MAJOR SPOILER UP AHEAD!!! This episode was amazing, though there’s one plot twist you don’t want to find out until you’ve actually seen the episode. I repeat, if you haven’t seen Bokura no 18, STAY AWAY FROM THIS ENTRY!!! The following line should fill up enough space for the blog aggregators.
I should be complaining that Takami only got one episode for herself, but holy god, Tanaka’s death totally made up for it! She goes down, along with Takami’s father by the hands of the terrorists we’ve seen for the past number of episodes. This not only removed one of the key support-characters from the show, it also means that Koemushi has to select a new final pilot. Something tells me that it’s going to be poor Kana, as Koemushi has been hinting towards her for the past few episodes. O_o
What also surprised me is the relatively short amount of time that is spent on mourning about Tanaka. The only one we really see crying is Tamotsu, and the others seem to have accepted her death, just like she was one of them. These kids have really matured throughout the series. I also wonder when Tamotsu is going to tell Kana and Jun about Tanaka.
So, now there are three pilots left: Kanji, Jun and someone Koemushi still has to decide on. For a chance, we don’t get to see who’s going to be the next pilot. My money is on Kanji, though the finale of this series is going to start in the next episode. This episode definitely proved why Bokura no is one of my favourite series. Will the ending do the same? I definitely do hope so!]]>
Bokura no – 18
Wait, why wouldn’t Seki be a pilot?
Well, this is just speculation, but I think that Koemushi never really intended him to be one. At the end of the episode, we see the guy in doubts, and I imagine that if he just chose Seki, he wouldn’t have to think so much. Again, this is just speculation.
Ok, scrap that last comment. I’ve read the summary on THAT Anime Blog, and apparently I misunderstood episode 17, where Koemushi told the order of the pilots, and he’s been holding true to it. Kanji was also supposed to go last, not Tanaka.
pilot selection involves their chairs, and seki and tanaka don’t have chairs. i don’t remember any explicit comments about when they’d get them in the anime, but in the manga koemushi said something about how their chairs couldn’t be added until the cockpit was reloaded. so i assumed that meant they couldn’t be chosen until then. i guess it seems like zearth still had “eyes” for them though…
Around 10 bullets in her body (shot at short range) and not a single friggin’ drop of blood ??!
Koemushi is translated by the fansubbers as “dung beetle” so I wonder how spot-on is that translation.
Also, I was wondering the entire time why didn’t the pilots of Zearth use that amazing laser beam attack more often in previous battles. There are ways of using it without obliterating the countryside — like aim at an angle away from the ground. A couple of birds may get toasted, but that’s it.