Random Curiosity

「世界を超えて」 (Sekai wo Koete)
“Crossing Over the World”

For the finale to one of the biggest sleeper hits of the season, I’m not sure if I particularly enjoyed the note things wrapped up on. Maybe the finer points were lost on me but I expected something much, much larger.

「闇を駆ける星に願いを」 (Yami wo Kakeruhoshini Negai wo)
“Wish Upon A Star Soaring Through Darkness”

In an alternate world where girls are fighting just for the sake of fighting, a new challenger arrives who changes everything.

「あるはずもないあの時の希望」 (Aru Hazumonai Ano Toki no Kibou)
“A Hope That Shouldn’t Have Been There”

I bet none of you were expecting that.

「ブラック★ロックシューター」 (Burakku★Rokku Shuutaa)
“Black★Rock Shooter”

Last week I described this series as “unconventional”, but this week led me to believe that “disturbing” works just as well.

「いつか夢見た世界が閉じる」 (Itsuka Yume Mita Sekai ga Tojiru)
“One Day The Dream World Will Close Off”

“Unconventional” is probably the best way I can describe Black Rock Shooter, as Ordet and Sanzigen have taken a Japanese Internet phenomenon of sorts and adapted it into an anime that’s very unlike the more typical ones that we see these days..

「こらえた涙があふれそうなの」 (Koraeta Namida ga Afuresou na no)
“The Held-back Tears are About to Overflow”

Nope, the school counselor isn’t suspicious at all — no more suspicious than if she wore a shirt that says “Hi, I’m Black Gold Saw and I’m Evil” anyway.

「夜明けを抱く空」 (Yoake wo Idaku Sora)
“The Sky that Embraces Dawn”

If you’re not watching Black Rock Shooter simply because you were never caught up in the hype of Huke’s original character, I strongly suggest giving it a try. The anime combines beautiful cinematography with fluid animation in carefully choreographed fights, features amazing performances by Hanazawa Kana, Sawashiro Miyuki, and Kitamura Eri backed by a fantastic soundtrack by Supercell, and depicts a unique story that has some surprisingly dark and gruesome undertones. Very stylish, very refreshing. Potentially a must-watch show.

「あとどれだけ叫べばいいのだろう」 (Ato Doredake Sakebeba Ii no Darou)
“I Wonder How Much Longer I Have To Scream For”

The Black Rock Shooter anime is finally here and the most notable difference from its 2010 OVA counterpart is that our heroine “BRS” — alter ego of Kuroi Mato (Hanazawa Kana) — gets subjected to a lot of gruesome beatings and takes them all without so much as a whimper.

I’m admittedly not a big fan of the Hatsune Miku nor vocaloids in general, but when supercell‘s illustrator Huke designs an original character named “Black Rock Shooter”, composer Ryo writes a song titled after her for Miku to sing, and everyone can barely contain themselves after learning that a 50-min OVA was going to be made, it felt like I was going to start getting death threats if I didn’t blog about it.