Occasionally, I’ll catch an episode of a live action Japanese drama and think, “Ah, I should really watch more of these.” But, I never seem to follow through. I just don’t have the time for it, I suppose. That, and I watch them just as much for the cheese factor as anything else, and it seems silly to set aside time for that alone. Even in Tokyo, I never bothered watching television, although that probably had more to do with my never being home in the evening. Except for the time the NHK man showed up, of course. Conspiracy, indeed.
In a lot of ways, Bokura ga Ita is a live action show disguised as anime. That’s not to say it would work better as live action, however. Stylistically, there are so many things the show does that only work in two dimensions, much like Honey & Clover. Still, it would be easy enough to fake.
Bokura ga Ita is also a show that’s difficult to talk about, because it’s really not all that special. The story and characters are standard shoujo manga boilerplate, the animation isn’t particularly flashy, and the direction is straightforward.
Or is it?
I actually find the simplicity of the animation comforting. I don’t have to think much about it, but it’ll occasionally do something spectacular, and I’ll think, “Wow, how about that!” The same with the direction. I’m a huge Akitaro Daichi fanboy, but I wouldn’t even recognize his work in the show if I didn’t know about it beforehand. Considering his distinct style, that’s saying something. Yet, once again, the show will occasionally do something spectacular, and I’ll think, “Wow, how about that!”
And, honestly, the two leads are quite fascinating. Everything that defines them as characters is entirely believable, as are the situations they find themselves in, yet… they’re still fascinating. I have fond memories of high school, but it’s not something I think about all that often. It’s so far in the past that it’s almost something abstract. But, as I’m listening to Yano and Nana talk to each other, I’m always thinking, “Ah, I remember this conversation.”
I can never remember how it turned out, though.
In particular, you remember the conversation “Yeah, we had sex in the middle school gym”.
>> “Yeah, we had sex in the middle school gym”
I think this is half the reason why I even bother with shoujo anime.
Actually, I think it was the library.
Seriously, though, I think there’s more sex in your average shoujo anime series than there is in every bishoujo game adaptation in existence combined.
“Seriously, though, I think there’s more sex in your average shoujo anime series than there is in every bishoujo game adaptation in existence combined.”
And there are no dragons too!
I’ve been meaning to catch up with this show for quite some time. How far along is it?
…this one reminds me of a very quiet version of Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances). In fact, the Kare Kano manga’s often like Bokura Ga Ita. And that’s one of the alltime greats…
Too much teenage dirty angst. I squirm when I watch this. And I didn’t squirm at HellSing Ultimate ep 2.
yep, yep: add my vote for the goodness of Bokura ga Ita, and for the correlation between the Kare Kano manga and Bokura ga Ita. one of it’s strengths is its voice acting: the seiyuus (if that’s the correct plural form) have very naturalistic voices - the girls don’t squel, the boys don’t shout (which i think is one of the reasons it feels like it wuold work as a live action).
and yes: yr average shoujo outdoes even hentai for the amount of sex. it’s just that yr average shoujo doesn’t have any penises, so it doesn’t look like porn.
Jeff, I’ve held off until now but I would like to ask you, have you yet seen Saiunkoku Monogatari? I would dearly love to read your impression of that, even if it wasn’t favourable. I think it is by far the most woman-empowering and well characterised/plotted shoujo anime of the year.
Aww jdramas are awesome. I got addicted 2 years ago and although I don’t watch like 5 dramas a week anymore, I’m currently keeping up with 3 good ones. My recommendation to you is Taiyou no Uta, My Boss My Hero or Sapuri
Estara, I looked at Saiunkoku Monogatari awhile back and liked what I saw, but had to set it aside for lack of time. You’re not the first person to suggest checking it out, however, and it’s on my “need to watch when I find the time” list.
As for the comparisons of Bokura ga Ita with Kare Kano, I’d obviously agree. The show is basically a downtempo Kare Kano - which is great, because, as much as I love Kare Kano, Hideki Anno’s direction gets to be really tiring after awhile. It’s a great show, but it can be difficult to watch. The funny thing is, Akitaro Daichi can do spastic just as well (if not better) as Anno, yet there’s none of that to be found in Bokura ga Ita. I was surprised.
Oh, and Hinano… I was actually reading a post on My Boss, My Hero the other day on your blog, and was thinking, “Hey, this looks kind of cool.” At some point, I figure I’ll give in and start watching JDramas. It’ll all be downhill from there. Several years back, I was vacationing in Honolulu for a few weeks, and managed to get hooked on some ridiculous Korean drama/miniseries that was airing on TV - so much that I went searching for DVDs after returning home (I needed to know how it ended!). I also got (sort of) hooked on Ganbatte Ikimasshoi when I was in Japan. It was the only show I seemed to stumble upon on a (near) weekly basis.
mmmmm, imagine if Akitaro Daichi finished the Kare Kano manga arc!
And now I’m off to try Saiunkoku Monogatari. Forgive me for straying from the point…
“Seriously, though, I think there’s more sex in your average shoujo anime series than there is in every bishoujo game adaptation in existence combined.”
And people make fun of me for liking shoujo.
Funny how this post comes now, when I recently picked up Bokura ga Ita again. And yeah, it’s really soap opera-ish shoujo, but considering how little of it there is these days, it’s a good thing. I’m liking it after it’s less than stellar first few episodes.
This show has been great from the beginning. The seiyuu for the lead girl was discovered at a workshop in Kobe that the director happened to attend. I think she is fabulous. And her singing of the ED for ep9 is good, too. The male lead is a TV and stage actor.
I think too many people reject the shoujo conventions when they might fully accept the much stupider and more boring conventions of magical girl, mecha, bishoujo….need I go on? Now that The Triad has subbed right up to the current ep9 — and JL’s wonderful dictum is proved true: that you find more sex in one shoujo anime than in all the game conversions made — perhaps this anime will become more popular with the anime community. If anyone needs to catch up without watching, I have blogged with summaries starting right from episode one, at hashihime.blogspot.com
As for Saiunkoku, it really is a good show: looks good, good settings, good character design, good story, and the goodness of Kuwashima Houko as lead seiyuu. But it doesn’t have the emotional punch of Bokura, or of two other current female-oriented anime, Simoun and NANA, both of which are for me all-time top-ten material. I am usually completely emotionally drained by the time I finish watching an episode. What more could you want, lol?
For some reason, I find the acting in dorama-like anime more acceptable than the acting in actual dorama, which often seems cheesy. Perhaps by not having actors visible, anime gives a little more room for emotion to seem real without seeming excessive?
Thank you, Jason. You made me start this show and I have to say it’s the most addicting anime this season. I love it.
I’m Jeff. Jason’s over here. :)