I was Devastated
March 26th 2007 -
The title refers to my feelings after finishing “We were there”, or “Bokura ga Ita.” Like the title says, I was devastated.
This post will be of a slightly more personal nature than most. This post is not objective; there’s already an excellent review by Sorrow at NHRV. It’s going to be my personal feelings. Therefore, refrain from laughing or … um… flaming. Although this one’s going to be pretty flame-worthy. >.>; WARNING: Minor spoilers / implied major spoilers may follow. I don’t state anything blatantly though.
First of all, I’d like to say that I would love to kidnap Nana’s seiyuu. I want to kidnap her, steal her voice and give any woman I want her voice. It’s perfect. It’s extremely soothing, and not only that, but it’s extremely brittle, as if I could snap it with my fingers. It’s delicate. Not overly cute like most seiyuu, or deep, like some. Delicate and soothing. I’m going to have dreams about this voice of hers.
Then comes Takahashi Nanami herself. Like most people within the anime described her, she’s plain. But I love her personality! It’s frustrating at times, but extremely realistic. She represents, to me, what every teenager in love experiences: frustration, anxiety, fright, and of course, happiness. Sometimes, during the series, when I see her crying in sadness, I really do want to go and give her a hug. Or, when she’s laughing, I feel like I want to share that laughter with her. It’s probably one of the only series good enough to make me feel sympathy for the characters.
Then there’s the story. It’s realistic. To the point of painfulness. If there was ever a “gut-wrenching drama”, it’d be this one. There’s nothing fantastical about any of this series. Which is why it hits even harder. That’s my short critique on the series itself.
Here’s the part where it gets personal. Because of its excellence, this series has impacted me in a way few other series have. After watching it, I just didn’t feel like doing anything anymore. I still feel sick right now, 4 hours later. I don’t know why this is. I’m not sad; I’m not happy either. Rather, I feel this burst of feeling coming forth. Mixed emotions of sadness, happiness, anger and a bit of depression. I loved the script, the story, the characters, all of it. The ending left me with a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I really didn’t know what to think about it.
As I watched the series, I admired the simplicity of it all. I’m thinking to myself the whole time, “…why can’t my life be like that?” Unlike most anime, I think the lifestyle that the characters of BGI have are quite similar to that of our own. Which just makes me want to have a life like that even more.
To quote Mizu-chin, “Being single is lonely.” And that’s exactly how I feel after watching this series. I think, overall, it makes me feel as if I’m wasting my life right now. It just makes me feel sad. The way the series ended is a bit of deja vu for me; I’ve had similar circumstances happen to myself.
And speaking of Mizu-chin, I loved her presence in the series! I thought she and the entire supporting cast were great in highlighting the uniqueness of the four main characters. They weren’t in the way, they weren’t ever stealing time from the main characters, and they served as excellent and realistic friends.
But back to the main rant in question, sometimes I just wish my life could be as simple as that. Everything comes natural for me, and the only problem I’d have is dealing with my girlfriend correctly. If only life were that easy… or even if I would have a girlfriend in the first place. T_T. Life is not fair.
I think there are three quotes from the series that I really liked, and I’ll probably remember for a long time:
“Love is about the timing, and only about the timing.”
“We really were there.”
And the last one, this one just made me lose it. (don’t read it if you don’t want an implied spoiler.)
“I’d forgive her for everything. Because… how could I hate the woman that I loved so much?”
I just cried and cried and cried after I heard that one. I realize I might sound like a crybaby, but eh.
On the flip side! We’re taking up the job of scanlating the manga. Please, support us! The manga isn’t finished yet…
This kinda makes me wonder how the manga will end. Since the title is in past tense, “Bokura ga ITA”, not “Bokura ga IRU”, …does this imply that the manga won’t end happily? …oh God, please no. T_T I can’t take this much longer.
But really. I recommend this to EVERYONE who even has a passing interest in anime. Fucking 11/10.
~Akira
It’s just unfair.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:43 am
I (obviously) loved the anime as well. I really is one of the best examples of romance/drama I’ve ever seen in anime, and its strength is the fact that it deals with characters that are terribly realistic, yet terribly troubled. Not sure I envy them, though. Nor would I’d quite say they have simple existences… these are people that are each troubled in their own ways (as shown brilliantly in the anime).
Glad you liked it though. I think it’s criminal how under-appreciated this series is.