Aeterna

“I have no choice but to pretend I am a warrior who knows no fear.” Truer OP lyrics have rarely been attributed so well to an anime series. Fifteen children are tricked into participating in a battle for Earth itself. However, don’t be fooled by video clips of huge mecha fighting each other – this is not a classic mecha series with epic space battles and the like. Instead, each child who comes to pilot the mecha known as Zearth faces not only the struggle to save the world but also a struggle of their own. What do they fight for? Some fight for their loved ones.Others fight for themselves. A few see it as their duty. Some don’t know why and struggle to find a reason to look death in the face for the sake of complete strangers. Each story arc deals with the next pilot set to fight on Earth’s behalf. Each child has a story to tell, a conflict of some sort to work out before they fight. One wants to prove himself to his workaholic father. Another deals with bullying because of her mother’s reputation. Another grapples with his disappeared dad while supporting his three younger siblings. And so on and so forth. At first, getting to know all the kids all at once is overwhelming, but as each one is explored and developed, they become unique and well fleshed out. Each arc then becomes a “coming of age” story for each of the kids, culminating in their final battles as they reflect on their lives and the world they fight for. In the meantime, the group of children draw unwanted attention to themselves from the government and military and they must deal with the implications of their actions. As you can imagine, it’s heavy on drama and it gets amped up even further as the story progresses and the children learn more about this twisted “game” (but to discuss them here would be very spoilery). Bring tissues. For the more technical merits of Bokurano, it fares pretty well. Animation and art aren’t overly detailed and there aren’t any bright, glaring colours. Realism is what the animators seemed to be aiming for. Still, it slips up here and there, and sometimes obviously so. I also caught some re-used animation a few times, too. The mecha are done in CG and while it’s noticeable, it doesn’t stick out too much in a bad way, and Zearth and some of the other mecha designs are well rendered. The OP and the two EDs are all sung by Chiaki Ishikawa. The OP, “Uninstall”, carries a rather haunting melody and is well-suited to the anime. The EDs are, unfortunately, more forgettable. Still, it’s notable that the lyrics of each song fit the anime to a T, so the translated lyrics are well worth paying attention to. The background music is, for the most part, unremarkable – not noteworthy but not bad, either. I have no complaints about the seiyuu as they all did a great job. Overall, Bokurano was a surprisingly strong series that gives viewers plenty to think about. No magic tricks here, no fairy tale endings. Nevertheless, despite all the hardships the characters face, I can’t help but feel a bit hopeful, like I should appreciate life a little more and all the good things in this world. After all, we never know when it’ll all be over.

Hantsuki

I posted this review on a forum as a recommendation to someone who was looking for a depressing and slice of life anime, and I was told by two people that my review was able to get them to watch the series and I believe they enjoyed it, so I decided to share my review here in hopes of intriguing more people into watching it. Thoughts: This anime cannot be completely enjoyed unless you have the patience to watch it all the way through. Even if you do not have much patience, I still think the first episode ends in a way that compels thewatchers to continue watching because it really does leave you at a cliffhanger. I would go more into detail, but I really rather not spoil it for anyone. Even though Slice of Life is not one of the genres for this anime, I still think it has its moments where this genre is applied. The children have to go through a lot, and there are many times throughout the anime where you feel sorry for them, since they lose, let's say, something very close to them after each battle. Again, I do not think the first episode will be as exciting if I go into more detail, so that is as far as I will go. Story: While watching the scenes from the opening song, you figure that the anime will be a typical mecha with the typical battles, and since you are told that there are 15 children and 15 alien battles, it is hard to be persuaded the battles are going to be very unique. That is partly correct. The battles do seem overused a lot, but the actual plot for the anime is rather unique. As you continue watching, you learn that there is more to the actual battles with the "aliens" each time. There is a deeper meaning in the anime, but it is the watcher's duty to figure it out, which is a good and bad thing. If you are just watching an anime for enjoyment, then I really do not suggest this. However, if you wish to analyze the anime and find the deeper meaning, then this will probably interest you. Animation: The art is rather simple, and I did not have any problems with it, but I think it could have been better. Sometimes simple art works well for certain kinds of anime, but I think it was not completely fitting for this one. There have been plenty other anime out there that have successfully been able to pull off the simple style of animation before, but unfortunately this one could not. The 3D for the mecha battles were actually pretty good, any way. Sound: The opening song, Uninstall by Chiaki Ishikawa, was impressive, I thought. She has a pretty powerful voice, and it really worked for the opening. I think the music could even make up for some of the disappointing animation, but that is just my opinion. The ending songs work too, but Uninstall was mainly the only song that captured my attention. Character: I really could not favor one character over another in this anime (partly because almost all of them "disappears" by the end), but I liked how one of the characters in the beginning acted like a total jerk, and eventually lightened up in the end. There is actually a side story that explains why his attitude is like that, but I cannot be bothered to explain everything in that area. You will learn that some of the characters live depressing lives, pretty much like any other anime, but I do not think there is any one perfect character in this show, which makes it more enjoyable. Enjoyment: I just really liked how this anime played out overall. I think I said this before, but it is a rather unique story. I do not recall there being much comedy or any at all, but I think that works for some people. I believe most watchers will definitely cry during some episodes. I have to admit that I did.