Black★Rock Shooter (TV)

On the first day of junior high school, Mato Kuroi happens to run into Yomi Takanashi, a shy, withdrawn girl whom she immediately takes an interest in. Mato tries her best to make conversation with Yomi, wanting to befriend her. At first, she is avoided, but the ice breaks when Yomi happens to notice a decorative blue bird attached to Mato's phone, which is from the book "Li'l Birds At Play." Discovering they have a common interest, the two form a strong friendship.

In an alternate universe, the young girls exist as parallel beings, Mato as Black★Rock Shooter, and Yomi as Dead Master. Somehow, what happens in one world seems to have an effect on the other, and unaware of this fact, the girls unknowingly become entangled by the threads of fate.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Black★Rock Shooter Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Dead Master Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Kuroi, Mato Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Strength Main

Asumi, Kana Japanese

Black★Gold Saw Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Takanashi, Yomi Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Izuriha, Kagari Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Chariot Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Koutari, Yuu Supporting

Asumi, Kana Japanese

Irino, Saya Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Katsumata, Hideo Producer

Matsuura, Hiroaki Producer

Nakamura, Hiroshi Producer

Mori, Akitoshi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Jun 19, 2022

VirusClova

Recommended

[Heavy spoilers in my review]
I feel like this anime is something you're either going to get/like or don't. When I first watched this in 2012 when I was younger, I remember being damn confused but still really enjoyed it for its action and the central figure BRS. Rewatching it countless times as I got older, however, a lot of my confusion cleared up and I got to truly appreciate how unique and well done its direction was.

Before I go into the heavy stuff, in terms of the animation, the 2D animated scenes are decent and often have rather well-executed shots and lighting. But the ... real strength of the anime is its flawless execution of CG animation. It's honestly criminal that this anime is slept on or completely unmentioned when talking about anime with good 3D animation, as it has the best execution of this style no questions asked. It helps do justice and make spectacles of the awesome character designs of the Otherselves without any drop in quality.


Story for me is a solid 8 or 9 if you actually comprehend it. The biggest reason this anime is a disappointment for some watchers is from not understanding the story and thus, feeling as if there are many plot holes. The whole concept of the Otherworld is that it's a place that mirrors the human psyche (think the Metaverse from Persona 5), with Otherselves as the mental/emotional shadows of human girls. While the events aren't always mirrored, a lot of what happens in either world directly impacts the other, and I feel this aspect is what a lot of people miss when it comes to certain character changes. I'll go on to clarify some of the story sections I observed to have confused people the most. Again, another spoiler warning, as I am writing this review for the perspective of people who just came out of it.

As Otherselves are stated to carry a huge fraction of the emotional burdens of their counterparts, their death means the pain they carried from their humans die with them, including any associated memories of it. This was what caused Kagari to completely forget about her unhealthy dependence on Yomi after Chariot dies, mistaking her memories as Yomi being the overbearing one. Another instance is when Koharu forgets about her crush on her classmate, considering her pain came from the embarrassment of being humiliated for it. This is also what causes Yomi to forget about Mato, as all her anxieties and pain revolved around her struggles to befriend her. I feel like these character changes get criticized by a lot of watchers who didn't understand the mechanics of their world.

Another moment people seem to be confused about was Mato being trapped inside BRS as she went berserk. The scene can be tricky to understand if you don't comprehend everything that came before it. Mato intended to fuse with BRS in order to prevent her from killing Dead Master (which would erase Yomi's memory of her) however, she fused at the worst possible time, having to see a girl looking EXACTLY like Yomi being killed by her hand. Of course, she's going to freak out and this causes an effect on BRS since they're still fused at this point. This is what causes BRS, who is supposed to have no emotion by pure nature, to lose her mind. Considering Mato has also fused with BRS to save Yomi as a huge plot point in the original OVA, it becomes much easier to understand this turnout as a 'bad ending' version of that.

The last overly criticized aspect of the plot would be the last episode's confrontation between Mato and BRS. Considering all the emotional trials Mato and the others had come across trying to connect and befriend other people, all episodes prior to this leads to her realization that feeling pain is an important part of feeling love for others. Her fight against BRS was to reject her pain being taken by someone else, that it should be her burden alone and BRS being mentally far-gone at this point, retaliating violently. Other characters are shown to have this realization as well and their character arcs track up to this; Kagari coming to terms with her actions to know what healthy love is, Yuu realizing that she can find a support system despite what she lived through, Yomi overcoming her fears of alienation to make real friends and even Saya overcoming her guilt of being unable to help Yuu before which is what led her to her current profession. This was the big sentiment shared in that big rainbow visual scene "even if it hurts, I want to connect", wrapping up this metaphorical narrative of the emotional tribulations of growing up.

A certain plot hole I also notice being pointed out was Yuu/Strength's past and their history. I'll try and explain it as coherently as possible. While Yuu and Mato shared a brief childhood together, Yuu's life took a worse turn during a time Mato wasn't around. She was bullied and had a terrible home life before Saya befriended her. I believe it's after the fire where she might have swapped with Strength, considering Saya's encounter with her felt odd and Yuu's eyes resembled Strength's. It's at that point Strength (as Yuu) would have been able to tell Saya all about the Otherworld in order for her to grow up to be a school counselor that takes advantage of the Otherworld's mechanics to 'treat' the girls at school (hence her method of riling up Yomi and Kohata).
The details of Yuu being easily forgotten and misremembered are all because she's not a real person, she's an Otherself and possibly has less of a mental impact on others. Like she's a ghost you don't notice until you're forced to, like actually seeing her compared to being mentioned, for example. Mato having dissociated memories of Yuu is easily explained as her memory tries to recall the Yuu she knows presently as the Yuu she knew in the past, not knowing they're actually two different people which screws with her perception of those memories.


I see people often comparing the Ova to the anime, as if they expected the same story, though I feel it's a foolish criticism to have. The anime simply took inspiration from the concept but did its own fleshed-out story with its own direction. They're unrelated medias aside from just the name alone and shouldn't be compared so harshly unless you're just talking about preferences.


All in all, the story is solid as long as you understand it. Everything has an explanation as long as you consider the information that was given and make inferences. Not everything is spelled out or explained but all the pieces are there for perceptive, patient and dedicated watchers to combine. It ends up amounting to a very unique and well-done metaphorical portrayal of the emotional trials that come with entering adolescence, as several aspects of life and relations become harder and not so simple to handle. Mentally maturing is going to come with its share of burdens.
Personally, it became an important anime for me in my childhood, as my mother (who watched the show with me knowing it was my favourite) figured that my attachment to this show came from the fact that I was going through a hard time when dealing with the divorce of my parents, so I must have resonated with the concepts presented in the anime. I'm pretty sure I was around the depicted age of the girls too, like 12-14, so relating to it came even easier.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Nov 16, 2024

LeDemiurge

Mixed Feelings

It probably makes sense to watch the OVA version first because I will reference it a lot, it came out first. - (>ω•)

After finishing the OVA, one may waddle over to the TV series in a state of confusion, mainly due to the OVA’s limitations with time rather than not being able to understand its symbolism. Given that their expectations are now more appropriately set, it could now possibly be twisted by the state of confusion regarding the OVA version. Black Rock Shooter is a very misleading title considering most of it was a school drama. This anime has little to do with one of ... the three firms that own the United States or Thomas Matthew Crooks himself. This does not imply that the title and the subsequent expectations formed based on it which were met are automatically good and vice versa. I found that the drama, in all aspects in this anime, to be at least somewhat entertaining considering the girls' drama was an over exaggerated mess. The action had some drama tied to it as well, which was a big improvement to the OVA which had less brutal fight scenes and was basically absent of dialogue. Most of the enjoyment stemmed from this anime depends on the background of the viewer, the characters could either be relatable or come across as an emotional wreck. The drama high school girls experience would be completely alien to someone who is their polar opposite. It made me rethink what kind of expectations to set when faced with unfamiliarity.

OK, focusing on the drama, since it better fits the theme of Black Rock Shooter than what is shown through its promotional art. Large parts of the story are not really engaging to be honest, most of it being set in the “real” world. Much of the attention is placed on stuff that, if altered, would not change this anime much. There were two metaphors that I received differently, one relating to colors and the other concerning the parallel world. The metaphor with the colors felt like it was added for the purpose of squeezing as much as they could into this anime, since the OVA was mostly for looks. Symbolism coming off as cheap is not much of an issue if it was mostly tied to the art instead of trying to convey some deep meaning. Black Rock Shooter is different in this regard, since the meaningless symbolism at least tried to convey something meaningful. There are a few more minor details that felt unnecessary as well, however most of is nit-picky and mostly trends towards the characters rather than the story. The parallel world metaphor is way more interesting because of the added drama to it. If their main selves didn’t go through enough drama, the parallel world exists as the sort of characterization of the girls’ personality traits (ex. one of the characters is Strength). Much like the OVA, most of the conflict is fought over Yomi’s friendship. The parallel world is a big positive of this anime because it allows for the character’s actions to be more understood to someone who views the girls as nonsensical at times.

The characters are both the best and worst part of this anime. Some of the characters in the real world make no sense and do not act in a realistic matter. Their actions have no consistency throughout the series, and this is not because they are overdramatic. The parents and teachers usually get angry at the kids for no reason and unreasonably take their anger out on them. One of the kids, Kagari is another good example of inconsistency, since she comes across as a stereotypically insane person who just so happens to be a brat. She could be described as “ring around the rosie” girl turned psych-ward patient. While this is entertaining, her bratty behavior is quite irritating when it comes to her being possessive. Her more-so childish attitude towards Mato was probably the most memorable aspect of her character. The other worldly characters were fine when they weren’t excessively emotional, otherwise they were quite boring.

Much of the artwork and scenery is of similar vein compared to the OVA. Both of the worlds aesthetic wise could be considered as polar opposites. The real world used brighter and more softer colors which were quite eye hurting at times. The design of this world was quite basic but probably expected of a school setting. However there were definitely a few scenes that were nice, such as the gloomy atmosphere of the night and the colorful sunset, which stood out from the rather dull school environment. The hollow world was much more visually appealing, probably because its features from the real world were basically amped up. I liked the gothic architecture and the checkerboard pattern in particular. The splash of color is nice as well, it had rich colors instead of being overly soft and eyehurting. The animation is more fluid in the TV series than the OVA, much of its choppiness was dropped to animate the fights. The visual effects and the voice acting that came with it were a great addition to it. Its hollow world being showcased more makes a lot more sense once the real world’s drawbacks are mentioned.

Yeah it has its flaws, and while it wasn’t bad there were significant portions of it that dragged on for a bit. The real world was a rather boring watch, but the other selves in the hollow world was where Black Rock Shooter did best. This anime would be a great recommendation to people who either relate to or enjoy over dramatic angsty teenage girl drama. It may also appeal to people who just want to see goth girls engage in some more drama and fight to shed a bit of blood. Personally, I had a preference for the latter.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 30, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Not Recommended

Black Rock Shooter began as a Vocaloid song, where Miku’s uniform was inspired by some illustrations made by a guy named Huke. An OVA was created in 2010 based on that song/illustration combo, which received a ridiculously huge hype by all the Vocaloid fans. Not a surprise since it was after all a fan catering title. Two years later (2012) NoitanimA decided to take this title in its timeslot and to expand it further, thus creating the current version.

Despite being only 8 episodes, it still feels longer than it needs to be. The plot is very simple; it is just about a bunch of schoolgirls ... going through an emotional maelstrom, caused by jealousy. The heroine Mato is looking for friends in her new school and befriends another girl named Yomi. This causes the other girls who were friends with to feel betrayed for loosing her full attention. While we watch the simple everyday lives of some normal girls, the plot will be going back and forth to an alternative reality, where we see them dressed in weird gothic clothes and fighting each other with fantasy-themed weapons.

The themes don’t need more than a few episodes to be explored. The alternative world where the action takes place in is a hellish place which represents their mentality. Them fighting is supposed to symbolize their emotions and their friendship being challenged because of jealousy. These parts are practically non-stop action with all sorts of over-the-top weapons and it looks like a fantasy videogame. It is very eye-catchy thanks to its weird imagery and fast paced action, and a contrast to the rest of the normal scenes. That is basically the main attraction and lure of this show. Watching some girls having an allegorical emotional conflict, made to seem in their minds like an all-out war in that other world.

Unfortunately there is nothing more beyond that, since there is no mystery or numerous characters going through similar situations. In this regard the show falls flat before Madoka Magica or the Persona series. It remains a shallow fan catering work, a simplistic concept presented in an extravagant way, that promotes the song/illustrations and intends to sell a lot to the Vocaloid fans, or anyone else who is into fighting lolis. Make that naked pseudo-lesbian lolis who have to embrace pain and keep going or some nonsense. When did we even see the girls trying to run away from the pain and thus excusing all this mess? Oh, right, we didn’t, the show didn’t bother to build up the conflict. That’s how much effort was placed on this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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