Bokura ga Ita - category; anime (TV series: 26 episodes)

Story – 9/10
Bokura Ga Ita is a high school love story drama based on a manga by Obata Yuuki. You will be introduced to the main character, Takahashi Nanashi, the female protagonist high school student in her first semester in new school without any friends (yet). She eventually finds friends and by accident, is nominated and chosen as the students’ representatives in her class. The time comes when she encounters the most famous guy around her school which fortunately enough, is in the same class with her, Motoharu Yano. Relationship develops between these two, until they are dating. A lot of things unexpected happen since they are in relationship, mostly because of Yano’s past and Nanashi’s struggle to deal with Yano’s past that has been hurting their relationship.

Bokura Ga Ita presents us a simple idea of love story: high school romance. Although it seems that the genre of this anime is typical, Bokura Ga Ita has presented the story in excellence. The story part is developing accordingly, it will not leave us wondering of what really happens in the story. Each character’s background is brought to us when the story needs it the most, so audiences are not going to be confused of the developing story. Bokura Ga Ita also succeeds in capturing audiences’ interest with the deep story-telling of the characters’ psychology and development. When we watch this series, we will not watch some kind of exaggerated love story progress or over-fantasized love problems/conflicts. We will be offered a real-life-like high school romance situation which will most likely to bring us back to our own memories on that time. We will see how real-life-like high school students deal with their love, their problems, and their dreams as well as their families.

Visual – 9/10
There are several points in Bokura Ga Ita’s visual and animation which are notable. Although this series doesn’t give us any special effects or fancy computer graphic, Bokura Ga Ita will not disappoint audiences by its graphics.

The color used in this series is just simply bright and gives us the cheerful as well as light feeling thorough the episodes. In most of the special and romantic scenes, Bokura Ga Ita has done awesomely well in its visual by giving audiences such a romantic feeling which draws us into that moment.

The background is just beautiful and dynamic. It doesn’t have any stand-still images of background which we can usually see in less-developed anime. The background of people walking, talking, and automobile are done appropriately in this anime. As audiences who find details matter, then Bokura Ga Ita will not disappoint you.

Character design is just simple. Bokura Ga Ita is not full with too fancy or too flashy character design that sometimes attract audiences’ attention too much. Some people will find the character design too simple, but along with the story progress, they will get used to it and love it. Bokura Ga Ita also succeeds in having the characters’ expression read clearly by the audiences without confusion. there is no blank expression or any other expression that are not placed properly on every circumstances in the series.

The other element in visual which is notable in Bokura Ga Ita is characters fashion and style in the series. Bokura Ga Ita may be one of the anime that has done a great job of reflecting the fashion culture in Japanese teenagers nowadays. You will still see Yukata and other traditional clothes worn by the characters here, but on general occasion, you will find the characters’ fashion to be the up-to-date and dynamic. The fashion style of each character also maintained to be constant (so based on the character personality and sense of fashion, the characters’ clothes are following accordingly).

Audio – 9.5/10
When we watch the opening theme and listen to the song, it will capture our attention immediately as the song, the lyrics, and the background have briefly told us the genre and the idea of the series itself. Thorough the series, all background music and song used are just perfectly suitable for this series. There is no flaw in choices of song and background music. Audiences will not hit the point where we suddenly wondering, “I just realized it is so quite and I can only hear characters’ voice and conversations.” In Bokura Ga Ita, you will find how the music and song catalyze/strengthen the atmosphere and feeling brought to you as audiences. With this element, audiences will not fail to grab the feeling and atmosphere at the right moment.

Characters – 10/10
Character development in this series is done in a good shape. Bokura Ga Ita doesn’t rush nor too late in this issue. Throughout the episodes, we will be introduced to each character’s development accordingly, not too fast, not too slow, just fit perfectly with the timing. Character development in Bokura Ga Ita will relate tightly with the background of the characters as well as everything that happen in the present time around the characters. We will see clearly how the characters develop in this story without any bizarre or confusion.

Each character in this series is special and fit their roles well. Even the characters beside the main characters have to exist to make Bokura Ga Ita works, because the slightest thing these characters do or say (as long as it relates to the main characters) will affect the main characters’ development. The interaction between each character in this series is incredibly strong. There won’t be characters on which we will wonder why those characters even exist.

Because of the smart characters placement and development, Bokura Ga Ita will easily stir audiences’ emotion and feeling. Therefore, there will be a strong bond and feeling for each characters, like empathy or even hate, from audiences. But the reason is because we will know clearly what, how, and why the characters are like that, even sympathizing with the characters that play as the antagonists.

Reality Value – 9/10
One of the best anime with the best reality value I have ever watched. In Bokura Ga Ita, you will not be deafened by the high-pitched characters’ voice, or being over-killed by the time you start to get the feeling because of bad jokes or ridiculous acts of the characters. Despite the simple characters design, Bokura Ga Ita is a really serious and well-developed drama anime. In this series, when the characters talk, they talk. When they whisper, they whisper. When they curse, they curse. When they are confused, their mind speaks. When they cry, they cry quietly. These are the elements that are really difficult to find on ordinary everyday anime. The jokes are simple, but make us laugh. When the characters are sad, when they can’t express it, it captures us and we will want to cry along with the characters. It is because without realizing it, this value has brought us to the reality of life in this anime. The complexity of the characteristic is not beyond that one of real people. Bokura Ga Ita is an anime in which non-anime audiences will claim to be lovely and attractive. And really, it will capture you and grab your attention from the beginning to the end.

Overall - 9.3/10

Bokura Ga Ita is a must watch anime for every anime lover, drama lover, or just anybody that simply want to see the school life and love story from back then, in our past and memories. This series will satisfy us, the audiences, from the beginning to the end. although the ending still hasn't wrapped up the entire story for a "FIN", it has ended in the most appropriate episode. we will still wait for the continuation, but even if it doesn't come out or we don't read the manga, the ending can be treated as FIN. one of the best anime I have ever seen and will recommend to anyone!
NOTE: the manga is still running and currently is on volume 12. the ending of the series is the end of volume 7 in the manga. The official notice hasn't come out yet, but the second season of this series is in process and is going to air on June 2008.