Otakuism

Contains some manga spoilers. You have been warned.

The second episode of Bokurano was rather “disturbing” to me. No, not because of Waku’s unfortunate ending, I’ve seen that before, but because of several minute changes Gonzo made to the story, that only serve to weaken it as a whole. Bokurano is, at its heart, a psychological story, one more concerned with the characters than any mecha of the week. In the chapters of Waku’s story most of the time is spent in his head and figuring out what makes him tick. Things like deciding to keep Zearth a secret and the introduction of Dung Beetle are actually done quickly, unlike the half episode length that was spent for them. Also, the mecha was changed from a bulb-like creature to a praying mantis robot; why, I have no idea. Waku’s skills as a soccer player are the deciding factor in both battle’s though.

Waku’s story was deprived of its emotional value in its shortening. Waku is a kid who questions whether it’s right for him to be liked by people. After winning the soccer tournament he finds out his dad did the same when he was a kid, but now his dad is a salaryman who enjoys baseball. What does this say about Waku’s future? Waku finally denies the course of overthinking instead for a course of action when he fights in Zearth, deciding that his actions will decide his future. This makes his death all the more unfortunate, because this kid had just decided to change his life. Maybe the full complexities of Waku’s story could not be fully conveyed in one episode, and lengthening it to two wouldn’t of worked, as Waku’s story lacks a cliffhanger. Other kid’s stories are longer though, so I hope full attention will be paid to them. Maybe I’m just a nitpicking purist, but Bokurano is too good a story in my eyes to be plagued by half hazard changes. Right now Gonzo if focusing on Bokurano as a mecha series with some sad elements. Hopefully this will change shortly to show its true strength.