore the beach when they find a hidden cave. Inside the cave are several machines and computers, which the owner explains he is using to develop a game and asks the children to play. However, the game is not as simple as it seems to be.

Although the premise might seem boring and the characters too young to relate to, Bokurano not only makes it all work, but it all works well. The summary makes it seem like a rehash, but the story line and plot are much more unique than what they seem at first, with added depth as the story progresses. The characters are younger than the target audience (approximately high school or college age), but it adds to the drama and comes as a reminder that age does not equal maturity. The struggles of the characters are diverse, as well. At least one character will strike a particular chord with any viewer, but it's more likely that many characters will do so.

Visually, the show is very pleasing. Unlike some other series, which tend to have characters with essentially the same reused faces and hairstyles, the characters in Bokurano are all very distinct. The CG is used sparingly and is not over-the-top or cheesy. The fighting scenes are interesting and vary greatly in style and length. Additionally, the opening and closing themes are haunting and tie in well with the themes of the series.

Over-all, this is one of my favorite series, and I'm definitely not a fan of anime. Whole-heartedly 10/10.

This is probably the most depressing anime ever. Most of the sad anime listed are there cos most of the anime are happy till something happens (death) but this one is sad from the start with tweens dealing with certain death, abuse and loneliness the whole way with the fate of universe on the line. Its Evangelion if every fight was your last. Oh and the opening song is amazing

I dropped the anime in middle of the 8th episode, so this is a partial review.

Pros: Interesting idea. Meh: Graphics, Music Cons: Inconsistency Reactions are not realistic Character background is sappy Character progression is ridiculous Basic questions are not asked or answered

The story is about kids who got into something without realizing what it was. When they begin to realize, for the most part, the story demands that they do not react normally or that they wait before they do. Cause/effect reactions are inconsistent and happen at a time convenient to the plot. Further, the amount of time things take to happen are tied to the sub-plot instead of "reality".

The drawing is not that great; most of the characters look ugly. The music is nothing of note. The only thing that kept me watching was waiting for a big reveal or at least answer some basic questions. By the sixth episode i was getting bored, by the eight, i dropped it. What a waste of time.

The idea is interesting though. Just poor execution.

Every main character's backstory is interesting in its own way and they give us a window into some of the darkest aspects of being a child/adolescent. Specially, if you look at those stories through a Japanese mindset filter. Every decision they take when encountering unsurmountable odds have a big emotional impact that will hit you hard. Unfortunately, the plot suffers from a somewhat messy ending as most animes. In any case, each individual backstory is enough to keep you wondering about your own childhood and what could have been for a while.

An anime that feels very old, where human drama comes to the forefront in sequences against the clock, forced by a spectacular circumstance.

Neither the animation nor the action have aged well, there is hardly anything exciting in them, you just want them to go by fast; but the anime, after a soporific first half, is able to touch the heartstrings and awaken honest emotions in each of the different lives it presents to us. You will not leave this series indifferent to its message and story and you will remembered it despite it's many flaws in all those categories that we all like to quote: pace (slow), music (repetitive and poor), animation (boring), writing, characters, etcetera.