Talk:List of Bokurano robots

Reference needed for the names of the robots

I added {{unreferenced}} to this article because after reading the manga and watching the anime, I was unable to find the names of the robots except for Zearth. Please provide a source for them. --Acepectif (talk) 13:28, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

There is a point in the comic where the army people discuss the alien robots so far and assign them codenames (alphabetically). New robots appear after that, also - I'm certain that at least Javelin's name is mentioned in it's respective chapter. Too lazy to browse through my books right now to find out just where, but they're there. --60.239.250.5 (talk) 15:02, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

I found the names at the appendix of book 6. --Acepectif (talk) 08:11, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Where did you find "Insect" though? Erigu (talk) 12:36, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

I still don't know where you found the name "Insect", and according to the Bokura no Official Book, that robot is actually called "Idol". I edited the article accordingly. Erigu (talk) 14:17, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Merge proposal

Well, the recent AfD was closed by the administrator with the comment "Good arguments have been made for various merges, but there is no consensus as to any particular destination or plan. Further discussion on this topic can be undertaken at the talk page; but as far as this AfD goes there is certainly no consensus for deletion." So -- initiating a further discussion:

I think this should be merged back into the main page in the Dimensional robots section (and reformatted as a definition list). The information is needed, and as the article suite is developed more can be incorporated in a more graceful way, but as a topic, the robots are not an independently notable topic on their own -- there's no discussion of them in themselves in reliable sources, independent of the creators, that anyone has found.

Comments? Thoughts? Showers of rotten fruit? —Quasirandom (talk) 17:12, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

• I'd have to say, showers of rotten fruit. It is far too long to fit in the main article. I'm against just listing the names without any real information, that not a merge, but a massacre. Those who are interested in this, can easily click to see a list, over from the main article. Easier to navigate this way. Dream Focus 14:10, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

If the article is actually cleaned up to match what a proper list like this would actually contain, most of these will only be about two sentences anyway. That is not enough to require an article, so merging it somewhere is much more beneficial. I was going to suggest merging it to the chapter list, but I see that there is actually very little in the way of plot information in the list. Besides the main way style of battle and the way it is defeated, the battle tactics and fight details are unneeded. TTN (talk) 15:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

I support the merge because i really believe that more isn't better and that our project really need quality over quantity especially when quantity means plot, more plot, trivia, speculations, original researches and abuse of Fair Use images. The prospect to have that list ending like that has every reasons convince me of a merge --KrebMarkt 19:36, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't think this article is necessary. I basically agree with TTN above: most of the robots would get about two sentences (if that). A relatively detailed section about Zearth plus a few notes about "the other robots" as a whole (explaining what all robots have in common with Zearth, and then giving some examples of how they differ from it) should do the job, in my opinion. And fit in the main article.

Not that you couldn't fill such an article by listing the robots from the TV series (for which there are official specs available) and the light novels, if you really wanted to go there, but... it all seems somewhat besides the point of the story. To me, anyway.

(that being said, where does that "dimensional robots" term come from, exactly?) Erigu (talk) 10:00, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Beats the heck out of me where "dimensional robots" -- I can't remember the term being used in the manga (which is the only form I'm familiar with), and as part of editing/cleaning up, I was thinking of changing the term to "giant mecha" as used elsewhere in the articles. —Quasirandom (talk) 14:09, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

I can't remember that term being used anywhere (I've read the manga and seen the TV series, and I'm making my way through the light novels). And yes, I think a more generic term would be a good idea.

I checked the Bokura no Official Book to see if there was a preferred term...

The manga-specific section (supervised by Kitō and the author of the light novels) lists them as "kaijū"... which is a bit odd, in my opinion. They were only "kaijū" in the eye of the public, after all? Besides, how do you translate that word in English? I'm not sure. ^^;

The TV series section refers to the characters' opponents as "teki robotto" (and just "enemies" in English). So I guess "robot" would do just fine? Erigu (talk) 14:31, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

"teki robotto" = "enemy robot"? Hmm. But we should probably move discussion of the name out of the merge discussion. —Quasirandom (talk) 14:59, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

As for translating kaijū, possibly as "monster robots," even though that conflates terms from two different incarnations? (Or maybe just use "robots" in English, and note the variant Japanese terms in the prose intro.) —Quasirandom (talk) 21:44, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

I like your last proposal. Especially considering Koyemshi has his own term for Zearth, the robots are called something else altogether by the army in the light novels, etc. It would be a convenient way to compile all those alternate terms. Erigu (talk) 10:48, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Since you're familiar with all the forms, are you up for adding all that in the main article? Changing the name of the section, while we're at it. —Quasirandom (talk) 15:19, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

I can give it a try. I'm (obviously?) not a native English speaker though, so I may need some help/proofreading... Erigu (talk) 06:53, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Ah, no, it wasn't obvious. And I have experience collaborating with non-native speakers, doing just that sort of help/proofreading. —Quasirandom (talk) 15:26, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

• 13 robots listed, even with just a sentence or two each, that is a lot of text for the main article. Better to keep it a side article. And reading the information, I don't see as how you could shorten it without loosing some valid information. The AFD said keep, so lets keep it. Don't delete everything but a token list, which you stick elsewhere. Dream Focus 09:01, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

What kind of valid information would there be to lose exactly though?

A problem I'd have with the Bokura no-related articles as they are now is that both the characters' descriptions and the robots' entries are mostly plot summaries in disguise (and thus somewhat redundant). I personally think a detailed plot summary, labeled as such, would be preferable (not sure just how "detailed" plot summaries are supposed to be on Wikipedia though?). And if you take those parts out of the robots' entries, there's very little left, in my opinion. I'm not even sure there's enough to justify an actual list, even as a part of the main article. Erigu (talk) 10:04, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Exactly, about the character descriptions being summaries of their plot rather than their characterization. —Quasirandom (talk) 15:26, 2 August 2009 (UTC)