Review of Black Rock Shooter

So, Black Rock Shooter (BRS). True, as many critics here and there said, it sure is not the greatest anime, and it feels at first like the story is torn in several directions, and none of them is successfully achieved. BRS started with a song, done by the now famous vocaloid Hatsune Miku, which was the beginning of the OVA, and then the serie. The main focus was, it seems, the sound and the art part, so it looks pretty stylish, but the story suffered in the OVA. Unfortunately, the producers decided to continue in the same idea, which was a group of teenage girlsliving their normal lives and dealing with the emotional hardships that come with it. But compared to the OVA, it turns out pretty good, and 8 episodes was a correct bet: long enough to create a proper story, and short enough not to dwell in teenage garbage.

STORY -- 7/10 --

A nice gamble it was, to make a story out of a song and refined visual graphics.

The story, as said before, is about several teenage girls dealing with emotional problems. It shows us right at the start a parallel world, where girls in there seem to be fighting indefinitely, and it eventually leads us to wonder what are the links between the two worlds, how it works, etc.

It has several links missing, plotholes and such, added to some psycho episodes, where one can wonder if it as really necessary, or even thought out.

And yet, characters (at least the few main ones) develop a bit more complex personality as the story goes on, and it raises several interesting questions about feeling, relationships and life in general. Something I quite have not expected from a teenage girls anime/moe which started with so many weird and psychedelic episodes/characters.

It is true that by the end of the anime, we might wonder why so many things are still untold/hidden/forgotten, but it leaves us with interesting questions, only to be solved by our creativity, which in our world seems to be rarer and rarer.

To put it in a nutshell, a first half a tad disappointing, and a second half much more likeable, and a well made conclusion.

ART -- 9/10 --

Definitely a strong aspect of BRS. A feast for the eyes. A big part of it relies on 3D CG (fighting sequences in the parallel world), a wonder. Everything is beautifully designed, and the movement created by the 3D is epic. The 2D part is also nicely done, colors being a bit pale, but it sets the story/atmosphere really well.

SOUND -- 9/10 --

The opening is the song done by Hatsune Miku, the vocaloid, so it will depends on your tastes. I had difficulty at first to listen to it, but then I found it pretty nice. Soundtracks (or should I say sound effects, in fact) supports the fighting scenes/the daily life properly, no complaints here.

CHARACTERS -- 6/10 --

To me, this is the part I was mostly disapppointed by. Teenage stereotypical girls at first, and then over-dramatic characters around, it definitely felt kind of wrong. And the only "adult" present had such a strange behavior it did not by any mean raised the level.

Fortunately in the second half the main protagonists start to develop a bit more, but it still is not the strong point of BRS.

OVERALL -- 8/10 --

For me, Black Rock Shooter was a great experience. It might be a lot biaised, since I did not have high expectation from it by reading the critics. It turned out in the end pretty good, so it might have affected my judgement.

BRS was an anime where visual/sound effects where almost as important as the story, and it as so brilliantly done in this way that it makes up for the black of consistence in the story.

And yet, I even liked the story: the suspense kept me wonder about the links between the two worlds, the emotions/suffering of the girls and how it is related to this parallel world, and how it will turn out in the end.
Probably it could have been better if the story was not what it is, but for an 8-episodes anime, it felt like the right choice.