Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Teardropstar
Not surprised with the negative reviews about this anime at all!
Bokura no is a dark psychological anime;where neither the author nor the Director is planning to sell to the foreign anime audiences' fantasy . It's a clear slap on the face of "idolizing robots & teenagers' space fighting ".
I'd say, this has been one of the most realistic anime within its genre. It shows what could have happened if real life neon-genesis stuffs were to happen. The story started with middle schoolers on a trip & eventually discovering how the adults, society, politics, business & every other possible parties react to their challenges. The characters are usually not likable, because they are all portrayed with real life references.
If you're wondering why nothing went accd to usual expectations or possibil…
Read at the sourceJestercomrade
One of the best psychological dramas I’ve watched. It stands out because of how effectively it handles such a large cast while making every character feel important.
What makes this series so compelling is its structure. Each episode focuses on a different character, gradually peeling back their fears, regrets, and personal struggles before throwing them into impossible situations. Instead of feeling repetitive, this format strengthens the emotional impact because every battle carries real weight.
The writing is easily the strongest part of the series. Every character feels human, flawed, and believable. Despite the large ensemble cast, I found myself equally invested in all of them, which is rare. Their individual stories are tragic in different ways, and the series does an excellent jo…
Read at the sourcefh1478
One Fight, One Life
Bokurano is a mecha tragedy, Where a normal mecha anime, it's about the journey to Adulthood, here It's the journey to death.
One of the things Bokurano does so will, Is it takes 15 Random kid Who are not fully adults yet, and forces them to tackle death.
And we see how every kid tackle it differently, some go into despair, other goes into nihilism, other just think about the people around them, They will leave behind.
Bokurano story wise is really willing to pull some emotional stomach punches, and some amazing plot turns, that makes it so interesting to watch because you cannot predict it.
The animation is not really anything special, but the robot designs are so creepy, look so pointy and weird and not humanoid. The character design is very normal, It looks lik…
Read at the sourcesykuningen
Bokura no started with a promising premise and a fantastic OP, but went downhill so egregiously that I am walking away considering it one of the most incompetently directed stories I have ever encountered. The plot holes are endless, the majority of the cast are highly unlikable, entire episodes are wasted covering boring, ultimately meaningless subplots, and almost nothing that happens makes sense. I will quickly cover each of these major issues.
Almost nothing that happens makes sense: This is my major issue with the show. The premise (essentially, without spoiling too much) is that 15 kids are chosen to pilot a giant robot in order to protect the Earth from opposing robots in one-on-one battles. You would think, as the world discovers what is going on, that every available resource wou…
Read at the sourcemonachina666
I started watching "Bokurano" with high hopes for an engaging narrative and thrilling battles, but I found myself a bit disappointed. While the story has its merits, the fight scenes left much to be desired. I still found some enjoyment in it, but it diverged quite a bit from what I anticipated based on the summaries and trailers.
Initially, the plot felt a bit disjointed and rushed, almost like a flimsy excuse to throw a group of children into giant robots to defend the Earth. The battles were rather lackluster, and the animation quality was inconsistent, with some moments looking quite subpar, especially in the beginning.
However, I’m glad I persevered because the series eventually picks up. The narrative takes unexpected turns, revealing layers that make it far more intriguing than it…
Read at the sourceDompa112
Dont know if ive seen a show with such a large cast of characters where i enjoyed them all. Even the ones i didnt agree with or maybe didnt think they acted the right way they were still interesting and caught my attention. I find this to be a bit of a hidden gem. In my book it deserves more praise in the Mecha genre with more psychologic focus. I rated NGE higher but thats alot of nostalgia. Just in terms of how much i enjoyed it i think this one tops that show. But its close.
But yeah its a very characterdriven story. Theres not much plot. And the plot thats there never goes deeper or explains some of the more intriguing parts. It just kinda drops it. Some more world building and the show could have hit the 10.
Also the opening Uninstall is legendary.
A strong 9/10 from me.
Read at the sourcezombiegurl
not many anime series have made me dribble into a puddle of sobbing, primordial slop following an episode - less series have made me do so over a string of 4 to 5 episodes, without room to breathe. right from jump, nothing feels -quite right- as if there's always an air of uncertainty looming within every interaction. even when you're flashbanged an entire cast within just a few minutes (some, who aren't even addressed by name right away) there's an eerie vibe that continues to not settle well. keep in mind, that that vibe gets worse and worse, as you progress through the plot and each twist the series throws at you.
triggering subject matter is found throughout, more than i can list off the top of my head so proceed with caution. its usage of cgi is very "of its time", but the key take a…
Read at the sourceThe_Real_MC_Ride
Bokura No has pretty unique way of telling it's story with it's 15 "main" characters. Basically every one of the 15 get an episode or two dedicated to them and them alone during which their personal story is fleshed out and they get their turn in the spot light. During these short story form character arcs the show will tackle a number of heavy topics, all the meanwhile the primary overarching plot is slowly fleshed out and the "mainer" characters (of the 15 "main" characters a couple are more centric and focused on harder) go through a bit more growth. It's an interesting concept and whether or not you like it will depend largely on your personal tastes.
Personally I found it hard to grow attached to many of the characters given how little time the show spends on each one of them individ…
Read at the sourceSulthan_M
this is my first review, I went all the way and make this because i feel like more people should know about this show. please please please don't watch this show if you're here for the mecha. But if you're looking for a deep and powerful story you're in for an emotional ride. Bokurano dives deeper into real word problems that is uncomfortable and rarely talked upon. this made the show so realistic and original some stories here might be able to connect with some of you on a personal level. there are no plot armors and fancy magic/power that helps the main characters overcome their problem. bokurano made me think a lot more about life and to appreciate it better. this show will inspire you and left you with thoughts on who you are, who are you trying to protect, and what do you want to acco…
Read at the sourcemerb
Bokura no is an anime that should have been a masterpiece.
The first half of the series dedicates one or two episodes to the stories of the pilots of Zearth. Notable episodes such as Scars and Family really hit home on some heavy existential and emotional themes and are two of my favorite episodes. This chunk of the anime ends right around episode 13 with Earth. The episode wraps up Maki's story (which was one of my favorites) and reveals a lot about the reality of the children's situation as pilots of Zearth.
The second chunk of the series kind of loses me. The episodes that follow Earth are centered mostly around the political conflict occurring around Zearth. I often found myself more confused than I was before during lengthy dialogue scenes that really had no bearing on the main pl…
Read at the sourceDarkfiend47
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Bokurano can only be described in one word : Heavy.
I'd say Bokurano's not a show for everyone. It's a Seinen, dark and twisted, a bit slow at times, has lot of dialogue, very complex and a mech show. I never understood the hatred for these 'mech' shows. Ironically enough some of them are most popular shows like 86, Code Geass, TTGL and NGE. This show in particular is very different from the rest of them. It's more on the psychological and philosophical side like Evangelion and more so about the characters who pilot them.
Story (9/10) :
Initially the story is simple. 15 Children meet a mysterious man who asks them to take part in a 'game' where they pilot a gigantic robot (which they later name as 'Zearth') in order to fight gigantic monsters. They soon realize tha…
Read at the sourceAwoo4U
Story
The premise of Bokurano is interesting at first. With a big cast, it is unlikely that all of their backstories are good and this show is no exception. Some are very good, some are okay, and some are so boring you completely forget about them. I liked the initial character back stories but somewhere past the half way point, I had more difficulty keeping up with the story and characters because I sorta stopped caring. First half is more character driven and the second half becomes slighty more plot driven while still focusing primarily on the characters.
Art
Its okay I guess. Most of the cast did not have a very definiing trait, so I often forgot who was who and who did what.
Sound
Opening and ending themes are decent. Not much else to write home about
Character
Probably one…
Read at the sourceFemboyGayming
Overall a really solid show. I do feel there's some bled potential here and there, but overall it's pretty good. The story is interesting and it the twists it presents are pretty good. I'd say this show could have the potential to be really, really good but it suffers a few drawbacks. Ultimately it still comes together quite nicely.
Since there's 15 main characters, plus a handful of recurring side characters, and only 24 episodes you can probably guess at the pacing. It's fast. Each character's personal story arc gets about one episode. One episode doesn't seem like enough to fully flesh out a character, but Bokurano does a pretty good job of it honestly. Each individual character's story feels like a complete little package. I am personally a bigger fan of a slow burn approach where cha…
Read at the sourceGsarthotegga
Bokura no I don't want to watch this anymore.
I dropped this series a little bit past the halfway point... perhaps on episodes 14-15. Not sure. I did read up on what happened later, and it just gets bleaker, and very apocalyptic--except on a cosmic scale. For a point of reference, the direction it goes in reminds me a lot of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series--which I'd definitely recommend over this, because it's better in pretty much every way.
Anyway, this is known as one of the MOST DEPRESSING ANIME EVAR!!!11... Yeah, it's sad, depressing, I'd even say affecting. There's something about Mohiro Kitoh's stories that are compelling at first, but they never quite enrapture me. The characters always look so sad, there's realistic drama, and many of the scenarios are upsetting. I was sim…
Read at the sourceRauLeCreuset
I think this anime although short was very interesting, it took me a while to finish it because I was busy with other things, but I just finished it a few minutes ago. I thought it was unique in the sense that it was made up of fifteen people, and they each had their own good qualities about each other. It's a tear jerker in some parts, but yeah, I actually enjoyed it, and the animation style of each character make up is something I noticed quite quickly. I thought the named they used to call it was sort of bad ass actually.
Read at the sourceGraine
I'm gonna give you the TLDR-version of the review right off the bat: if you have read about the show's premise and it sounds like it would be up your alley: go ahead and watch it. The show is good. If you are on the fence or you set out to just plain dislike the series, the show will provide you with plenty of ammunition to shoot it down as well. I'll go through some of my personal gripes, while avoiding spoilers.
All the mecha parts are realized with the aid of some pretty dated 3D graphics. Even though the models themselves look rather rough, there is still some proper weight to their movement and the environmental destruction feels tangible, even if the action and fight choreography ain't spectacular. I think the studio did the best they could with the limited time and money given to t…
Read at the sourceShiniela
Long story short:
Having 15 characters as main cast is unique and hard to pull off right, but "Bokura no" did in my opinion.
OP is amazing, both the music and the lyrics, but ED is more forgettable than the lunch you had or didn't have yesterday.
Art is what you can expect from 2007 but it's still great, maybe that's a biased opinion though as someone who got into anime with the DB/DBZ franchise.
Some aspects of the story are slightly eh at times but mostly its good, and the characters decisions can frustrate you, but you just have to remember that they're kids around 13-14 whose worldview hasn't been completely built yet.
I've seen Bokura no 3 times now, and I still dislike the things I disliked the first time, maybe have even more things I dislike, but it's still a really great show…
Read at the sourceshiroitamago
Bokura no, like all great mecha shows has strong characters which the robots themselves take a backseat to. The mecha in this isn't that great (poor CG galore) but the melancholic story and plight of the robot pilots who enter battle accepting their deaths is just something else. (Robots aside, the animation quality is great)
For those who sampled the first two episodes and hesitated, I would advise that the real meat of the show comes in when it starts to explore each individual pilot's backstory - there's a lot of variety between characters and in some cases the plots are absolutely heart wrenching.
If you are like me and are into the more darker side of anime, this is pretty much essential. Check it out.
For fans of: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Space Ideon, depression core in general I…
Read at the sourcejiyojimei
Honestly only kept watching because the intro song was banging and very hype, so it got an extra mark just for that.
Took until maybe episode 6 to get into it, and even then it was fairly dry. A shame there wasn't a higher budget, the art was lack luster and especially with the clunky robot scenes. However, the Mecha design themselves were cool and fairly diverse. With such a large main cast the way characters presented their back stories became predictable in terms of who was going to be the "featured" character or pilot. This also meant some minor cast members were left underdeveloped. The ending itself was conclusive but unsatisfying.
I'd recommend going into this with patience. The emotional pay off is pretty worth while, but this isn't a mecha anime in the least.
Read at the sourcetjrq
Bokurano is one of those shows that you could feel would've been a masterpiece (for drama fans) if it didn't lose steam (we'll get back to that later). The plot follows a group of kids that were tricked to pilot a giant mechanical robot and are forced to fight "invader" robots from another planet. The catch is, after every fight, the pilot dies because the robot steals the pilot's lifeforce away. This creates fantastic character drama situations, as these kids that have barely lived, are forced to cope with their impending doom.
The characters are the real meat of Bokurano. I find it impressive how the writer was able to create the different living conditions, moralities, and backstories of the children, that you could not help but sympathize, even if these character backgrounds only las…
Read at the source
