Bokurano by Mohiro Kitoh

Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 12:33 pm

I thought i should start off a topic on this new manga... anyways, i was just wondering what everyone thought after the first chapter? I read it myself, and i really don't know what to think... part of me see's a lot of cliche's, and part of me hopes that it'll break them all. I'm just wondering why they need sooo many characters, it seems almost overboard, my eyes hurt after a while!

Fan Boy Joined: 03 Dec 2003 Posts: 1 Location: Dubai

Well from my side i liked it i realy want to see how this story grows and ends it seems like a nice story that comes from childrens imaginations or dreams.

Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 10:41 pm

I don't care about children's imaginations, i just wanna see giant robots attack eachother without mercy~!
Then again, kids with dreams and robots tend to remind me of eva... which i hope this manga will try its best to stay away from >_<

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 419

Well, I remember Narutaru and how it went all... weird on us all. So I'm expecting great things from this manga. However, every time I expect great things from a series, it turns to crap so I'm just gonna say this manga sucks so far. It uses unoriginal idea, and the premise of the story seems stupid too. "Let's all play a game where you all control a giant robot and kill stuff." Oh wait, maybe this manga will turn out good after all.

For some reason this manga reminds me slightly of Drifting Classroom, which I don't really like. I bet they're all going to end up killing each other like the psychotic kids they are. Blah.

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:31 am

Kitoh is an underestimated manga-ka, even in Japan. I guess you've to read all of his series to see Bokurano's potential. "Narutaru" for example started out just like a child-friendly modern fairy tale about a girl and her supernatural friend (the dragonet Hoshimaru) but it turned dark (and complex) soon after that, and with dark, I mean pitch-black, as everyone who's seen the anime series should be able to attest. However, I do agree that you can't really tell where Bokurano goes after the first chapter so we'll have to wait and see.

I'd be interested to know Summer Soldier's opinion on this one as well. Smile

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 5:15 am

Well, I'm with Izumi here. It's too early to tell, and it could very well go either way. And as an Ikki reader, I have to wonder if the magazine needs another manga about robots (will somebody please put an end to the god-awful Ride Back?". Kitoh is an accomplished author though, and in his comment in the magazine, he does suggest that he'll break away from cliches. So I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Fan Boy Joined: 03 Dec 2003 Posts: 1

Well, like alredy said, considering how Narutaru begann and what it became we really can't say much about how this will turn out. I'm quite a big fan of Mohiro Kitoh, so I'm really looking foward to this. However I do have to admit that this first chapter hasn't impressed me at all so far. So I guess I'll try to keep my expectations not too high and just hope for the best.

Roadie Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 61 Location: Belgium

nice first chapter, but as mentionned above, the plot is only set, nothing much has happened, but at least the basics are there after only one chapter.

is the mangaka's art style always so 'sketchy'? especially kokopelli looks like a sketchy drawing. but i haven't read narutaru so i can't compare.

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 3:49 pm

The art IS pretty "sketchy" but I think a lot of the detail was so fine that it unfortunately had to be sacrificed as part of the magazine scan cleaning process... It should look a lot better in tankobon form.
Personally I agree that there's not much to this first chapter, but I like the premise and the idea of having 15 main characters... it could get complex but I think that in this chapter Kitoh has already done a nice job of setting up personalities of many of the kids without wasting a lot of time playing the introductions game. And as Summer said, the author himself states that it might not turn out to be what many people are thinking. "I don't expect this to turn into a robot-type thing..."

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 402

this topic's old, but bokurano's really nice.

just started reading it, as far as cliche go, the only ones i can see is giant robots and a weird blond guy with long hair. im not sure what kokopeli's agenda is, but i hope it doesnt get overly philosophical.

i like the art, the lines are sketchy but the style looks good.

i wonder if it will turn out like narnia. (children living out epic adventures blurring the lines between fantasy and reality)

PS: what does 'bokurano' mean? thanks.

Fan Boy Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 1

Does anyone know when the next chapter will be out (its listed as an active project but there has not been a new chapters for a while)?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:13 pm

when we feel like it.

Fan Boy Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 12

Man, these latest chapters are getting really good. :D

I had a feeling that the stuff in chapter 28 was gonna come to be when they showed a close up of the enemy's face in chapter 27 (check page 21).

Fan Boy Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 18

I dig up old topics and apologize profusely... That said, I just marathoned this series in a couple of days, and while the start didn't have me hooked to be exact, I started appreciating the story more and more after getting so much closer to the characters themselves. My main iff with the beginning was that we got 15 characters thrown at us in one go. And, well, its kind of hard to follow along when you can't even tell most characters apart!

Which is precisely why this will be such a blast to reread from the beginning once it's all over. Now, we know everyone, and that alone makes the stories themselves so much better. It's great this series seems to improve as it keeps going along, and it did take some adjusting to the unusual story in my case (It's just so strange to build up main characters with the knowledge looming they'll be dead when it ends), but it really pays off in the end. Sometimes I just don't think it works, though, as a story occasionally leaves too many loose ends capable of being wrapped up with the character's death.

That said, I really liked the latest story. It was a bit over the top dramatic, but I found it very serene and touching, with a decent amount of exposition put in for good measure.

Fan Boy Joined: 12 Aug 2007 Posts: 8 Location: France

I really like Mohiro Kitô mangas, thx for scanlating Bokurano ^^

I think i started to read Bokurano when it had like 39 chapter and it took me 1 night to read without sleeping, it liked it so much that i couldn t sleep xD