Hello and welcome to G-Views, where SoL reigns supreme, moe is respected and Dokuro-chan sucks poopie. Well doods and peeps, after a long absence, the G-Views are back baby! To celebrate the show’s return, I’d like to start off with something epic, something wicked, something just plain confusing as all hell yet oh so satisfying at the same time. The animated feature that I’m speaking of is Black Rock Shooter.
Too bad this song isn’t in the OVA
Themes: Action, Supernatural, cross dimensional, school life.
Number of episodes: 1 OVA, 52 minutes.
G-Rating:8/10 (Favoritism rating) 7/10 (Overall rating)
These young girls’ hearts are pure, and then violent!
Mato Kuroi just got into junior high school, and on the first day, someone catches her eye; her classmate Yomi Takanashi. The two meet.
The innocent and naive Mato. The mature Yomi. Seemingly opposites, but the time they spend together only strengthens a growing friendship.
But as they go into their second year at the school, they get placed in separate classes, and they begin to grow apart.
But somewhere simultaneously…
In another world, a young girl, blue fire residing in her eyes, Black Rock Shooter faces another young girl; this one holding a jet-black scythe, Dead Master, and a battle to the death begins to unfold.
To explain the plot would be difficult, but I’ll do my very best to try and provide some explanation. Expect spoilers, so don’t read too much of the plot
After a badass fight intro, Black Rock Shooter begins at the start of the school year in April. On her first day of junior high school, Mato Kuroi makes friends with a girl named Yomi Takanashi, who recently moved to the town. Mato quickly joins the basketball club, which incites Yomi to join the volleyball club since both clubs practice at the same time in the gymnasium. The two spend much time together over the following year, and during one outing Mato gives Yomi the same cellphone charm she has.
During the school life events between Mato and Yomi, another event takes place as multiple intervals between the school life story. In his event, you see a completely white skinned girl named Black Rock Shooter, who has a blazing blue left eye and a rock canon which can fire 20 shots per second. BRS is apparently traveling through some ruins until her journey leads her to a strange cathedral, where she engages in battle against an awesome, yet very familiar looking opponent.
That’s it for the plot explanation. The rest you’ll have to discover for yourself.
On with the review. This OVA feels like a very long prologue/introduction, to something much bigger. I’m hoping it’ll be a TV or OVA series. The school life part are pretty straightforward and not much explanation is needed to get what’s going on. The other world part on the other hand, it’ll probably make A LOT more sense after you finished the OVA, especially if you continue watching after the credits.
The animation is fantastic in my opinion, especially the other world. The ruins look fantastic, as if they belong in an epic video game. You know, making a video game about BRS would be pretty neat. It could be like something near the lines of Bayonetta. The normal world animation is also pretty good. I especially like the way Yomi is drawn. The same goes for BRS’ opponent. BADASS! Oh, but of course BRS herself is awesome as well.
The music fits perfectly. I especially got a kick out of the other world tracks. DANG I want the OST for this OVA.
The characters are straightforward. All you have to do is look at their faces and you can pretty much tell what their personality is like right away. Nuff said.
In conclusion, this is a MUST WATCH for every anime fan. It is THAT awesome! On a final note, seeing the post credit events, this OVA definitely deserves a sequel or series.
For the time being, I suppose the upcoming PSP game will have to do as a sequel. Also I understand why some were disappointed by this OVA due to the lack of action and emphasis on SoL. After a rewatch I suppose it’s only meant to be watched once but I won’t deny the fact that I enjoyed it the first time.
(Major update: a 2nd season has been confirmed for Winter 2011)
The Yuri Empire 
Indeed, this is something that is catered for every anime fan. I really love the art and of course the yuri of BRS. But like what I said, I didn’t enjoy the real human design art of this show, and that’s what I’m concerned of upon hearing that Noitamina will produce this on winter. Not that I don’t like the company, but I will be really disappointed seeing this in the likes of the Ano Hana character art design.
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We’ll just have to wait and see how they’ll handle the real world animation. Of course I’m primarily concerned with the other world’s appearance, still I also hope they won’t put ALL their focus on that and ignore the real world (If they plan to use it). Should that be the case, just make an entire show that takes place in the other world.
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