Bokurano Ep 4 – "The worth of a human's life is merely chosen or waiting for death"

With this episode, some of the mechanisms leading behind the giant mecha are revealed in this episode. The pilot for this episode, as revealed by the previous ending, is Kodoka. Seemingly one that has no care for life except his own, how will his fight be? What is the family background behind such a child and what has influenced him into being such a character. The question of nurture and nature awaits to be answered somewhat in this episode.

What is the driving fuel for Zearth?

Episode summary

A flashback of them joining the game was shown as we returned to Kodoka, who spoke that there were some lives that died in order to construct new ones, and Waku was one of them. Kodoka visited his father in the office, with someone in the lift noticing the seal on his hand. As he entered the room, his brother and father were quarreling over the mountain that was leveled during the fight of Waku and the enemy. His brother wanted to make a memorial since it was a holy land, but his father said that it would earn little profit and it was better as a golf course. With that, his brother was angered and walked out of the meeting. His father came out and noticed Kodoka, telling him to wait a while as the meeting continued.

In a monologue, Kodoka said that he admired his father and could understand what his brother would hate him. His father was one that used unscrupulous and ruthless methods to find success in business. His brother was more compassionate, but Kodoka cynically thought that his brother could quit but was a failure for not doing it. Kodoka admired his father because he was the chosen one to survive and he wanted to be like him. As he sat on his father’s chair, he found himself in the cockpit but there was no fighting since Dung Beetle was not there. The other children also realized that Kodoka was the next pilot.

Ano speculated that the chair was a medium to get here and they were discussing that Kana and Jun should not stay together, with Kanji acknowledging that Jun’s quick temper might be a problem. Kodoka cynically said that he admired Jun, since he was the one that indirectly was related to Waku’s death and that form of control in death was a special experience. In yet another flashback, we saw Kodoka reprimanded by his brother for firing an air pistol at a cat, but his father said it was the boyish nature of children.

In the senate, the government officials discussed where these mecha might come from. Some speculated on China, as well as USA, but there was one who said about the possibility that it might come from outer space. No matter what, the man said that he had other things that he had to confirm, with the list of the fifteen children on his table. As Kodoka played with his gun, he noticed that the enemy mecha had appeared as he found himself in the cockpit once again.

The appearance of the enemy was an armadillo-like one, as Kodoka unabashedly moved Zearth without care of his environment, causing serious carnage wherever he went. When the other children discouraged him, he said it was the fate of those who died. As they continued to question his actions, he said that considering he was protecting 100 million citizens, the sacrifice of a mere ten thousand citizens was nothing, despite the rebuttal by Takami that every individual’s life should be noted.

Kodoka said he considered it but he found his own life the most important to be protected. As Kodoka approached the enemy, the enemy released metallic ropes that binded Zearth’s limbs, before the last bind on its leg made Zearth lose its balance. At the very end, Kodoka used the momentum of falling to throw the enemy across as it flew across the sky and fell on its back, with the exposed belly in the air. However, when he fell, Zearth crushed the car that his father was in, as he was left crying in shock. The others (Yoko and Daichii) told him to stop mumbling as he savagely destroyed the enemy.

As he found the core, he crushed it as the enemy was destroyed. Daichii remarked that it was not the act of a hero. As the battle was over, Kodoka stood up from his chair, mumbling that his father could not have died and his father was a chosen one from society, one that was filled with life. With that, he blanked out and collapsed. Moji went over and checked, and told everyone that he was dead. Dung Beetle laughed and said that Zearth’s power was using the life force of the pilot and all of them would eventually die.

Thoughts

Updated list of alive kids: Click here for the picture

It is confirmed. The life force of the pilots are the driving fuel for Zearth and it seems that the children are finally facing the brittle fate that they are actually waiting to die. I cannot imagine how any of them will be able to accept it at all. To ask anyone to accept death when they did not deserve such a fate is a tall order and it puts a serious mental stress on all the kids now. Any wager which kid looks most likely to be crumbling down mentally as Dung Beetle told the truth?

The focus this week is Kodoka and I am very amazed at how detailed they went into him, considering that they have only 23 minutes odd time to talk about the back story. I really feel that the sad thing is whether nature (his inborn ambition as a human being) or nurture (his constant admiration of his ruthless father) is in fact the course of him turning into such a dangerous kid. I seriously think that the father has not done a good job in educating Kodoka. What father will consider firing at an innocent cat as a boyish character?

The lack of supervision and the actions of his father definitely is a strong pull for his lack of remorse over killing someone. I also find it disturbing in his use of majority utilitarianism, which is the greatest benefit for the most number of people, and considering that he will only hurt 10000 people in the carnage, it is worth it. It’s a little warped in the usage by Kodoka, and I wonder what possessed such an innocent kid that merely aspires to be his successful dad to apply such a rule.

The comment by Daichii seems to be rather childish and it is a little unexpected of him, considering how much that he looks to be a rational mind other than Moji. If you ask me, there is no such thing as a hero or a villain in terms of war or battle. There are only winners and losers, and it seriously shows how the innocence of such children will soon be lost. Another new information given is that the chairs are in fact the medium of transfer for getting to the cockpit, even if there is no battle. I think that this adds up quite a bit of irony on the favorite chair.

One thing is the battle of Zearth with the Armadillo-like enemy. For some reason, the enemy does not seem to be hurting the area that much which seems to be somewhat of a contrast with the outright devastation of how Kodoka approached the battle. Somehow, it just seems as though there is in fact a real pilot inside the enemy, but I guess it’s merely some rather alien entity. I wonder if the alien did have intelligence since it is noted by the kids that the enemy avoided destroying the buildings unnecessarily. Just a thought, no one needs to laugh because I doubt they will explore who the enemy is.

With the next episode, it seems that Kako and Chizu will be seen in some part. Will they be the next pilot to die?