Review of Black Rock Shooter

[Heavy spoilers in my review] I feel like this anime is something you're either going to get/like or don't. When I first watched this in 2012 when I was younger, I remember being damn confused but still really enjoyed it for its action and the central figure BRS. Rewatching it countless times as I got older, however, a lot of my confusion cleared up and I got to truly appreciate how unique and well done its direction was. Before I go into the heavy stuff, in terms of the animation, the 2D animated scenes are decent and often have rather well-executed shots and lighting. But thereal strength of the anime is its flawless execution of CG animation. It's honestly criminal that this anime is slept on or completely unmentioned when talking about anime with good 3D animation, as it has the best execution of this style no questions asked. It helps do justice and make spectacles of the awesome character designs of the Otherselves without any drop in quality.

Story for me is a solid 8 or 9 if you actually comprehend it. The biggest reason this anime is a disappointment for some watchers is from not understanding the story and thus, feeling as if there are many plot holes. The whole concept of the Otherworld is that it's a place that mirrors the human psyche (think the Metaverse from Persona 5), with Otherselves as the mental/emotional shadows of human girls. While the events aren't always mirrored, a lot of what happens in either world directly impacts the other, and I feel this aspect is what a lot of people miss when it comes to certain character changes. I'll go on to clarify some of the story sections I observed to have confused people the most. Again, another spoiler warning, as I am writing this review for the perspective of people who just came out of it.

As Otherselves are stated to carry a huge fraction of the emotional burdens of their counterparts, their death means the pain they carried from their humans die with them, including any associated memories of it. This was what caused Kagari to completely forget about her unhealthy dependence on Yomi after Chariot dies, mistaking her memories as Yomi being the overbearing one. Another instance is when Koharu forgets about her crush on her classmate, considering her pain came from the embarrassment of being humiliated for it. This is also what causes Yomi to forget about Mato, as all her anxieties and pain revolved around her struggles to befriend her. I feel like these character changes get criticized by a lot of watchers who didn't understand the mechanics of their world.

Another moment people seem to be confused about was Mato being trapped inside BRS as she went berserk. The scene can be tricky to understand if you don't comprehend everything that came before it. Mato intended to fuse with BRS in order to prevent her from killing Dead Master (which would erase Yomi's memory of her) however, she fused at the worst possible time, having to see a girl looking EXACTLY like Yomi being killed by her hand. Of course, she's going to freak out and this causes an effect on BRS since they're still fused at this point. This is what causes BRS, who is supposed to have no emotion by pure nature, to lose her mind. Considering Mato has also fused with BRS to save Yomi as a huge plot point in the original OVA, it becomes much easier to understand this turnout as a 'bad ending' version of that.

The last overly criticized aspect of the plot would be the last episode's confrontation between Mato and BRS. Considering all the emotional trials Mato and the others had come across trying to connect and befriend other people, all episodes prior to this leads to her realization that feeling pain is an important part of feeling love for others. Her fight against BRS was to reject her pain being taken by someone else, that it should be her burden alone and BRS being mentally far-gone at this point, retaliating violently. Other characters are shown to have this realization as well and their character arcs track up to this; Kagari coming to terms with her actions to know what healthy love is, Yuu realizing that she can find a support system despite what she lived through, Yomi overcoming her fears of alienation to make real friends and even Saya overcoming her guilt of being unable to help Yuu before which is what led her to her current profession. This was the big sentiment shared in that big rainbow visual scene "even if it hurts, I want to connect", wrapping up this metaphorical narrative of the emotional tribulations of growing up.

A certain plot hole I also notice being pointed out was Yuu/Strength's past and their history. I'll try and explain it as coherently as possible. While Yuu and Mato shared a brief childhood together, Yuu's life took a worse turn during a time Mato wasn't around. She was bullied and had a terrible home life before Saya befriended her. I believe it's after the fire where she might have swapped with Strength, considering Saya's encounter with her felt odd and Yuu's eyes resembled Strength's. It's at that point Strength (as Yuu) would have been able to tell Saya all about the Otherworld in order for her to grow up to be a school counselor that takes advantage of the Otherworld's mechanics to 'treat' the girls at school (hence her method of riling up Yomi and Kohata).
The details of Yuu being easily forgotten and misremembered are all because she's not a real person, she's an Otherself and possibly has less of a mental impact on others. Like she's a ghost you don't notice until you're forced to, like actually seeing her compared to being mentioned, for example. Mato having dissociated memories of Yuu is easily explained as her memory tries to recall the Yuu she knows presently as the Yuu she knew in the past, not knowing they're actually two different people which screws with her perception of those memories.

I see people often comparing the Ova to the anime, as if they expected the same story, though I feel it's a foolish criticism to have. The anime simply took inspiration from the concept but did its own fleshed-out story with its own direction. They're unrelated medias aside from just the name alone and shouldn't be compared so harshly unless you're just talking about preferences.

All in all, the story is solid as long as you understand it. Everything has an explanation as long as you consider the information that was given and make inferences. Not everything is spelled out or explained but all the pieces are there for perceptive, patient and dedicated watchers to combine. It ends up amounting to a very unique and well-done metaphorical portrayal of the emotional trials that come with entering adolescence, as several aspects of life and relations become harder and not so simple to handle. Mentally maturing is going to come with its share of burdens.
Personally, it became an important anime for me in my childhood, as my mother (who watched the show with me knowing it was my favourite) figured that my attachment to this show came from the fact that I was going through a hard time when dealing with the divorce of my parents, so I must have resonated with the concepts presented in the anime. I'm pretty sure I was around the depicted age of the girls too, like 12-14, so relating to it came even easier.