BlackêRock Shooter Anime Review
Written by: ClayDragon
When you watch a lot of anime, over time you accumulate a number of
shows that you’ve heard of, and perhaps have been meaning to check out, but
haven’t actually got around to watching. For me, BlackêRock Shooter was one
such show, so when I was asked to review it, it was like hitting two birds with
one stone. That being said, I knew next to nothing about the show itself, so I
was going in completely blind. In hindsight, maybe reading a plot
summary first would have helped a bit.
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| But...but you're speaking Japanese... |
Not because BlackêRock Shooter is bad, not by any means,
but because I had no idea what was going on. All I knew about this show was
that there was a girl who has an eye on fire and a massive gun. What I didn’t
know is that the plot is staggered between said girl (the eponymous BlackêRock
Shooter), and high school drama. I was promised action, not another school
setting, dammit! That being said, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
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| No really, it gets better. |
On the high school side, first year pupil Mato makes friends with a
shy loner called Yomi, but gets a bit more than she bargained for when she
realises how messed up Yomi’s personal life actually is. On the other side of
the plot, BlackêRock Shooter is embroiled
in a series of fast-paced battles against a number of mysterious enemies in
another world. Whilst it may seem as though the two stories have nothing in
common, the plot threads from each one come together nicely halfway through the
series (although astute viewers may figure it out early).
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| Is that you, Makise Kurisu? |
At the start of the show, BlackêRock Shooter’s biggest strength comes
from the fact that there’s very little exposition regarding the Otherworld
plotline. Whilst some viewers may get confused (like I did at first), enough
context is offered up early on to nudge you towards a conclusion about the two
worlds, and it’s nice having to exercise your brain as opposed to having all
the information spoon-fed to you. Sadly, this show’s greatest weakness is that
there’s a large info-dump in the middle, and then not much after that. As such,
some events and actions in the latter half are not explained properly, which
made me even more confused.
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| Pew pew pew! |
In terms of characterisation, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The nature of
the show means that the mindset of each character is examined in much depth,
but the series is so short – only 8 episodes – that I didn’t feel as if any of
the characters had particularly grown on me. Aside from Mato and Yomi, the only
other important school characters are Mato’s other friend Yuu, Yumi’s friend
Kagari, and a school counsellor who must hold the record for being the worst
guidance teacher ever. BlackêRock Shooter herself was
probably the best example of this problem since she’s absolutely awesome in a
fight, but she never speaks, so all her development is explained by other
people as opposed to actually being shown.
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| Seriously, who makes tea in a microwave? |
Speaking of the fights, they’re absolutely amazing to watch, and the
gifs in this review don’t really do them justice. The animation style changes
between the high school setting and the Otherworld, and whilst the school
animation is fairly ordinary, the Otherworld animation is anything but. The
locations are visually striking (my personal favourite was an arena that was
essentially a massive, constantly-rotating Rubik’s Cube), and there was at
least one moment in every fight that impressed me.
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| Dynamic entry! |
BlackêRock Shooter is an anime based on a
music video based on a sketch of a girl who would go on to become the show’s
namesake. Given the show’s close ties with music, the soundtrack is suitably
awesome. The opening in particular is instantly memorable, in part because it’s
sung by Hatsune Miku (essentially a singing voice synthesiser, in case you
didn’t know). Although the ending isn’t as memorable, the background tracks
make up for it, especially when it comes to the music played during the fight
scenes.
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| Rocket Raccoon just got very jealous. |
The only other problem I have with this show is that there were very
few emotional moments. Sure, there were sad scenes and heartwarming scenes but,
stemming back to the limited episode count, I didn’t feel invested enough in the
characters to particularly care. That being said, the show’s climax did manage
to elicit some feelings from me, so it’s not all bad.
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| You and me both, girl. |
Overall, BlackêRock Shooter isn’t exactly what I was
expecting. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since I still enjoyed the show, but
I can’t help but feel that it would have benefitted from a full 13-episode run
as opposed to only 8. Although the school-based characters aren’t particular
noteworthy and the exposition is rather spotty, the link between the two worlds
is an interesting concept, if a tad underdeveloped (I’ve been intentionally
vague about it since it might be considered a somewhat significant spoiler).
That, and some of the setpieces used during the fights are downright awesome.
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| Rainbows make everything better. |
Good Things: Awesome soundtrack and Otherworld animation.
Every fight is a
treat to watch.
Psychological
analysis focuses on real-world issues (mostly).
Intriguing
premise regarding both worlds.
Bad Things: The characters
don’t get that much development.
The latter half
of the show can get a bit confusing.
Limited
emotional impact.
Final Verdict:
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| Good. |
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| Kinky. |
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| I'm surprised she still has a face after that punch. |
ClayDragon:
ClayDragon has finished studying Physics at university, and understands about as much as he did when he started. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at claydragon.on@gmail.com. He has an ask.fm account at ask.fm/ClayDragon. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to figure out what to do with his life. He is a lean, mean, reviewing machine.
Ah, nice review oncemore! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
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