Bokurano: Ours, Volume 1

February 22, 2010
This new series from Mohiro Kitoh (Shadow Star
) offers a fresh and unsettling take on the giant robot genre with not one but 15 young protagonists collectively piloting a giant robot. One day on a beach hike at summer science class, a group of junior high kids stumble upon a strange man in a cave filled with computers. The man effortlessly coerces the teens into playing an ominous “game” defending the Earth from gigantic aliens in an equally enormous robot. A
lthough most of the children in the story feel safe, Kitoh effectively establishes a mood of terrifying dread in the reader. Kitoh's teens are in mortal danger and eerily unaware of the scope of their predicament—at least until one them accidentally dies. Kitoh's stark artwork is appealing. The teens pilot the robot from a voidlike cockpit populated with 15 floating chairs, each one drawn to reflect one protagonist's personality. The bare cockpit complements the empty space around the alien-looking robot “Zearth” as he stands between the sea and the sky. The teens are instructed by an untrustworthy floating robot teddy bear with sharp, pointy teeth. The series originally ran in the alternative manga magazine IKKI
, and as such, it has a definite alternative comics appeal.

May 1, 2010
Gr 6-9-After wandering into a cave by the sea, 15 kids meet Kokopelli, who invites them to play a video game that involves piloting a giant robot. They are asked to sign a contract, not knowing the deadly repercussions or that they will have to protect the planet. The cockpit consists of designated, floating chairs for each one while at the controls of the robot designed to defeat alien invaders. In this initial volume in the series, Takashi Waku and Masaru Kodaka are first in the cockpit where each boy's dark side is revealed. For example, Masaru idolizes his father, who is critical of others and rude. He is not concerned about allowing the robot to destroy others. However, the plot grows darker when one of his victims is his own dad. The story continues to convey the troubled and gloomier side of humanity when one of the boys is pushed by another and falls. Once the investigation begins, readers are left hanging after learning that the boy was already dead prior to being pushed and after being at the controls of the robot. The aliens have an industrial appearance that adds to the obscure tone of the book, which is illustrated in black and white. Sound effects and large frames help create action and edginess on the pages. This story will intrigue readers."Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI"

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