Black Bullet / First Impressions

「境界線の石碑」 (Kyoukaisen no Sekihi)
“The Monument on the Border”

I have to say, after all the negative things I’ve said about this show over the past few months, never have I been happier that I stuck with it and got through all the not so great parts.

Loli driven Story Heaven

For the first time ever, I feel that this show has finally managed to blend the slice-of-life elements you need to bring some life to your characters with the gritty story and quick-paced action that it promised us from the very beginning. For someone like me who’s typically covering the shows that focus on cute girls doing cute things, it’s a nice surprise when you get things like Kisara getting embarrassed over a boob joke or Seitenshi making a sudden appearance in the best way possible. Because in my opinion, it’s the small things that add up over time to create something that’ll blow you off your feet.

Tina-centric Episode

After being upgraded from side-character/mini-boss to part of the main cast, the writers wasted no time in getting us acquainted with her. With a rather calm personality and the ability to think before immediately jumping into action, I think she does a great job at rounding out our rather erratic cast. That and I’ll never turn down any opportunity to make a good pedo joke — because I mean, come on, where else will you see something as golden as Tina coming out from under Rentaro’s sheets talking about their night time adventures?

A little bit of this and that.

Unlike the first arc and bits of the second arc that either felt too accelerated or just completely out of place, I’m really enjoying the way things are coming together. It’s almost like the writers can read most of our minds and understand we don’t enjoy getting force fed exposition or seeing things end at lightning-like speeds.

That said, I really wish they’d go a bit deeper with the whole stigma against the Cursed Children. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — seeing how they haven’t messed that plot point up yet and have actually been doing a decent job at reminding us about the horrible conditions that they live in, it’d be nice to get a closer look into the lives of girls that allow the rest of society to live in peace.

Looking Ahead

With Rentaro’s squad slowly coming along, I don’t think it’s too much of a stress to assume that next week’s episode will introduce the last pair we haven’t met yet. While it’s nearly impossible to tell anything from the garbled mess that Black Bullet calls its “preview”, I hope things continue to follow along this awesome pace/path we’ve found ourselves on.

Random Thoughts

  • Random Thoughts
  • I know that this show isn’t perfect, but you have to stay positive right?
  • “Kuso-Fucking-Hentai”
  • Hearing Shoubro say “fucking” is just weird.

Full-length images: 29.

 

Preview

59 Comments

  2. https://randomc.net/image/Black%20Bullet/Black%20Bullet%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
    >denies that she’s dating Rentaro
    >doesn’t deny the first question
    Heh.

    https://randomc.net/image/Black%20Bullet/Black%20Bullet%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
    >morning wood
    Also, what did Rentaro see there? Answer: Tina’s Show Spoiler ▼

    Ok that was bad. Forgive me.

    https://randomc.net/image/Black%20Bullet/Black%20Bullet%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
    HNNNNNNGGGGG

    belatkuro
    Reply

    1. Extreme spoiler below, click at own risk, you have been forewarned!
      Show Spoiler ▼

      whryder
      Reply

      1. this show certainly doesn’t make a lot of sense and not realistic either , the fact that they keep the existence and heroic deed of the cursed childs as sole weapon against the gastrea is stupid, and they also allow the the demonstration after the monolith is destroy … Rentarou should have stand aside and watch as half of tokyo area get REKT by Gastrea since those people are asshole!(if i am the writer i would do that)

        PeTdo
        Reply

    1. Useless rhetorical tibits

      Wouldn’t Random Thoughts = Random Curiosity?
      After all when we starting thinking about something, we get curious as to why we start thinking about something?

      *** Runs away… ***

      whryder
      Reply

    1. On another note, this show started from Gunslinger Girls‘ this-will-not-end-well but now is heading to Railgun‘s everything-will-be-ok-in-the-end.

      Although Ai Kayano’s Blind Girl seems to be here to remind us that GG’s somber end is not out of the question for Black Bullet.

      Still loves the show. Here’s hoping that nobody pulls a Henrietta. Again.:D
      (But … Is it just me or there were almost too many little things that could pass as Black Flags for Tina in this ep?? Maybe that’s the reason they tiptoeing between GG & Railgun so the audience can’t tell if something is really a Daaaw moment or an actual Death Flag.)

      Oh, and a little rant: I wish the new OP is used starting from this episode instead of earlier. That way we wouldn’t know Tina’s fate when the Liutenant (what’s his name again?) shot her in previous ep.

      LGrey
      Reply

  6. I’d prefer they go deeper into the mystery of the Gastrea virus, its origins and why it creates monsters. Especially since it is the main cause of troubles in the universe.

    zztop
    Reply

    1. I’d bet money on the Gastrea virus being some kind of bioweapons mishap. Nothing against action focused shows but when your focus is action the plot tends to end up becoming a tad…predictable. And this show has had many such moments thus far, where I saw it coming a mile away…

      Zen
      Reply

      1. and there’s also the possibility that Rentarou will be the cure in saving the cursed children, I mean
        he did inject five of those Gastrea virus into him and it didn’t seem to have any ill effect on him

        lol
        Reply

  8. I’m not really a fan of the pedo jokes but I do find Tina more likeable than Enju.

    I really don’t know why the government isn’t doing some kind of damage control on the portrayal of the cursed children in the media. If they are trying to get the bill passed wouldn’t you want the information regarding them involved to be tampered with a bit? Call it underhanded but it’s a necessary evil in my opinion.

    Regarding the fight with the blonde guy. Doesn’t it seem like he gave up to quickly? The way he was being so egoistical and belittling Rentaro I found it weird he just gave up after receiving a few blows. And his attitude towards him instantly turned as if they’ve been buddies forever. Felt weird. There was probably more to the fight originally because it felt off.

    leatherhead333
    Reply

  9. (Curious Cursed Child): Are you dating? Will you marry him?

    (Embarrassed Kisara): We’re not dating and not about to marry!!!

    (Jubilant Enju): YES!!!

    It’s small nuggets of gold like this that make me love this show.

    Mentar
    Reply

  10. Stuff I’m curious about unless there are major spoilers:

    Destruction of the Monolith:
    1. Is the corrosion too fast for them to get rid of only the corroded bits? And then repair the rest?
    2. Setting aside mass panic for a moment, would letting the residents know about the monolith’s destruction distract them from their Cursed Children prejudice?

    Rentaro’s Team:
    1. Why are other officers unwilling to help Rentaro, even if it will mean their own deaths?
    2. Why is Rentaro apparently unconcerned about fighting 2,000 Gastrea with less than a dozen members in his team? The JSDF will be with him, but they don’t seem that reliable…

    Strategy:
    1. Is Rentaro’s team and the JSDF going to be the only ones holding back the Gastrea?
    2. Pre-emptively striking the Gastrea to weaken and scatter them, then retreating and relying on high-regen to heal. After the monolith breaks, hold the breach for as long as possible. Would this have been a viable alternate strategy?
    3. Are there chemicals/substances that could be used as bait to divert Gastrea away from the breach?
    4. Is it possible to use mini varanium barriers as cover, then attack Gastrea from long-range?
    5. To plug the breach in the Monolith wall, the new Monolith probably needs to be built near the old one, right? Do they have to defend that as well?

    And finally, a question for anime-viewers only!
    1. Which character do you think will kill the most Gastrea, and what is their strategy?

    Personally, I’m guessing Tina. Since they’ve got military support… she has access to all their weapons, right?
    Drones + Anti-Materiel Machine Guns or Anti-Materiel Rifles, which are installments with auto-fire… against mobs/flying
    Sniper Rifle… against mobs/flying/boss
    Night Vision
    Chain Gun provides covering fire

    ReverseTales
    Reply

    1. Destruction of the Monolith
      1.)The corrosion of the monolith was way too fast and too late for them to repair, hence they are making a new one to replace it asap
      2.)No, it will make people go into panic mode, panic mode makes people unreasonable, and will start pointing fingers and blaming at who started the problem, hence the cursed children are to be blamed, because “gastrea”

      Rentarou’s Team
      1.)Civil officers and normal army do not meet everything in the eye, the rest are spoilers, just watch the later episode
      2.)The anime doesn’t show it, but he is concerned about it, rest will be spoilers

      Strategy
      1.)There will be more, wait for the upcoming episodes
      2.)Again wait for the upcoming episodes
      3.)Gastrea are not attracted to anything except humans or better terms for what gastrea thinks, “fresh human livestock”
      4.)Sure they can do it, but not feasible, reason is few of the Lvl1 gastreas are affected easily, but the unaffected Lvl1 to lvl4? They can only say “Ooo, that tickles”
      5.)That is the gist of today’s episode

      whryder
      Reply

    2. “1. Why are other officers unwilling to help Rentaro, even if it will mean their own deaths?”

      I can only assume pride and resentment at Rentaro given his gigantic rank promotion from Seitenshi (from the 1000s up to 300). I’m sure a bunch of the other civil officers have been on the job for much longer than Rentaro and have done many more jobs yet have barely progressed up the ranks much the whole time, yet Rentaro is handed such a huge promotion after one job. An important job yes, but at the same time, why would Seitenshi pick Rentaro out of all the civil officers in the area for such a job if not simply because she likes him?

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

  11. Kudos to Rentarō for the compassion. He could only give the beggar child a couple of hundred yen, but notice how “normal” people treated the girl. Of course, Rentarō can’t save every Cursed Child, no matter how hard he tries. But here at least is yet another Cursed Child with a heart of gold, despite how life has treated her.

    Toyko and the world needs about a million more people like the aged grandfather trying to keep the Cursed Children girls together. Superpowers or not, I can’t believe that there would not be organizations of willing couples able to adopt the Cursed Children, if only for a few years.

    jhpace1
    Reply

    1. Knowing that one man, even Rank 300, against a general populace that hates the Cursed Children makes it even sadder.

      Man, that’s fucking depressing still though, pouring molten lead into eyes?! That’s many levels of fucked up.

      Dude
      Reply

  13. i was about to laugh at the duel scene… why? its clear that the rank #1850 (?) sister and brother is no match against rentaro and tina which is ranked #98 initiator… experience wise, they also have the advantage… specially tina whom we dont know the full extent of her “assassin skills” and how many has fallen victim during the time she was under her former promoter…

    MY OTHER THOUGHTS: yeah… im beginning to love tina more (sorry enju)… she is so damn adorable…

    The Last Idiot
    Reply

  14. As cute as Tina is, Senju is still the best girl and still struck me emotionally. Also Humanity as a whole does not deserve to live if they are going to be generally like the who who threw that can cap and made that blind girl thought it was a coin.

    It’s fucked up we need more grand father type in the world to take care of the kids.

    That being said, Tina was pretty cute but Satomi should have shot and kill the guy who threw that can cap in there. That is just wrong on so many level.

    Something tell me that this episode set up Tina death flag, the moment anyone say they are content in this type of anime, they are on the rails for death.

    I hope those loli girls actually get a real education or maybe come in at the last minutes to bail the city out of trouble. After all Satomi is looking for an army and those loli have proven to be quite strong.

    I can see where the Civil officers are coming from, they are an independent group and not government funded. As far as thye are concern they can just run away from the problem. They have proven to be extremely selfish even the brother and sister duo. They were planning in running away and the thing is I can’t blame them.

    Also Kagehane (Mask man) Had it right, they all deserve to burn.

    Duzz
    Reply

    2. “Also Humanity as a whole does not deserve to live if they are going to be generally like the who who threw that can cap and made that blind girl thought it was a coin.

      It’s fucked up we need more grand father type in the world to take care of the kids. ”

      Sadly, that’s one of the small downsides for me in this. It feels like the writers are going out of their way to make 99% of humanity a total asshole just to shove how “good” Rentaro is down our throats.

      Not to say there’s something wrong with the idea of Renato being good and much of humanity being assholes, but it feels like they’re just putting too much into those images. What’s so wrong with showing at least a few more characters (main or unnamed) actually going out of their way to help the Cursed Children and see them as humans outside of sharing a scene with Rentaro being good?

      I mean ones like Kisara clearly care too, but we’re not shown anything with her going out of her way to save any random-at-the-time Cursed Child or anything like Rentaro has been shown to do quite a bit.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

  16. Too bad the New Gastrea Law did not pass. This show has been okay. I like the action scenes they are very well done. They do try to show us how much the Cursed Children suffer. I would like to explore it further. I wish the main hero was a little less generic. He appears to behave like the average anime male hero. Doesn’t really know how to talk to girls and has trouble expressing his feelings. And they keep calling him a pevert? Typical. However the Cursed children, action scenes, and humor keep me coming back

    Rick Anime
    Reply

  17. If i am Retarou i would shoot kisara’s grand dad , and ask Saitenshi to martial law and enforce the new geatrea law , he is weak , even if Kisara were to hate me and kill me , i don’t care if it keep her alive , humanity and also the cursed child alive, sometime you just need to sacrifice your good nature take all the blame and go to hell… just like the last of us

    PeTdo
    Reply

  18. Some comments in this thread are more depressing than the attitude that the general populace shows to the Cursed Children. The latter, as ugly as it looks, is nothing but an expression of the instinctive fear.

    Conrad
    Reply

    1. This is just an example of what fear of the unknown can make of peoples. What they fear, it make them themselfs into if they let fear takem them over

      Like the jedi’s
      Gerog lucas, found the essence of humanity…

      Worldwideweb
      Reply

  24. wish Rentaro would reject Enju then maybe she would start thinking of him like family. look at Sakura’s crush on Yukito from ccs what made her crush on him cute was the fact clamp didn’t perv it up or have her make sexual advances at him no it was just a innocent crush nothing more nothing less. I hoped they would do the same with Enju make her crush on Rentaro innocent.

    melissa
    Reply

    1. He rejected her romantic advances all the time. He had to keep making a point that they are family and will stay as family. Enju, being a precarious 10 year old, will have none of it. Don’t underestimate the crushing powers of a 10 year old girl.

      Mincemaker
      Reply

      3. If we ignore all the grimdark things about Gastrea and hating Cursed Children this anime could easily become a tale of a badass cyborg high school father having to put up with the antics of two young daughters, one of whom is adamantly set on marrying him and won’t take no for an answer.

        Mincemaker
        Reply

  28. Ep 09:

    This Episode is more about the Buildup for the Storm that will come.

    And with the Preview, it look and sound like my resolve to continue to watch will put to a test.

    more is spoiler…

    Germanguy
    Reply

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