Review of Schwarzes Marken

Having seen a fair amount of sci-fi related series and mecha as one of my favorite genres, Schwaresmarken stands out as a strange show to me. It’s not because the series is set in the same universe as the Muv-Luv franchise or based on a light novel. Rather, the series is more like a political flair that’s masked by the intense violence of creatures, monstrosity known to their world as BETA. First let’s get a few things out of the way. The series is a spin-off series based on the light novel. (although a visual novel also exists) Historically, the timeline began around the late 1970swhen BETA arrives in Eastern Europe. Eastern Germany gets besieged by them and mankind suffers heavy losses. That is, mankind builds the TSF (Tactical Surface Fighters) that basically translates into heavy duty mechanized machines designed to fight them. 5 years later, Eastern Germany is still suffering with its weakened forces and the Warsaw Pact isn’t holding them much longer either. However, they are supported by the infamous Nationale Volksarmee's 666th Tactical Surface Fighter Squadron, also known the “Black Marks”. The story tells of this infamous group as they fight for survival not only on the frontlines against BETA but also within its own forces, political struggles, and national conflicts.

Approaching this series with trepidation, Schwarzesmarken’s storytelling is sometimes decent, sometimes bad, and then sometimes just dreadful. There’s a lot of mixed feelings when diving into such a complex universe. Furthermore, the show is only a 1-cour so terms like ‘rushing’ or ‘butchered adaptation’ can be applied here. To be fair, enjoying this series at fullest would include an understanding of the Muv Luv universe. However, watching this series as a standalone is possible and the experience getting out of the show may be enjoyable. That is, if you really and I mean, really like what it has to offer.

Where to start really? The first episode easily establishes a few factors. BETA is on the rampage in Europe and the show isn’t shy to show death on screen with an immense amount of violence. There’s some emotional storytelling going on as well when we see pilots during their last moments. In essence, it should come to no surprise that Schwarzesmarken is trying to paint the idea of BETA being humanity’s ultimate enemy. Or is it really? Behind the frontlines, there’s a fair amount of political and interpersonal flair going on. You see, West and East Germany haven’t exactly been the best of friends. The show easily makes it clear that the two are only united for the purpose of surviving and destroying a common foe. By historical standards, the Warsaw Pact is a collective defense treaty but in this series, it’s almost like an armistice. West and East Germany have their own ideals so naturally, they can’t really get along. One of the major forces in the series besides the 666th squadron is Stasi, an official security force of German Democratic Republic that’s designed to enforce their laws. Spies, treason, and disobedience are met with punishment including death. Furthermore, they have control of a massive intelligence network that almost serves as this series’ version of Big Brother. Sounds scary right? To be quite honest, humanity’s enemies aren’t just BETA but also making an enemy of themselves. And it’s a sad story when we see the body counts.

As complex as the show seems, the characters aren’t too difficult to understand once you really see their background stories. Theodor, the main male protagonist has suffered losses in his life including the assumed death of his sister. Irisdina Bernhard, the captain of the squad has been rumored to backstab her own family to get to where she is in the present. Then, we have Katia who tries to desperately appeal to her ideal of “let’s put our differences aside! If we all unite, we can defeat the BETA!” Such an illusion really. The show makes it clear that there’s no genuine friendship between certain nations. Nonetheless, the character cast gives the most prominence for these three characters while the others are mainly supporting players. That’s sad to say as I’ve heard the light novels gave more characterization emphasis on characters like Sylvia, Pham, Beatrix, among others. As I’ve mentioned before, the adaptation serves more of a story to depict the nature of sci-fi warfare. The addition of the military, political conflicts, and personal battles are attempts to create an emotional story. Does it work? In some some ways, yes. However, the majority of the show feels like it tries to stuff down the viewers’ throats with emotions that really is weakly timed. Sure, characters die on and off but it does it really give strong reasons to why we should care about them? The first half of the show has several characters die for mankind’s cause. But to this end, I don’t find their losses to be memorable. It’s not just how predictable how some deaths occur but rather their lack of characterization. The only characters that seems to be relevant in the show are Theodor, Katia, and Irisdina. Later, we also see a surprise character return to the series although I can hardly call it that. In terms of relationship dynamics, that’s hardly anything to take home to. Theodor’s a cold guy who can work with others on a professional level but rarely ever opens up to others. His childhood is tragic and in a way, I guess we should feel sorry for him. Katia’s relationship is perhaps the lightest in the show and also inspires him to fight the good fight. Then, there’s Irisdina, probably the least trustworthy main character because of the rumored gossips about her past. Although on professional standards, she does have a good relationship with Theodor and Katia. The show also seems to establish that Irisdina and Beatrix (a prominent member of Stati) has some sort of history but that’s overshadowed by the actual conflicts going on. I refer to the one about war against BETA.

In terms artwork and design, it’s mostly mediocre level in terms of technical quality although I do give some praise to the studio for portraying the technological aspects of the series. It manages to capture the grim atmosphere with the bloodshed and death scenes. And while the pilot suits are designed to make the women look like eye candies, it is also quite convincing. Character expressions are important so the series did its best to capture their emotions. In retrospect, it did a fair job as every episode seems to make their reactions look and feel real. In addition, the TSF are designed with a decent amount of effort ranging from its arsenal, structure, and capabilities. Action wise, the show is powerful enough to convince us that it’s a sci-fi warfare despite the CGI. On the other hand, BETA’s designs looks silly with the insectoid-like eyes and absurd body proportions. They look like aliens that popped out of some B-movie.

Soundtrack is actually quite important now that I’ve taken the show at a close glance. Remember, the series is grim without much humor but portrayed as a sci-fi warfare story. In other words, the show did its best to portray that atmospheric setting with more melancholic music. Either way, it does seem to work out in that regards when delivering its intentions. However, character voice mannerism is a weak sign of the show as there’s nothing really a character that stands out individually. In fact, Katia’s voice sounds like a child for someone as part of the military. On the other hand, I do like how characters like Beatrix is portrayed with their manipulative nature expressed by voice acting.

After watching Schwarzesmarken, I have to conclude and say that the show is a brave attempt at making this into a memorable war story. But what does it really achieve? A poorly directed and produced series that seems to not be able to connect with itself. The story feels loose while the info dump has a strange pacing. Furthermore, there’s a lack of characterization on most of the 666th squad. I think the show is geared at more of an audience that is very familiar with the Muv Luv universe. To casual fans, the experience isn’t going to be something great and shouldn’t with what it presented.