***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Black Rock Shooter. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
“Even if your heart feels like it was stabbed, it won’t start bleeding, festering, or oozing. Someone will help bear that pain for you.”
- Black Rock Shooter Episode 1
The mysterious, Black Rock Shooter faces up against the most powerful of adversaries. Her battles take place in a world far different from our own. Here, combatants have neither feelings nor emotions. Fighting is all that matters.
In the human world, Mato Kuroi's (voiced by Kana Hanazawa) excited to start her first day of middle school. The new surroundings leave her in a state of awe. Causing her not to focus on where she's going. She trips and is helped by her new classmate, Yomi Takanashi (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro).
Mato tries to befriend the shy Yomi. Though a little reserved, Yomi is happy to receive Mato’s friendship. However, it comes at a huge risk.
Yomi has lived a hard life. Never having the freedom to make friends, she is unsure of herself. Mato is willing to do all she can to help, though. Since that's the kind of girl she is.
Back in Other World, Black Rock Shooter follows the trail of a strange green mist. Finding its end, she's attacked by the mechanical Chariot, who's guarding the one known as Dead Master. Compelled to save Dead Master, Black Rock Shooter counters. |
| Black Rock Shooter |
Other World mirrors the events of the human world. As our stories progress, Mato learns of their connection and how her actions will change the fate of both.
Series Positives
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| Mato |
There seemed to have been a lot of hype surrounding this show when it first came out. But I wasn't subject to any of it. I had no expectations. No knowledge. No second-hand preconceptions. I was as blind as ever. What's my verdict?
I liked it. I like it a lot. Black Rock Shooter was damn cool.
The Characters
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| Yomi |
The characters were powerful. You got to know each of them and felt what they were going through. Some anime can't do in twenty episodes, what Black Rock Shooter did in eight.
The human characters were interesting. But their Other World counterparts sealed the deal. They were the representations of human emotions. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the fighter.
I did a little research to see what others thought of Black Rock Shooter. And there are people who've described this show as such.
A melodramatic hurt-feelings-fest about a handful of pre-pubescent school girls. I think I must've watched a different show because I have no clue where that's coming from.
Yes, the characters are a bunch of middle schoolers. Middle schoolers who were trying to come to terms with their emotions. But there was a lot more to it than that. What happened to a few these girls was f#$@ed up.
Yomi lived most of her life being guilt tripped into a mentally damaging “friendship”. This left deep scars in her sanity. And this was one of the milder issues.
These pasts fueled these emotions. Which fueled the characters. Which fuel the story. It was all connected. And it hits hard while you're watching.
The Visuals
Without a doubt and with no exaggeration, visually speaking, this was one of the better anime I've ever seen. If Sora no Woto and Monogatari had a love baby, it would be Black Rock Shooter.
It’s the major reason why I love this show so much.
The human world had that hand drawn feel I like. But Other World…holy s#$@.
I wish my imagination was half as creative. Beautiful use of colors. Fast paced. Fluid and hard hitting. Big ass weapons to beat someone to a pulp. What's not to love?
There's a part of me that wishes the entire series was set in Other World. The story wouldn’t need change all that much. Plus, it would mean we'd get to experience more of this breathtaking artwork.
Series Negatives
When I finished the last episode, the first thing out of my mouth was ten out of ten, perfect. Had I written this review then, that’s what I would've gone with. And I would've regretted it.
I was about to jump the gun. This isn't a ten out of ten anime. There were some glaring issues.
The Story
About eighty percent of the story was engaging. Black Rock Shooter's not a casual anime and should get watched in a single sitting. There was a lot going on. It will take some brain power to put it all together.
The challenge is appreciated don’t get me wrong. But it comes down to what I say all the time. Simplicity trumps complexity.
Black Rock Shooter did an admirable job at executing complexity. Except it didn't quite pull it off to completion. I spent a good amount of time trying to get the full picture. And I was able to identify two problems.
The first dealt with a critical detail that was completely necessary in order for the story to work. A critical detail, by the way, that's easy to miss.
And If you miss it, you'll be playing catch-up for the rest of the series. I won’t say what this detail is, but I will tell you when it occurs. It's in episode five. When things start getting weird, more so than usual, pay attention to everything.
The second dealt with another critical detail which was completely necessary for the story to work. The difference here, it wasn't addressed at all. Fabricated memories are fine, but you need to make it clear if that's the case. This was a leap that couldn't be made with logic.
Especially when there was a ton of evidence that suggested something else was going on.
Yuu Kotari
Yuu Kotari (voiced by Kana Asumi) was Mato’s childhood friend. I did like her. She was not the problem. The way the show used her was.
When first introduced, Yuu was a solid secondary character. Then about halfway through, her importance skyrocketed. It was night and day from where she started to where she ended.
Yuu served as a bridge we needed to cross to reach this show's ending. Yet it was poorly constructed and collapsed the moment we made it to the other side. Forcing us to push forward.
Final Thoughts
Black Rock Shooter was a lot of fun. The characters were great and don’t even get me started on the visuals. This was the best example I have seen of complexity working. Granted it didn't completely work and there were holes. Big picture wise, though, the show still hit all the right notes.
Go into this series with the expectation of being challenged. Pay attention to all that's going on. Black Rock Shooter is a good mental workout. It helps prove that anime is not, by default, mindless entertainment.
One last thing, and I can’t specify it enough, be sure to watch the OVA along with this series. You will not regret it.
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