History Headscratchers / Bokurano

* Could someone clear something up for me regarding the novels? Wiki/ThatOtherWiki lists a completely different order of pilots for them, which includes [[spoiler:Kozue and Tsubasa, among others]]; I know the translator of the novels has said she's tried to correct the chapter names and pilot order on there to no avail (and I saw that in the page history), but the novel chapter list on the Japanese Wikipedia has the same pilot order that's on Wiki/ThatOtherWiki. So what's going on there? Are there two light novel series or something? Elaborate troll on the Wikipedias? I'm confused! @.@;

** Wiki/ThatOtherWiki (English ''and'' Japanese versions) is correct. That supposed "translation of the novels" is actually fan-fiction, as I explained in the discussion section of the main article. In fact, I'm the one who reverted the (supposed) "translator" (so that was the "translator" herself, huh?)'s attempt to change the chapter list on Wiki/ThatOtherWiki. 'Sure looks like _that_'s where the "elaborate troll" lies, here...

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<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

* Could someone clear something up for me regarding the novels? ThatOtherWiki lists a completely different order of pilots for them, which includes [[spoiler:Kozue and Tsubasa, among others]]; I know the translator of the novels has said she's tried to correct the chapter names and pilot order on there to no avail (and I saw that in the page history), but the novel chapter list on the Japanese Wikipedia has the same pilot order that's on ThatOtherWiki. So what's going on there? Are there two light novel series or something? Elaborate troll on the Wikipedias? I'm confused! @.@;

** ThatOtherWiki (English ''and'' Japanese versions) is correct. That supposed "translation of the novels" is actually fan-fiction, as I explained in the discussion section of the main article. In fact, I'm the one who reverted the (supposed) "translator" (so that was the "translator" herself, huh?)'s attempt to change the chapter list on ThatOtherWiki. 'Sure looks like _that_'s where the "elaborate troll" lies, here...

<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

** In the anime, Koyemshi suggests that it's not totally random when selecting the order of pilots when Kanji berates him. Machi later confirms it when asking the remaining crew left to help her steer her chair into the selection circle. Knowing that, and knowing how much of a JerkAss Koyemshi is, he probably would have made sure the kids get selected even after contracting more pilots, just ForTheEvulz.

**** This is not correct. Kako's chapter in the novel proves that you can save individuals from the doomed universe: [[spoiler:he opens Z-Earth's cockpit and lets the enemy team inside shortly after killing their acting pilot, whisking them away just as their Earth is destroyed]]. Since the novel was co-authored by Renji Ohki and Mohiro Kitoh, it is not illogical to assume that this rule is meant to apply to all three mediums.
***** The above didn't actually happen in the novels, so...

**** I'm not sure if this counts, but [[spoiler:the Dung Beetle in the novel has appearances that correlate to the way she died. A woman named Naora Sumio was found raped and murdered by Meguro River with a blindfold over her eyes. Three years later, that same woman mysteriously reappeared as Dung Beetle. As Dung Beetle, she appears as the aforementioned cartoony mascot...with a blindfold over her eyes.]] Since the Dung Beetle in the anime and manga doesn't seem to be dead, it makes less sense in those installments, but at least it's an insight...
**** The novel is a fake; it also has no real basis in fact.

** Can we not argue over who the real troll is? One person has provided a direct translation and the other a vague summary. Whoever you want to believe, believe. But find a copy of the novel, learn Japanese, and see for yourself who is really right.
** So I merely posted a summary, and that means I'm the one who's lying? That's fascinating "logic". I explained myself and provided a bunch of evidence. Where's yours?
** I know limited Japanese. I know enough, however, to know that the "translations" are, simply put, complete and utter bullshit. (This is horrible Natter, but that's what IJBM's for, no?)
*** Similar sort of story here. As I've said elsewhere, my Japanese-reading skills absolutely suck, and yet even I had to raise an eyebrow at one of the kids' mothers supposedly using "anata" as a term of endearment for her ''son''. (Do correct me if it's not as wrong as I think it is.) And that's just one instance.

** [[spoiler:This is the entire point of the novel, actually. Ushiro learns that the point of the Game isn't to "prune" the Earths, but to teach its pilots that no matter how many Earths were destroyed, the people killed on them (the pilots included) are alive and safe on a different one.]]
*** [[spoiler: But what if that diffrent Earth gets into the Game?]]
**** [[spoiler: Still doesn't matter, because even if every single Earth has to play the Game, there will always be at least one Earth on which the pilots who fight and die in the Game are not the main characters, but someone else. A good example: In Bokurano Alternative, Machi is shown as a perfectly normal girl who lives with her brother and works at a grocery store. She is not a pilot, even though the other characters are. Therefore, assuming the Alternative Earth wins the Game, Machi will grow up to live a long, fulfilling life. The same happens with Kana, who is spared from her fate; Seki dies in her place. Because there are ''infinite'' Earths, this means there is an infinite amount of combinations for an infinite amount of different realities, so you're guaranteed by math alone to live a happy life in at least one of them.]]
***** Except that's fanfiction... Machi doesn't even appear in the novels.
***** That is not actually fanfiction. Please stop saying this.
***** It's okay to admit it if it ''is'' fanfic, you know. Who knows - it might even cut down on the snitty comments.

* What really bugs me is that people insist on making this one word... We don't say "Kodomono Omocha" or "Higurashino naku koroni" do we?
** Since "bokurano" (僕等の) literally means "of us", and there's nothing before (after?) the "us" part, it would be written as one word; otherwise, it'd just look awkward. Hope this makes sense to at least one other person out there...
*** Japanese is simply like that.
*** Actually, ''Bokurano'' (the series title) is written entirely in hiragana (ぼくらの). Not that that makes ''too'' much difference in romanising it.
*** So is this like the Japanese equivalent of a contraction?
*** It also seems to be just how Machi said it(near the end).
*** It should really be "Bokura no". Particles like "no" are generally (and "generally" is a bit of an euphemism, really) treated like separated words when written in Latin alphabet. That being said, when the title is spelled in Latin alphabet on official Japanese material, it ''is'' as "BOKURANO" (no space). I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe because Japanese people don't care as to whether or not there's a space in the alphabet spelling (who cares about alphabet spellings anyway, in Japan?)? Maybe because Kitô wanted the title to be a 4-kana "made-up word", like "Narutaru" (which might just have started the fad of 4-kana titles?)? Maybe because whoever spelled that name in alphabet on official Japanese material googled the title, saw that Westerners weren't putting a space in there (for some reason), and went along with it? I guess you'd have to ask the author...
* What bugs me is how the mangaka seemed to stop the trauma right when Jun and Machi had their arcs, and the seemingly final pilots have personalities that don't match their past. Jun Ushiro is almost the most evil pilot (bar Isao Kako), [[FreudianExcuse yet he has almost no reason to be like this]]. Machi actually does have an excuse, but doesn't seem all that traumatised, despite how possibly [[spoiler: everyone she ever loved in her old universe is dead, apart from her brother, who is now a scary doll that leads children to their death]]. The worst thing that happens in these chapters is [[spoiler: Machi's death by dwarf with gun]], which is much less upsetting than most of the other arcs. Essentially, Machi should be evil and Jun should be slightly traumatised by having no parents.
** Jun is evil? He's just a bit cold. Machi has obviously gotten over it by the time she meets up with the rest of the contractees.
** He beats up his "sister" for no reason at all, which is pretty evil. Also, Koyemshi isn't even over [[spoiler:how his universe is destroyed]], yet [[spoiler:his younger sister]] acts like nothing happened.
*** Some kids do that all the time. He does it because he blames her for her mom's death. He got over it.
*** [[spoiler:But Koyemshi's world isn't destroyed. He makes many references to Machi going home to their parents instead of staying in this world. He wasn't mean because of that, he was mean because he was a jerk.]]
*** Here, from TheOtherWiki: [[spoiler:"If the last pilot loses the demonstration battle on the next Earth, the contractees from that world will be revived and the world will not be destroyed. The last pilot's world will be destroyed instead." Thus, Koyemshi's world was not destroyed, since Kokopelli did win the demonstration battle.]]
** The question seems quite strange... First, Kako seems more crazy due to iminent threat of certain death than actually evil, but I guess that doesn't matter. Jun is just cold and pissed off his sister, but by the time his arc comes he [[spoiler:gets to know the truth about him and loses his sister ''and'' mother all at once]]. There's no way he could just be unchanged when his battle came, and, let's face it, it ''was'' dramatic. Also, Jun has still a father, so... what did that last part mean? Still, I'm just totally lost with Machi, so... yeah.

* This manga's existence bugs me. Most media is too depressing as is.
** I don't find it ''that'' depressing. Try reading NaruTaru for some soul-scarring experience. But more seriously: the manga explores themes the author likes to reflect about, and I found them rather interesting (Kirie's reflections on death especially). Not all the things worth reading about are happy, and at least the story of Bokurano ends on a rather positive/hopeful tone (for Mohiro Kitho's standards, anyway).
** Indeed, NaruTaru is ''worse''. Despite all the hardships, drama and general displays of human bastardry, Bokurano manages to have a generally lighter tone. It's just that the author (apparently) likes to tackle very complicated issues and refuses to work with true and completely happy endings. It happens...

** Actually, they get to fight stronger opponents as they progress through the fights. For example, Kirie got to fight a blindingly fast mecha that would had utterly destroyed any other pilot given the pace everybody else moved. We also get the twin mushrooms and the 30-hour death-match in the anime. Another theory could be that the more "derailed" realities are given weaker robots so they will really have to fight for their survival, like the horrible, horrible acid kettle-pot robot. It may also just be that the kid's reality got one of [[TheMario The Mario]] mechas.