Bokurano vol. 4

After the last volume left me dying to see how current pilot Chizuru was going to overcome the moral dilemma in front of her, we find out that… her sister is a saint amongst saints.  It’s a surprisingly straightforward resolution and I will admit that it was a little disappointing in how conventional it was.  Still, Mohiro Kito does a great job of tapping into Chizuru’s rage and frustration at this development and showing how it influences her fight against the enemy mecha.  Once everything is said and done, though, I doubt that I’m the only person who is frustrated that we’re only given a *hint* that justice will be done to the teacher that betrayed her trust and abused her.

The next pilot turns out to be Kunihiko Moji, who comes off as the most mature of the entire cast.  Kunihiko is involved in a pseudo-love-triangle amongst two childhood friends, but he plans to use his inevitable death to resolve it to the advantage of one of them.  Naturally, things aren’t that simple and the use of dramatic irony in this situation gives the whole endeavor an “O. Henry” twist to it.  This story isn’t nearly as nerve wracking as the last two, but it’s a smart move on Kitoh’s part to dial things back for a bit.  Let the reader catch their breath for a while and then hit them with something that will really make their jaws drop.  We’ll find out if that’s where he’s going in January.