After years of watching anime, especially with my current practice of trying every new title that comes out every season by watching at least one episode, I have pretty much seen every variety and genre it can offer (or I think I have).
I've watched some pretty out of this world, weird, scary, bat shit crazy and head scratching anime that leave me wondering about the imagination of the Japanese people.
But even with the extensive exposure, I come across certain anime TV series that I can't explain easily to others.
It took me all of the eight episode run of Black★Rock Shooter to fully grasp what was happening.
Although, I still wonder how I can explain it to others. Or how to properly form my thoughts about it.
Kuroi Mato is drawn to Takanashi Yomi because of her name, deciding at once that she wants to be friends. Yomi wants to be Mato's friend, but is emotionally blackmailed by her childhood friend Izuriha Kagari, a disabled girl who keeps Yomi to herself using guilt. Mato relies on her friend Kotari Yuu for advice and support, while the school counselor Irino Saya gives the female students unwelcome advice by telling them that the worst about themselves. In another world, Black Rock Shooter, characterized by her distinct glowing blue eye fights one girl after another. Unbeknownst to Mato, her choices affect the world and the battles of Black Rock Shooter.
From the onset, you get a sense that the characters in Mato's world have a connection with those in Black Rock Shooter's, since Black Rock Shooter's battles occur when Mato faces challenges. There's also the physical similarities of the characters in both worlds, albeit the ones in Black Rock Shooter's world possess inhuman strength and their body parts suddenly become weaponry or machinery.
It turns out that the characters in Black Rock Shooter's world are darken personas of the girls. When a girl experiences pain, her darken persona fights in that world with others. When the darken persona dies, all of the pain and the memory that caused the pain will disappear. And Mato, who chooses not to share her pain with others, have made Black Rock Shooter very strong. Black Rock Shooter becomes strong enough that others consider her to be the ultimate release from their pain, making her an executioner in her world.
I think you have to be of a certain mindset when you watch Black★Rock Shooter. This isn't the usual typical anime fare that serves up feelings of lightheartedness or even the semblance of a promise of that feeling.
The feel of the animation is dark. The regular world of Mato and Yomi is perpetually overcast, and what are supposed to be sunny days and bright colors appear muted. The world of Black Rock Shooter is surreal, with every setting changing depending on the darken persona that Black Rock Shooter is fighting. It could be stark, garish, or cluttered with debris, with every setting giving the impression of a wasteland.
The trials of the girls can border on depressing and the more pain they feel, the more violence is reflected in the world of Black Rock Shooter. And oh boy, is there violence. The darken personas inflict pain on each other, and, with their various mechanical or weapon-like appendages, cause as much damage as they can. I watched Black Rock Shooter get stabbed, shot, run over, crushed with chains and suffer a variety of broken body parts. The fact that her world is cartoonish because of how surreal and out of this world it is does not help to lessen the amount of flinching I made every time blows connected.
So, no, Black★Rock Shooter is not for the faint of heart. Especially if you like your anime all sparkly and happy.
While I can't say that I felt happy at any point while watching it, I did have a certain sense of appreciation for the series. Black★Rock Shooter is a unique way of fictionalizing the trials and tribulations of a person, whether those challenges involve bullying, depression, rejection, paranoia, guilt, and a host of other negative feelings.
You don't even have to be a teenage Japanese high school girl to understand the encompassing morale of the narrative. In fact, most of the fans that I've encountered online are guys. I guess it helps when you involve violent fight scenes as a metaphor.
I tagged Black★Rock Shooter as a must-watch anime series, though I don't think I'll be re-watching it again anytime soon.
In fact, if you do watch Black★Rock Shooter, I suggest that you watch something happy afterwards.
Happy viewing... I hope.Labels: Action, Anime, Black Rock Shooter, Drama, Fantasy, Must-Watch, TV
