Black★Rock Shooter
Black★Rock Shooter is the main and titular character in the series. She is the alter ego of Mato Kuroi.
She appeared in the other world as the materialization of Mato’s aspiration to help other people despite the pain that she feels. This desire of Mato contributes to the large amount of physical ability that Black★Rock Shooter has.
Her hair is styled into two spiky pigtails, one of which is longer than the other. She has blue eyes, her left eye appears to have a bright blue flame which is only ignited once she defeats an enemy.
She wears a black bikini top, black shorts, a light gray belt, black knee-high boots, and a black hooded jacket with a white star on the front and back part. Black★Rock Shooter also wields two weapons, a Rock Cannon, which can shoot twenty rock bullets per second, and a Black Blade.
When fighting, she appears to be very calm and silent, but tends to have a sadistic side. Compared to the other alter egos, she is shown to be more brutal. She is also very mysterious and often makes unpredictable actions and decisions. Black★Rock Shooter is very confident in her abilities, often taunting her enemies in battle, and thinks that she can defeat anyone. She gets extremely irritated whenever battle doesn't go the way she plans. She does not care whenever her enemies die, just as long as she achieves her goals. Aside from her weapons, she also displays her athletic abilities in battle. She possesses great speed and agility. Black★Rock Shooter can move fast, jump long distances, dodge attacks instantly, and she also has a high level of accuracy in battle.
In the anime, she becomes tortured by spider-like robotic creatures, where she silently screams in pain when one of them stabs her in the stomach. She also faces Chariot, the alter ego of Kagari Izuriha. As she prepares to counter attack Chariot, a chained Dead Master (Yomi’s alter ego) appears. The two of them fought until Black Gold Saw, the alter ego of Saya Irino, appears along with Chariot. Black Gold Saw takes Dead Master with her, while Chariot uses the chance to attack Black★Rock Shooter. However, she is defeated by her. She then goes to find Black★Gold Saw and Dead Master, the former dodges Black Rock Shooter’s attack and escapes while the later fights with her.
In her fight with Dead Master, Mato merges with her in order to save Yomi, however she finds that Black Rock Shooter had already defeated Dead Master. Mato’s shock of seeing the defeated Dead Master causes Black★Rock Shooter to go wild and transforms into Insane Black Rock Shooter. Her appearance changes and she is shown to have a purple flame on her eye. She is later defeated by Mato in a Black★Rock Shooter form with the help of the other revived alter egos. As a result, she goes back to normal. Later, Black★Rock Shooter appears in front of Strength and reveals that she would not stop fighting and continue to bear the burdens from the other world.
Dead Master
Dead Master is the alter ego of Yomi Takanashi and is the deuteragonist, or the second most important character in the story.
She wears a dark green dress with ruffled white lace at the edges, dark green leggings, and dark green pumps. She has green eyes, green eyeglasses, green wavy hair and has two green horns. Dead Master also wears claw-like gloves and has bright green wings with a zigzag shape.
Dead Master has a large scythe, which is named Dead Scythe, that she uses during battles. In addition, she has a skeletal army under her control, and has two floating skulls which she also uses when attacking an enemy. She also has chains which she manipulates and uses as a weapon to capture her enemies. Despite having wings, Dead Master can't fly, instead she uses her athletic skills when it comes to battles. She also uses necromancy in order to revive her skeletal minions, thus her name “Dead Master.” She is also shown to be a great fighter who has great skills in martial arts.
In battle, Dead Master is shown to be a bit sympathetic but can be very brutal. She also appears to be under the control of Chariot, which reflects Kagari’s possessiveness over Yomi in the real world. Later, she breaks free of Chariot’s chains, only to be captured by Black★Gold Saw afterwards.
When she sees Black★Rock Shooter being tortured by Chariot, she tries to tie Black★Rock Shooter in her chains. However, Black★Rock Shooter reverses it. A swarm of Chariot’s robot-like spiders then carry Dead Master away while Black★Rock Shooter chases after her.
Dead Master was then seen to be locked up in a doll house, however Black★Rock Shooter finds her. As Black★Rock Shooter pulls down the chains and breaks the stone which Dead Master was chained into, Chariot’s world then starts to be destroyed. Suddenly, Black★Gold Saw then appears and points her weapon at the sky, seemingly stopping time and saving Chariot’s world from destruction. Black★Gold Saw then creates a cut on the ground and takes Dead Master with her. Later, Dead Master possesses Yomi due to her emotional struggles in the real world.
Back in the other world, Black★Rock Shooter chases after Black★Gold Saw and Dead Master. She then attacks them, while Black★Gold Saw escapes, Dead Master battles with her. Mato then comes to the other world through the help of Yuu in attempt to save Yomi. After finding that Black★Rock Shooter had already killed Dead Master, Black★Rock Shooter then turned into Insane Black★Rock Shooter. The death of Dead Master then caused Yomi to forget about Mato.
Later, Strength drags Dead Master’s body to the abyss. After Insane Black★Rock Shooter was defeated by Mato in Black★Rock Shooter form along with the help of the other alter egos, Dead Master and Chariot came back to life. It then resulted to Yomi regaining her memories of Mato.
Mato Kuroi
Mato is one of the main protagonists of the series and her alter ego is the titular character Black★Rock Shooter.
She has blue eyes and choppy, short pigtails. She is also good at basketball and joins the basketball club in her school. She is a very outgoing girl, however, she becomes awkward to people she does not know. Mato likes philosophical thoughts and, similar to Yomi, she likes the picture book “The Tiny Bird and the Colors.”
When she learns that Yomi also likes the same picture book and invites her to their house, she then meets Yomi’s friend and neighbor Kagari who shows her a rude attitude. The next day, she confides to Saya, the school’s guidance counselor, that she is afraid that Kagari might hate her. Saya then tells her that it is inevitable to make enemies and that there is someone who is taking her burdens for her. Mato then tries to invite Yomi to a festival but Yomi did not show up. That night, Mato then dreams of a mysterious girl (Black★Rock Shooter) watching another girl (Dead Master) who is being taken away by bugs and cries for help.
The next day, Mato goes to Saya’s consultation room along with her long time friend Yuu. She tells Saya of her dream, to which the later responds that it might be a way of saying things which could not be said in words. She then goes to Yomi’s house only to hear her scream. Mato finds out that Kagari had thrown herself in the stairs and suffers from a twisted wrist. Yomi’s mother then tells her of Kagari’s story and why she became dependent and possessive of Yomi. Mato then confronts Yomi and tells her that Kagari is pitiful because of Yomi making her pitiful.
Meanwhile, in the other world, Black★Rock Shooter beheads Chariot, Kagari’s alter ego. This then caused Kagari to fall over, Mato and Yomi go to her and find that she has fallen asleep. The next few days, Kagari then decides to walk again and to go to school.
When Yomi was possessed by Dead Master and went missing, Mato was sent by Yuu to the other world after telling her of the existence of the other world and of the alter egos that carry their pain. The Yuu that sent Mato to the other world was then revealed to be her alter ego Strength, while the real Yuu is in Strength’s body at the other world.
When Mato tries to merge with Black★Rock Shooter in attempt to save Yomi, she finds that Black★Rock Shooter had already killed Dead Master. The shock that Mato went through made Black★Rock Shooter transform into Insane Black★Rock Shooter. Mato then fights Insane Black★Rock Shooter while being in a Black★Rock Shooter form. She is then helped by the revived alter egos and defeats Insane Black★Rock Shooter at the end.
Yomi Takanashi
Yomi is the human counter part of Dead Master and is one of the main characters in the anime series.
She has long black wavy hair and green eyes, and wears eyeglasses. She is a quiet and gentle girl who speaks politely and calmly. However, she often experiences depression and jealousy, but keeps it to herself.
Since Yomi’s family frequently moves from one place to another and with Kagari forbidding her to make friends with anyone, it caused her to develop a distant attitude towards other people.
Yomi’s neighbor and friend Kagari suffered from a car accident after chasing Yomi, she ended up being in a wheelchair despite not being physically harmed. She then began to rely on Yomi, while Yomi blames herself for Kagari’s injury.
She is in the same grade as Mato and owns a picture book “The Tiny Bird and the Colors,” which Mato also likes. When she told Kagari that she had met an interesting girl, Kagari tells Yomi that she should not make any friends. After Mato joined the basketball club, Yomi decides to join the volleyball club since the two clubs both practice at the same court. Later, she learns that she is actually quite good at volleyball.
One day, while the two walk home, Yomi finds out that Mato has a phone charm based on the book. She shows Mato her phone’s wallpaper which she had painted herself that was inspired from the first edition of the book. Discovering that Mato does not have this edition, she invites her to her home to take a look at the book. There, Yomi gave Mato a red bracelet. When Kagari interrupts the two of them, Mato excuses herself. Later that night, Yomi speaks to Kagari though a cup-and-string phone, and the later tells her that she is hers and that she should take responsibility for her injury.
When Mato invited her to a festival, Kagari forbids her from going. Yomi then sends Mato three text messages all saying, “I’m sorry.” Days later, Mato visits Yomi at her home, she runs to open the door but finds Kagari at the top of the stairs waiting for her. She then threatens to fall down the stairs saying that Yomi would be blamed if she dies. Kagari survives the fall from the stairs but suffers from a twisted wrist, later, she claims that she is unable to use her hand. Yomi’s mother then tells Mato about Kagari’s story, after which, Mato confronts Yomi and tells her that Kagari is only pitiful since Yomi has made her pitiful. Hearing this, Yomi then convinces Kagari to go out and come to school, which she later does.
When Yomi and Mato are placed in different classes on their second year, Yomi becomes lonely and jealous of Mato and Yuu’s friendship. When Mato introduces her to Yuu, she feels out of place and ends up watching Mato and Yuuu hang out far from her. She also learns that Kagari have forgotten her memories of being dependent on her, making her feel unwanted. These negative emotions then lead her to be possessed by her alter ego, Dead Master. Later, Yomi goes missing and Mato tries to find her in the other world.
Yuu Kotari
Yuu is Strength’s human counterpart and a friend of Mato since kindergarten.
She is very lively and is shown to be comfortable with Mato having other friends, different from her personality in the OVA version. She usually skips classes and loves to drink coffee at the guidance consultation room. Mato notes that Yuu is trying to become mature for some reason.
Like Mato, Yuu also joins the basketball club but is applying to be the manager for the club. Just like the other members of the team, she also protested when Arata was overworking Mato.
Yuu has no shadow, this is because the real Yuu and Strength had switched bodies. The real Yuu was in the other world since she thought that she likes it there more than in the real world, Strength was then forced to be in Yuu’s body in the real world.
In Saya’s memories, the real Yuu had lived a terrible life. She had family and school problems. At one point, their house had been burned due to her stepfather’s cigarette. Her painful experiences made her run into the other world, having Strength take her place in the real world.
When Strength, in Yuu’s body, told Mato of the existence of the other world where their alter egos exist, she sends Mato to the other world to become Black★Rock Shooter in attempt to save Yomi. However, when Mato did not wake up as she had expected, she takes her to Saya’s house to ask for help.
Kagari Izuriha
Kagari is Yomi’s childhood friend and neighbor. She is one of the new characters in the anime adaptation and she is the human counterpart of Chariot. Kagari owns a doll named Mary, similar to the name of Chariot’s ride.
She wears a white gown and has blonde hair which goes all the way down to her hips. When she started to go to school, her hair was tied in a ponytail on the side with a pink ribbon.
She is possessive of Yomi and forbids her from making any friends. When she was young, she got hit by a car when she was chasing after Yomi who had to move overseas due to her father’s job. She then became dependent on Yomi and demands that she should take responsibility of her.
She was thought to be permanently bound to a wheelchair but the doctors did not find anything wrong with her legs. The car accident traumatized Kagari which then caused her to stop walking and be on the wheelchair instead. She has also developed a fear of going outside.
When Mato came to visit her one day, Kagari shows her a rude attitude by giving her dirty macaroons and an ugly doll as a present. Despite that, Yomi and Mato still tried to persuade her into going outside and start going to school. When her alter ego Chariot died, Kagari started to walk again. She then excelled in academics and gained lots of friends, however, she forgets her memories of being dependent on Yomi.
Saya Irino
Saya Irino is one of the new characters introduced in the anime adaptation of Black★Rock Shooter. She is the guidance counselor in Mato’s school and is the human counterpart of Black★Gold Saw.
She wears pink and brown cardigan with blue-green leggings. When she was younger, she had a long black hair and looked similar to her alter ego Black★Gold Saw, her school uniform was similar to Mato and Yomi’s sailor uniform in the OVA but Saya had a red tie instead of the blue tie in the OVA.
Saya is a calm and gentle person. As the guidance counselor of the school, she is the go-to person when the characters have problems and concerns. However, it is also shown that she has a strange dark side, just like when she imitated Yomi’s behavior, tries to strangle Mato and when she only stared at Arata instead of comforting her when she was teased after her love letter to Takuu had been publicized.
When Mato talked to her about her problem with Yomi, she advises her that she would inevitably make enemies and that it is a part of life. She also tells her that there is someone out there who would take her pains for her.
Days after, Mato tells her that she had a strange dream where it involved mysterious girls. Saya tells her that dreams are often a way for friends to communicate things which could not be put into words, she then tells Mato that Yomi must be telling her something.
Arata Kohata
Arata is Mato and Yuu’s senior and captain in the basketball club. She is also one of the new characters introduced in the anime adaptation of Black★Rock Shooter.
She has brown eyes and brown short hair which she has in pigtails. Arata is shown to be very energetic, bold and tomboyish. She also lots of insecurities, but tries to hide them by acting strong on the outside.
Arata is shown to have a crush on Takuu, she confesses to him and even gives him a love letter. However, she finds her love letter being displayed on the school’s bulletin and some boys tease her and Takuu about it. She then claims that it was a mistake and just laughs about it in order to hide her pain and embarrassment. Later, she goes to Saya’s room to find comfort, however, she finds Saya looking at her with a dark expression and talks to her about being the laughingstock of the school. Later on, she twists her ankle during practice and Mato told her that she would get Saya to help, however Arata protests.
It has been hinted that the hooded figure created by Black★Gold Saw, which resembles Arata, and which Black★Rock Shooter had killed could be Arata’s alter ego. Since Arata fainted after the hooded figure was defeated by Black★Rock Shooter and have forgotten her feelings for her crush Takuu. Similar to how Kagari forgets her dependency on Yomi after Chariot’s death.
When she manages to remember her feelings for Takuu, and with her alter ego revived following the death of Insane Black★Rock Shooter, it is hinted that she has started to date Takuu.
Strength
Strength is the alter ego of Yuu Koutari.
She has tan skin, white hair, orange eyes, and a large black scorpion-like mechanical tail. Strength wears a black dress with a white rim, a black hood which covers her mouth, black shoes, and white thigh-high socks.
Strength’s weapon is her Ogre arms, which allows her to punch her enemies with great strength. Her mechanical tail is also her secondary weapon. She uses it whenever her arms are preoccupied. Her tail also has the ability to extend and is also powerful enough to break the Insane Blade Claw of Insane Black★Rock Shooter during their fight.
Despite having a heavy weapon, Strength is also shown to be fast and agile. She has the ability to change her arms into becoming gatling guns or machine guns. Moreover, she has the ability to send herself or others into a comatose state in order to send their minds to their alter egos.
When her human counterpart Yuu decided to live in Strength’s world rather than in the reality, Strength was forced to switch bodies with Yuu. This then resulted to Strength being in Yuu’s body in the real world. She then inserted false memories of her into Mato in order to make it seem that they were friends for a long time.
Strength was the one who told Mato about the existence of the other world and the alter egos, while the one fighting with Insane Black★Rock Shooter was Yuu herself.
Chariot
Chariot is the alter ego of Kagari Izuriha. She is one of the antagonists in the series.
She appears to be brutal in her fights with Black★Rock Shooter, probably because she hates Mato for trying to befriend Yomi.
She wears a black and white dress, wears a large crown on her head, wears claw-like gloves, and has yellow eyes.
Chariot has a sword and a shield which she uses in battle. She also manipulates the wheels attached on her legs as her weapon during her fight with Black★Rock Shooter. In addition, she has a giant vehicle which appears to be a giant robotic spider. The vehicle is called Mary, similar to the name of Kagari’s doll.
She is shown to have great abilities in both defense and offense. With the help of her wheels, she can easily avoid attacks against her and could charge her opponent at a great speed. Her shield blocks attacks and can deploy spikes against her enemies. Chariot is also shown to have some sort of control over Dead Master; this could reflect on Kagari’s possessiveness over Yomi in the real world.
When she was defeated by Black★Rock Shooter and her body was dispossessed by Strength, Kagari in the real world returns to her cheerful self. However, Kagari forgets her dependency to Yomi. Chariot was then revived when Kagari regains her memories of Yomi and helps Mato in Black★Rock Shooter form to defeat the Insane Black★Rock Shooter.
Black★Gold Saw
Black★Gold Saw is the alter ego of Saya Irino.
She is a confident and wise character. She appears to have a deep knowledge about the other world and her giant red eyes are often shown to be watching the different places and alter egos in the other world. Black★Gold Saw becomes violent and a bit sadistic when it comes to fighting with her enemies.
She has red eyes and long black hair with a red gradient at the ends. Similar to Black★Rock Shooter, she has a red flame that burns in her right eye. She also has two red horns and claw-like gloves similar to Dead Master. Black★Gold Saw also wears a black bikini top, black shorts, red grieves, and a black jacket which is dyed red at the ends.
She uses her King Saw, a large curved sword with a saw-like back edge, as a weapon in battle. Black★Gold Saw is also shown to have reality-altering abilities, such as when she appeared to have cut the ground and took Dead Master with her while Black★Rock Shooter and Chariot were fighting. She was also able to stop the destruction of Chariot’s world by pointing her blade in the sky in order to stop time. In addition, she has the ability to create beings, such as the hooded figures, with the use of a sprinkler. She also has the ability to see things far away by using her giant eyes.
Insane Black★Rock Shooter
She is a psychotic form of Black★Rock Shooter and is the main antagonist in the series. Insane Black★Rock Shooter was formed when Mato went to the other world and was shocked to find out that Black★Rock Shooter had killed Dead Master.
Insane Black★Rock Shooter is said to be the strongest antagonist in the anime series and has the ability to completely destroy the other world, in which all the alter egos exist.
She has purple eyes with a purple flame in her left eye which is constantly active. Similar to Black★Rock Shooter, she wears a black bikini top, black shorts, black knee-high boots, a gray belt, and has the same hairstyle, only spikier. Her black jacket on the other hand is torn. Insane Black★Rock Shooter also uses two weapons, namely Insane Cannon Lance and Insane Blade Claw.
During her battle with Mato and the revived alter egos, she is shown to have great regeneration abilities as is able to reattach her right arm after it is ripped off. Similar to Black★Rock Shooter, she is also silent, rarely displaying her emotions, and is merciless when it comes to battle. She continues to launch her attacks despite the personal injuries she sustains. Eventually, she is defeated by Mato in her Black★Rock Shooter form with the help of the revived alter egos by summoning a giant Rock Cannon and shooting a giant rainbow beam at her. When Insane Black★Rock Shooter is destroyed, Black★Rock Shooter returns to her normal self.
