Bokurano manga review:
I first encounter Bokurano while procrastinating during my last year of college, browsing through TvTropes. Coming into this one, I was skeptical. I have read Narutaru, Mohiro Kitoh's preceding work. And my impression of it was, bad to say the least. Many kids were edgy, and to make it worse, they had the power to destroy the entire planet. And to hear these teenagers start sprouting nonsense about how life works was quite grating. When I finished Narutaru, I rated it badly, something like 6/10, and labelled Kitoh as another edgy mangaka who was trying too hard to separate his work from his
...
contemporaries. A try-hard mangaka if you will. There was some hidden strength here and there, but I can't in good faith recommend Narutaru to anyone I know.
So once I saw a TvTropes article on Bokurano, I dismissed it. Another edgy manga trying to be depressing? Nah, I would pass. But, you know what, let's just read some online reviews, see what they said about this work. The reviews were roughly the same: Bokurano is depressing, even more so than Narutaru. But there was also another common acknowledgement: The work is good, really good. Some dare even called it a masterpiece, that it is Mohiro Kitoh's best, finest work. It was like Narutaru walks so Bokurano can run. Every weakness, every problem that plagues Narutaru's storytelling, Kitoh fixed most if not all of it in Bokurano. I also found many reviews online shitting on the anime adaption, saying that by changing the story, the anime adaption had failed to be faithful to the original manga. Hell, even the anime director could not endure the so-called "cruelty" of the manga, so I was intrigued to say the least. Fine, let's give Bokurano (the manga) a shot. I needed some entertainment anyway.
The story has roughly 3 plot twists, which re-contextualizes what the readers have experienced before. I will try to explain my reaction upon reading each of the twists without spoling it, so you can have a rough understanding of how I feel about this.
The first twist was already revealed in the synopsis of MyAnimeList's website, so I would not go too deep into this. Yes, that was quite cruel to say the least. These are seven-graders. 7TH GRADERS. And they are going to die. There is no magical device that will save them from this fate. They will all die, very soon. Frankly speaking, if I were in the same situation, I would have a panic attack on the spot, then most likely hyperventilate and screw up during my battle, killing us all. Jesus Christ, who would make seven graders do this?
When the second twist came around, I was shocked. To be fair, Bokurano is neither the first nor the last media that will have this kind of twist. But what was shocking, was how this reveal affects the characters. Jesus, these kids were kept completely in the dark about what they were actually doing. This is cruel, too cruel. They were just kids, how is it that they now have to bear this burden that what they are doing is very, very wrong, alongside the fact that they have to give away their life to do... this? That is just so, so cruel. It's like telling a five-year-old that Santa isn't real, but a hundred times worse. There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no Queen of England. The kids aren't actually kids anymore. With this reveal, the kids are now forced to face the truth. They are slowly becoming adults.
But no, this was not enough. I wanted to see where this story was going. So I kept on reading. Kitoh was having a good momentum with the storytelling here, and I needed to know how it would all end. Would Kitoh manage to outdo his second twist, or would Bokurano end up as a good but flawed work, a simple 8/10 in my book?
Then, the third twist happened. This was very shocking, to me at least. And clearly, very shocking to the few remaining characters as well. Did you know? Know what? KNOW WHAT!? The twist, once again, forces the (remaining) kids to question what they have known about their own lives, and how they have to adapt to this new uncomfortable truth.
It was around this twist that I came to understand why Mohito Kitoh decided to put a bunch of seven-graders to the slaughterhouse that is Bokurano. Not just because it would garner sympathy from the readers, although that is one reason. This is a coming-of-age story masquerading as a mecha manga. That's why the main characters are seven-graders. For most of us, it is around this time that we experience puberty. That we start to learn that the world is not sunshine and rainbow. And for a few of us unluckly enough, we learn that we have to fight for our survival. We have to go to work, endure conditions and people we dislike, if not outright hate, to put food on the table. So we can survive to the next day, and continue the cycle to the next week, the next month, the next year, and until we die. This is also time that parents usually tell us to put away our "childish" dreams, and focus on making choices that would ensure our survival in the future. And if any of us dares to have kids, our own children will have to continue this cruel cycle, till eternity.
At this point, Kitoh is outright telling us that we are all piloting the mecha right now, we just don't realize it yet. And like some (un)fortunate kids, many of us will reach the end of our life without ever knowing the truth or fulfill our life potential. The message comes across without being preachy, and this was where I was ready to give Bokurano a 10/10 for its storytelling. The remaining kids that are not dead also experience massive, MASSIVE character growths. They grow up so fast it's almost hard to believe. In my mind I view these characters as high schoolers, not seven graders, because of how well they react to the situation. Hell, one of them is a fourth-grader for fuck's sake. Kitoh was quite smart with his storytelling decision, because he saved the best characters for last to keep the story engaging.
Then came the ending. And once again, Kitoh managed to outdo himself. The ending is logical, consistent with the story that comes before it, and just hard enough to predict that it manages to surprise me. And I'm sure many readers were surprised as well. Kitoh truly produces something special with Bokurano here, and I can finally concede that this work deserves to be called a masterpiece. Hell, I have said it, and I will say it again: Mohiro Kitoh is a fucking genius, And Bokurano? It's a masterpiece.
That's not to say that the work is flawless. Sometimes the story gets quite depressing, one depressing story after another. And I understand that some may find it a bit too much to handle, so they drop it. Some may find the story a bit slow, and being too depressing does not help with reader's engagement either. But for all its flaws, Bokurano's strengths outshine its weaknesses. It does not fall into common story-telling cliches, never bail characters out of difficult situations, and underneath all of that, a message that will continue to resonate with readers for many more years to come.
A few last thoughts to wrap up this review: Up until this point in my life, I have yet to find a better story than Bokurano. Though that may just be my personal preference. Hard to believe this is the same guy that makes Narutaru. I was supposed to go to sleep a few hours ago, but listening to the anime's opening (Uninstall) got me emotional, so I decided to put down my thoughts here. More people should read Bokurano, especially if you are a job seeker struggling in this downturn market. I am sure the story will resonate with you, some way or another.
Aug 21, 2026
Bokurano manga review:
I first encounter Bokurano while procrastinating during my last year of college, browsing through TvTropes. Coming into this one, I was skeptical. I have read Narutaru, Mohiro Kitoh's preceding work. And my impression of it was, bad to say the least. Many kids were edgy, and to make it worse, they had the power to destroy the entire planet. And to hear these teenagers start sprouting nonsense about how life works was quite grating. When I finished Narutaru, I rated it badly, something like 6/10, and labelled Kitoh as another edgy mangaka who was trying too hard to separate his work from his ... |
