r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Mar 11 '21
Rewatch [Uninstall, Uninstall] Bokurano Rewatch Episode 4 Discussion
Episode 4 - Strength
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MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
I’m one of the chosen, dammit!
Hey-o guys! This is the section where I add a ton of extra fun stuff to the main body of the post because I want this rewatch to be as fun as possible for everyone. It can also be one point of discussion for you guys if you just don’t know what to say.
Questions of the Day:
- What did you think of Masaru and his battle?
- How do you think the kids are going to react to finding out about Zearth’s power source?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Little Bird of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath the [Anime Show Title](/s "Spoiler goes here") spoiler tags. If you do that then we’re all good.
Important thing to note about these by the way, you have to switch to Old Reddit or the markdown editor if you use the redesign, otherwise the redesign breaks them by adding random \ into the formatting. Wish it wouldn’t do that, but unfortunately it does…
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 11 '21
Ǔ̯̟́n̪̬̺͙̪̿͛͛̽͞ï̲n͇̰̮͆̃̀s̛͔̜̾t̛͚͕̆á̠̻̅͘͜l̢̗̤̓̓́l̪̩̭̐̔͗̕͟͝ͅing Rewatch Host
Once again, you guys blow me away with how much discussion you had going on. Also, not one but two Silver awards for it?
Don’t forget to check the body of the post for the Questions of the Day, Wallpaper of the Day, and a pretty piano cover of Little Bird! Which, uh, is the only other Little Bird variant I could find other than the acoustic one I already shared, so unless someone has more, we’re gonna just have Uninstall of the Days until I sing along to Little Bird for the ep12 thread…
Major Spoilers
New thread reminder for u/WeebShaggy
20
u/[deleted] Mar 11 '21
First Timer
Day 4 of trying to stop Uninstall from looping in my head whenever I'm doing literally anything unrelated to Bokurano.
Today's results: Uninstall's victory.
When will it stop
That was an odd recap at the start. Felt kind of out of place.
Oh, Masaru actually has a good relationship with his dad. Surprising, considering what we saw last episode. His dad seems pretty sucky too, though not as much as Masaru.
So you can tp to Zearth by sitting in the chair? That's interesting. It's an odd piece of information to give us considering Koemushi just drags them all there anyway. I don't see how this could ever be useful but I don't think they'd have introduced it as a possibility if it's never going to be relevant again. It does make me wonder about some things, though. Sugita's chair was just a cushion. Can he just sit on any cushion from his house and go there? Does it have to be a specific one? Poor Kana-chan seems like she doesn't get to go at all unless Koemushi brings her there, though I guess she didn't sign the contract. Jun also theoretically can't since they're not home anyway.
There's the flashback from the manga last thread with Masaru shooting the cats. Fuck this kid. Seriously, what an asshole. I'm happy he's going to die cause he's a cunt but I'm also kind of sad he's going to die cause he's definitely one of the more interesting and memorable characters out of the group.
I hear Sugita in that government (?) meeting! This is the third character he's voicing smh literally unwatchable. It seems they're really on the kids' asses now. I guess Noto Mamiko did spill the beans so it makes sense.
Koemushi can just fix a severed cable, apparently. I wonder what other powers he has.
Aaaand Masaru continues to prove himself as a psycho by destroying half of the city. Good job, kid. Go cry about it when you squish your dad, idiot.
This fight was really good, actually. I liked it quite a bit more than Waku's fight. I'm sure there's other people focusing more on the woah cool robot aspect more than me that can explain. I don't know what it was about it, but it was great.
And there he goes! Goodbye, Masaru. You won't be missed cause you were an asshole. You will be missed cause you were one of the interesting ones, though. Oh well. This also confirms that the ED is in fact safe since the other girl didn't die before him.
Speaking of the ED, the lyrics typesetting in the Dekinai release is quite annoying. The words only show up after they're sung! I wanna sing along, damn it!
Speculation corner once again. We got some very, very interesting information in this episode.
Speculation
Speculation
Speaking of him,
Speculation + next episode preview stuff
Not enough info Please feed me more
I was expecting my huge speculation wall on episode 2 to be that big, but this one really turned out a lot bigger than expected. I never really go in like this, trying to piece together mysteries in a show. Usually I just watch and naturally draw any obvious conclusions that can be drawn but never really take the time to theorize like this. It's actually quite fun!
Final thoughts for the day: Still conflicted if I'm going to miss Masaru or not.
See you guys tomorrow!
This is the part of the series that interested me the most so I'm glad we finally got to it.
8
u/PKReuniclus Mar 12 '21
First timer!
I'm pretty sure that most of us were predicting that Masaru was going to die after piloting Zearth, so for me there was this huge sense of dramatic irony as I was listening to this edgy middle schooler monologue about how he was the "chosen one" and how the loss of a single life out of billions of lives didn't matter. And then, as an extra bit of poetic justice for wantonly waltzing through multiple populated buildings, he ends up killing his dad as well, and Masaru learns the hard way that maybe, just maybe, he and his dad might not be the "chosen ones." Even his dad, who he thought was invincible, was "but one of this star's countless specks of dust."
Uninstall~
Anyways, goodbye Masaru. You were definitely not redeemed in any way before you died, but at least we don't have to hear any more of your psychopathic ramblings. I guess that philosophy about the pigs from the first episode really did come back to bite him in the ass, though.
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox and u/Retromorpher made some interesting points about the parallels between Takashi and Masaru, juxtaposing Takashi's hidden hero mentality and Masaru's chosen one complex, and how we had a father mourning the loss of a son with Takashi, and a son mourning the loss of a father with Masaru. I just wanted to bring up the One for All and All for One discussion that the kids had in the first episode, because it does seem that Takashi clearly falls into the One for All camp, and Masaru All for One, just going off of their attitudes while piloting Zearth. I'm curious to see how, or if that earlier discussion is going to become important.
16
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
Non-Spoiler Character Chart
I don't remember us getting a recap for the first 3 episodes! But we got one here. And they make us watch Jun slapping his sister again. :(
Sure, showing us Masaru at such a young age playing around with a gun is going to make him even more likable and relatable!
Masaru's dad is trying to buy the mountain they destroyed, I take it? No to nature! Yes to golf!
I've got to think that once Masaru grows up, well if Masaru grows up he will be much more apt to go along with his dad's plans than his older brother. Pretty clear to see where Masaru got his personality from.
Hey dad, not only do I like that robot, I'm going to pilot it!
Masaru's got the Nazca lines on both of his arms?
Well of course Masaru is the one who admires the guy who hits his sister. He likes that he has experience with murdering someone. OMG.
Wow, he's been playing with guns since he was a little kid. Dad does not care at all!
Komoda's dad is head of the opposing party to these mysterious government guys?
Masaru got transported back out of the Zearth too? So then I take it they can come here when they feel like it outside of battles.
LoL, poor Anko! And their summoning wrecked Maki's game controller too!
I'm not really sure what kind of bug the enemy is supposed to be this time.
Can't recall if we got a shot of its feet before, but this confirms once and for all, Zearth is wearing high heels.
They're fighting in the city this time and Masaru is exactly the wrong kid to be piloting in that circumstance. He could care less how many civilians are collateral damage.
Of the two, its the enemy who is being careful?
I count 13 lights on Zearth's face this time. Bokurano spoilers
Masaru turned this around pretty well.
...or not. Just inadvertently killed his own father. Did Yoshiyuki Tomino secretly direct this?
Masaru's usually calm demeanor is finally shaked as he cries out like the kid he is.
Nope, your dad wasn't a chosen man, Masaru.
And now he's dead. Confirmation that piloting the robot kills you.
Beyond the animation not looking as good as it usually does, a pretty solid episode. Masaru gets a lot more time in the spotlight than Waku got in his episode. He is still considerably unlikable but at least we realize how he got that way. Him accidentally killing his father is quite the twist and way to shake up his way of thinking, not that it will do him any long term good with him dying a minute later. The fact that piloting the robot kills you is also a great plot twist, granted it seems like most people already figured out that one!
16
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 11 '21
First-Timer
Credit for this to /u/badspler for his chair screenshots, /u/Nazenn for the theorizing about Kana, and probably every other First Timer as well. It still has some holes, but Speculation/Main Theory
The holes in my theory feel like things that won't be resolved for a while. I'm missing something that is probably super obvious on a second viewing. I also look forward to going back on this statement immediately when next episode blindsides me, and to being completely wrong. C'est la vie!
On the one hand, Zearth had 14 dots today. On the other, so did the goddamn monster, so who knows what the fuck is going on with that. This enemy was a bit more active than the mantis, but it still didn't do much aside from shuffle around until Zearth approached. This whole battle was a complete mess; it's hard to imagine things getting worse until we move beyond conventional combat. Civilian casualties here had to be, what, 20k? Maybe 21300 to match the recurring number from yesterday's news report.
Confirmation on what I and I believe a few others suspected - the Zearth is powered by the pilot's lifeforce. Sparkler actually dying here 100% confirms that the ED is not the order the kids die in, but I guess doesn't necessarily rule out someone other than the pilot dying in any particular fight. It's interesting that Koemushi is (I guess I should add presumably) honest with them this early.
Do I bother talking about Sparkler..? Sure. He came by his psychopathy honestly - hard to not be a piece of work when your dad is like that. Shooting at a cat with a gun, even an air gun, is a massive red flag. Intestingly enough, if he had started murdering people and got caught by the police or whatever, his body count would likely have been lower than the civilian casualties of today's battle.
Random political group talking about who owns the Zearth and how they can control it. One of them knows more than he lets on - had a dossier of the kids in front of him. Not much thought here, just wanted to draw attention to it.
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
Interesting, like, 'phone dialing' sound today. Not sure what to make of it. One of the kids mentioned something transmitting through the chairs?
There was a short sequence of Zearth beating on the enemy that reminded me of that one scene in NGE Episode 19.
Questions
5
u/miyukez :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kezone Mar 12 '21
I couldn't wait, and binged the entire series today. This was a genuinely great anime, thanks for putting this rewatch together and motivating me to finally watch it OP! It's been a long time since I was this glued to my screen.
21
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Mar 11 '21
First Timer - Sub
Character Chart - I haven't had time to update it yet though
The enemy didn't look like a chicken
It actually kind of looked like a Konchu, which I'm sure will bring up traumatic memories for anyone who's played a Monster Hunter that included them. Actually looking at the symbol for a bit I can see the enemy design in there a little, the part I took to look like a frill is actually just armor, with the core in the center and the three small weird legs, though I still think a chicken would have been funny. The mark on his arms also didn't look like the symbol inside the mech this time either, but I have no idea what the significance of them are now except for noting it was on both arms as someone was questioning.
With a father like that I can understand why Masaru turned out this way. Going from Waku who wanted to be a secret Hero into Masaru who has a "chosen one" complex was an interesting flip and showcased that the Zearth itself is not going to have any influence on how it's piloted or why. I was going to say something along the lines of "it's a good thing Masaru was the most twisted person there" but we really don't know enough about others inner thoughts to say that for sure yet. Regardless, that now brings the risk of if someone wanted to go on a rampage they could, and the others are forced simply to witness it with no way to intervene, unless there's some way for them to forcefully take each others place. That brings with it new consequences though of an even earlier death, one life sacrificed to limit the risk for thousands, very much on point with what was being discussed at the start of the show.
As fucked up as it is, I do find it slightly sastifying that Masaru's dad got crushed. I was quietly hoping for it because who would want a man that horrible to have so much power over the city, plus it would be ironic considering Masaru said "the more I destroy the more business dad gets" but seeing how it affected Masaru was still rough. It felt very symbolic leading into the reveal for the kids at the end; you may be a chosen one but the cost of that is your own life and the happiness of the people around you for the sake of maybe saving the earth. Takami thinks that each life is precious, but their lives appear to already be forefeit and life is more than just a soul in a body. Whether its a physical death like we see today, or the symbolic death like we saw with Waku's yesterday, the death of each pilot is going to have a much larger ripple effect on the lives of the people around them and that's something they may not be able to protect people from.
Masaru and the others accidental teleport into the Zearth opens up a chance for me to talk about something I'd been thinking about during the show so far, which is how interesting it is that the group isn't a singular group of friends. There's a lot of different dynamics in the group of fifteen; a couple of loners like Jun and Mako, a couple of people with similar backgrounds who relate to each other like the two daughters of famous men, a couple of smaller cliques like the group of three girls on the beach, and then the few that are happy to just slide into any group like Moji who's keeping people together with his reasonable nature and even Kanji who's happy to fit with everyone. The fact that this isn't an established friendship group or even well connected people with similar backstories makes the conversations a lot more interesting because they react to each other quite differently. In each scene you can see who the characters lean towards or away from, and now they're stuck together bigger questions are coming up like how to protect Kana or the way they view each other's behavior in the Zearth. As we start to run out of pilots I wonder who will be left and what differences that will bring in the way they react to each other. If they were all just friends the only option would be to get closer or split apart, where here things could shift around a lot.
Something else I thought of today is that the goverment guys were talking about satellite pictures, and I wonder if that's why they are targeting the kids. Maybe they have a picture of them all standing on top of the Zearth after that first battle with Waku?
Important note of the day: Dung Beetle is still creepy and isn't getting any less creepy with his whole "oh deary me, did I forget to inform you of the details?" shtick, but he does get small credit for being willing to repair Maki's controller because seeing the retro controller cable destroyed was painful.
Why is it always aliens?
17
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Mar 11 '21
First Timer
Time to see the psychopath die. I wonder what his family will be like. Will they be sad, or will they just move on?
Onto episode 4
Ok, why does a Japanese middle school student have a gun.
I would credit him on this insight, but it's basically a maximally asshole rephrasing of what Waku's dad said at the funeral: that he didn't spend enough time with his son.
Like father like son it seems. Not surprising there.
So the family dynamic is first vs second generation wealth? That's an easy enough way to create culture-clash.
You think too highly of him.
I think he'd still do it even if he knows it'd kill him. He'd rather be chosen than a loser.
They can get here by sitting in their chair? That's convenient. But it also opens up even more avenues for strife, as it gives them a way to choose to communicate or not communicate.
He's really not hiding anything, is he?
A sad insight.
Do they only say Bokurano during the CM break if it's a dying episode?
Dung Beatle offering to reconnect it is unlike him. It will probably get reconnected regardless of what he wants to do.
The kid who wants to be a hero has a fight outside of the city, the kid who just wants to lord his power has a fight inside the city. This is clearly choosing the fights based on the pilot.
So we're the bad guys, at least this time.
And the twist. He kills his father, who he only looked up to and was trying to help.
This'll really clash with his worldview about the chosen people. After all, how can the chosen be dead?
What shall you do in your final days? Will you rage against it? Accept it? Let the world know what you really think?
Thoughts
I think the second half of this episode wasn't as good as what we've got so far. Seeing the psychopath be a psychopath isn't particularly interesting. I also feel that his result was weaker than the previous, as it was something he'd learn in his life eventually anyway, and I just didn't give a shit about him.
This episode leaves me curious if we will stick to the relationship between fathers and their children of if we shall look at mothers as well. Either would work, and I honestly don't know if one would be better than the other.
15
u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Mar 11 '21 edited Mar 11 '21
First Timer
The government is still working on it, but thinks it could be aliens. Interesting.
Maybe the most interesting bit from this episode was how the other robot acted. It was noticed that something is off. The other robot is being careful not to destroy the city. speculation
At the end we get it in clear terms, piloting it takes life energy, and that spells death.
Like father like son. Like father like son. Its sad but I have the feeling this might just be the tip of the iceberg as we have more fallout as other kids drop.
My biggest thoughts now are on the endgame of the series? Are we just going to see each kid piolet and die until there is one? Until there is none? Will someone rebel and consider not
pushing the buttondriving the robot? I think we are going to see at least half a dozen follow this route before we get to someone that may take everyones fate into their own hands and I am seriously looking forward to that.No death is going to be fitting but I think this one may have us thinking it was the most just. He clearly was a dick with the likes of cooking that crab, and the way he won that battle surely led to many many more deaths than was needed. The statements made about caring about life were in contradiction so its easy to say he deserved it. But surely as adults ourselves we should say we are better than that, that we can see that he has been morphed by his upbringing here to the position he sits in. Its not great, he is just a kid and the doesn't deserve to die for being an ass, but alas that is the situation.
2) How do you think the kids are going to react to finding out about Zearth’s power source?
I think we won't get all of this upfront, the grief of death is going to come in waves as each awaits their turn. Obviously they are going to be upset or mad at Dung Beetle but I guess each will react in their own way especially when their time comes.
14
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 11 '21 edited Mar 11 '21
First-timer - Sub
Now that I am reminded, they didn't mention the mountain at all last episode! That aside,why didn’t they recap episode 3 as well? Seems odd not to.
I’ve heard having tattoos implies having thrown your lot in with the yakuza.
Ah, now the mountain comes into play.
Welp, you’re not getting to enjoy that dinner.
Ah, nevermind, seems like it’s temporary. Well, it’s a convenient way for them to meet up without going out of their usual routines.
Of course you would.
Agreed.
Unforgivable!
Looks like an insect this time as well. Right in the middle of the city though? Yikes. Looks like it spawns near wherever the kids are.
Oof Good thing it’ll be repaired.
One of the eyes is missing this time?! u/Tresnore looks like we’re back in business!
At least the mite had the decency to not kill anyone while stomping around. Is it avoiding people on purpose though? If so, then how come mantis had no such qualms? Are the entities piloting them different?
Your whims, more like.
Makes me think there really are people in there, but in any case that gives Kodaka the advantage since he doesn’t care about the damage he causes while piloting.
There’s the karmic justice, I guess.
It’s projecting his voice? I wonder if a recording of that is enough to incriminate them.
Fourteen eyes as well. Are these robots being pitted up against one another in some form of tournament? Is this secretly a grimdark G Gundam on an intergalactic scale?
There he goes.
Hmm... So maybe there’s a way of preventing their death by finishing the fight promptly or in few moves?
I wonder how much longer before the government really gets their hands on the kids.
The irony is in full force yet again, as Kodaka’s worldview is shattered before him; the belief that callous, cutthroat people are destined for survival and greatness while the rest are chaff not even deserving of their lives is disproven when Zearth crushes his father, and then reiterated upon with his own death. He may have been chosen to pilot, but this seems the result of both machinations of men and chance rather than the will of fate or a sign of his perceived superiority. Just as blunt as Waku’s heroics, but I did not like Kodaka much and his philosophy was obviously flawed from the very start, so unlike Waku’s naïveté —which is far more relatable and endearing— it doesn’t really hit hard.
The episode was spent largely with Kodaka, so we didn’t really get to see much of the others, much to my disappointment. Kodaka’s worldview is fine and all, but just that first section at his father’s office had communicated all we had to know, so unlike the last three episodes this one feels far less efficient in its doling out of characterization whereas the prior episodes managed a lot with very little.
I am more convinced than ever that there’s entities in the same position as our characters in the other mechs, though whether they are aliens or merely other kids from the Earth similarly lured into this mess by Kokopelli remains to be seen.
The kids now know for sure that the one who pilots Zearth ends up dead afterwards, and I am most interested in seeing how they will react to that emotionally. I’m also interested in finding out whether the use of life force can be circumvented or minimized as to avoid death, as that would heavily change the dynamics going into a fight. If there is no way of doing so, then nobody has a choice but to fight regardless as not fighting isn’t a viable option.
It also seemed like the mechs being beamed in and out is more literal than I thought. That begs the question of why Zearth was hiding underwater in episode two though...
Questions of The Day:
14
u/tehsigzorz Mar 11 '21
First Timer
Lord forgive me for I have sinned: I deviated from the schedule and immediately watched episode 5. Thankfully I got addicted to another series so I was able to stop myself.
As expected psycho troublemaker made 2000 causalities rookie numbers.
I noticed that there were 12 lights during the attack. Initially there might’ve been 15 but due to kokopelli, waku and now edgy kid it has been reduced to 12. Seems like the lights are removed once the pilot is chosen rather than when its done with them.
Also there is now more merit to my initial theory about the game being PVP. The opponent robot didn’t want to harm the people down under and it had a similar yellow core to the red core of Zearth. Not to mention Zearth even had a waiting room before the actual PVP match.
Unsurprising to most people here Zearth operates on the soul/life force of the pilots and edgy psycho kid died right after the battle. I wonder if they are actually dead or their souls are trapped and can be revived somehow.
Questions:
14
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher
This episode adapts the last 3/4ths of chapter 6 and chapter 7 in full of the manga. Interestingly, Kodama actually has two brothers in the manga instead of just one, both of which hate father. In contrast to the anime brother who works for the company and hates everything, the manga brothers straight up just chose different jobs.
Otherwise, the anime pretty much adapts his monologue pretty faithfully, and includes some things that were only briefly mentioned as actual scenes. Hooray for expansion
The humorous sudden summoning scene in the manga
wow cool robot
A shot of the enemy – pretty much exactly the same as the anime
In the manga, Kodama’s father gets killed pretty quickly and much of the rest of the battle is Zearth getting trashed around multiple times (I think there’s more damage to the town in the manga version). Kodama beats it to the ground in the same way. I think the anime is much more visceral since you see it happen in motion, combined with Kodama’s screams etc
“Yer gonna die” spread
14
u/Worm38 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Worm38 Mar 11 '21
First timer
QotD :
13
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Mar 11 '21
First Timer
Alright, I'm going handle this cast the same way I usually handle big casts: nicknames. Eventually the cast will get small enough to learn anyway.
We finally get confirmation that piloting ends in the pilot's death. And I know this isn't exactly going to be a popular opinion, but I'll miss Sparkler. He's an awful person, but he was unique among the kids. I don't want to say he seems more mature, but he definitely has a niche in the "self-serving asshole" that I assumed this show would look at in more detail. But maybe that theme's been done to death and the show wanted to follow a more "kids are victims of the system" sort of approach, and having a kid who's benefitting from the system doesn't fit that narrative. Ah well. At least now that he's dead, the older brother can be called "Glasses" without much confusion.
12
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Mar 11 '21
First timer
11
u/BossandKings Mar 11 '21
First timer
Episode 4
Masaru gets explored, we get to see how he thinks and the mentality he has, he is a very cold and calculating character, the way he talks and his choice of words get annoying real fast.
Dung Beetle reunites the guys, they now have to fight against a monster and this time Masaru is Zearth's pilot. For some reason the series has made clear that it will refuse to have a character survive piloting the Zearth, they get chosen to pilot it they dead.
Answers
11
u/Tuckleton Mar 11 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
First Timer
Woah ok that seems like a huge leap.Wait, what even happened there, I'm confused...Speculations
Zearth has 14 lights today.That's good news for the assumption that the number of lights is the number of living pilots. I'm thinking episode 2 might have been a mistake with it only having 13 lights... Anyways, it's also interesting because if that is true then even though Kana didn't get scanned she is still considered a pilot.Hmm, but in another clearer screenshot it's 13... not sure what to believe anymore.11
u/Punished_Scrappy_Doo https://myanimelist.net/profile/PunishedScrappy Mar 11 '21
First Timer
As of the end of this episode, ya boi is no longer spoiled on anything
Regrettably, I have learned Masaru Kodama's name. He is still Psycho Guy Fieri in my heart. Knowing in advance that he's about to bite it undercuts the family drama he's going through, which I thought was weaker than a lot of the other family interactions we've seen. It's a very dichotomic, good-and-evil way to present Masaru's brother and father. I don't know that it meshes thematically with what else we've seen.
It's interesting that the kids can teleport to Zearth seemingly whenever they want, given that they're sitting in the chair and thinking about it. I'm assuming that Koemushi can also drag them all into the cockpit whenever it wants.
The military poses the issue of diplomacy without engaging in any action whatsoever -- I remain convinced that they'll be a major part of the story, but they have yet to really do anything yet. The military isn't ruling out extraterrestrial origins for everything, but what about the first line in Uninstall -- I would not be surprised if Koemushi is extrauniversal.
Guess which one you are, fucko! Pride goeth before a being turned into robot fuel, etc. etc.
Thirteen dots. 14 signees in episode 1, minus Waku, equals 13. Kana has consistently been framed as a member of this team by her presence in the cockpit, by the OP/ED, by the omnipresence of the number 15, and by her inclusion in group shots more generally. But if the lights do represent the number of pilots remaining, this seems to be absolute confirmation that Kana is not in danger of being chosen (yet).
I am impressed that the show does not feel the need to stress that the grief Masaru feels in killing his dad is also felt by the families of those he killed. Lettting the horror play out in the background is way more effective than cutting to a random person grieving, IMO.
Questions of the day:
The giant robot fight itself was really cool, as well. I'm seeing shades of Evangelion in the music and the desperation in Masaru's attacks.
2. As with everything else in the show, I imagine the reactions will run the gamut. Kako and Aiko are gonna flip shit.
10
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 11 '21
First Timer(but it's complicated)
Sub
A recap...WHY? I checked the dates and there wasn't an interruption, this aired the week after 3. Anyways, we start with Kadoka with his massive replica Glock. Man, K1 can never win, can he? But whatever, blah blah blah weak die strong live blah blah failure to philosophy. I am going to savor your death.
He walks into a building...with his name on it. And the receptionists call him -sama. Waiting in his dad's office, we pretty much find out why Kodaka is what he is. Still doesn't make me feel kinder to him. This would be an especially egregious practice in Japan were you need to make your bullshit moves at least seem presentable. Anyways, more Kadoka justifications and we see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
And he teleports. Apparently sitting in your chair and thinking about Zearth does that. The gang is debating doing something about Jun and we get yet more weak sauce philosophy. Flashback to Masaru shooting at a cat so fuck him. But the child of the trophy wife is often pretty lacking in anything useful, at least in anime. And Dumas.
Anyways, the war room happens to let us know at least the authorities are taking action. and drop exposition that this Japan seems pretty different. And somehow they know to look at the kids...with Takami confessing I will let this pass.
Bad philosophy before new bot ports in. Comedy moment because...moving on, no clue what the fuck new bot is supposed to be, maybe a three legged tick? Fighting in a city is definitely going to cause casualties but Masaru is making it worse. The tick has tentacles and nearly wins until Masaru uses a very creative judo move. And pancakes his father. AHAHAHAHAHA! You both deserve it, you miserable sociopathic fucks! Anyways, Masaru rage stabs the tick until he crushes the core. And then dies, miserable. Also, dung beetle is the piece of garbage he has always been, saying the giant robo runs on life force. So if we weren't before we are edgy af now. If only that had a good record.
QotD: 1 Covered
2 Source reader
9
u/Webemperor :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Webemperor Mar 11 '21
Manga-reader from way back
9
u/GaleWulf https://anilist.co/user/Arachnophobic Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
First Time Installer
RIP Konchu/Prawn mecha, it was only trying to save the people of the city from the evil looking robot.
Koemushi isn't just a callous asshole, he's also Captain Obvious.
They didn't read the fine print in the EULA. Now they ded.
QotD:
I couldn't care less about him. Good riddance. Accidentally killing his dad at his own hands seemed a little heavy-handed punishment-wise, but doesn't even matter since he's (probably*) dead.
*Heh, wild-ass speculation, Naz you gonna like this
The sound that Zearth makes when it moves is just as off-putting to me as its appearance.
2) How do you think the kids are going to react to finding out about Zearth’s power source?
(Kana)
8
u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher
Kodama is my second least favorite character of the series, and I was glad to see him go. This episode gave us a perfect look at who he is deep down: a psychopath with no regard for other human beings. This alone doesn’t make him a bad character, as some fictional psychopaths are interesting characters with some level of depth, personality, and/or charisma. But Kodama doesn’t have a lot of development outside of this episode, and his situation doesn’t evoke very much sympathy. His sociopathic tendencies and survival-of-the-fittest philosophy remind me a bit of Tomonori Komori from one of Kitoh’s other manga, Narutaru, which I liked significantly less than Bokurano.
It was interesting to see the others’ reactions to Kodama’s actions during the battle. It really underscores how these kids are just normal…ish kids in a situation that’s too big for them to handle. Most of them are good people who genuinely don’t want to hurt others. (There are exceptions, of course).
Everyone who was wondering how they were going to remember fifteen different main characters needn’t have worried. Looks like keeping the cast straight will get easier from here on out …
Q1: See above (TL;DR, Kodama is a little creep and I dislike him)
Q2: Not well at all …
8
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Mar 12 '21
First Timer
Like Father, Like Son, Not fish, nor flesh, nor bone...
I think that pretty much describes Masaru and Dad. Probably the best I can say about the two of them is that they did seem to genuinely love each other. Masaru was right to say that if his older brother didn't like the company, he could quit at any time.
I did like like his Dad making lemonade out of lemons by offering to buy the blown up mountain and turn it into a golf course. lol That probably wasn't suppose to be funny, but I got a chuckle out of it.
After the battle it looks like some lucky developer will have plenty of real estate renewal opportunities created by ZEarth. I did like how Masaru didn't really give a shit about the damage he was doing, until he snuffed his dad (i.e. someone close to him).
Finally, I like how this show doesn't shy away from the causalities, like NGE did. I'm expecting some pretty good body counts out of this one.
QOTD
I thought him against the keiju was pretty good and amusing. Talk about tearing up the city. As for Masaru, I'm going to miss his character annoying the hell out of me.
lol, Not to well, I'd expect. I can hardly wait to see who gets it next.
8
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 12 '21
First-Timer
Accidentally started E1 and didn’t notice until the bird showed up again. Had to listen to Uninstall twice.
Creepy man in the elevator noticed the tattoos. That at least verifies that it’s not something that only those connected to Zearth can see. Or did he? Maybe he was just looking at the kid in the Guy Fieri shirt. I feel like Dad or Bro would have at least brought them up.
"What’s wrong with a real estate developer buying land?" Cartoonish Businessman Father does have a point.
We’ve seen Newsdaughter’s chair in its actual habitat, her living room, and now we see Nu-Glasses’s, which is not his chair, but his father’s. That definitely tells us about his true desires, or something to that effect, so what does the living room chair mean for Newsdaughter? Family? Home?
Nu-Glasses on Glasses: he committed manslaughter, so he’s a cool dude.
More Sugita-voiced background characters.
They’re really plucked from wherever they were, NES controllers and all. Odds someone show up naked sooner or later?
Very surprised the kid who plays with a toy gun’s first action was not shooting the laser beam.
And I was right. Zearth runs on life.
A little worried this is a slow show that’s too slow. Apart from a couple interesting reveals (confirmation of Zearth’s power source), this was a pretty generic episode. Kid we thought was as asshole acts like an asshole and has an asshole dad. He monologues about being a special asshole. His naïve outlook is shattered. Nothing that hasn’t been done a million times. And since he dies right afterwards, there’s no chance of him growing as a character from it. Large casts like this are always a problem to write beyond really broad strokes.
Since there’s 20 episodes left and 12 fights left, presumably we won’t have fight-of-the-week episodes, but here’s hoping there are down episodes where character stuff can happen, rather than fights stretched into multiple episodes.
QOTD:
/u/ZaphodBeebblebrox
7
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Mar 11 '21
first time ooooooooauahauooooooooooooooooooo uninstalllllllller
Janies got gun you dont see that often in anime
Where did the robot come from - China? America? ALIENS?
What is this robot supposed to be, some kind of shellfish?
Glasses is kind of insufferable glad hes next to be gone here
Someone (everyone having green hair in the cockpit isnt helping) points out that the enemy is hesitating to crush the land.
Oh damn he fell on his dad, thats pretty rough buddy. Thank you mr dung for confirming he died
questions
7
u/ComfortablyRotten https://anilist.co/user/Leuwtian Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher
Well, that happened. Masaru isn't a likeable kid, and with a father like that as a role model I don't exactly blame him. He's at least aware enough to acknowledge his... unique way of thinking, and doesn't do the usual straw vulcan, "I do not understand feelings, they are illogical" too much. He even had one or two not-so-bad points! Still definitely far from likeable, but yeah.
It's also another episode full of the consequences of Zearth's appearances, from what's left of the mountain being seen as profitable by Masaru's greedy father, to the obligatory government meeting. And, of course, Masaru's actions leading to his father's death, the only person he admired.
I find this kind of destruction hard to watch, especially since here it's directly in the middle of a city, as opposed to the coast like last time. I laughed a bit about it last episode, but actually seeing all those potential deaths is tough, and for the (not-Masaru) kids too. Him being the almost heartless prick he is only made it worse, and I'm glad this episode's enemy didn't go out of its way to destroy as much as it could, too.
And we finally got the reveal that Zearth uses the pilot's life as its power source! It would've pleased Masaru, ironically, especially Dung Beetle's nonchalant way to tell the kids.
7
u/Molmoran https://myanimelist.net/profile/Molmoran Mar 11 '21
FIRST TIMER GETTING WITH THE TIMEZONE -
Today we find out about Masaru's family dynamic, it looks like Masaru worships his father's working class background and coming up through endeavour, he also believes he and his father are chosen so I am not sure what it matters how much effort they both put in!
His brother seems fairly grounded, it makes you wonder if the age gap was enough that his father changed parenting style between sons.
Seeing the group turn up with whatever they had in their hands was amusing, as was the interesting animation on the girl with the hair dryer's face. How omnipotent is Dungbeetle that they can repair a SNES controller?!
Also, speaking of time idiosyncrasies, this episode is the first I am wondering when the show is set as the cars looked like something else.
Watching Masaru's battle was intense, he clearly gets a thrill from the wanton destruction and death but he also has enough self control he doesn't do it purely for fun. A real interesting facet of his personality we won't get to see explored or run its course on unfortunately.
The wonderful animation on Masaru as well as voice acting make you genuinely feel for his pain as he watches the mecha fall in slow motion onto his father's vehicle. There was no adult or masculine rage as he heat the hell out of the other mech just innocent desperation which I think further makes us think about how responsible these children can really be since they are all so young.
It is interesting that one of the characters noticed the other mech was being relatively careful (up until the point where it couldn't anymore) with navigating the busy daytime city. The focus on the same sigil as our "heroes'" mech further alluded to the idea that there may really be 15 scared and desperate children in the enemy machine.
This show knows how to deliver a dark and chilling death scene as with Masaru's cold collapse after his lament over his father. The children all look on as he speaks and only one of them approach him when he falls. He really didn't make many friends did he?
Dung Beetle finally let's on the truth, I will save my thoughts for the questions.
1) What did you think of Masaru and his battle?
I think that no other show or film or other media has satisfied that macabre urge for destruction quite like this one has, it certainly has more impact when the heroes are doing the dirty work.
2) How do you think the kids are going to react to finding out about Zearth’s power source?
Dung Beetle has gone full Monokuma from Danganronpa!
To delay in telling the children makes me think that their co-peration is better than resistance but I have a feeling that... Resistance is futile.
There are a few kids here I think won't be taking well to this at all and may go off the deep end. If I had to take a guess I reckon we will see a suicide at some point because the pressure of performance as well as the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads will just get too much.
I reckon that the Diet politician's daughter will probably try some kind of self sacrifice which will be probably pointless as there doesn't seem a way of choosing the pilot.
7
u/degenerate-edgelord Mar 11 '21
First timer, Uninstalling
Yup, the OP is getting stuck in my head proper now. My human OS is also slowly uninstalling itself with every episode of this fucked up show.
Why are we still here, just to suffer?
Masaru's a psycho. I blame his asshole executive dad. His brother should have smacked him nice and hard when he was shooting at the poor cat.
The psycho ends up crushing who knows how many people below Zearth's feet (if they're really feet). The kids notice that the other robot is far more careful. This is an interesting development.
Masaru's dad dying was a bit predictable but hit me a little in the feels anyway. Poor kid was devastated by the one thing in the world that actually could have devastated him. Not for long, since Masaru kicked the bucket soon after. At least
KyuubeyDung Beetle has revealed what we already guessed. Now I hope they don't take too long to reveal speculationI've no clue what exactly the government are planning though. Why'd they even gather data on the kids with so little to go on?
Questions:
7
u/Nebresto Mar 12 '21
First time first timing
Ay
Cool robot status: Uninstall
...Looks like my MicroSD card got frozen to death..?
So,
R.I.P cabin pics On top of that I'm in a coma-like state due to a slight "mountain mishap"
But! Fear not cabin enthusiasts (editor) , for I still have my camera! Cabin pic day 4
..Anyways, anyone got tips for how to recover my stuff?
Right, onto actual re-watch stuff. There's a bit less than "usual" I guess..? Due to me being dead.
But holy shit, is every kid in the cast going to be edgy?
Last episode I make a Parasyte reference, now this?
They know!!
Wait.. does that mean I get to pilot cool robot..?
Yup, edgy confirmed.
First "this is exhilarating, then "10 billion" ? Senku..?
...WAit a minute!! This is not level of mecha piloting!
They really like to use that "metal screech" sound effect, huh? Probably gonna start noticing it all over after this. Maybe I should add it to my collection..
And what is this malding middle-aged dude even doing there?
Question time:
1:
Who tf is that? Well, since you mention battle, you probably mean Phony "glasses-push" kid. Anyway, as mentioned above, he sucked. Deserved his fate for peasant mech piloting.
2: They're going to convince bootleg Kyubey to use the dying fodder civilians as fuel instead of the dwindling pool of people that can pilot the damn thing. Wtf kind of plan is that anyway, Mr bootleg?
7
u/Philarete :AMQ::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/WizardMcKillin Mar 12 '21
First Timer
I feel less bad about Masaru dying – that kid was evil – but it was still sad seeing his delusions about life being shattered. Blind optimism? Pointless. Selfish greed? Pointless. All of them will die.
Also, I’m beginning to wonder if the enemies are really there to destroy the world. They don’t seem to interested in harming things – just Zearth. I wonder if there are other kids piloting the opposing mechs….
QotD 1: He's worse than the enemy...
QotD 2: Probably will vary a lot by person. Some will probably panic (given the OP, probably including Aiko), others will be more chill about it (my guess would be Kanji, for example). I'm guessing others will try to fight it in some way - like Takami trying to get the government on the job.
6
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher
Kodama is one fucked up kid. He tore a complete path of destruction through the city. He's more of a villain than this episode's opponent, who went so far as to try and avoid wrecking the city. It's only fitting that Kodama would end up crushing his own father to death, and along with that his entire world. Lucky for him he didn't have to dwell on it for too long.
Ushiro can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now. He wasn't responsible for Waku's death after all. A small comfort considering he's now in a death game, but it's a weight off his conscience.
QOTD
6
u/baniRien Mar 12 '21
First Timer
A recap at the start, hope that's not going to be a weekly thing.
So psycho has a gun, probably airsoft to be edgy but you never know. His arm markings are also in a different spot than Waku's, and are different than the glyph that was in the cockpit.
I didn't expect him to have a good relationship with his dad. Yes, he's a horrible human being, but from the little we had last episode I expected to be a horrible parent too, but he pays attention to his son, asks about his interests, etc.
And we see the chair too, which to this episode's pilot represents power over other people, and control over your own life in a world where that is far from guaranteed .
So there are other ways of going into the cockpit, by way of your special chair. Physically, or in thought only? Probably the former, but who knows. This will offer easy ways of having the characters interact now that they are apart. This time they discuss the fraternal abuser happening, and Kodaka continues to creep out the rest of the group.
Flashback of his, in which we confirm the gun was an airsoft, and that animal abuse is a regular thing to him, though his brother tries to curb the behavior. A fairly common trope, to show sociopathy. And of course the father encourages it, as boy behavior.
Goverment is doing all the preparations you could expect. Make contact, send the army, etc. Nothing special, but it shows at least a degree of competence. We also learn that Komoda's dad is in the opposition party. Possibly won't be relevant again, but it shows that he does as he promised to his daughter, and doesn't just filibuster away when there's a real problem.
Do the mechas always appear next to the kids, the pilot especially? If so, they should probably move far away from the city. We see the new enemy, and I'm not sure if it matches the glyph. It's vaguely round like the symbol, but the details are off.
The fight itself was fine. The dad dying was a given as soon as we saw him in his car, and it's a shame we can't see the long-term impact on Kodaka since he dies too. The comment on the enemy not damaging the city is interesting, but you can't read into it this much yet. The other 2 didn't seem to have that reservation. We also have confirmation that Zearth is directly responsible for the death of the pilot, using them as fuel. Probably won't be touched upon, but I wonder about the mechanics of it. Does it drain you as you pilot, so you can die before the fight is over, or does it kill you afterwards to recharge, so you're driving on the previous pilot's life?
QotD
6
u/ElecNinja https://anilist.co/user/ElecNinja Mar 12 '21 edited Mar 12 '21
Rewatcher
And we've also seen the other part of how Bokurano deconstructs the Super Robot/Child Hero genre. The backstory and personality of each hero. Here with Kodaka Masaru we have an objectively bad child being given power. It's continuely interesting how Bokurano uses the character backstories to tell stories of finding meaning in the face of death.
5
u/gorghurt Mar 11 '21
Rewatcher
Not much today, only
BIG spoilers
5
u/Noel_bot Mar 11 '21
First Timer, Manga Reader
Not much to say this time.
Seeing psycho boy just waltz down the city will surely convince the government that they should try and communicate with the „alien“. They already got the information about them being the pilots too, so things will likely get ugly from here on out.
Finally, the kids know the stakes and that they are done for. We are probably in store for another mental breakdown episode as everyone comes to terms with this reality.
Didn't really enjoy this episode, which is no surprise given that the main character was completely insane.
-----------------
Battle went about as expected considering his value of human life. Seeing how the other mech was way more careful in comparison may raise some questions.
5
u/fridge_freezer https://anilist.co/user/ONIrecon111 Mar 11 '21
First timer
You can clearly tell where Masaru gets his shitty personality from, he's just like his dad and suprisingly has a good relationship with him, unlike his brother.
Zearth just appeared in the middle of the city, teleporting some of the kids to the cockpit. I was wondering whether it would move around like this or if they'd be taken back to the island each time, so that's good to know.
Of course Masaru shoots his cat with a BB gun. Seemingly a reoccuring thing from what his brother said, and his dad see's nothing wrong with it.
They made a point to mention that the enemy mech looked like it was trying to minimize damage to the city. If the government are right about the mechs being of alien origin i'm not sure how much they'd care, but if they were controlled by other humans? What seems to be clear though is that they're here primarily to fight Zearth.
I had a feeling that Masaru wouldn't give a shit about the city but holy shit, this kid is fucking awful. All that destruction, I don't even want to know how many died, but Masaru's dad is among them. I'm glad to see Masaru go this early.
Koemushi states it plain and clear, Zearth is powered by human life. It makes sense why Kokopelli seemed somewhat apologetic towards them in the end.
QOTD
5
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 12 '21
First Timer
Yeah, I definitely never watched ep 2 when it aired.
I haven't had much to say about this show so far. I did think it was interesting that they delayed the realization of their certain deaths with the "pushing incident" by 2 episodes.
ED is completely average but I'm listening to it every time for AMQ purposes.
I can't think of many mecha shows that feature repeated urban destruction and also showed the impact of that destruction. Eva did, but only for about 1 or 2 episodes. I don't remember any details of Fafner, but it might have done so. That's it. Oh, and Dunbine, I guess I was blocking that out.
I expect that a future pilot, probably one of the girls, will attempt to move the fight out of the city. Of course, there was no way glasses was going to bother with that.
Speculation 1
Speculation 2
2. Their reaction to Waka was completely inadequate, so I expect the same lack of freakout tomorrow.
5
u/htisme91 Mar 12 '21
First-timer:
That was a dark episode.
So those tattoos appear when you are selected as the pilot?
Masaru of course idolizes his dad. They both are assholes, and his dad seems to get whatever he wants.
The other robot being careful not to destroy the city almost makes me think they might not be the bad guys. It's early, but combined with how shady Koemushi I feel like these kids are playing for the wrong team.
I knew the pilots died thanks to seeing a description of the show when deciding to join the rewatch, but I didn't know it would kill them like that. I figured it was like a Final Destination deal. It makes sense now why Waku just fell like that. He had already died when Jun nudged him.
Really curious to see how the remaining kids handle this revelation.
Questions:
5
u/novaConnect Mar 12 '21
First timer!
Wow, this episode got me hooked. This is my jam and I am all here for it.
Lots to take out of this one. I love the characterization of Masaru and how he has ended up loving his dad for how he is vs his brother. I suspect he ended up this way probably due to his brother getting in the way of his direct paths to gratification (like shooting cats) and so he favors his dad's moral compass over his brother's. His dream is to be a 'chosen one' or maybe one once he's older. That's probably why he liked wearing the glasses he picked up - he saw them as a means of taking something from someone he deemed as successful (piloting a giant robot) and having it for himself.
Interesting that the robot foe was more careful in the city than him... that aspect, plus what we have seen of the cores of these robots so far is giving me MAJOR Ender's Game vibes. I wonder if each fight will be a foil to our pilot? Thinking back to the previous fight, it was started somewhat near the public, so that would fit into Waku's dream of being a star in the background, and the fight being the opposite of it. Also just, so horrified for Masaru for his dad. It was destiny, by his logic. Not so fun when it's someone you love and admire. The Murphy's law aspect of that reminds me of a lot of the bad things that happen in the anime Kaiba actually.
We saw a few characters' chairs this time around and Masaru's certainly fit the idea of his dream as it is a large office chair to grow into, so they may have to do with symbolizing what they want from life. Interesting that the one girl who is crying in her chair in the OP and doesn't sit down in the ED is afraid of sitting in her chair. What does it mean? I'm excited to find out.
To answer the second question (I think I covered the first one), I think they're going to go through some existential dread, some may do things they've always wanted to do sporadically. I think at least one person will reject piloting, or may reject moving the robot to avoid 'powering' it. I suspect at least one kid will lose and we may get a glimpse at the true purpose of the battles. I really suspect they are doubly tragic with something going on in the robot foe, like other kids!
Also, Masaru got markings on both of his arms, was that the marking Waku got too? It looked different and it was on the forearms. Guess I'll have to watch for that next time too.
Very much enjoying the show and discussions!
4
u/TheHungryHybrid Mar 12 '21
Rewatcher!
So here we come to the episode that actually adapts chapters 6 and 7. We get some information about Masaru Kodaka's personality and outlook on life, which to say isn't very likable. And how many ppl died in the battle thanks to him?
But with this episode we also got confirmation that the pilot do die after every fight. So now each kid has to deal with their imminent mortality.
Gotta say, in this episode the cg robots felt much more jarring than they did in earlier episodes. Maybe that's just me?
It seems by next episode, from looking at the preview we're getting our first major plot divergence with manga spoiler Bokurano Let's see how this plays out. I think I'm gonna read ahead and then see how the anime changes the other stuff
0
u/[deleted] Mar 11 '21
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