Spring Anime Impressions - Bokurano
12 April 2007
The spring season is upon us bringing with it lots of new series! So I have decided to write posts (shocking right? I’m shocked too) giving my impressions on each of the new series that I will be following. I’ll be focusing mostly on the OP and ED of the series and analysing them. Also, watch out for the special announcement at the end of this post!
Opening Theme:
“Uninstall (アンインストール)” by Ishikawa Chiaki
Uninstall has a very fitting title which reflects the desire of the children to escape from the ‘game’ they innocently entered. It has a very futuristic feel to the entire song, and also has elements of yearning; again another manifestation of the desire to escape from the reality they chose. However, the melancholic ending indicates that they feel that they will never be able to get through their trials and tribulations.
Throughout the OP we are shown short snippets of each of the children engaged in various activities, some innocuous such as walking home from shopping or playing the piano; and some indicative of the reality they had chosen to join, with one of them checking a gun and another breaking down in tears. And these scenes were interlaced with scenes of the giant robot that the children use to defend Earth. I feel this is a good depiction of the duality of their lives; they want to live a normal life but are summoned to defend Earth from alien invasions, where they inevitably cause collateral damage, which some of them would be unable to come to terms with.
The lyrics are also very meaningful, firstly with the title being Uninstall, as mentioned earlier. The lyrics start with a line about how the simplicity of life was the most shocking aspect of their reality; a direct reference to the loss of innocence by the children. They go on to talk about truth slipping through their fingers, an allusion to the natural reaction of the children to save whatever they can of their old reality, leading to a mix between the old and new, resulting in the truth of their reality being hidden amidst the illusions of their old reality. The song then goes on to illustrate the bleakness of their reality by talking about finding strength in their frail bodies to fight, and acting as a soldier who knows no fear; whether they like it or not, they are warriors thrust into the heat of battle right out of their childhood.
In summary, the music, animation sequence and lyrics are all very much linked to the premise of the show and the resultant emotions and reactions. The music sets the futuristic yet melancholy theme, the animation sets the locale and characters as well as displays the 2 different realities, while the lyrics explore the more metaphysical aspect of the reality the children have to face.
Ending Theme:
“Little Bird” by Ishikawa Chiaki
Little Bird is a very peaceful song, with a flowing harp as the main instrument, giving the listener an impression of serenity.The animation sequence features each of the the 15 children in turn, sitting in their control chair. Each chair is different, ranging from a mat to a stool to a rocking chair to an office chair. This is indicative of the individuality of the children; each of them has different tastes, different responses to their environment. But no matter how individual they are, they are still children; children who need guidance, a giudepost so they will not get lost; a restraining hand, to keep them from overreaching themselves, as the lyrics say, since their view of the world is limited to only that that they personally know. At the same time, however, the lyrics also talk about letting them pick the unripe blue berries, bitter as they would taste; an allegory to letting children learn from their mistakes and grow.
Overall, Little Bird epitomises the peaceful life that the children long to return to in the melody and choice of instruments, but this is in counter point to the lyrics which talk about how children will eventually have to grow up and learn from their mistakes.
Bokurano is definitely one of my top picks of this season, with its serious premise, character development potential and music (Ishikawa Chiaki also sang the Simoun OP).
And now for the announcement. XsynC will be having a poster giveaway in the near future! More details will follow soon so look forward to it!