Sound Director Jin Aketagawa & the casted VA's did a pretty fantastic job in making sure that Bokurano's adolescent cast had voices that we're young and fitting for the maturity of their given roles. With a diverse cast & familiar faces such as Tomokazu Sugita who played characters such as Gintoki in Gintama & Hoshi in Arakawa under the Bridge, veteran Seiyuu Junko Minagawa who reprised roles in many Aria productions, & other veterans such as Kana Asumi & Shintaro Asanuma, Bokurano becomes a steady ecosystem of diverse talents and well portrayed characters, as I particularly like Kana Asumi's role as Kana, and Junko Minagawa's role as Ushiro, despite actually being woman, portraying a male adolescent teenager. With that said, due to the sheer amount of characters within Bokurano, I feel somewhat inclined just to talk about some of my personal favourites and performances I found notable (Not reviewing 15+ Character voices - Way too lazy)
Akira Ishida as Koemushi/Dung Beetle:Always conceited, pompous & satirical, Akira Ishida did fantastic job in portraying the brilliant villain we know Dung Beetle today as. Also reprising other roles in productions such as Gintama as Katsura. Both his dialogue and his voice is whimsical when modulating his voice, as his voice is coarse and mid range centric, and as is his punctuation, also being accented when cussing and swearing, complementing his sadistic and cruel personality. He also has a slick tongue when talking under his breath, that's coy and creepy, or casual & disinterested when dealing with the drama that arises with the children. And it Works!! as I personally love when he bullies & taunts the pathetic idiot that Kako is, but I rest my case. In all, for such a relatively aloof and non sensical existence, Dung Beetle actually later on becomes one of the more perennial characters within the series, as he continues to taunt and mentally torture the group in a dramatic fashion, as his end is also met in with a similar fate. A pretty great casting choice & good performance by Akira Ishida.
Juunko Minagawa as Jun Ushiro:Another sour apple within the bunch is Ushiro, as he consciously tries to separate himself from the group, often acting indifferent and disinterested in others and their sentiments. He often times speaks in short fragmented sentences, that are often time's cruel & coarse. I was absolutely amazed to find out that his voice actor was actually female, as Juunko Minagawa performance is just that believable as an adolescent teenager - Her voice is absolutely brilliant as she had me entirely fooled. He voice is just so convincing in all situations, whether it's barking orders at Kana, making snarky remarks to others in his group or even when showing his more honest and kind side to people such as Machi & when sometimes caught desperate and off guard by his young sister Kana. Hands down, this is the flat out most convincing and brilliant performance of a male adolescent teenager I've heard to date, it's just that good - From her drier pitch, steady cadence and modulation, to her coarse dynamics, she offers the complete package to what it means to sound like a young adolescent male. A truly excellent performance & a perfect casting choice from Jin Aketagawa on others within the sound department.
Kana Asumi as Kana Ushiro:Two words - Huggable & loveable, The end...
Yes Kana Asumi's role for the 4th grader Kana is just Perfect . It's just sooo good. I can't really describe it any other way. Just watch out for this line and let your heart melt into a billion pieces of chocolate:
"Don't say it like that!"
I died.. It's just so cute, from her consciously nervous way of speaking around her brother, to her cry worthy outbursts to try to convince her brother, to her timid aloofness and innocent way of speaking, it's just brilliant in conjunction with Juunko Mingawa's performance as Ushiro. As her voice is so soft, as she speaks relatively nervously and fragmented, and her cadence, pitch modulation and sudden dynamic outbursts when crying or screaming is just as convincing and heart stopping I've ever heard from someone taking on the role of someone as young as Kana, as Kana Asumi's voice is just as convincing in that respect as Juunko Minagawa's is. She's also known for starring in other productions such as Nisekoi, The World Only God Knows, Non non Biyori & even Mekakucity Actors. Her voice is delicately pitched and lean as it should be, as I find she also has these odd high pitched dissonances that's just perfect for the role, and her usually placid, somewhat slow way speaking combined with the level of grammar that a fourth grader would have just perfectly synergizes with the character Kana Asumi has to portray. Amongst the very best of performances I've ever heard hands down. A near perfect performance and casting selection, truly a highlight when watching Bokurano.
Sugita Tomozkazu as Daiichi Yamura:Ah, here's a really familiar voice I can never seem to fail to realize. After watching the entirety of Gintama and continuing to do so even this fall (Porori-Hen Arc), his voice is absolutely unmistakable, starring in series ranging from Kyo Ani's Haruhi Suzumiya to Shaft's Ararkawa under the Bridge. If anything, I feel I'm a little bit too familiar with his voce that at this point when he takes on other non comedic roles it just doesn't seem right. I don't know, he just sounds like a tool, and that's a good thing! For comedies that is.. however for a tragic drama such as this my feelings are a little mixed. In Bokurano he essentially sounds the same as in his other roles, it's just that he's obviously not as sarcastic and sleazy sounding, though instead he's a bit more earnest and played down, as is his general speaking level and tone. Though he can also have moments of conviction, as he's able to harden his voice that can command his dialogue, a contrast to his airy and detached way of speaking he usually employs. His voice is medium in weight and is not as deep as other's, so in this case he's able to match Daichi's larger build, while still acting his appropriate age. Standard performance, though just an ok casting choice.
Yuuko Sanpei as Yoko Machi:Without a doubt one of my favourite characters within the manga, though how do I feel about her in the anime? I thinks Yuuko's Senpei rendition of Machi's voice to be decent, though while this maybe be a bit of a subjective anecdote, as I guess all my commentary regarding VA performances are, when reading the manga, I somewhat imagined Machi to be somewhat of a tomboy, and to that extent sound more "cool" and "Boyish" if you will. In the beginning Yuuko senpei does a pretty good job at this, but later on in more solemn episodes, I feel she sounds to passive and monotonous, and occasionally a bit too girly. Though she is known for other her roles in other productions as Kimi Ni Todoke as Chizuru that are particularly tom boyish in nature. Maybe that's the point, maybe she's supposed to sound like she was "acting" because of reasons in the story but I digress, since I think she's quite a bit more badass when she's less docile and one to take action and get into confrontations. Though that is to say that's just for an episode or two, because for the most part I think her voice is pretty charming, even when speaking more timidly. Her harmonics are relatively narrow and even sounding, though she has this sibilance to her voice that has this "zazz" to it if you will that I really like. Her cadence is relatively fast though she's somewhat soft spoken, and she has enough of a lower register to actually sound a bit boyish as well, which like a lot, which is fitting for her casual and welcoming personality. A little bit of mixed feelings here & but oddly enough still a favourite of mine.
Naomi Shindo as Tanaka Mitsumi:Rest assured, when adult roles are usually filled, often times more than not, they're usually good, thanks to a greater availability in fitting casting selections and of course less of an age gap to get over when portraying the given character. As I find that such things in the realm of manga's and light novels and such, the characters are 9/10 are always usually young adolescents, as voice actors then and even nowadays are just getting older, and you can find few and far between that are actually young or fitting enough for their given roles. Thankfully that's not the case with Naomi Shindo's performance as captain Tanaka Mitsumi, as she's also known for starring roles in other series such as Kyoukai no Kanata as Ayaka Shindou & Chihayafuru as Wakamiya Shinobu. She has a pleasant & composed personality & way of speaking, though is able to sound stern and demanding when need be or amicable when dealing with the children involved with "Zearth". Her voice is somewhat in the upper midrange, and she has balanced set of harmonics, and usually is pretty casual about her cadence, when to pause at the right moments, stand firm when confronting other's or perhaps when joke around amicably in a lighter voice. A good performance, and casting selection.
Kenji Nojima as Kanji Yoshikawa :Kenji generally has a pretty indifferent and slick way of speaking, and has the right amount of coarseness to his voice that's light enough to also sound his age. Though he can sound righteous with his progressive cadence & steady sense of modulation. I particularly like his voice due to the drier nature of it & since Kanji has a relatively tall stature, Kenji's voice really just fits the bill. Generally speaking he has a pretty dirty sounding set of harmonics that gives his voice that particularly course and dry sound, though not as dissonant as one might expect, it gives his voice a lot of substance when he's aggressively speaking or shouting. Overall a pretty decent performance and casting selection as I find his voice fitting for his given role, nice work.
Ao Takahashi as Chizuru Honda:Again, I think Bokurano is really great because nearly everybody within the main cast has a fitting voice to match with the characters given age & Ao Takahashi's performance is no exception. As you might expect her voice is girly and small, containing all the small quirks, wavering way with words and modulation that a girl her age would have. In all situations, whether it's in a confrontation with parents trying to get her way, or amicably chatting up her sensei, to being more introverted and misanthropic of a character I non the less find her voice soothing with a delicate sibilance and naturally fitting for her age. Her voice is somewhat in the upper mid range with a quiet and narrow set of harmonics, & with her low speaking level, it attributes to her small frame and stature perfectly. A pretty fitting performance & decent casting selection.
Yui Makino as Aiko Tokosumi:
I feel many voice actors could have fulfilled this role, as from a visual standpoint when reading the manga and watching the the anime, her character is as you might expect not new, and derivative a=of many others we've seen in the past. Though Yui Makino is a pretty talented Seiyuu, being that she also is a singer & pianist at that, as her voice is pleasant and soft, having a soft mid range centric voice with a moderate blend in her harmonics that give her voice a slight bit of edge and dryness in her punctuation & siblance. She's also able to hit the right notes at the right times with nice pitch modulation and dynamics when her character Aiko is seemingly emotionally overwhelmed by her given circumstances, as Yui Makino is able to give an emotionally pleasing and direct performance, offering lots of needed emotion to Bokurano's character story. A good perfomance by Yui Makino and a decent casting selection
Kumiko Higa as Maki Ano:I like Kumio's voicing of Maki, because as I was reading the manga her voice is almost exactly what I'd imagined it to be. Her voice is a bit more dissonant, as she has a bit of an odder set of harmonics, and her punctuation is a little bit accented and rough, but's it's perfect for the somewhat boyish personality that Maki has, though sounds lean enough and correctly pitched to sound a girl her age. It complements her energetic & action first personality, especially when caught in confrontations with characters such as Ushiro where she's stern and unyielding, or perhaps her more slightly less mature kid like side when marvelling at things all things military or Otaku. I really do like her as a character, especially in the manga as I find she has abit more of a role in Kana's and Ushiro's relationship, as she indefinitely affects his conscious judgement later on in the story, and I find Kumio does wonders when voicing Maki, as I feel that essential part of her personality really is brought to life.
Yuka Iguchi as Mako Nakarai:I like Yuka Iguchi's voice quite a bit for voicing Mako, her voice is definite and small, though is bodied and sweet in a way, telling of her minimalist, moderate and often shy personality. Yuka is also responsible for other roles such as in series like Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko as Yashiro, in The Monogatari Series as Tsuki & in the later Kara No Kyoukai Films. Her harmonics are pleasantly even and she has little sibilance to her voice at all, making her voice unobtrusive and lax. Though contrasting her usually casual and placid voice, when the situation arises or a particularly tense exchange between words occur , she's able to harden to her voice with snappier punctuation, and slightly more varied dynamics & modulation. Her voice is fittingly small and pitched just right for her age, & her overall performance was interestingly expressive in her own subtle way. A great casting choice and performance by Yuka Iguchi, as her voicing of Mako Nakarai is pretty dead on what'd I'd imagine it to be whilst reading the manga - Though generally speaking, her arc in the manga is much more Badass though I digress, still great work.
Shintaro Asanuma as Yousuke Kirie:Kirie's voice is as passive and soft spoken as I'd imagined it to be from the manga. For obvious reasons he's really not a perennial character within either version of the story, though I thought I'd talk about Shintaro Asanuma's performance regardless. His cadence and sense of modulation is monotonous as I'd expect, as he doesn't have any dialogue with any sense of dynamics either, though it's perfect for his placid outlook on life, as he's usually victim to bullying from others such as Kako. Shintaro did a pretty decent job with his less than extravagant roll, as I find Kirie's last moments as a Zearth pilot to show his complexity as character, enough for me actually to start liking & respecting his role in the series. Overall a pretty standard and decent performance, as Shintaro's role for obvious reasons wasn't that demanding in the first place, though a good casting selection as it seemed fitting for Kirie's given age.
Segment Conclusion -
In all the casting selections done by Jin Aketegawa and team we're pretty decent across the board, along side some great individual performances by seiyuu's such as Juunko Minigawa & Kana Asumi, Bokurano becomes really telling of what and how a supposed "Adolescent" cast should sound like, the benefits of diversity & hitting the right notes at just the right times can really do wonders for the story at hand. In addition to that, Bokurano also has a lot of extra supporting characters, and more often than not are serviced with pretty decent voice actors as well. An above average dubbing experience to say the least, a great job overall.
Original Soundtrack & SFX - Thoughts & Impressions
Along with the great casting, Yuji Nomi's compositions are eventful and timely sequenced. With sincere string compositions such as in the No.8 track of the OST "destruction city" that have urgent crescendo's, oblique brass sections, and timely resonance. Also beginning the affair with the melancholic track No.3 "Ocean", with the use of a woodwind lead and string accompaniment that fits perfect with summer beach scene at the crack of dawn and the innocence of the coming of age theme as a whole. Or the dream like track No.17 "Bird Poetry" with with melancholic violin accompaniments, with the broken chords of the arpeggio/classical guitar style of play. Also having combative soundtracks like track No. 18 with deep timpani drum rolls & the dissonance of accented trumpets and rhythmic string section accompaniments & perhaps the uneasy fragile waltz of track No.21, with wavering sound of the violin, and the piano accompaniment trailing as counterpoint to that.
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| Yuji Nomi |
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| Chiaki Ishikawa |
