BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER (OVA) User Reviews

Vitals

Black Rock Shooter
Original Video Animation
Genre: Action, Drama, School, Slice of Life
Produced: Ordet

Review

Following the story of Black Rock Shooter was a bit perplexing for me. How could a few illustrations from a small time artist in Japan spawn not only an OVA but a video games as well? And how did an entire mythos around this franchise generate a dedicated wikia. It’s a testament to the power of Vocaloids and Hatsune Miku, who the character is based off of.

Black Rock Shooter’s story structure is split, half the story taking place in an generic unnamed Japanese town, the other half in a post-apocalyptic gothic ‘Otherworld’. In the former, we follow the budding friendship of Mato and Yomi as they begin junior high school. The latter depicts the eponymous character squaring off against a Dead Master, who bears a striking similarity to the real world Yomi. What’s odd is that these settings are never really connected, the only relationship they share is the visual similarities of the character designs. The ‘Otherworld’ segments are filled with action sequences, while aesthetically impressive, are distractions from the heartwarming tale of the two young girls. At points I would scratch my head at the purpose of adding these sections other than branding it the ‘Black Rock Shooter Anime’. Its safe to say the pacing suffered as well as the story. In the last few moments a slapdash attempt is made to reconcile the two setting and produce an unsatisfying ending.

Where the plot falters the script really shines through. The exchanges between Mato and Yomi are touching and believable and form a foundation for likable characters. While supporting characters are sparse, they are well selected, everyone pitching in to deliver a poignant emotional climax. Nothing to write home about, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Black Rock Shooter’s blue palette is pleasing, a visual motif found in both worlds presented. The muted colors draw the focus to the strongest aspect of this piece, the characters. The ‘Outerworld’ disappointed me though, where the benefit of creative freedom wasn’t exercised. The feudal geometry is interesting but common. I had higher expectations of Studio Ordet, made up of ex-Kyoto Animation employees, responsible for the fantastic art design of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The animation is standard, most of the grunt work of the action sequences aided by CGI.

Mediocrity continues throughout with the sound production. While the seiyuu Kana Hanazawa and Miyuki Sawashiro perform admirably, there is nothing worth noting. Considering that Black Rock Shooter’s first fifteen minutes of fame we’re from a music video, I expected the music to be, well, excellent. That’s not the case, most the score is just generic j-pop guitar and percussion. Considering that the Ryo and supercell, the original songs producers, were on board, I would hope that their talents were utilized more. It seems that they were kept on the production team to only help create remixes for the official soundtrack.

From the opening sequence the missteps become apparent. There was a clear lack of imagination in this venture, surprising because of it’s artistic roots. The story, visuals and audio are half baked and unrealized. Maybe Black Rock Shooter was just not ready to be explored in this medium. A music video is one thing, but delivering a quality animated experience is whole other beast and the fifty minute time constraint is not an excuse. With Studio Ordet in talks of creating a thirteen episode run of Black Rock Shooter, I can only groan, as it reeks of that cash-in smell for a steadily expanding merchandising brand.