Bokura ga Ita
Often times, people compare and reflect whatever they are watching to older shows and past experiences in life. In my opinion, this comparison is important for further introspective understanding of oneself. There are those who have said to me that trying to find answer to life from an anime is an idiotic undertaking, and I can only disagree by quoting whoever that said, “to live is to understand life.” Watching Bokura ga Ita these past six months didn’t exactly change me for the better or worse, nor increased my understanding of life – but it did make me think more than the average anime. It certainly was not an easy anime to watch with all the heart wrenching shojo moments, but what made BgI shined brighter than others were the believable emotions the characters portrayed. BgI didn’t have much going for it budget wise what with the half missing faces, the still shots, and the drawn out scenes – but the characters, plot, voice acting, and music more than made up for what it lacked.
Bokura ga Ita translates into, “We Were There” and begins with Nanami Takahashi (Nozomi Sasaki) falling in love with Motoharu Yano (Hiroshi Yazaki). To make things simple, the love blossoms between the two until Yano’s past catches up with them and Takahashi begins doubting Yano’s commitment to her. Is their love strong enough to withstand repeated blows of mind-blowing secrets?
Even though the characters appeared half drawn at times, their characterizations and development were done really well. In BgI, the main characters were Yano, Takeuchi, Nana, Nanami, and Yuri. The love story started around Yano and Nanami, and it was a real roller coaster of love with huge twists and drops. I personally was able to identify with Yano’s behaviors and found him very likable since the beginning even when most everyone else disagreed with me. Since there were only a few characters, they were all really fleshed out by the end — even dead Nana.
How will I react when someone very dear to me did something terrible? I wouldn’t kill them, but to be honest, I might, in the heat of the moment, smack them. It’s not to say I condone regular wife-beating, but that I think giving women a good smack down when it’s called for isn’t so inappropriate. How else can you communicate in that instant how angry you are? I bet if Takayuki were to smack Mitsuki when she told him she slept with Shinji, Takayuki wouldn’t have to go through all that soul searching afterward. For the most part, the storylines in BgI weren’t too obtuse or plot-deviced. The only arc that did bother me was Yuri’s mother collapsing due to a stroke in the most inopportune of times. Nanami’s reactions didn’t stray from established characterization, but I must say she annoyed me then, even with her incredibly cute voice.
BgI marked the debut of Nanami’s voice actress, Nozomi Sasaki. This is going to sound silly, but she was the main reason that I kept watching in the beginning. Her distinctive voice had all the qualities represented by the character Nanami and made the anime came alive for me. Not only was her voice acting excellent, she even sang one of the ending songs - “Futari no Kisetsu ga”!
「ふたりの季節が」 by Nozomi Sasaki
The ending themes certainly played a big part in creating the right mood for the audience, and I applaud the director for incorporating them into the episodes so deftly. It leaves a different feeling after each episode than had they cut to a predetermined ending like Kanon 2006. Some might not like the music, as they may be too “pop-ish,” but I think they went to great length to pick just the right song for each episode’s conclusion. Hell, I bet there were some girls out there who started crying as the credit rolled solely because of the ending themes.
Amidst all the great anime offerings from the previous season, Bokura ga Ita got buried rather deeply. It had cheaply drawn characters and backgrounds, really poor animation budget, and didn’t even have a hot spring episode! Nonetheless, the plot and the characters carried the weight of making the anime great. Watching them cry then mature through the high school romance probably instilled a sense of nostalgia in the older audience, and thus, “We Were There.” Even if you never liked any shojo anime, give this one a try since it’s still on the free trial offer (and will be for quite some time).
「言葉」 by 加藤いづみ
作詞：大地丙太郎
作曲：安部純
編曲：武藤星児
歌：加藤いづみ
| Romaji | Translation |
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Ima kimi ga iikaketa kotoba ga Yubisaki ni sotto oritekita Nanimo iwanakute ii yo Kotoba wa kotoba dakara kokoro hanbun mo tsutaenai kara Moshi kimi ga tabibito ni nattara Kisetsu kawaru sono tabi ni Kioku ga usuragu koto ga attemo Mamoritai taisetsu na kimi Kono mune ga kowaresou de furete hoshii yo |
The words you were just about to say fell softly onto my fingertips. You don’t have to say anything, Because words are words, I can’t express half of the feelings in my heart. If you were to become a traveler, As the seasons change, even if our memories are to fade. I want to protect the precious you. My heart feels so fragile and I want you to touch it. |
Romaji and Translation from the-triad.org