Differences from the anime (volume 1/ episodes 1-2
They clearly establish that Kokopelli is "not of this world"... right in Volume 1. They introduce Coemushi (Dung Beetle) a bit earlier as well. And he's just as awesomely evil, and I have Akira Ishida's voice running in my head when I'm reading Dung's lines in the manga, and that's freakin' sweet.
After watching episode 5 of the anime, dealing with Kako's crush on Chizu, her snubbing him and his approaching death, I felt bad for the kid. But in the manga he's just a flat out bastard from the beginning!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xrlderek
Hi,
You mentioned in the Bokurano thread that you saw some interesting things being omitted from the manga and that you'd PM it if asked. I would be very interested in this.(Only as far as the anime has come though). I hope it's not too much of a bother.
Where to start...
Well, first and foremost, the chapters are divided into the names of the pilots. "Kokopelli" is chaptes 1-3, Waku 4-5, Kodama, etc etc... So, every time you see a new volume, you essentially find out who is going to pilot in the future. However, they do focus on other characters, randomly giving them chapters of their own in the middle. But for the most part, the order is the order of pilots (which is still undetermined)
Quite important:
Dung Beetle appears during Kokopelli's fight, and the two interact, revealing quite a bit about their characters. Some notable chunks of dialogue...
(Dung Beetle has just ignored someone's question about whether riding Zearth is dangerous)
Waku: "Can I ask one more thing? This really is... a game, right?"
And Dung Beetle answers: "Yes"
(a fighter jet is destroyed in the battle. The children scream, but Kokopelli doesn't react)
Dung beetle: "Kokopelli... isn't a man of this planet"
Kids: "An alien?" "What does he look like then?" "An octopus?"
Kokopelli: "That hurts. I'm not a man from this planet, but I'm just as human as you are..."
Kids: "Huh?"
Dung Beetle: "Kokopelli, if you go too far, the kids are gonna get scared and back down."
Kokopelli: "Watch closely now, learn how to fight... because I can't participate in the next round."
Dung Beetle: "I'll still be there!"
Kokopelli: "You can't trust him."
Dung beetle: "Shut it... You have no grounds for saying that about me...
Waku: "This is a game you made, right?"
Kokopelli: "I am nothing more than a pawn in the game, just as you are."
Also, Dung Beetle often refers to "magazines being loaded", to imply to the down-time between battles. Each time a magazine is loaded, a new pilot is selected and another fight is about to begin.
Kako is more of a dick right from the get-go. He insults others, tries to take the easy way out, force work on others and is more self-centered. Ushio isn't as nasty to his sister, Kana, and the short-haired girl, Maki, is more protective of Ushio's sister. It is also established that Moji has some kind of woman, but it may be his mother, sister, or a girlfriend, and their relationship is important, but still unknown.
Maki Ano also summons a baby crib instead of the recliner she gets in the anime, citing the fact that she's going to have a new baby brother soon and that she was thinking about it when Dung was giving them chairs. She still has Kana sit with her, but doesn't give Kana her own seat.
The opponent that Waku fights is totally different from the anime. It's a flying, pointy mofo which tries to pierce its enemy, even ripping off Zearth's arm. Waku then kicks the fallen arm through the enemy, destroying its vital spot. The mountain still gets destroyed.
That's all I'm up to now. More if you want it later on.
There's a couple more details about everyone. I'm glad I picked this one up.
