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「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.
With BRS and Yuu’s battle finally reaching its climax when
STRength decided to take matters into her own hands, I didn’t expect things to make such a huge 180 as both Mato and Yuu started their own internal battles. For starters, it was really surprising to see Yuu of all people lose her confidence and bad-ass demeanor at the drop of a hat. I mean, after being introduced as someone who had their mind completely shattered due to emotional stress and chose to live a life of endless fighting instead of trying to face reality, I expected her to have a little more spirit in her!
And don’t get me started on Mato’s battle with BRS. Besides being terribly over-dramatized in the beginning when Mato asked BRS to share her pain with her, what purpose does it serve to watch Mato get beaten to a bloody pulp? I mean, I can understand if this was an over the top type show but it just felt really out of place. Not to mention that if you try to symbolize BRS’s actions, it’s almost like saying someone’s subconscious was beating themselves up — even though the whole purpose of these alternate beings is to shoulder the pain the real person is experiencing!
On the other hand, the second half of the episode managed to redeem this finale for me. While I would have preferred for STRength to survive, it wouldn’t have made much sense for her to be on the outside now that the real Yuu has finally come to terms with reality. But even more so then Yuu coming out of her “shell” I loved how all the girls from the previous episodes finally regained their lost memories. Not only did it finally give meaning to all of the hardship they originally experienced but I hope I wasn’t the only one who was really happy when Kagari, Yomi, and Mato were finally able to become friends with one another.
With everything in both worlds apparently squared away, let’s square away this post by starting the final impressions!
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Final Impressions:
For a show that started midway through the season and only had eight episodes, I’m still amazed with how good it turned out to be. Amongst all the original offerings that also finished this season, I can honestly say that BRS probably had one of the more satisfying endings. And while I say that with a bit of reservation since I have to compare it with something like Guilty Crown, I’m still very happy with the series as a whole.
For me, BRS came off as a show that dived deep into the idea about people and how they struggle as they try to live life. By personifying an individual’s problems in the form of an alternate persona that shoulders all the burdens in one’s unique world, BRS was able to take an abstract idea and give it a form that was not only interesting but really fun to watch. Not to mention that instead of solely focusing on the negative aspects of an emotional burden, it snuck in a very heartwarming message in the end. At least, that’s how I interpreted it when the worlds or “hearts” merged together — meaning that instead of trying to shoulder one’s burden individually, they had the support of everyone else who can merged together with them — essentially making friends.
In terms of the characters, this television adaptation gave the characters some much needed backbone. Unlike the OVA which only had time to focus on Yomi / Dead Master, I really enjoyed getting to see the other characters like STRength and Black Gold Saw get some well deserved screen time. If there was anything that did disappoint me, it would probably how the series handled Kagari and Yuu’s individual stories. With the former getting way too many episodes and the latter getting not enough, I think we all would have enjoyed getting to see more of Yuu’s past which would have helped bring out the emotion that I’m sure we all wanted to feel during those final scenes.
Overall, I think Black Rock Shooter is a show that everyone should watch at least once. With its use of symbolism and the small messages that are scattered throughout the series, there’s always something for you to keep your eye out for (Like STRength’s missing shadow!). Combined with a strong seiyuu cast that were able to flesh out the characters through emotion filled yells or screams of pain that got the hair on the back of your neck to stand to the amazing music that only amplified the emotional in every single scene, Black Rock Shooter turned into one of the best shows of the season. At times, it’s hard to imagine that this show was spawned from a simple drawing, which had a song written about it, and then gained enough popularity to have not only at OVA but a whole television series created about it.
So if you haven’t watched Black Rock Shooter yet, I strongly suggest you give it a shot!
Animation was pretty til the very end, this series made me fall in love with the designs of Black Rock Shooter again
Should have saw the rainbow cannon finale coming 😀
so how old is Yuu now?
Well she was in the same grade as Saya before she switched with Strength, and now she’s physically she’s the same age as Mato. Like everything else, no easy answer 😛
Mato and friends: LOL Hetero. YURI level is over 9000.
Jokes aside this was a satisfying end to a rather short series. Definitely would recommend!
I’d certainly call this a pleasant surprise for me. I enjoyed the spectacle of the OVA, but like a lot of people, I felt like it didn’t have enough time to do all it could. This anime series really fixed that, and gave us a very interesting story with very unique concepts. I found myself eagerly awaiting the new episodes, and I really felt for each of the characters as they dealt with their different emotional issues. I’m really glad that I watched this series, and I definitely plan on recommending it to others in the future!
This show was better than I´ve could have imagined, I just more anime have this kind of excellence.
Despite that, people on myanimelist give it a harsh review. Sadness.
> Reading retarded reviews on MAL/ANN/etc.
> 2012
Stick with the anime master-race known as Random Curiosity and be sated.
If you like the series just watch it and enjoy it, remember that the so called critics always use their opinions, tastes and criteria to judge what´s in front of them. so you don´t have to mind with their reviews, what you think as viewer is all that really counts.
Plus how many reviews give the grade on reviews on MAL/ANN. At least on here we are given the chance the clarify or get answers as we go on here.
well, I dont really know what reviews MAL and ANN gave but this show still has quite a bit of questionable things being done, so I wont say that this show is really as great as some people say it is.
granted, its quite unique and different from the usual but execution was somewhat similar to GC. no offense but the ending was quite cliche(in a not so good way) and they did do deus ex machina with the “rainbow” cannon.
I have no problems with the power of friendship being done, but in this way? overblown, like with GC.
and remember when the show was supposed to be about our two girls called mato and yomi? it should have been mato and yuu instead really. while im neutral on the pairing(since I have a diff one) of matoXyomi, you gotta feel cheated with this.
That Guilty Crown comparison, I don’t get…
Well not like I actually care if they have any comparison, it only matters to people who find any association that will link the two series will actually care about.
For me, nope.
GC comparison: having WTF developments in favor of having coherent story telling.
rather than having common sense, the show wants to make everything appear “big”. BRS is better than GC since it didnt garner as much hate due to the limited episodes.
I’m not seeing the comparison at all.
GC was a mess because the plot and characters make no sense and the story suffers from recycled plots and jarring changes of tone the make no sense in context. It’s like the show itself doesn’t know what it wants to be.
BRS knew exactly what kind of show it was from the start. I’ll admit that the pacing was too fast but the story made sense and the characters were consistent. The twist with Yuu actually was actually foreshadowed in a clever way. I never understood why people got confused by the plot. The show was as subtle as a brick on the face.
@mediafag- damn that makes me so glad I found RC.
I still cannot see how Guilty Crown fits in the picture, I agree with fragb85. There is plenty of foreshadowing it is just a matter of how you pick up those very tiny details.
looks like I didnt word it out properly. or that I lacked something.
its how the show handles their characters that reminds somewhat of GC and how the characters are portrayed. there’s a fine line between making the girls pitiful and making them overbearing.
mato herself perfectly summed it up on chariot/kagari: “do not pity her.”
it wasnt that there was no foreshadowing about yuu, its that she essentially replaced yomi midway in the series. not to mention overall, she and mato are basically the main characters rather than yomi who was advertised.
instead of being characters, they were catalyst to the plot. kinda like how the characters are treated in GC. they are pretty much screwing around with the girls too much imo. like how shoe and some others were treated.
and like I said, its not as bad as GC. only cause the show was forced to have only 8 eps wherein GC got 22 eps which made them screw it over. ergo, for me the rushed part helped prevent this.
in fact, im giving the show 8/10. im just pointing out why the series is far from being great.
This was a great adaption of Black Rock Shooter!
Makes you wonder how huke is taking all of this in… XD
From huke, we got steins gate and BRS… And we also have ine from redjuice…. Next up, who would we have?
I wonder how much huke get paid for his work…..
Meh, this show looks good but I don’t want to watch it because it’s too Vocaloid based.
If you are one of those people who don’t like VOCALOIDs because their singing are “fake” then I will ask you how do you look at the animated characters acting?
I don’t see a difference between a Vocaloid singing and an anime character acting. So you don’t like it because it’s VOCALOID base? Think again, the singing may be comes from a mascot character of a musical instrument (VOCALOID) but the effort in making the song and this anime is REAL. No difference at all.
Definitely a series I would recommend, but I still don’t think it was THAT good or anything spectacular (especially within this season) :/
ブラック★ロックシューター 懐かしい記憶~ Hehehe, many fond memories to have from watching this series. ^_^. Pushing things up to the very end here left me worried about the ending, but it was still pretty awesome >D. Image 21… poor Black Insane Shooter didn’t stand a chance.
Also I’ve found I’m completely in love with Hanazawa Kana when she’s yelling. Well at least like she was here in B★RS ^^;.
Much like Takaii said, I was really underwhelmed with the finale. Text wall ahead!
…I’ll be honest: I enjoyed BRS’s last episodes, but definetly not as much as the beginning ones. I think BRS failed to deliver when it went into the complex two worlds’ and Yuu’s relationship. Let me rephrase that: it failed to deliver as good as the first episodes did.
This finale definetly wasn’t a bad one by any means, though. It had the good action, sweet animation and tied up neatly every girl’s happy ending. But that’s the thing: I would preferred much more for this series to concentrate on specific characters, than to constantly switch between the girls while almost completely removing the others from the plot. On a more personal note, I was rooting for Mako and Yomi as the main characters in this frienship story–that’s what the first two episodes led me to believe it would be, anyway. Last episode I got all excited when I saw Yomi remember everything and Dead Master revive: finally, Yomi would come back to the story.
Instead, everyone did–which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is when it comes at the cost of sacrificing time and development that could have been spent with more important characters.
I was okay with the detour the series took with Kohacchi and her boyfriend: it was brief, and it established Saya as the antagonist. But then it went back to Kagari, we saw Yomi go berserk, and then it focused almost exclusively on Yuu.
It’s a matter of personal taste I think, but I would much rather have a story involving all the hardships two friends had to face to have their happy ending, than to have 6~ good guys. Each characters had a fast, excellent development in almost two episodes, but then they were shut out of the story until the last episode. Unfortunately, it makes me think writers simply did not know what else to do with X character, so they decided to make it a story of 6 people so that they can simply switch between them at will.
The full happy-go-lucky happy ending isn’t what bothered me, but that it basically resolved everything with friendship. You see that kind of ending in 80% of shows nowadays; I expected something else from BRS, just as BRS showed me nothing of what I expected from this school drama in the first episodes (much to my delight, mind you). It was bold; it wasn’t scared to cross the line that many others wouldn’t dare to get close to. The finale didn’t leave me with that impression, though.
Something I read here in RC that I found very interesting, a comparison between Madoka Magica and BRS’s ‘villains’, Kyubey and Saya. Both turn out to be ‘villains’ that don’t really have any bad intentions. But there’s a huge difference. Much like this person said, I find Madoka’s development better: Kyubey was considered a villain, but he stuck to his ideals of a better universe to the end, always being logic (unlike most Shounen villains who also think they’re building a better world, but their reasons are always pathetic/laughable).
Saya, instead, did a complete turn of character in the last episodes: her evil doings were in fact for the better good, ‘she didn’t really want to do it/it was for the better good’…A very forced excuse, if you ask me. Madoka was enjoyable because Kyubey was a villain that stayed true to the very end, Saya almost seemed like another person when her convenient backstory was told…The viewer is less likely to relate to Saya than Kyubey’s character (ironically, an alien).
My point being: just like Saya’s sudden change of heart, many of the developments of the last episodes felt too forced.
I guess I’m portraying BRS with a very negative light, but I’m just nitpicking the stuff that keeps me from saying to the world ‘This show is 10/10, no flaws, pure awesomeness from start to finish.‘ Well, at least the first two episode were a 10/10 for me anyway.
I enjoyed BRS. A lot. And I thank Production IG for doing such an awesome job with the visuals. They were downright gorgeous (from start to finish too). Seiyuus were excellent –particularly Mato and Kagari, the latter one only shining in the second episode, unfortunately.
I’m definetly recommending this to a lot of friends, but only as ‘a very entertaining show’, nothing that is ultimately too deep in substance or will make you ponder/philosophize after finishing the series.
Perfect? No. But a damn good show indeed.
I am still dumbfolded by Saya’s 180 turn of character last episode…
Agreed. That totally didn’t make sense. What exactly was she trying to do in the beginning?
She said she is going to protect Yuu or something.
She wants to save the girls from their troubles by force awakening their emotional avatars by an overload of emotion then kill them off?
I guess only Strength truely get what Saya is doing?
When Yuu got in touch with Strength, its somehow a natural awakening and she gained emotions (and speech?).
I guess in the end all the main emotional avatars gained emotions?
IMO, Saya mess around the girls head to awaken their “other self” to stop BRS from messing around. She does it ‘cuz she want to protect the real Yuu “home”.
the ending kind of reminded me a bit of K-On. To bad they all didn’t start singing and play an instrument.
Anyways, I thought the series was pretty good especially on the fact of how everything started turning serious adn phycological. which in this case was like episode one. I did like the series, even though I wish the series was a bit longer it def pulled off as one of my top show for this season. 🙂
Did anyone else feel that this ending was rather… pointless?
I mean either Mato & co can now face their difficulties head-on, and their alternate selves continuing to fight is pointless; or their alternate selves are still shouldering their burdens, in which case the last few episodes were pointless.
Either way you look at it, one or both parties came out with the short end of the stick. Unless the subs were wrong and their alternate selves are not going to continue fighting.
It actually looked to me that the resurrected STRenth was kind happy in a way in that last scene.
I have not watched this yet, I actually was just about to go marathon it. And your’s is the only comment I’ve read so far, but I’d have to say it’s pretty clear why they would still be fighting. The show is trying to pull off the “life is constant struggle, but we’ll make the best of it” ending. Generic I know, but it can be done well sometimes.
To me, it felt like everything was about getting balance back. Now that Yuu was back in the real world everything was free to go back to the way it was, and probably has always been. The other world is still more-or-less a mystery and BRS still seems like an oddity in it, but now that Yuu is back on the “real” side, Saya/BGS will probably stop stirring the pot, so at the very least things should calm down. Again, we really didn’t get enough info to say any of this for certain, but this is what I got from the end.
Wasn’t the point that the girls in the other world now DON’T have to fight anymore, cause the real world girls shoulder their pain themselves now? Since in the end everyone stands together peacefully and Strength and BRS in the last scene show no signs of fighting anymore either? I thought that’s what was going on.
Apparently you can interpret the end in various ways here.
I was surprised by how enjoyable this short series was, though I do wish that it was a little longer.
Agreed. It was a good series but the ending seemed way to sweet for a show that was predominantly filled with scenes of negative emotion. Kind of feels like Strength’s death wasn’t a big enough ending for the show. Very good overall though!
Aside from still not being clear on what Saya’s deal was and how anything she did actually helped the “real” Yuu, I loved this show. Interesting plot, great twists, and happy ending! That gigantic gun Mato used on IBRS was pure WIN, and the bracelet scene was pure LOVE! Was really glad everyone remembered everything, and the little quartet was formed. Was expecting Yomi to remember after DM seemed to be waking up, but we got Kagari and Arata as a bonus! Plus BGS showed up cause apparently she’s just cool like that 😀
The very end kinda made me scratch my head at BRS, but the overflowing power of yuri-love more than made up for that XD
Needed MOAR Black Gold Saw I’m just sayin’.
This was the surprise of the season for me.
I actually really liked this episode.
Still needs MOAR DAKKA!!!
No exception.
One thing that this anime has made me realize is how bad huke is at naming his characters. His illustrations are amazing, but the names are just terrible. Half of his names are literal descriptions of weapons/features while the others sound like something a 13 year old would name his Maplestory character.
Overall,this anime was a pleasant surprise. It doesn’t really place into my top anime for the season, but it was an enjoyable experience and certainly redeemed itself from that OVA.
In the end, I’d say BRS was a pleasant experience. A lot of the drama definitely came off as forced and melodramatic, but I can’t really say I disliked it. Some parts, especially the Yomi arc, got really, really nonsensical, but overall, I still enjoyed BRS.
The ending did feel underwhelming. The awesome fights were given a backseat for more talking and the fight between BRS and IBRS was just resolved with a literal “Cannon of Friendship”. All the Other Selves were wasted too, just standing in the background. I did cry when STR said goodbye to Mayo before she dies though.
Overall I did enjoy the shows over-the-top drama combined with great cinematography in the action scenes. The shows best moment had to be the twist that the story actually centers around Yuu/STR rather than Mato and Yomi. It was something I didn’t expect at all and I like it when shows can yank my chain like that.
I wouldn’t call this a great show. If I could pick a flaw, it would probably that this show is unsubtle and pretentious. What mattered though, was that the show knew exactly what it was and had a blast with its drama and action. I do not regret watching this show for eight weeks.
In that place, at that Moment in time. IBRS was Alderan. LOL I’ve been waiting for this post just so I could say that.
I started watching this show cause I found the OVA interesting if a bit confusing at times. I came in with moderate expectations and had them blown out of the water. Other than “Another” I aniticipated no other show this season so strongly. The epic fight scenes the awesome animation, the philisofical intrigue, not to mention the plot twists.
I imagine Yuu’s arc and the final fight between IBRS and Mato would’ve been better had their been even one more episode. Still it was well done and I didn’t find Mato having the crap beeten out of her out of place since she said she wanted to feel pain. and IBRS being INSANE Black Rock Shooter showed her just how painful pain can be and that she couldn’t take it. Of course Mato prooved her wrong and had a psychotic machine gun duel with her Mad Self but I loved that. Mato in RAge Mode is badass.
The ending was also well done but like most good anime’s bittersweet. Still it was done much better than many of it’s kind as it offered a feeling of closure at the end instead of leaving to many unanswered questions(like Another unless they make a sequal).
All in all this places high amongst my favorite shows this season and will probably stay near the top of the list for the rest of the year. This season has been pretty strong overall and was a great way to start the year.
I gotta admit. I think it would have been a lot better if BGS was the final boss and in the real world Saya went insane or something. Would have been a lot more satisfying.
I must honestly say I still don’t completely get what just happened, but I must admit I was awed by its animation from start to finish, and I do intend to watch it again to understand it better.
So what’s the different between BRS before and BRS after the ending? Has she been tamed by her master Mato and became less aggressive and trigger-happy in killing other girls in that world causing to all sorts of side-effects in the real world?
I guess from the contact and conflict with Mato, BRS gained emotions?
Indeed the animation is consistently good.
If it didn’t have a solid plot it would be some sort of animation experiment 😛
the Madoka of our generation!
the Evangelion of our generation!
omg its grimdark!
So much for this…I’m now dying waiting for RC’s 2012 spring preview. wooh~can’t wait..
I started watching this out of Mr. Divine´s recommendation. I know you are a fan of my post and always look for them so when you read this: Thank You.
The Good:
*Art and animation were the eye candy of the show and it delivered fairly well.
*The story is a bit dull but it works with the concept.
*Affable cast, for me at least.
*Good reaction moments.
The Bad:
*Some main characters were turned aside pretty easy. We need to go deeper.
*They should have used the 12 episodes formula for a better grip. Short show is short.
*Erased the episodes once watched. Not so much re-watch value for me.
I will give it a 7.5/10.
Still, my best show of the season.
I was actually hoping to see more battles between BRS and BGS… but too bad she’s not the last boss. I thought maybe BGS will at least left BRS some scar on her body.
I’ve been watching this half heartedly, so I’ve been a little confused. Someone please be patient with me and answer these questions:
a) What does the rainbow bird have to do w/ anything. I know it’s a metaphor and all that. But metaphor for… what?
b) Mato is Black Rock Shooter, right? So when she went into her alter ego’s world, why did she transform into another BRS to attack herself? If she kills the purple BRS, what would she have achieved?
c) What is the point of killing everyone’s alter egos? It is said that killing them releases the anxiety. But, aren’t the alter egos their whipping boys by feeling the pain in place of their hosts when being attacked (mentally)? So how does killing them restore sanity for the girls?
d) Why is Yuu involved in this? Why and how did she get the ability to bring Mato to the Otherworld? Did she die in that otherworld?
e) Who exactly is that Saya nurse (and her alter ego?) Why was she silently provoking the girls until they went anti-social and insane?
f) Why did Arata forget about having a crush on Taku and giving him a love letter? Why does the decapitation of her alter ego mean memory/emotion loss?
Try my interpretations.
1. Each colour represents feelings. In life you will encounter all of them, good and bad. Mato had everything easy thanks to BRS taking the pain, but she wanted to experience the “dark” colour of pain too.
2. Black Rock Shooter went out of control and Mato separated from her, hence Mato was the original BRS while the other was a former shell of BRS. Think of Persona and the Shadows. Mato destroyed the purple BRS to achieve the same effect BRS did when killing the other avatars.
3. It erases the memory of the pain and what caused it. Still, it is not like you are going to never ever feel pain or anxiety again after being “released” so the avatars will later resume their roles in a cycle. Think in Men in Black and the memory rewriter.
4.Yuu changed places with strength, how she did it? Girl´s feelings, they aren´t gonna explain shit. They switched minds. Strength did the same with Mato. Strenght died, not Yuu.
5. A normal girl, remember, each girl has an avatar and Black Gold Saw was Saya´s. Looks like she wanted to force the anxiety so that their avatars cause a ruck us big enough for BRS to notice so she can release them by killing the avatars.
6. Answers with 3. She forgot her pain and what caused it when her avatar died with her problems, they “store” them.
In the ending I can´t tell if the avatars were free from being the emotional sandbags or just chilled out the pressure a bit.
That was my interpretation.
Thanks for replying.
(Don’t know who thumbed-down this explanation, but if you think you could explain it better, please, feel free to do so)
Best 8-episode anime of the Winter 2012 Anime Season. Because it’s the only 8-episode anime of the season.
https://randomc.net/image/Black%20Rock%20Shooter/Black%20Rock%20Shooter%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2040.jpg -> don’t you just wanna hug Yuu in this pic and pinch her cheeks? D’awww.
https://randomc.net/image/Black%20Rock%20Shooter/Black%20Rock%20Shooter%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2021.jpg -> Tomoe Mami’s got new competition when it comes to finishing moves that involve big guns.
The most poignant scene was when STRength was lying on the ground, with cracks on her dying body, while telling Yuu she needed to face to real world and telling her that she loves her. I mean, everybody could use an assurance like that. I’d definitely feel better if my “other self” told me it loves me. I definitely appreciated the ED song’s lyrics after watching this scene.
But it kinda turned funny/bittersweet when STRength “died” and Mato cried, “Yuu!!!” Mato, the real Yuu was in front of you, you should have cried out, “STRength!!!” XD
So Yuu got her Yuri Harem (consisting of Mato, Yomi, Kagari, and Saya-sensei), Arata got her man, and Saya will have to consume all the leftover coffee at Dawn’s Counseling room as well as probably face a reprimand during the days she was absent from the school. Being Irino Saya is suffering. XD
Now that Mato, Yomi, Kagari and Yuu became friends, I think the other world selves will have less “shouldering-the-pain-and-grief” to do, since the girls will face their problems head on and have each other for support. Why are girl-girl friendships laced with undertones of yuri so beautiful?
Black★Rock Shooter: definitely one of Hana Kanazawa’s roles I will remember in the years to come.
8/10 for the series.
“I wish upon the stars soaring through the darkness, because I will run one more time” – encouraging words for us college students going through their final exams week. LOL.
Black Rock Shooter wins most epic original award imo. It’s amazing how all this was spawned from a drawing and a song.
And thus another show ends… I totally enjoyed it
Apart from Kuroi’s/BRS’s brutal beating at the hands of Insane BRS (why did they have to completely break her leg? D:) the rest of the episode was pretty decent. The best part had to be when they played the ED song.
Overall it was a good series. My main complaint was that it was too short. Would’ve loved to see more of Dead Master. Out of all the alter egos, BRS and Dead Master are my favs
The end is meh, amazing and epic all in one. First time I had enjoyed something that has less than ten episodes that isn’t an OVA.
Series score 10/10
Beat last boss using rainbow cannon: fabulous ending unlocked?
Kidding aside the series had a good start but kept going downhill after the Kagari resolution mostly due to extremely vague alternate world mechanics and then there’s Saya too… and after this last episode the plot just ended up being pretentious.
Well overall I gave Another 7/10 in Animesuki which is a “good” score. I think it would be injustice if I also gave this 7/10 since I liked Another more so I’ll drop it to 6/10 for above average.
this was a sleeper hit?
The girls have obtain the persona used to life hardship, the Other self!!!
Persona 4 jokes aside, this ep is really heartwarming….. Thank God Kagari didn’t go nuts on us. And how Yuu remain a kid!? And I wonder how much paper needed to be handled be4 she can apply for school….
And then Strength came back frm dead. I am quite surprised. =.= To be honest I thought there will be a sequel hook… So guys and gals, let’s buy the BD/DVD to support this. (if u r available anyway)
I already pre-ordered it, down payment already given also. Sadly it seems that it will not have any subtitles with it, so for a non-Japanese speaker the only real valuable that I will definitely enjoy would be the attached figma Insane BRS figure, the OST and the booklet (which I hope will have character illustrations similar to the BLK book released by Huke). I dunno but it seems that the original BRS OVA has subtitle selections with it and this series was in fact web-streaming with multiple subtitle selections also, so “maybe” subtitles are actually added but there is no news of that yet, anyways we still have 3 months before the BD/DVD release and lets hope we got the subtitles for the non-Japanese speakers.
Also…I don’t want a sequel, I mean with most of the issues of the main characters resolving I don’t think we will have enough material for a sequel. What I’m hoping for is a complete new story or a re-telling similar to what the OVA and TV series offered. I say we stick with that established characters or create entirely new ones because the BRS characters can be used in many different ways, not just the one we already seen.
After all those negative reviews I have endured reading on MAL, I say “Ah ~ Finally someone with a very positive impression on BRS, thank you Takaii!!”
BRS is a show that initially in my guaranteed list to watch for Winter Season 2012 for the simple reason that I have watched the OVA and was curious on how the series will play its card, then slowly it became a series that I have to absolutely watch once it became available then now to a series that I can proudly say one of my all time favorite series.
Despite the merely 8 episodes given for BRS, it delivered a wonderfully crafted story with a clear direction on where it is heading. BRS has a story to tell and somehow delivered it despite the time constraints. After carefully considering many things, I say BRS has something that most of the series I watched doesn’t have, it is one of those series that strides to be different from the norm with its core on heavy drama, middle school angst, and otherworldly events that is very relevant to what in the real world has to offer, combine this with wonderful cinematography and well choreograph battles scenes, great music, and characters that I can really care about.
Agreed. It’s just a shame that many people are quick to dismiss this series when it turned out to be such a good show.
The Black Rock Shooter, Dead Master, Black Gold Saw and Strength on my shelf approve :). I wonder if we will get a Chariot Anime Version now…
overall, the show isnt really that good you know. its more like… balanced by extremes.
the CG fights in the otherworld were really quite amazing and cool. but the show’s drama fell flat several times and is overblown. all the massive and violent things happening somewhat makes the ending weak.
like I pretty much said before, the show should have just made its own direction instead of following the OVA. the manga and game versions were all different from each other, only the anime series copied almost everything from the OVA.
if the show wanted to have more action, as its clearly the strong point of the series, they could have made those post-apocalyptic stories or just start a fantasy/supernatural setting.
or if they really wanted to use the BRS series as the medium to teach the “friendship” and “live on even if its hard”, I believe they should have toned down both the battles and drama. I mean come on, the fights were too much akin to torture and sadism rather than actual battles.
BRS TV came from the same director/producer so I guess they decided to stick to what is already established and expanded it with this series. As far as I know the PSP game, the manga are from completely different producers each having their independent interpretation of the BRS world.
I think the BRS TV team did a splendid job in their interpretation of the world of BRS, I actually don’t understand how people is saying that the series is overly dramatic when the issue the characters are facing and problems that are seemingly trivial for others can sometimes produce the most extreme of emotions, so you don’t get the phone call from a person you hold dear? I heard stories of people actually committing suicide for that matter. What about the otherworldly fights? “Tone down the fights?” Why? This is not like those typcal shonen battles in Bleach or Naruto where characters talk about their past or what is motivating them to fight, or brag on how fanciful their newest techniques and for all ridiculousness – explain how their new technique works to their opponents (You are no suppose to do that!) and dragged the entire fight at least a couple of episodes long. Fights are suppose to be brutal especially because they are fighting to the DEATH.
the overblown drama came from the overblown fights. see the point? overblown doesnt mean the drama shouldnt happen, its that the drama isnt as bad as that. tone down the fights = tone down the drama.
also see the fights:
chariot flattening BRS in her “ride”, tying her up to a rock, and then piercing her body with that giant sharp-whatever thing. -this one was more on pure torture than a fight to the death.
DM fighting BRS wasnt much on this so il just skip that. it was also the only real “fight” I saw, even though DM did have an army with her.
strength/yuu was pummeling BRS over and over. sure it looked cool but remember what’s she doing. she’s bashing her left and right. -this is a fight? its an utter curbstomp.
please, im personally one of those kinds of people. im someone who has a hard time talking to people and I hurt easily and blahblahblah. yes? so what, yes im also bitter on life but this is simply too much. it freakin hurts but showing it this way sort seems insulting.
yes, there are people who may suicide on some simple things. but rather than make them feel sympathetic, it paints us as someone who is crazy and need help, which is what those people who comment badly on BRS see.
not that these people are pitiful, but that these people are crazy and need help. I myself feel ashamed of this.
sorry if I might be wrong about you, but people who say those things like “these people are having a tough time so we should feel sorry and accepting to them” is a lot more worse than having people say “your pathetic. go see a doctor or something with your problem”.
this is why, even though I love the designs and art, I simply dont think this show is good. rather than making us feel pitiful, it makes us feel disgusted.
I guess you forget that Kagari is one mess up person who mentally tortures Yomi with guilt, it is no surprising to me that her otherworldly persona is just as brutal and torturous. The same as everyone, this is a show where ones internal struggle became a persona and all their actions reflects the struggle they are facing.
As for the rest of post, all I can say is we(us) all have personal struggles that not everyone sees, it is hidden within us and we can’t speak it out, the other world which this series depicts is a very nice concept which tries its best to interpret those struggles.
I think Divine said it best when he said:
and latter comment
geez, there’s some guy in here cant handle a bit of criticism on BRS.
even Justinnnnn’s comment up there got two downvotes despite how he said its a “pretty damn good show”.
Welp I though this show was pretty good. I never saw the OVA so this was my first exposure to it and I saved the whole thing and marathoned it, no regrets. Did it give me as many feels as the last episode of Chihayafuru or Natsume? No. But for an 8 episode series I thought it handled itself marvelously.
So the moral of the show is that…catharsis is bad?
I hope that the Black Rock Shooter TV franchise doesn’t end here. I hope that the producers continually innovate with their stories similar to what they did with this TV version. Huke’s BRS has one of the most awesome character designs I ever saw an it will be a shame if it ended here. So they make toys, figures, fanarts, mangas, games, OVAs, TV series? It wouldn’t hurt to add a few more 🙂
I’m late comer in terms of being a BRS fan while being well aware of the existence of the BRS theme song more than two years ago, still better late than never!
yes, very much agree.
I hope to see more, just make its own rather than follow the anime/OVA though(I do like the OVA btw). lots of characters need to show up, like black devil girl and black matagi.
If you ask me, I like the series much better than the OVA. I’ve re-watched the OVA but all I can say is that the OVA didn’t established a solid link with the real world characters and its otherworldly persona. Watching it, I asked myself “what are they fighting again?” and “how actually the two worlds are connected?”, and the timeline or chronological events didn’t match up at all. The BRS TV answered those questions for me as they established a linked on the two worlds and the real world characters and their persona.
I’m aware of the limitations of an OVA that is why I’m glad they made the TV series in which they expanded the concept and innovate it by adding extra dimension to the story that makes it deeper.
If they will remake a TV series I prefer this setting again – dark, eerie, unsettling. I prefer the characters to be dialogue-less again rather than giving them voices and I couldn’t imagine the characters to be in involve in a genre like romance, comedy, or fanservice.
I agree with Takaii. Although a vicious reconciliatory battle within one’s own subconscious (particularly between one’s real and ideal self) is strongly grounded in psychology, a lengthier buildup for such pulp and gore was most certainly warranted. For a series with only 8 episodes, though, I daresay it handled itself rather well indeed.
I didn’t have a problem with how STRength and Yuu’s issues were resolved, and while Mato’s battle with IBRS was over-the-top and pretty hard to watch, I didn’t find it necessarily out of place. As the saying goes, often times “we are our own worst enemies.” I think her battle really exemplified that.
The ending definitely got to me, as I’ve come to empathize with Yuu and STRength an awful lot these last several episodes. To witness all the girls regaining their memories and even becoming real friends was something that brought tears to my eyes.
Nothing is perfect, but I think BRS did an excellent job overall.
People are complaining about the way it ended? I thought it was pretty obvious that the ending would revolve around the “power of friendship.” Mato’s personality is completely unrealistic so after the first 3 episodes or so, I already had a good idea of how it would end.
You would basically be considered mentally ill in real life if you put up with all the crap that Mato went through and still wanted to be someones’ friend. So yea… Power of friendship was pretty apparent.
Overall, show has its flaws but I don’t think the ending is one of them. I would give it an 8/10. Not as captivating as the first few episodes but great nonetheless especially for a show consisting of only 8 episodes.
Even for people who aren’t entirely sure what the fuck is going on (like me), this anime was great for the incredible fight scenes alone.
Infinite Bulletstorm Gatling Gun from episode 2 is still one of my favourite scenes.
Damn, Megaman has nothing on Black Rock Shooter, nuff said!