Black★Rock Shooter (TV)

Firstly, I want to start off by confessing that I was (and still am) a huge fan of Black Rock Shooter before the OVA and the TV series came out. However I will try my best to write this review as if I know nothing about Black Rock Shooter. All good? Awesome, let's go! Story 7/10 & Characters 7/10 For me, the weakest areas of this series are the story and characters. The story centers around Mato as she struggles to understand pain and the feelings of hurt, and Black Rock Shooter in an alternate world trying to save others from their pain and suffering by fightingtheir alternate egos. There is depth to the story (mostly apparent in the last few episodes), but the execution of it leaves much to be desired. The last few episodes in particular was very messy, and I had to rewatch them again to fully understand what was going on. To summarize the characters, we have Mato, a bright and cheery girl who has not really experienced much feelings of pain; Yomi, a quiet girl who has difficulty making friends due to certain circumstances; Kasuga, a girl who is obsessed of never letting go of her friend; Yu, another happy girl who is not who she seems; and the school councellor. Most of the characters are rather bland, with the only standout being Kasuga. However the interaction of the characters and their extreme reactions when they feel the world is crashing down around them was one of the standouts of the series. It created a darker feeling to this series compared to the OVA, and while it can be extreme at times, I can imagine some people in real life will act the same way as well if they were thrown into this situation. You won't like many characters from the get-go, but in a way it is refreshing that an anime series isn't going full throttle to make the audience like every single female character, and allows the viewers to be more subjective rather than taking sides. Art 9/10 The animation of the fighting scenes is a stand out for the most part. Occasionally something doesn't look quite right with the CG work, but it's only the odd scene or two. The non-CG scenes are also amazing, especially the character's expressions. However I did not really like how young Black Rock Shooter looked, and it was hard to tell what was going on during some of the fast paced action scenes. Sound 10/10 I felt that the BGM generally fits each scene very well. I also like the occasional lead into the OP or ED. A standout for me would have to be the way the OP and ED was used in the final episode. Enjoyment 10/10 Personally for me, I felt that this was probably THE standout series of the season, where many other series are more light-hearted or less story driven, and I judge how good a series is based on what else was available that series rather than against all other series I have watched in the past. I was planning to drop this series as I wasn't a big fan of the OVA but decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did in the end.

Black Rock Shooter OVA was a terrible anime. Good character designs, okay story, but so many plot holes, and after leaving us waiting for Black Rock Shooter for almost a year, it was a huge disappointment. But, Black Rock Shooter TV version was perfect, and definitely is what should have been expected for an anime that made us wait so long. The character development was better, plot holes were filled, there were shocking moments, touching moments, and it was all around better. Even if you hated the Black Rock Shooter OVA, I recommend you give Black Rock Shooter TV a try. Thanks for reading.

Black★Rock Shooter would be the last time that I will ever watch with the name Mari Okada in it. I should have learned my lesson with the pile of nonsense Fractale, but nooooo! I JUST HAD to watch this until the end. Okay, I admit, not all of it was bad. For starters, the use of CGI in this anime was superb. I mean, really. I think BRS established a new standard in me when looking at CGI in anime. The fight scenes were well-made, and the level of violence put in here is nothing to laugh at. BUT, I’m afraid everything else just felt… ridiculousand pretentious. I think Mari Okada has a tendency to place unusually large values on topics that don’t really matter and focuses the attention of her writing into creating some of the most angsty anime to ever grace television screens. Fractale had a lot of this that I won’t even bother pointing out. Ano Hana spent too time showing that the character’s couldn’t move on from Menma’s death, as well as OMG IT’S SO SAD LET’S ALL CRY scene from its eleventh episode. BRS had all of this unjustified insanity, characters whose actions don’t make sense, and yes, one of my most hated things about anime, glorifying trivial subjects. As I said, BRS used insanity very poorly. It’s like asking a fifth grader to write how he thinks insane people act. It’s unnerving, but not quite believable. Let’s take for example Kagari’s behavior. Okay, fine, she was creepy and all that, but I just couldn’t shake off the feeling that there’s something amiss. She felt less like a disturbed person and more like someone feigning insanity to get away with a crime. The same can be said about everyone else. The characters’ actions do not make sense. Why would Yomi’s mother tolerate Kagari’s outrageous behavior toward her own daughter? Why would Saya torture students who weren’t even involved with her problem (Kohata)? How did they know for certain that Mato was BRS, Yomi was DM or Kagari was Chariot? A lot of other questions remain. This is like Fractale all over again. As with Ano Hana, I had a lot of trouble trying to sympathize with the events of the story. In the end, the anime ended up being about saving Yuu from the other world. That much is clear. My only problem with this is that the way they did it was so bad. It felt empty. I couldn’t really describe it, but I was so frustrated while I was watching the final episode that I even considered dropping it then and there. It’s the same feeling that I had with Ano Hana. I just don’t like it, and I won’t bother trying to find out why. All in all, I think Black Rock Shooter could have been much, much more. All of the flaws I have pointed out can all be traced back to the writing. If this show had a different writer, I think a lot of the problems with this show would not be as frustrating as they had become. Sure, the angst will still be all over the place, but at least it won’t be Mari Okada Angst. I give Black Rock Shooter TV my personal MAL rating of 5, which should have been a 3 if it wasn’t for the cool CGI.

Story: 9/10 It was absolutely unpredictable for me. Maybe, people who watched OVA can find some spoilers in it, but I think that scenario is great. It's quite interesting story about hurting, friendship and parallel world. Actually, "Black Rock Shooter" has two or even three parallel plots. Art: 10/10 Fantastic graphic. Each episode was really incredible from graphical point of wvew. Both real and parallel worlds are painted carefully and stylish, that means, in two different styles. Sound: 9/10 I don't know what to say about it. Maybe, I put nine for sound because I saw the "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", where sound work was really outstanding. There sound isalso good, but not the best I seen ever. Character: 8/10 Many characters, many feelings... How to write about it without spoilers or foolish speculations? Each schoolgirl has each own personality, and each teacher also. Practically all characters are connected together. Enjoyment: 7/10 Battles is the only enjoyment there, because other parts of this series are very serious and sad. But... are enjoyment main for you? Overall: 9/10 The "Black Rock Shooter" was expected to be catching, but nobody expected so catching eight-episodes anime. You need to watch it (of course, if you are ready not only to see but also to think).

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