Black Bullet

The problem with Black Bullet is that they don't know how to develope a plot, seriously, they present several topics along the 13 episodes but they can't just stay with one and develope it, they have to present it and move to the next one.

(Spoilers ahead)
First example that comes to mind is the issue with the cursed children, they are presented as hated children by the society because the curse etc, they put a lot of enfasis in this but it really doesn't go anywhere, it doesn't affect MC decisions or Enju decisions, i mean then why so much develope? in fact, i think they ... rush to close this in the last EP making the kids appear now somehow ""praying"" along with the people that hunted and killed them for our heroes to win, i mean what the fuck?

Second, Kagetane Hiruko, the guy with the mask, um..what was the point of this character? it is presented as the major antagonist and then it dissapears to come back in the last episodes and he doesn't make any different at all in the show, it's almost like a joke to the viewer.

The same with the doctor, Muroto Sumire, it is presented as something really important, someone who might have a really important role in the next episodes, but it really never happens, her role is the same role as the guy with the mask, just create mistery, the past relation she had with MC it is never really explained but we know something happend, that's it.

Exactly the same can be said about Kikunojo Tendo and Seitenshi-sama, it is explained who they are and MC develops some realtion with Seitenshi-sama but that's it, it doesn't go anywhere, she loses relevance in the next episodes and it's forgotten even though she is an important person in this world.

Also the anime tries to make us cry each time a Loli dies but hey we just meet her in this episode you should at least wait a couple to kill her, besides MC goes extremely emotional about this'? It really doesn't have any sense, furthermore MC starts to understand how cruel was society to the cursed children but he doesn't do anything about it, you could think that he goes side to side with the mask guy to destroy Tokyo or something but no, he just doesn't do anything at all, neither save them or anything.

And to close this masterpiece we have Kisara Tendo that it is never developed, just presented as a support character that is in love with MC but at the end somehow turns evil by killing a guy who was responsable for the death of her parents, she turns really evil out of nowhere, literally out of nowhere.

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Despite all of this im giving it a 5/10 because somehow i managed to enjoy it, was it because of the cute lolis? Was it so bad that it was average? Who knows really but anyway i had to point the terrible flaws this anime has.

Black Bullet is very similar to the amazing anime, Attack On Titan, hell even the openings are almost identical. But where Attack on Titan succeeds Black Bullet falls short of. Black Bullet is a sci-fi, action, and post apocalyptic anime set in the year 2021 where giant monsters known as Gastrea have forced humans to build giant walls made of varanium (Gastrea's weakness) to keep the monsters away. However some Gastrea still find their way into the city, and that's where civil officers come in. They fight the Gastrea and stop them from spreading. Our protagonist Rentarou Satomi is one of the civil officers. Each ... officer is also paired with a superhuman female loli called Cursed Children. Cursed Children are the children of women who have trace amounts of Gastrea inside of them. These amounts make the child being born a female, and it gives them special powers. Unfortunately the world hates these children because they believe that the children are gastrea not human. So that's the basic premise, humanity is threatened by monsters, and special teams must keep them at bay. Sounds very similar to AOT, but AOT is able to make the world seem like it's the end, but in BB the world seems fine. They all have electricity, clean streets, and enough resources, giving off the sense that it isn't much of an apocalypse. So the world fails to give off a proper vibe, but are the characters any better? no, not really. Our protagonist is a very cliche character, whose traits are basically that he's a brave badass. Our secondary protagonist, Enju Aihara, is a cursed child working with Rentarou, and she's not any better. All she is, is a cute loli who likes to make boob jokes, and that's where the next problem arises. This show is classified as a sci-fi action anime, but it truly is a comedy harem anime. This show should be dark but it's filled with lame boob jokes that never even got a chuckle out of me. The beginning of the show didn’t have many problems, but as time went on the dark feeling went away, and Rentarou just seemed to gather more lolis for his harem. The beginning also had a very interesting character, whom I found a lot of interest in, but he was killed off after 3 episodes. And 3 episodes is definitely not enough for me to actually care about this character so his death didn't mean much to me, which can be said about basically every character death in this show. None of these characters meant anything to me so none of their deaths did either. The art, animation, and sound design were all very average, and contained nothing special. All in all this show completely fails at what it's trying to be, so if you’re looking for a dark, and action packed anime all you’re gonna find is a loli filled comedy, harem show.

Story:
I kick off this review with probably one of more harder points to review for me. Story is good and bad at same time, although i get impression it is not necessarily because bad source material (although i cant say for sure as well i never read it). I also feel need to point out it is not fair in slightest comparing this to AoT (as it is often compared to it)
For one, setting is actually lot more interesting than i originally gave it credit for when i first heard about it years ago. I mean virus bit that turns animals/insects giant and people into ... monsters is not particularly new idea in fiction, however i found its implementation into universe be quite fascinating.
Then regarding it, the cursed children are whole other subject. Again, overpowered group thats being discriminated is not new idea, but this bit is one area where i say implementation beats most other shows (and coincidentally only bit where i think this show is doing great job). As in this show is not treating discrimination with kid gloves- it goes all out. Although to be fair, it does not shy away from dark side.
At its best, Black Bullet can definetly deliver great moments, the joy and heartbreak but at same time most of its good sides are strongly affected if not overshadowed by its bad sides. Biggest issue is its fluidity- it jumps from one section to another, making it sometimes look like loosely connected skits. And sadly- its exact same with lasting impacts. The show doesnt shy away from darkness, as i said, but its shrugged off too quickly. It is cruel world, but its at that point where it breaks any immersion. Its same with impacts characters make. I geniuenly feel if its because source material or just show trying to cram too much into 13 episodes)
Also regarding death in Black Bullet- it actually feels forced more times than not, although i do grant that there were few deaths that were set up well.
Also lot of plotpoints are teased then never touched upon again, while some things just make illogical jump. Also some important ones are never ever touched upon either

Characters tend to be quite interesting though, so at least there is that. Well, aside from, you know, whole "no lasting consequences" thing. I do say that male lead is quite all over the place however.

I do have to separately point out the weird nature it takes toward cursed children's (who are all young kids in anime) relations. You can guess what the nature is. However show at least has enough sense to try and depict that as kids first crush... most of the time. Still, you are better off thinking it like that as hard as it can be.

Art:
Overall, i say art is quite good- animation can feel bit stiff at times (mostly more idle ones), but artwork and fighting animations tend to be quite good. Wouldnt compare it to say, attack on titan or MHA, but it is very decent.

Sound:
Music tends to be good to great in Black Bullet (i mean just listen to op!), however voice acting (for the record- i always watch dub if its available).... yeah, one of worse ones ive heard. Sorry.

Overall:
While black bullet has certainly its strengths, at this point i can only reccommend it as timekiller as plot being all over the place, it indulging in violence to point of having it just for its sake yet it not having lasting impact of any sort, well, these things make it hard to finish.
And it is a shame because it had quite few good ideas there. But its very hard to say if it wouldve been better if same 13 episodes wouldve been spread out to 24... Maybe, maybe not. I guess we never know.

Black Bullet is the Dengeki Bunko equivalent of Attack on Titan, complete with giant walls built to keep colossal regenerating enemies out, gratuitous violence, and internal power struggles. However, there are some differences. For one, the story is set in the near future, and revolves around more modernized weaponry such as guns with bullets made out of a rare black metal (Hence the title, "Black Bullet"), private companies commonly referred to as CivSecs (Civilian Security Agencies) that more resemble if the Men in Black were all private mercenaries, and the fact that certain characters are essentially overpowered cyborgs.
That being said, the story is actually really ... good, despite the show's thirteen episode run. It was pretty decent. Not fantastic, but it was certainly better than a bland show such as The Irregular at Magic High School. The ending however, well...it was kind of weak in my opinion. I honestly preferred the ending of the fourth episode more than i did the thirteenth, but I guess that's why 13 is considered an unlucky number.
In summary, Black Bullet was a halfway good show with great ideas right up until it's somewhat weak ending, in my opinion.

Intro:
Lolis, fripside opening song, characters that die (no miracle bs here), characters that dont give a f*** about beign "evil", a MC that is not a complete useless/clueless kid, Studio: Kinema....
This CANT go wrong..... can it ?

Story 6/10:
-Oh boy.... You know those "Started awesome but the second half feels rushed, like REALLY FULL SPEED RUSH anime" well this is sadly one of those, the first half (up to ep 7 or so) its a 9/10, it throws you little cliffhangers here and there, a lot of stuff that you can think about, its totally enjoyable... but then the second half starts... it absolutely feels ... like the people in charge of the adaptation thought this was gonna be a 20+ep anime and where "surprised" half-way thru it.... I dont like to spoil so thats all im gonna say its a good story but boy is it rushed...

Art 7/10:
-Not too much to complain here, or to praise, it could've even be a 8/10 but some of the action sequences didnt look quite good (imho), and "action" is one of the three pillars of this anime, and btw if you look closely the first half feels way better in this area also.

Sound 9/10:
-Ok, Im totally biased here, fripside song and seiyuus that I like, sorry I cant be objective in this one, I will only say that the SFX is quite good, the song is marvelous and the voice acting is Very very good.

Character 5/10:
-Read the "Story" details... as the "rushed" feel intensifies thru the episodes so do the quantity of ends loose and of characters that die and we don't learn a single thing about them.

Enjoyment 7/10:
-This one is hard to call... it's enjoyable but you should be ready to deal with the loose ends as the episodes advances... maybe like me, you will end up reading the LN, I don't think anyone can enjoy this adaptation having read the LN first sadly.

Overall 6/10:
-An AWESOME first half anime, and a complete trainwreck afterwards, I would suggest to stick to the LN, or even better reading it and watching the anime as a "compliment" but don't expect a lot of just watching the anime.

I finished all 13 episodes. The more i watched it, the more i wanted it to end. The anime is pretty generic. The art. The battles. all pretty standard.


The Loli bait wasnt that bad. There are higher rated anime with worse.


The horrific murdering of children was pretty disturbing. It is not something to spend your free time watching. I see enough stories in irl news.


This is my first written review. I usually just rate things; this anime seemed like it needed an explanation so i wanted to give my opinion.
...

I hope they never make a sequel.

I watched this show because a Watchmojo list listed a Scene from here as one of the best Curbstomp battles in Anime. Little did I know it was in the second half of the last Episode.

Don't get me wrong, I stil watched it. And I think it is an average show, because if it was worse, I would have droped it before the last episode. It is one of those shows that got made to sell some Light novels, but it did a pretty meh job doing so.

The protagonist doesn't have any character development at all. The sidecharacters don't have any character development at ... all. Except the one girl who goes a little craycray at the very end - but seems to be right! And the bland piece of white bread persona protagonist is like "this isn't justice". Well. If that wasn't justice, I don't know what is.


By the way the show tries to be edgy a lot of the time. There's a school full of children who gets bombed on purpose. Of course all the lolis did not have much character development but it was supposed to be sad.

Another scene where a beggar kid on the street tells the Protagonist that her mother poured molten lead into her eyes because she hated her. What the fuck.


Anyways, there's some decent fighting in this show and a lot of otaku baiting/ loli lewding or however you want to call that.

The show is not that bad, but it ends before anything interesting happens. But since the plot doesn't make that much sense anyways, you can watch this on netflix while cleaning the kitchen or other chores.

Black Bullet is one of those series that had massive potential to be good if only it had an exit strategy. It takes the apocalyptic world-invasion setting of the Shin Megami Tensei and Devill Survivor series, with a decent amount of intrigue surrounding the invading lifeforms and plenty of inter-character drama revolving around how people would deal with the end of the world. However, any time a breakthrough is made regarding the nature of the creatures, the series feels the need to immediately throw it aside with increasingly god-mode baddies. This has the added unfortunate side-effect of the Mary-Sue-ification of the main character as the ... series continues. I don't know why it is that these series can't seem to feel comfortable letting their characters have nice things when they've earned it — they always have to up the ante.

Of course, there's always a tipping point where both the viewer and the creators seem to acknowledge that the effect of constantly-raising stakes is coming back to bite the series in the ass. The viewer increasingly doubts that the characters are in any real danger, so to counteract this the creators start throwing in massive, poorly thought-out moments that either involve arbitrary character death or character-breaking moments. This behavior often derails a story and leaves the story full of unanswered questions.

Unfortunately, Black Bullet's final few episodes are jam-packed with these moments, leaving the viewer thinking, "What on earth is happening anymore?!" The two main characters start out likable enough, but eventually one of them completely loses any redeeming qualities and goes a bit insane. Meanwhile, the other fully embraces his lolicon tendencies in a very uncomfortable way. This rapid shift away from an otherwise enjoyable story was the unfortunate result of a series that lost sight of its goal somewhere along the way.

In fairness, the OP is phenomenal, and the art is often breathtaking. So, if you like spectacle for spectacle's sake and can turn off the part of your brain that keeps track of plot points, you'd probably love this series! However, I just can't justify giving it any sort of recommendation as a work of fiction.

Black Bullet is a simple anime. And anime don't have to be complex full of lore and character development to be good. But black bullet doesn't do it right. The best way to describe black bullet is ''Unneeded death''. It tries making itself dark by just throwing death and discrimination at your screen. It just feels shallow. It kills just to kill. I'd be fine with it, if it actually furthered the plot. And even worse, it is full of cliches. It feels like the maker asked his or her 10 year old child what he or she would respond.
The story itself actually isn't that ... bad. It tries hard to make it interesting, it really tries to make you feel sorry for the cursed children. The characters just suck, there's nothing more to say. All the character development goes to the main character. And people who are interesting, get about 15 minutes screen time.

I dont recommend this anime unless you really have some free time

It wasn’t the best but I liked it well enough to watch all 13 episodes but I was confused on what it’s supposed to be. it poses as a post apocalyptic genre with giant bugs attacking and yet I only seen an attack once and then it brushed that off. It also doesn’t even seem to be post apocalyptic. In part of the first episode it did, and then that’s it it went back to normal world. While that isn’t a bad thing, I still need to see more of it being post apocalyptic with humanity on the brink of extinction; ... they all seem cool with everything. To me, the art is cool at least. Nothing special but still I liked it nonetheless. The tone/story is also all over the place too. One minute it’s a comedy, the next is a drama and then full on genocide of children and macabre and dark. The transitions of the tone needs to be a bit better. Another thing that confused me is why young girls ? I can get behind that pregnant women can get it and it’ll infect the baby inside, but why does it have to be girls that were born ? Is it just pandering or am I missing something ?

Overall I’d give it maybe a 6 out of 10 because while it did have problems, I liked the art style and I did tear up at some scenes; the soundtrack is also nice too but it’s nothing to write home about or to go crazy over. The absolute whiplash of tones and emotions didn’t help it either. Not sure if I’ll watch the second one but who knows

I re watched this anime recently with Dub, so I decided to make quick review for it :D
I watched black bullet 5 years ago when it was airing... I gave it 8 back then because I enjoyed watching it as a teenager but now as an adult it wan't all that good...I mean it was good enough I guess but back then the only thing that was important to me was excitement which it had for me at that time...but:

Story 4/10:the story's ground base is fine...yes it's the same old "world is gonna end what should we do to survive"shit all over again but the ... way they proceed with it was not good at all...well we have this guy who is popular and has all the girls around him falling for him_ PS:i really really hate this now...every anime got this kind of shit recently...its good to have cute girls but not around one guy all over again... I need this to stop in anime industry...its getting old and annoying really_so this guy is gonna be a hero for the rest of the humanity to save everyone from the big monsters called Gastrea_ps:wait isn't that eren but with titans…jeees_...Gastrea is the kind of monster which is caused by a virus injected in human body...anyway he does this and that to save everyone yes...the clown guy was the best character is this story...he had this intense sense of revenge and wait...where did the kisara's grandpa go? He should be the main enemy of some kind but the story is out in the open…not the anime nor the manga cover this part of the story...and Rentarou x kisara couple didn't get anywhere :| so many unfinished story lines are running around in this story.
I hate the fact that little girls was all over Rentarou... I know it's an anime thing that exists everywhere but I'm getting tired of it as girl...its annoying..._ps:why do I picture kirito every time this topic pops up?lol :D_anyway...at the end people are dying to save the earth but there is still so much to do to save the world and the story is unfinished but the manga and anime ended just like that_ps:thank you author...I appreciate your effort really :D

Art 7/10:the art was good enough really.... I liked the art :)

sound 6/10:op was good :D

character 5/10:

Rentarou:the main MC who has to go through shit and also loved by every girl...he is a good guy despite all of that tho :D he just has to make a line for girls and keep kisara then he will be the perfect guy :D

kisara:Rentarou's best friend who established an agency for both of them to fight and get their revenge :) she is that kind of girl who i(as a girl) like so much :D and Rentarou's main love interest obviously :D

Enju and Tina:the demon children or whatever they call them...they are kids and cute :D that's all I can say about them lol...its not like I hate them... I like kids so much, but they give me the brother boyfriend shit vibe around Rentarou so no thank you :D

enjoyment 7/10:well with all the flaws I still liked this show to some point :D

overall 6/10:well...if the story was a little better I would have given it 7 or 8 again but no :(
I really hate it when a story with a lot of potential to grow ends up like this...but it has a exciting vibe to it so if you like excitement then give it a try

"Black Bullet" is an anime that evokes mixed feelings as I watch it. The story's premise, set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is threatened by the Gastrea virus, is intriguing and sets the stage for intense action and suspense. Rentaro Satomi's character is compelling, driven by a strong sense of justice and a desire to protect those around him.

However, the anime also delves into darker themes such as discrimination and loss, which can be emotionally taxing. The relationship between Rentaro and Enju, while heartwarming, also highlights the harsh realities of their world and the sacrifices they must make to survive.

Visually, "Black Bullet" is well-executed, ... with beautifully animated action sequences and a detailed post-apocalyptic setting that enhances the overall atmosphere of the anime. The soundtrack complements the tone of the series, adding to its immersive nature.

Overall, "Black Bullet" is a complex and engaging anime that offers a mix of thrilling action and emotional depth. While it may not be suitable for everyone due to its darker themes and little bit of loli fanservice ( very little bit of ). It is a compelling watch for those who enjoy dystopian stories.

There are only two good things about this anime: ending theme and Kisara. The world that was created by Black Bullet's author seemed interesting but in the end i felt that the idea could've been much more exploited. The biggest disappointment in this anime for me was unstable and illogical narration of characters. In single moment one's personality was changed by 180 degrees so i couldn't find any real connection with any of main characters. Maybe that was purposeful effect to show how ppl will act in world after "apocalipse" but it didn't feel like it.
Only ending theme and Kisara motivated me to watch ... untill the end, because she was one shiny star in world full of loli. Maybe i just don't like loli so that's propably what killed all fun for me and that's a shame, cause like i said world's foundation seemed promising.

Now, to start out, I'd like to say how much I enjoyed watching this show. From the fast-paced (in most cases too fast) action scenes, to the heartfelt, altruistic, complex the main character has, it was easy for me to get absorbed into this fantasy world created by Kinema Citrus, and Orange.

However, the show really falls flat(er than Enju) on it's face, and really disappointingly so.

Story: There's already a synopsis, but basically it's like this:
A dude fed up with the corrupt society he was born into (not much of a spoiler, it's apparent right off the bat) attempts to restructure his city inside-out, ... by climbing the corporate ladder. And with the help and support of his loli-harem, and outrageously good fortune, like unbelievably god-like good luck, he will do whatever the hell he pleases to bop-bop-bop, to the top. Dattebayo. ...Oh, also, there are other people there and they do stuff.

The problem I have with this series, and I rated it a 6 instead of a 7 or an 8, is similar to the reason I couldn't truly appreciate Charlotte. To avoid rambling, I'll just make a simple comparison between the two: both felt aggressively rushed. If it wasn't the introduction of characters whose significance piqued without foreshadowing, and waned without cause. It was key fights ridden with contrived plot devices, to give an immediate resolution to fit within the 13 episode limit.

Would I recommend watching? Yes, but with a warning. Prepare to be dragged along, and try to accept things are they are.

So I would like to consider myself as a person who is pretty lenient in judging any anime, but oh boy. So I watched this anime the same year it came out but for some reason had it on hold. Looking for a time killer, I watched it.

Slight spoiler ahead fyi but it honestly wouldn't give out much because that's how unclimatic everything was.

So the premise of the story was great, cursed children born with monster powers, defeat monsters, lolis, cool. But then the story was all over the place. The characters had no depth to them even up until the end, and so ... many of them lacked the purpose of being there at all. Like towards the end of the anime, a bunch of characters was introduced to... not be developed at all? Like there was no purpose to them except that they were there to help fight. That was it.

And then later bad guy turns good for no reason while good girl turns bad, questions of how the main loli girl is not turning into a monster remains, and why the bad guy who turned good is still alive, like none of these are answered. They just kinda throw things out there and be like, "Oh yeah. About that, don't worry man, just watch the loli's". Like bro, there is only so much loli's can cover.

Besides the gaping plot holes in this series, I personally think the lack of character in the characters themselves played a big part in why this series was such a flop. They all had one purpose and one person only and existed for that one thing.

And the unnecessary death of kinda a lot of people left you thinking "but like why?". For example, the death of a character at the end of a series kinda left you dumbfounded because you didn't really feel bad for the character since they didn't develop him at all into the story but at the same time you think, "oh man that sucks".

It's a great time killer if you want to see some action/shooting scenes + cute loli's but if you're looking for actual plot and characters, I recommend finding another anime.

At first, I though Black Bullet would interesting....Then, I found that picking my nose was much more interesting.

STORY: The story sounds like this anime would be something epic. The world is in chaos and humanity is in quite the struggle, and their lives depend on the Cursed Children, little lolli girls who are capable of defeating the enemy. The story turns out good at times, but then falls short the next.
6/10

ART: The artwork seemed interesting at first, but then I couldn't help but get thrown off by the fact that some of the characters had hair that looked like it had been chopped up paper. ... Some things stand out, but not to the point where it should get some honorable mention.
6/10

SOUND: You'd think that with this nice BGM and OST that the anime would be amazing, But you were wrong. Its as if the Soundtrack has more depth then the anime itself. But the music helps fit the mood, and the OP and ED are definitely some of the great this year in anime......SOME.
10/10

CHARACTER: The characters in this anime lack any depth. One minute you think you'll start to learn more about a character and why they are the way they are, and then the next it switches to the next scene immediately leaving you to frustrated to even care about the character. The only characters with depth are the Gastrea, the monsters that are hell bent on destroying humanity. Side note, you will meet the character Kisara, who is just boobs and Dreds....or dred like hair. Who seems to be promising, but then turns out to be.....boobs.
4/10

ENJOYMENT: The enjoyment I got from this anime was neutral. Its like having a bad experience in bed and regretting that you ever made that decision just because everyone else was talking about the person.
5/10

OVERALL: I'll give it a 6 cause the action scenes are somewhat decent. And the BGM helps make the anime SEEM better than it really is.
6/10

Black Bullet was the series that didn't seem like it was going to be much when it aired and I dropped it after a few episodes. I decided to try it again and, while I admit it wasn't as awful as I was expecting, it still had areas I was left disappointed in.

Story: Black Bullet's story was initially enticing for me to give it a try. A brand new disease known as the Gastrea virus ravages through much of Japan. This causes it's citizens to transform into monsters, usually in the form of a ferocious looking insect. They attack humans endlessly ... and don't let up. In order to counter this, Japan employs female children, dubbed by some as the "Cursed" ones. They are assigned with a partner, known as a promoter, and as an initiator, they fight in teams of two to eradicate Japan from these monsters that pop up. In an effort to save Tokyo, giant walls made of Varanium, a special metal disliked by the Gastrea, are created. The mix of all of these show what Japan needs to do in order to keep their citizens safe, as these creatures are feared by all.

If this storyline reminds you of something you've seen before, then you probably aren't the first. This is basically a mix of Claymore, Attack on Titan and Cagaster of an Insect Cage. This in itself isn't a bad thing because all three of these series had some really strong elements in them. Black Bullet actually does a decent job explaining why they need to use the cursed children and the risks associated with it. They also take ample time showing us the hardship they go through because the public doesn't see them all in the same light that the promoters do. They also treat death among certain members pretty appropriately, and it's pretty eye opening when our characters react to that. There were some solid storylines that I'm glad we got to watch.

The problem is when you have too much of a good thing. They "really" wanted to push action sequences between non-Gastrea, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's done well at points. But not well enough to make more than half the series about it. Some of the smaller confrontations between humans legitimately made sense, but aren't we watching this series to see how our cast attempts to save humanity? There just wasn't enough of that. There also wasn't enough talk, or even action, on how our crew was going to thwart off the threat, on any kind of scale. That's really disappointing. More inexcusable is the ending. One of our characters seems to have this pent up feeling of revenge that they've been hiding, and roughly half of the final episode give us that "storyline". It's just kind of randomly added and it's not even that enticing. My guess is that's goal is to feed us into another season, but this wouldn't make me watch more. (5/10)

Characters: Rentarou Satomi is our main character, a promoter, and he's actually a lot smarter than we're led on to believe. He has simple tactics and doesn't try and brute force anything. He has a bit of a damaged past that somewhat keeps him motivated through the entire Gastrea war, and he's a man of very strong ideals, especially regarding his partner, Enju Aihara. She is a very sweet girl who clearly wants to live like a normal ten year old, while being by Rentarou's side at pretty much all times. She displays real emotion at key moments during the plotlines that revolve around other cursed children. You really feel for them all.

Side characters are mostly decent because of the backstories that the series uses to support them. Sumire is a researcher who has a bit of a strange personality, but I weirdly liked her inclusion. She's just so different than any other character in our cast. Kisara Tendou is our sword-wielding president of the security agency that she manages. She wants to see the Gastrea defeated and seeks to use whatever powers she has to see them slain. Kagetani is possibly the most confusing character here. He has an early interaction with both Rentarou and the local authorities that make you question who he is, but the path between that and the ending left me terribly confused about both his goals, and what his origins were. They just kind of felt like they were included for the sake of having an awkward antagonist. As we meet more and more characters in the series, we are given small snippets of information that tell you about their character, but he's mostly left out of that, which is strange to me, considering what he can do. (7/10)

Art: Black Bullet actually looks pretty good. Action sequences are easy to follow and they all have a certain polish to them that make them appealing to watch. The problem? The series leaves out a lot of sequences where there could have been action, and they decide to tell us about what happened, rather than show us. One example is when Enju is attacked by another cursed child and we are left to... believe what happened? I really hate when series, especially action series, do this and it really leaves out something that could awe your audience. (8/10)

Sound: As far as sound goes, Black Bullet is pretty solid. The OST had some really fun tracks. Tokohana, the ED by Nagi Yanagi, is a solid song, while she also sang two different versions of another song, Wasurenai Tame Ni. I really don't understand people's love for fripSide. Their songs sound the same and even though the OP, black bullet, is an okay song, it sounds like their other works. The voice cast here is extremely strong. Luci Christian (Enju) is not the person I was expecting to be cast here, but she does a phenomenal job here. Chris Patton (Rentarou) also puts in a very strong performance here. Christina Kelly (Kisara) wasn't someone I expected a whole lot out of, mainly because of her work with 3D Real Girl, but she was really good here. The cast up and down the lineup were really well done, credit to the ADR Director (Christopher Ayres). On that note, this might be the first anime in a while to include so much swearing. And while I don't love swearing, it worked out fine here. Rarely do you hear swearing in anime series, but Rentarou and a few other cast members seem to use it sparingly here. (9/10)

Overall Enjoyment: Black Bullet's ultimate undoing was their lack of tackling the Gastrea, having questionable execution on certain plot points, such as leaving out scenes where the strong animation could be utilized. There was so much potential, but it felt like there wasn't a clear direction on where this series wanted to go. Add the poor ending, and I really don't recommend this to any certain audience. It treats its characters well, while also including compelling character stories, but that's likely not the audience this kind of series would be targeting. (6/10)

As said by some of the other reviewers here, the anime had a lot of potential going in. First thing to note is, this is definitely a loli-themed heavy harem heaven for anyone who enjoys such genre, unfortunately I am not one of them.

The story started out interestingly enough, with enough subplots to keep you coming back for more. However, the anime progression loses steam around episode 4 or 5, and some of those subplots are never fully explained in the end.

For all the lack of development on the other subplots, one might think that it is due to the short series of the anime, ... but in reality there was just too much distractions: there were two episodes where the anime did not progressed and trivial banter was included.

The lack of a proper structure for the anime, combined with a lack of a cohesive story ultimately make this anime fall short of being what it could have been, a dystopian anime with elements of mystery, action, comedy and harem packed nicely into one.

Character:
The character in Black Bullet lost so much in what it did not do. It did not double down on the conflict of the story and the characters who serve to play that story out. The beginning of the anime even has plot points that aren't addressed at all later in the show. It is annoying, as it feels like the show completely fell on its head towards the end and is relying on a second season that will probably never come. The characters had a chance for being extremely morally gray and their decisions could have been examined to help develop the world and ... the psyche of the people living in it, but instead the show loses focus on that and instead choses to focus on loli harem shenanigans. Sure this can be a sort of juxtaposition of the story and have it open and/or close episodes to keep them still enjoyable and not super dark all the time. Even the op contains this, with some extremely moody and edgy scenes, followed by harem and tsundere actions that have no right to be there at that moment in the op or anime. At least the first half of the show attempts to tell a clear story. The second half is messy and loses what little character development the anime tries to create in the first half of the show. The show tries to make up for this loss with shock value and the main character sulking around, but that just kills the show more. The final showdown in the show doesn't even involve the main character much, and a lot of it happens too quickly and off screen. The killing blow is made by a character who gets developed in the last 3 episodes of the show, and that too, not by much. The love interest is messed up at the end of the show, and is basically just bait for a second season, and a love interest was created right at the end of the show for seemingly no reason. The show tries to do too much right at the end (almost like it was procrastinating) and is just wasted potential.

Sound:
The sound is probably the worst aspect of the show. At its best it is a normal and barely helps to add to a scene, and at its worst, it downright undermines the events that happen in the show. There is one scene that is emotionally scarring and visually shocking, and the music team decided on picking a recorder solo for it. As a music person myself, the recorder is an extremely hard instrument to put into a show, especially a show like this, due to the general perception of the instrument. The recorder is known to be an introductory wind instrument and for a lot of people, is synonymous with poor music and squeaky sounds. This can be felt directly as the music and the events that take place afterward (which is just the main character sulking around, because of course it is) are at a perceivable crossroads with each other. If it were me, I would rather have a solo piano or solo flute or another instrument that conveys fragility and vulnerability to accurately depict the feelings the main character is going through and the consequences of the event.

Art:
The art of this show is pretty standard when it comes to your "edgy protagonist saving the world" style of anime. The main character looks straight out of SAO and the human side characters have pretty standard designs. This really stinks, as the show could have had a way more interesting art style that help set it apart from a lot of the other shows about word ending devastation. The animation is also pretty normal. Nothing is too crazy in terms of movement, but in certain scenes, the fights looks not too bad. The anime shows so much potential in this category, but falls completely flat due to its close contact with similarity and the general audience.


Overall:
The only saving grace of the anime is the fact that the visuals are not bad. If you took a still frame of certain scenes, you could have a nice poster or emotional picture. This show could have been about really delving deep into the relationship between multiple factions and thoughts of our minds, as well as humanity in general, but the show completely misses the mark in this regard. The anime had an enormous amount of potential and could have easily turned into a deep retrospective on the evil of us and our primal instincts of egotism and self-sufficiency, but instead is about a bunch of loli girls and a regular sized yandere fawning over a bargain brand Kirito and his off brand Edward from Fullmetal Alchemist body parts.

Sigh where do I start...

Story: 6/10

When you become an Otaku like me who has watched almost any anime there is, and especially when you love Most genres of anime, seeing the same typical story over and other again becomes very boring. I want to see something NEW and exciting! Something original. Black Bullet was not original. The typical Post Apocalyptic setting and having your parents brutally killed. Etc. The story was rushed. One thing I hate are anime's with only 13 episodes yet they're not executed properly. If you know the story is too long for 13 episodes do not try to squeeze it in ... because it only ends up rushed in the ending. An example of this is Charlotte which I wouldn't recommend anyone going to watch.


Art:5/10
Some may say I'm so evillllll. Why would you give Black Bullet's art 5/10?!!
Why do you ask??

Because of Kisara's hair.

This girl looked like she had straw on her hair it was ugly, very ugly. In addition to this Rentaro's body?? Why is his waist smaller than mine?? For this I had to mark the art down. As shallow as my reasons may be but hey, this is my review.


Sound: 7/10

I feel the Ost was extremely repeated, I didn't enjoy the Opening. You can tell from sound alone where an anime will be a masterpiece and this wasn't one.

Character: 6/10

Ive been fairly generous with my marking on characters, this is because I fell in love with ENJUUU. But there's not much to say. Lack of depth of characters. You don't get enough TIME to fall in love with anyone soooo yaaa.


Enjoyment: 6/10

I did enjoy this anime, deffo no where near my faves like FMAB or My Hero Academia but this anime is good