"Bokurano" is a twenty-four episode Japanese anime series that has the theme of mechas which displays a lot of giant robots. The anime is directed by Hiroyuki Morita and produced by "Gonzo" that had also produced "Samurai 7." It will finish airing its first run on September 25, 2007. This is all adapted from the manga authored by Mohiro Kitoh and published by "Shogakukan." The manga is still in circulation with about seven volumes produced so far.
It starts out during a summer camp trip where they find a grotto by the sea. They explore the grotto and play around with some fireworks. One of the girls on the camping trip finds a cave inside that grotto. Within that cave, they discover all sorts of computers and other pieces of electronic equipment all belonging to a man named Kokopelli. Kokopelli implies that he is a game creator and asks if the kids if they want to play a game. He says that he’s working on a game revolving around a large robot that has to defend Earth from invasions from aliens. Kokopelli has the kids say their names and touch a device as part of the contract.
Everybody signs the contract except for one person. He explains that the enemies will come one by one. Kokopelli explains that he’ll defeat the first one for the kids as one of them didn’t sign up. Then, everything goes black like if you turned off a television set. The kids wake back up on the beach and its night. They’re wondering if this was all a dream or not. Walking back to their house where they camp, they see a giant robot standing there. It’s revealed that it really wasn’t a dream after all. The kids are shocked that the fact that they all would be controlling the robot. Then an enemy robot appears out in thin air.
It looks as if some videogame world has merged with the real world. All of a sudden, the kids that signed the "contract" wake up in the cockpit of the black robot. They see Kokopelli sitting in the pilot’s seat in the cockpit. Kokopelli instructs them to watch how he fights carefully as he wouldn’t be able to fight anymore. Interestingly enough, the robots are cloaked as light reveals them.
It has an interesting premise as each story of Bokurano revolves around each "pilot." What that means is that there is one enemy for each pilot.
There are a set of rules to each battle. Each group of pilots must defeat fifteen enemy robots without a single loss with each match having to be finished in forty-eight hours. It is explained that losing a battle results in the destruction of the Earth.
To win, you must find the enemy’s cockpit and kill the enemy pilot. The robot consumes the life of the pilot which is explained why Kokopelli cannot fight another battle. It can only be piloted by those who have signed the contract.
It looks to be a pretty cutthroat feel of things. However, it adds to the suspense regarding what the kids have signed up for. After each battle, they wake up on the beach minus one person. This is indeed a very original concept behind the theme of mecha. In a sense, it’s a no-win situation for the individual. If you lose, you die. If you win, you die. If there is a draw, you die.
This is one adventure that will affect the characters physically, mentally, and spiritually. It feels like "Mortal Kombat" but with mecha. However, it seems to be more self-destructive than any other fate-deciding tournament. But, Bokurano looks to be an interesting enough anime series.
It is unknown if or when this series will be licensed, dubbed into English, and released to North America. However, you can still watch this in Japanese with English subtitles. Bokurano is definitely a mecha-themed anime you should watch.