This is a battle action series written by Daisuke Ashihara that began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2013. It has been serialized in Jump Square since 2019. The first season of the anime (73 episodes in total) aired from October 2014 to April 2016, and the second season is scheduled to air in 2020. Border is an organization that protects the Earth from Neighbors (near-worlders). The protagonist, Osamu Mikumo, who belongs to the organization, meets Yuma Kuga, a Neighbor from outside the gate. Mikumo fights the Neighbors that have attacked the school, but Kuga uses his "trigger" to help him when he is struggling. Mikumo of Border and Kuga of Neighbor, two people who should be enemies, end up joining forces to fight. In this article, I would like to introduce what kind of person Osamu Mikumo is, the protagonist, and how he gets caught up in the large-scale Neighbor invasion.
Mikumo Osamu, full of a sense of justice
Soon after transferring to a new school, Yuma is approached by delinquents, who he brushes off, but after school he is about to be retaliated against. Osamu, who happens to be there, does not overlook the group of delinquents who are trying to attack Yuma. If you just look at this cut, it looks really cool, but... Osamu was surprisingly weak (lol). In the end, Yuma fought them off by himself. Osamu knows he is weak, but he cannot overlook evil. It's not an easy thing to do! !
Osamu doesn't compromise his way of doing things
Osamu, who is actually a member of Border, activates his trigger and tries to protect the delinquents. Yuma, who sees this, says that if he uses his trigger, he won't lose to the delinquents. However, Border's rules prohibit the use of triggers on ordinary people, and Osamu, who does not compromise his sense of justice, does not want to do so. Osamu is not a skilled fighter, but he is a member of Border with conviction.
Osamu was also starting to be appreciated at school
Osamu hid the fact that he was a Border member at school, but after the Neighbors attacked the school, everyone found out that he was a Border member and he started to attract attention. The delinquents who beat him up when he saved Yuma were scared and avoided him after they found out he was a Border member. Leaving class early for a mission...I kind of admire them.
Just because the odds are slim...
Suddenly, two Neighbors attack the school. Unlike the "capture" Bumsters that appeared before, these Neighbors are "combat" Trion soldiers called Mallmods. Yuma holds back the incompetent Osamu and advises him to wait until the other Borders arrive. However, the school is far from the Border base, and Osamu, thinking about how many casualties there will be by then, activates his trigger and sets off, knowing that the odds are slim.
Osamu's attitude that changed Yuma
Yuma's father taught him that when fighting an opponent stronger than him, he should not try to win. He assesses his own strength and does what he can. When he is without his allies, Yuma thinks that running away is an option, and he has made choices that suit the situation rather than being swayed by emotions. In fact, when Mallmod attacks the school, he tells them to wait for the arrival of other Borders. However, in the battle against Old Man Visa, he goes at it with all his might, even though he is a superior opponent. Being with Osamu has caused a change in Yuma's heart!
Osamu puts others before himself
Osamu, who committed a violation of discipline, is forced to report to Border HQ with Kitora. However, on the way there, new Trion soldiers attack, and Kitora, an A-rank member, heads off alone to intercept them. Osamu cannot use weapons, but he believes there must be something he can do even without them, so he goes to help the people of the town. He instructs Yuma to support Kitora from the shadows. In any case, Osamu is more concerned about the people of the town and Kitora than he is about himself.
Osamu is completely unpretentious
Thanks to the efforts of Kitora and Yuma, Ilgar was repelled. Kitora comes to see Osamu, who was evacuating and rescuing the residents, and is being treated as a hero by the residents. Kitora doesn't like Osamu, who is earning points for the citizens without fighting, but Osamu tells the residents that Kitora defeated the Neighbors and says that he was just doing what he could. Osamu doesn't care about his reputation and was fulfilling his responsibilities as a Border member. This action forced Kitora to acknowledge that Osamu was not just a C-rank member.
Why Osamu joined Border
Amadori Chika is the younger sister of a senior who helped Osamu, and because she has a huge amount of Trion, she naturally attracts Neighbors. She could have just asked Border for help, but ever since the only friend who believed her story went missing, Chika has been traumatized by the idea of asking people for help. Osamu joined Border to help Chika.
Unconventional Trion Amount
When Replica measured Chika's Trion Amount... it was discovered that she had a Trion organ of ridiculous size. The Neighbors are looking for people with strong Trion, so Chika was relentlessly targeted. Chika's enormous Trion would later surprise everyone at the Border Entrance Exam.
Osamu Becomes the Team Leader
Osamu and the others are invited by Jin to visit Tamakoma. Yuma learns that his father's friend, Mogami Souichi, whom he has been searching for, is dead and realizes that it is impossible to bring his father back to life. Yuma has lost his purpose... Meanwhile, Chika has decided to join Border to search for her brother on her own, and Osamu tries to help her because of her strong will. Furthermore, Osamu, who had been asked by Replica to give Yuma a purpose, decides to enlist Yuma and Chika in Border, form a team, and aim for A-rank. Although Yuma is clearly the best in terms of ability, Yuma and Chika make Osamu their leader. Although Osamu's skills are still lacking, he has earned the trust of the two. Thus, Osamu, Yuma, and Chika will aim to become Border A-rank as a team.
Osamu becomes Karasuma's apprentice
The three, who have decided to aim for Border A-rank, will train at Tamakoma until Yuma and Chika officially join Border. Konan chose Yuma because he seemed the strongest, and Reiji, who has experience as a sniper, took care of Chika. Osamu was left with no choice but to be trained by Karasuma. By the way, Kitora likes Karasuma, so she doesn't seem to be happy about Osamu becoming her apprentice.
Shooters that require skill
There are three types of gunners: assault rifle type that fires continuously from a medium distance, handgun type that shoots at close range, and shooter that fires bullets without using a bullet trigger. The characteristic of a Shooter is that it allows you to finely tune the performance of bullets, but the downside is that attacks take time and accuracy is poor, so Karasuma says that you need a sense to master it. Types that use bullet triggers like assault rifles and handguns are simple to use and have auxiliary functions via the trigger, so if you want stability and reliability, these types are better, but Karasuma recommends a Shooter to Osamu. He predicts that Osamu will have a hard time with the Gunner type, where the difference in Trion ability is clearly visible, and so he recommended a Shooter, which can reflect his ideas and ingenuity.
Osamu's revenge
Osamu is to have a mock battle with Kazama, who is ranked 3rd in the A-class. Even though he has been promoted to B-class, Osamu's skills are no match for Kazama, and as expected, he loses 24 times in a row. However, when Osamu hears that Jin has offered the black trigger for Osamu and the others, he challenges Kazama again to get revenge somehow. He remembers what Karasuma taught him, uses his head, and thinks of a way to control his opponent. Osamu currently has four weapons: the "Asteroid" for shooting, the "Shield" for defense, the "Raygust" for close combat that can also be used as a shield, and the "Thruster", an option exclusive to Raygust. He first restricts Kazama's movement with super slow shotgun pellets, then activates the thrusters and charges into Raygust's shield mode, cornering him against the wall, where he successfully lands a hit on Kazama with a point-blank shot. The result is a draw, but Kazama's opinion of Osamu has changed slightly, and Osamu has gotten his revenge.
Grown-up Osamu
Osamu and Kitora are sent to support the C-class members during a large-scale invasion by the Neighbors. On the way, they encounter a new type and a Mallmod. Kitora takes on the new type, while Osamu takes on the Mallmod. This is the first time Osamu has fought a Mallmod one-on-one since the Neighbors attacked the school. However, Osamu, who has trained to protect everyone, is different from before. Osamu, who uses a defensive Raygust, tends to focus on defense and has no idea about counterattacking. As pointed out by Karasuma, Osamu imagines the best move he can make during training, and successfully counterattacks and defeats the Mallmod. Yuma had previously said that even 20 Osamu would be too tough, but Osamu has grown to the point where he can fight on his own.
Osamu Holds His Fate
During the large-scale Neighbor invasion, Jin's side effect allowed him to see a number of uncertain futures, from the "best" to the "worst." Jin says that Chika being kidnapped is just one step away from the "worst," and that the "worst" would be Osamu's death. In order to prevent this "worst case scenario," Border members led by Jin and Yuma take action to protect Osamu and Chika to the base.
Coordinated attack with Chika
Osamu and his friends head for the base with Karasuma. The new types are increasing in number and are pursuing them, and three A-class members including Midorikawa come to help, but they still can't handle them all. Osamu focuses on escaping without attacking, but Chika and Natsume counterattack and support Osamu. They are an opponent that the two of them can't possibly defeat, but Chika suggests Osamu to use her Trion. Having learned from Karasuma that the strength of a shooter is "combining your own firepower with that of your teammates," Osamu and Chika launch a coordinated counterattack with a coordinated attack on the enemy they are currently fighting. They successfully destroy Rabbit and overcome the crisis for the time being. Still, hats off to Chika's Trion, which amazes the members of Aftokrator...
Osamu is prepared
Replica was cut in half by Mira's hand, and it seemed impossible to reach the Border base, but Replica had switched to a backup system and was barely moving. It took about 20 seconds from arriving at the entrance to the base until the analysis was completed. During that time, in order to prevent Hyrein's cube attack, Replica made a proposal to Osamu. It was that Hyrein's attacks only react to Trion, so if the trigger was deactivated, the attacks could be nullified. However, deactivating the trigger meant running to the base in his bare body, which meant that he would be exposed to other attacks. It's a risky operation, but Osamu, who has no other choice, makes up his mind and releases the trigger. Chika was the reason Osamu joined Border, and she was someone he wanted to protect even if it meant risking his life.
Who is the main character, Osamu Mikumo, who holds the key to the large-scale invasion of the Neighbors? Summary
What did you think?
There are many members who are more skilled than Osamu, but there are few who have a stronger sense of justice than him. He cares about those around him more than himself. Osamu acts without self-interest and works hard, so people naturally gather around him! Although his trion ability is low, Osamu fights using his head, so I think he is a suitable leader for Yuma, who has high combat ability, and Chika, who has a huge amount of trion. However, he is too insensitive to his own feelings, so I wonder if Yuma and Chika would feel more at ease if he paid more attention to himself.
