Bokurano I

[~Chi-u_Chi-u~]

Discuss the manga Bokurano here

[bowie20049]

its good

[Lainemaa]

It's better than just good in my opinion. How about telling us why you feel it is good?

Posting here made me wonder how long we'll have to wait for the next arc to get scanlated. There was a batch in January and then the next one in May, so we might be in for a few months of waiting still, depending on how many chapters there are in the next arc. I think the magazine it's on is monthly, doesn anyone know better?

[balmung5000]

honestly i hated this manga
but i couldnt stop reading it
i felt the most of the chars were very boring
and with teh exception of the last couple of chapters
i felt like nothing happened
besides a few kids died
i want teh next couple of chapters to come out
just so i can finish and find out
what happeneds

[Amon]

This is EPIC...!!! x3
I kinda hate that Dung Mouse thingy, I wanna snap it's little neck... =_=

And man, these kids are really twisted(Most of them anyway... >.>; ) x_x;

[William Hammerson]

This manga is great in a very twisted way. All these kids have had to endure in their lives and now they have had to sacrifice themselves.

The only problem for me it the damn wait between chapters, its horrible.

[Amon]

Yay...!!!
Finally an update...!!! =D

Love how a lot of things were answered in this new chapter, also the character growth is excellent... x3

[Tenki]

Wooow.

This series is surprisingly good lol.

I like the bits of existential/psychological discussion/portrayals in the series.

And I really wanna get the backstory on Machi and the current Dung Beetle lol.

[Lainemaa]

So what happens to Dung Beetle after everything is finished?

So if they win the next battle with Machi as the pilot then Jun gets the role that Kokopelli played for the kids and will die afterwards. And somebody else (one of the dead pilots?) will become Dung Beetle. I wonder if Dung Beetle can choose how it appears. And what happens to it afterwards?

Not really expecting theories or guesses, just musing aloud. I love this manga.

[ghassassin]

The other day I watched eight episodes of the anime. They were awful. For once I had taken them to be the cartoon series Madeline, instead. They even changed the individual stories.

:bloodyfacepalm:

[AnimeFanatic]

It's quite the psychological manga. It gets you thinking on how deep humanity really is. It got me thinking on how we all don't just live in our own little 'bubble' and that there's a story with everyone on this earth, with them as the main character. And that the human psyche is a fragile thing.

Thus far, I find it to be an extremely exciting, deep, and all around great manga. The mangaka did a good job writing this. Of course there are a few small faults with the main story line. But that's because he had to pause to write the story of every characters last moments, which makes bonds to the readers, who may identify with one or more of the characters.

Although I find myself attached to Yosuke Kirie for his broad meaning of life, and also realizing the fact that even the background characters in a story have lives, and have touched lives. With them being the original standpoint.

What comes next after the horrid plot twist in number 58, I don't know. I'm thinking that Dung Beetle will become the next kokopeli, which will be intresting. I hope the Ushiro Jun story ends off this chapter (Or the story all-together) well... But hey, that's just my thoughts.

[Lina]

i also really like this manga. although it leaves a very unpleasant feeling after reading it.
the author has a very unique way of telling his stories. its extremely intense. not many manga managed to make me think so much about them.

[Daftmouse]

This series is so depressing, the only person that I wasn't sad when they died was the stupid idol one. I mean I hated her to begin with but in the end she ended up getting to spend time with her father and she got to become incredibly famous even if just for a few moments, both of her dreams came true before she died.

Does anyone know if the series continues after all the fights on that earth are done? I really hope not, it'll be good as is in my opinion.

[ryo31]

this manga is really good i think
the way it told us about each child's life and how they face that problem,
it made me sad
i really like psyhcological manga,^^

[methaniel]

Oh, I hadn't saw that there was a thread for this serie (I didn't even knew it was on OM...)
Anyway, I must admit that Bokurano is simply excellent.
From this beginning when you hope that they may avoid their fated deaths to the end when it becomes painfully obvious thatnone of them will get out of here alive (+the false "there is one person who didn't signed in" and such), really good!
Some of he death were actually quite emotionnal (though, I wouldn't be able to remember which kids), and I can't wait to see how it'll end now that we are reaching the final stages of the story

[shades7000]

Does anyone know that the raw for chapter 61 came out a couple days back in mangahelpers? Hopefully the guy, Hox who's been doing a great job of scanlating the latest chapters, will scanlate it soon when he has the time. I saw the chapter (couldn't help it) and Ushiro is currently now fighting with Zearth.(Oh boy)

[Br4inSt0rM]

whoa.. i cant belive i read all 63 chapters in 3 days.. (and they'r 32pg chapters) this manga really got me XD
maybe because it's incredibly twisted..
but i even liked the emotional stories like the kid who gave his heart to the friend, and didn't know that the girl actually liked him.. i felt sad for that guy (and i hated the friend BTW)

[Lainemaa]

News about Bokurano:



Bokurano Manga Ends in Japan's Ikki Magazine

posted on 2009-06-25 07:47 EDT

One-shot Mō Hitotsu no Bokurano story to run in next issue

Manga creator Mohiro Kitoh has ended his Bokurano: Ours story in the August issue of Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki magazine, which shipped on Thursday. A one-shot Bokurano ~Mō Hitotsu no Bokurano~ (Yet Another Bokurano) spinoff story will run in the next issue on July 25. The one-shot story will not be related to the main manga storyline, but will feature the same characters in a "what-if" situation. The 11th and final volume of the manga will ship in the beginning of fall.

The North American publisher Viz Media just revealed last month that it will release the Bokurano manga in its new online English version of Ikki magazine. Bokurano tells the story of 15 children who unsuspectedly agree to test a real-life robot battle — in which the ironic price of victory is death. The Bokurano manga inspired Gonzo's 2007 television anime series by the same name, although director Hiroyuki Morita acknowledged that he disliked the original manga and changed the story with the permission of Kitoh. Kitoh also created the Shadow Star Narutaru and Vendemiaire no Tsubasa manga. Dark Horse Comics released Shadow Star in North America.

Source (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-25/bokurano-manga-ends-in-japan-ikki-magazine)

[methaniel]

So it's finished in Japan?
Nothing surprising to be honest, considering the point the story reached with all the kids dead and only one left (though, this last mission is pretty impressive...having to kill the whole planet)
Ah, and I don't remember, but who's going to transmit his knowledge to the next planet like it was done in the beginning of the manga? And who's going to be the new Dungbeetle?

[Shadowrun20XX]

Onemanga just updated the end of Bokurano.Chapter 65 was pretty lame but expected.Actually I was half expecting a dream ending (It was all just a dream) but If it's anything like Kitoh's last couple of mangas,grim reality is bound to be had. I love his style.He's not afraid to show anything.

If you liked the manga do not watch the anime.It's got the usual ending because the animation director did not like where the manga was heading.Stupid,I know.

[Lainemaa]

Part of me was waiting for a more impressive ending but on the other hand this kind of low-key approach suits the manga much more.

So that's one of my favourites over now.

I wonder what the mangaka will come up next. He's done the kids with cute monsters and the kids with giant robots. What other genre can he use to kill everybody?

[methaniel]

Yeah, an expected ending, but pretty satisfying.
So, it didn't end with any kind of happy ending or whatever hopefully, and this "game" only continues like it had before...wow.

I have yet to check this other manga made by this mangaka (This manga with kids and giant ants or something like that?)

[Allyieh]

I loved this manga. So so so so much.

I loved how even though there were many main characters, each one had a time to shine (more-so for the ones who survived longer), instead of not getting to know each one of them personally.

This manga really portrays the Earth, and how the human psyche works. When your that young, you dont expect to be driven to mad circumstances, like pressuring someone into having sex at that age. It alos shows you how much burden was put onto a child's (or children's, looking at it on a whole) shoulders, while the adults were just coasting on life, not doing squat.

I loved it alot, in short. And a quick question about the link - so does that mean the tankobon will be released in the US, or just that its available online?

And i agree with the anime wholeheartedly - it sucked. men's regions. badly.

[Lone_ant]

So nice!

Ok, maybe that isn't the word I'm looking for, but it's an excellent story indeed, able to explore human relations and hearts poignantly. Each arc focused on one of the characters, and there are lots of death in the series (by the end, it's close to 150 billion done by Zearth alone, not to mention the mindbogglingly uncountable others that happens "off-screen") and yet it gets you to think about each and every death, and by extension life (it is this for this reason that my fave char would be Kirie, and then Dung Beetle)

You wonder why they are so sane in the face of this madness. And then you see that it's alright.

Edit: Just remembered Liar Game.. well what if.. at the end of the 48 hour period.. nothing happens? If this is true, then it brings a whole new level of evil to the creators of The Game (which are most probably humans as well IMO)

[KierreX9]

I have a love/ hate relationship with this particular manga. I enjoyed the story, but it was very depressing... I was most attached to the heart donor and the brother with three siblings, especially since the brother's siblings still think that he will return...

[KoolKidsKlub]

wow this manga only have 3 pgs of discussion?! makes me wonder what on earth are ppl on this site reading :S
i felt the two commander captain's death was really powerful...as for the kids i felt sorry for them but at the same time i didnt cuz they won..after their battles when he/she picks up other robot's cockpit..jus imaging how the losing team would feel and wats mood inside their cockpit like losing everything cuz of 1 person..
and few things that i learned in this manga is
tragedy: doesnt only happen near the end it happens every few chapters
happiness: are illusions or set ups for the sadness that comes few pgs later.
sadness: when you think it couldnt get worst it usually does.

[gamria]

This is going to be a long post.

I spent the last 4 days reading the whole of Bokurano, ever since I heard its anime opening “Uninstall” in the Nico Nico Douga Medley and subsequently watching the opening. I spoiled myself the plot, the ending, and the profile for each of the character, and in the end, I still became hooked to the manga and loved it.

This manga was very grim and depressing, and at the same time, bittersweet, deep and somewhat touching at times. It really does suck that this “Game” will go on. It was sad that no matter what, someone will die + a whole universe will disappear after each battle. But it also had a bright side in that, because their lives are shortened and they have no idea when their battle begins, most of the characters found meaningful ways to spend the rest of the lives, reflected upon what is truly important, and some even found ways to die meaningfully. Maybe it is because I have yet to see a story that talks about “living the remainder of your life with meaning” on such a close-up, personal, low-key and relatively ordinary scale that made me enjoy this manga and love the characters so much. I think by the time half the people died I felt less sad for each character’s death because they had already lived fully and meaningfully with what they had left. And the lack of fan service and sex appeal (not counting the nudity scenes, which I don’t like) makes me happy, Bokurano definitely does not need their interruption.

The anime, apart from Uninstall and Koyemushi's voice, was absolutely horrible: sure, I don’t mind the director hating the direction of the manga, but really altering Waku’s opponent (which worsened his “I’m a soccer player!” moment), omitting the already-scarce funny expressions (I liked them) and taking out Nakama’s uniforms? Terrible.

[gamria]

My list of the 15 kids, in order of favourite (by the way, I love their mutual camaraderie and the chair designs):

1. Nakama (prostitute’s daughter): she was epic! Her ideals of honesty and responsibility (although a bit too far), her 12 complete + 3 incomplete uniforms, and, during her arc, providing arguably the funniest moments, lines and expressions in the whole manga puts her in #1

2. Daichi (brother with 3 siblings): he was manly, and truly a great brother, I felt sad that his siblings kept believing that he will return someday (don’t know about Futaba, the eldest one, though)

3. Maki (tomboy): her otaku-ness, her dedication to her family and her hilarious feminine makeover scene makes her enjoyable and awesome

4. Kirie (the chubby one): his views on “life”, and especially its implications in this “Game” is very thought-provoking, and his “ceremony” before the battle almost felt honourable

5. Komo (piano player): I empathise with her suddenly observing her world, and her final piano recital while pouring all her feelings and life into it made for a beautiful departure. I play the piano, so I know what it meant to play while pouring all your heart into it.

6. Anko (idol wannabe): far from the spoiled, selfish, attention-seeking airhead I thought she would’ve been, she was wonderful for providing light moments in the story, value spending even some time with her dad more than being on TV (most would fuss over the lack of time spent), and for settling her group's hostile situation. Plus, her needle-throwing move was very awesome for her.

7. Kana (the sister): I found her care for her brother a bit forced, cheesy and too mature for her age, but it still made her one of the loveliest character of the series.

8. Kanji (Ushiro’s friend): love his role as unofficial tactician, probably the only sensible one left after Moji's departure, but lacks development

9. Waku (soccer player): pretty energetic, and kicking the arm at “Bayonet” while shouting “I’m a soccer player!” was a very cool moment

10. Moji (heart donor): unofficial tactician, I like his wisdom and sensibility. I found his whole love triangle silly, but noble for considering Tsubasa’s happiness beyond his life

11. Machi (Koyemushi’s sister): development came late, but she gets points for providing some light moments alongside Anko, provoking the humanity out of Ushiro and being the only person to be able to affect Koyemushi (eg throwing him). I felt cheated that she died before her battle.

12. Ushiro (the brother): his development came late, but at the end I’ve also grown attached to him, probably because he was the last one. Idiotic for opening that cockpit, but I still felt sad for his genocide. At least in the end, it shows he really is part of the group by wearing his uniform at last.

13. Kako (the coward): I sympathise his situation, and his fear of death, and its necessity as a foil to everybody else's readiness towards death, but it got annoying

14. Chizu (pregnant girl): screw her betrayal, rape and pregnancy, she dove into this mess herself when it was completely inappropriate from the start, and even after she died, she still stirred up trouble for the rest of the kids

15. Kodama (kid who crushed his own dad): that arrogant punk, thinking he lords over other lives and hurting them carelessly


And if I were to put Koyemushi in the list, he would be above #3 (Maki): sure he's a jerk at the start, but you gotta love the way he does whatever he likes and no one boss him around (except Machi), and I'm glad that in the end, he expressed a fondness for the kids under his charge and decides to die fighting for their Earth

[saustin]

A simply fantastic Manga. It's up there with anything that Urasawa Naoki has written (high praise). It's great to see the different way that the children react to their own impending death.

One of my favourite pieces was the opening of the manga where the character that was built up to be the hero is taken out. You then move on to find that in fact all of the other, less confident people, actually have far more interesting lives.

I read this in 3 days and enjoyed every page.

[JustPassingBy]

Hm... one question: who was the new dung beetle?

[KierreX9]

I forgot his name, but that adult man that was inside of the cockpit at the end.

http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/63/04/

The guy with the spikier hairline.

[Lone_ant]

No, that was their Dungbeetle (he died after that battle)

The new Dungbeetle was that glasses kid who had to exterminate the whole planet hands on because the enemy team escaped.

[gamria]

No, that was their Dungbeetle (he died after that battle)

The new Dungbeetle was that glasses kid who had to exterminate the whole planet hands on because the enemy team escaped.

Wrong, the new Dung Beetle is Sasami, Captain Seki and Tanaka's boss, the adult man with squinty eyes who had been dealing with all the media stuff for the kids. Only Sasami would've bothered to mention Captain Shouji, the man whom Dung Beetle teleported the fingers off.

I checked the RAW for the last Bokurano chapters, the new Dung Beetle's dialect is the same as Sasami, which is relatively formal and adult-like. Ushiro, on the other hand, had an arrogant dialect typical of teenage boys his age.

Ushiro (glasses kid, the pilot for (technically) his earth's 13th battle) died after his battle, his life force is used up during his battle, just like everybody else. Is anyone serious to think someone so shaken up from performing a planet-wide genocide would still have the energy to guide another earth?

And for those who don't fully get the last chapter, the earth we've been following still had one battle to go before it's off the hook, but there was no contracted pilots left. So Dung Beetle, Machi's brother, decides to become human again and contract himself to save the earth he had been overseeing, in part as atonement for killing Machi and to fulfill her wish. This will serve as the tutorial battle for the next earth.

The current earth still needed a Dung Beetle for the remaining battle, so Sasami volunteered to do so.

[KierreX9]

As far as the group that we followed through the entire manga, I believe they had one extra pilot at the end. Machi and Jun were both contracted with one battle left. Then, Machi died. So, Jun took the last battle (Only one light left in the final battle: Jun's).

Therefore, I thought Machi's brother (Dung Beetle) did the tutorial battle just like the older guy from the beginning of the manga. Didn't Machi's brother and Sasami just travel to another alternate Earth and find new kids to guide?

[gamria]

Therefore, I thought Machi's brother (Dung Beetle) did the tutorial battle just like the older guy from the beginning of the manga. Didn't Machi's brother and Sasami just travel to another alternate Earth and find new kids to guide?

Yes, they travelled to the next Earth. And also, the last battle for one Earth serves as the tutorial battle for the next Earth. See http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/54/17/ (back when they had 2 battles left, and thought that Ushiro would take the last battle)


As far as the group that we followed through the entire manga, I believe they had one extra pilot at the end. Machi and Jun were both contracted with one battle left. Then, Machi died. So, Jun took the last battle (Only one light left in the final battle: Jun's).

Here's a list of the battles for our group (technically, this group had to complete 14 battles for their own Earth. Kokopelli said 15 enemies will come, but he included his own battle into the total, most likely to simplify explanations and skip over the details of what this game was really about. See http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/28/10/ , Dung Beetle said so himself that Kokopelli's battle had no effect on this Earth)

1. Waku (Bayonet, the flying spear)
2. Kodama (Cancer, the one with tentacles)
3. Daichi (Drum, the barrel)
4. Nakama (Enigma, the punching humanoid one)
5. Kako + Chizu + Chizu's Baby (Figs, the jump and slam one)
6. Moji (Gonta, the vice)
7. Maki (Arachne II)
8. Kirie (Enigma II)
9. Komo (Humbug, the one which deliberately had its armour smashed apart)
10. Anko (Idol, the flying one with acidic needles)
11. Kanji (Javelin, the super long-ranged one)
12. Kana (Cancer II)

As of this point, 12 battles have passed, and all the starting 14 lights/contracts have transpired. Although Captains Seki and Tanaka contracted, like Dung Beetle said at http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/21/05/ , their turns come after the current magazine is used up. And seeing as they both died before that happened, Zearth's faceplate never lighted up for them, though their chairs did appear inside the cockpit once Machi and Ushiro contracted

13. Ushiro (the robot that resembles Zearth)

Had she not died, Machi would have taken this battle.

So with one battle left, Dung Beetle himself decided to take up the last battle, as atonement for Machi

14. Dung Beetle/Machi's brother (tutorial battle for next Earth)

I hope this clarifies things for you

And as a tidbit, I think Dung Beetle's last line, "Zearth, take off", is a sign of how he had grown fond of the kids. Back in their battle for their Earth, Kokopelli, Dung Beetle and Machi also had Zearth as their robot, and was inherited down to the current group. We can assume that back then, they had their own name for the robot.
And throughout the course of the manga, Dung Beetle had only ever referred to it as the robot, or the toy, but never a name for it.
But when it was his turn, Dung Beetle didn't address the robot using his group's name for it. Instead, he used the kids' name for it, Zearth. This goes hand in hand with his opinion of the kids

http://www.onemanga.com/Bokurano/60/20/

It's actually kind of bittersweet of him: the Dung Beetle who had been so mean, sarcastic and sadistic to the kids is, in the end, actually going to sacrifice himself to help them save their earth and finish their fight.

[KierreX9]

I tip my hat to you gamria. You clarified so much for me. Thanks.

[gamria]

OK, who wants to talk about the mechas in this underrated manga?

Although the mechas are certainly not the main points of this story, personally, I think the fights are pretty well written. I liked that a number of the pilots contributed their own styles/skills/thinking into their battles. Some of my favourite moments:

* Waku vs Bayonet: the way he professionally and accurately kicked the torn off arm right into the single weakpoint of the opponent while shouting "I'm a soccer player!" was such an immortal moment
* Kodama vs Cancer: I liked that at the end of the battle, he incorporated his construction company upbringing into the fight, pulled the Cancer into close range, and continuously stabbed into the opponents' holes while firing lasers from within ("Use the lasers!")
* Daichi vs Drum: he completely stopped the mecha from spinning after lifting it up. The Drum was absolutely a one-tricked pony though
* Nakama vs Enigma: the fist fight between the 2 humanoids was interesting, it really showed that in its normal state, Zeartha can slice but not punch
* Moji vs Gonta: Moji was brilliant for using "body detachment" as a strategy to get out of the stranglehold, slinging the cockpit and vertebrae into the air directly above the enemy cockpit and shooting them
* Maki vs Arachne II: it was pretty nice to see that Maki's otaku upbringing had a use in her battle, the way she thought about the way soldiers, and therefore Zearth, should fight
* Komo vs Humbug: the entire fight was intense, very disadvantageous. First, Komo was very nearly killed by the opponent, and afterwards, they had to use up most of the remaining 47 hours to find and kill the runaway enemy pilot.
* Anko vs Idol: the way she thought of using the needles back against the opponent was pretty creative, and the way she threw the last needle into the air like the way she threw her microphone at the start of her arc was really cool
* Kanji vs Javelin: this fight was ridiculous, the Javelin's attack range was absolutely, absurdly ridiculous. And it was sad that Seki and all those soldiers martyred themselves so that Kanji can win
* Kana vs Cancer II: Tanaka was pretty cool in her jet fighter. When she was deployed, this song played in my head http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AW6-k_S-lg&feature=related (music starts at 1:26, goes really well with the fight). It was entertaining to see how the military can screw up the enemy robot without using direct force. And I was shocked at how savage Kana was towards the end of her fight. It was really discomforting.
* Ushiro vs Zearth-lookalike: his supports were so right in that they were in the same situation as Komo's battle, only worse, they are on the enemy's planet

On other notes, I felt sorry for Kokopelli's opponent: all their lights are still active, meaning it was a fresh newbie team against a veteran, absolutely zero chance of victory.
I also felt sorry for the Gonta and Javelin teams: they knew from the start what their cockpit looked like, so they knew from the start they are fighting other alternate earths

[Herox3]

Such an underrated manga, yet a great one
I was depressed as I read this manga, but I couldnt stop D: (read the whole thing in 1 1/2 days because the other half day i was reading something else)
I wish people would read this more