Review of Black Rock Shooter

Be honest, Nomura made this, didn’t he? You cannot convince me otherwise, has his fingerprints ALL over it. Who directed this catharsis? Who wrote it? Mari Okada? I ain’t buying it, I’m sure as hell that’s a ghost-name for Tetsuya Nomura, he probably got bored and made this in between the hell that was Final Fantasy 13 vs’s development! . . . fine, I won’t play that gag out forever, but can you truly blame me for making the comparison? It’s uncanny. Great character designs - but horrible and confusing narratives that by the end always raises more questions than answers. Breathtaking visuals, but with acast nobody really cares about. In the end you’re left with a story that is patchworked at best and pretentious as hell at worst. Let’s dig into what little meat is here.

This anime was based on a loose concept adapted from the illustrations of Ryohei Fuke, which was also lifted from. . . a music video for a song contest - bloody hell. Basically, this, not just titular franchise, but character has been all over the block. From music videos. Vocaloids. Video games. Manga. It’s hard to pin exactly where the original concept came from, so I will choose to view its source material as a non sequitur, even though it no doubt plays a part in this haphazard handling of a project.

Black Rock Shooter as a narrative revolves around the mental instability of a young girl named Kuroi, Mato, these instabilities and anxiety is only fed to more from the conclaves of her mind creating (I guess?) the alternate dimension known as Black Rock Shooter to which many characters in her own life appear to in twisted as well as exaggerated forms who she also does battle with. Now I must admit; I could be wrong. Why this is? The show doesn’t explain it well, while this could be viewed as an ambiguous mystery to the viewer, I get a feeling that it was less of a free-flowing concept that can be studied for years by the viewer, and more of a jumbled cluster of not even the show knowing what this is. Is Black Rock Shooter an alternate dimension? There are clearly hints that it does manifest in our protagonist's reality. Does this girl just have the Shining?! What drives my belief further is that by the end of the show you’re still given little if any hints of what is objectively true or not, which in the hands of a far more skilled author is a godsend, but in the hands of lesser artists - becomes the exact opposite. Furthermore, the show never gave me a reason to question what was true or what was not, it’s almost as if it’s not playing by its own rules, especially by the latter half.

The characters on top of being unremarkable nor memorable have sporadic actions that seldom make consistent sense which, granted, are traits of mental illness which this show is attempting to portray, but comes off more as to what someone “thinks” mental illness is rather than someone who has done consistent research on the topic as well as seen it in action. You won’t just not care about the cast, you will hate everyone of them - except the ones that, you know, don’t talk! Which. . . is actually where the fun begins.

I would be struck dead if I didn’t speak in regards to how beautiful the CGI is when it takes its place on screen in this alternate reality that exists within Mato, featuring action scenes that to this day are some of the best ever put to screen in the medium, eight years later. Our protagonist in this world, the Black Rock Shooter herself, is pale as a ghost but her design, animation, are undoubtedly filled with life, and that is what I believe makes her such a joy to be on screen. This is by far not the best, but only great aspect of the show. CGI that is so great it’s something you can point to when a contemporary says it rarely ever works in the medium and inherently cannot be amazing on its own. Stellar designs, intimate and gritty fist-fights, lasers, it’s practically a different show in general, a much better one that you will curse being torn away from.

Back to our cast with such awkward dialogue you will cringe and wince every five minutes. Back to yelling at the screen pointing out plot hole after plot hole. What makes this even worse is by the end of the show where these two worlds start to merge together - and that is not a spoiler, they were always a reflection of what our characters were dealing with - actually saying specifically what they are dealing with, would be one. And frankly, you shouldn’t care at this point about being spoiled because you should not watch this. So far within my reviews, this is the only show I cannot recommend and firmly believe is a waste of time. Don’t watch it unless you want to see how bad it is or contribute to the discussion of it.

Know what you should, and can do? Listen to the pretty-decent soundtrack attached to this, I’m neither privy nor a fan of vocaloid but even I have to concede and say there are some pretty decent bangers here. Instead of forcing yourself through this show, tearing your hair out waiting for the next fight scene in the alternate dimension like some dope addict waiting for their next fix - go watch the show with ONLY the alternate dimension, which indeed exists for free on youtube. Play a game that exists in this IP, it’s so-so with some gripping levels. Go play some of the songs on OSU. What’s the alternative? This? You can count me out.

Yes, the show, even outside of this dimension, is technically stunning. This is some of the best stuff Aniplex has put out in terms of visuals. Even the lighting is superb as well as a fairly good use of camerawork. But it’s not worth sitting through, and for me, that is exceedingly rare.

This is without a doubt a show you would love if it was your first time getting into the medium, but as the years went by and you got more experience - I assure you you would and will at some point come back to this, and shutter in terror, realizing that this show you thought was a gem; was an ersatz prop, that, looking back on it, was probably just made to generate money for the franchise. O.o No surprise, we all know how much Aniplex charges out-the-ass for their anime box sets.

As I am nearing the end of this, I’m trying to figure out what makes me so infuriated with this show, and I’ve come to the conclusion that; because it really could have been something special. Honest to god, it could. There are some ideas in here worth talking about, teenagers do delve off and escape into fantasy worlds in some attempt to leave reality as a sort of coping mechanism for many types of abuse. Implications of what escapism can do to a psyche in excess is a fascinating topic explored by geniuses of the medium in the past, present, and surely in the future. Black Rock Shooter doesn’t tap dance around these ideas, it toys with them like a cat with a yarn of string. I feel made fun of for dedicating so much time into this show. The worst part to me is; I know the screenwriter thinks it’s good. You can feel it in every obscure and pompous exchange of “philosophical” and “gripping” dialogue, every grim shot of Mato contemplating the weight of her existence and actions. This is what a teenager thinks is great.

Which is why I’m glad that has changed. Over the years Mari has directed some highly substantial works after this, hell, even before this with Ano-Hana, a step into the Aria franchise, and my personal favorite; Nagi no Asu kara - the last being a work done after this stumble here. And to be fair, what the hell else did the poor woman have to work with, huh? A loose story from a music video? With all this context, it’s okay to hate this show, but there is no reason to hold a grudge against the woman who penned it. She did the best she could and added a, indeed, somewhat gripping script that could not breathe under the conditions she was placed with. So, Black Rock Shooter, while you were one of the worst things I’ve watched in my near decade of the medium, in some way, I forgive you because your author did not become you. She didn’t become trapped in a world believing that her work was flawless, but pinned down, nurtured, and grew from these flaws, while her scripts indeed have a very high concept air to them that still occasionally stumble into the pedantic about the topics they tackle, Mari undoubtedly grew.

Still not gonna stop me from thinking in some dark corner of my mind she's Nomura in disguise though. . . You have my thoughts.