Right out of the gate you should be hit by awesome. Just pure, musical awesome. The intro sequence was something i continuously looked forward to. The bass is deep and the song is so catchy (I've already downloaded the song). But one can expect a great musical experience outside of just the intro. The combat scenes are backed by a techno/electric beat that matches the intensity and serious nature of Enju and Rentarou's fights. The subtlety of each piece matches the purpose of the scene so well throughout the 13 episodes.
The art is equally good. My biggest compliment i can give it is that it handles battles and fast paced sequences beautifully and is consistent all the way across the board. The world is given a great darkness about it. It really shows just how dire the situation is against the gastrea. The destruction of the city outskirts really shows the impact that the gastrea had physically.
The downside of Black Bullet comes most in its story. While it has potential on many fronts, it takes too many and quickly leaves them as an after thought. The strong points come from the representation of the relationship between Rentarou and Enju. It is a moving relationship that continues on a high note throughout the whole season. Rentarou's relationship with cursed children is also highlighted very well. His sympathy and caring nature toward them is pure and loving. He acts out his established morals and wants to unconditionally love these children. The weak point is in the lack of depth in most other sub plots. The relationship that begins to develop between Rentarou and Kisara gets very little screen time and just becomes a tease most of the time. I would have loved to have seen more about the previous tendo battles and the previous gastrea incidents as well as more actions involving the cursed children and the scientists behind the mechanized soldiers/officers.
The characters follow the same problems the story does unfortunately. Rentarou, Enju, and Tina quickly became stand outs for me. They had background, story, emotion, and purpose. The cursed children also became quick, emotional stand outs fueled through Enju and Rentarou. The other characters just aren't given enough screen time or background to become attached to. If they die, it doesn't seem to impact the viewer or characters at all or it is delayed. If they live, you may gain glimpses into them. Kisara was one that had far too much potential to be a great character but was just never given the chance to be (she is still a BA with a sword though).
Overall, I'll be returning to Black bullet every so often. I really did like it. The potential of the show is just too much to not look forward to, but it has a few areas that need more depth. It also would benefit from an extended season. 13 episodes can be tough to have so much content. It could have very well done all it aspired to do with 20-25 episodes. If your up for some great sound, art, and action, give black bullet a try.
