Anime: Black Rock Shooter (2012)

Ahh, Black Rock Shooter… je t’aime

In the 1960s, which is 60 years before when I come from which is the future, a recondite avant garde composer by the name of Captain Beefheart graced the airwaves with his trundling avant garde music that challenged the status quo of blues music with a menagerie of outré bumps and scrapes, replete with a healthy dose of guttural growls, vaguely resembling music. Yet these renegade evocative soundscapes informed a portent of society. In order for progress to subsist, artistic vanguards like this are of incorrigible necessity.

Now, I’m going to go on a bit of a tangent here, so please bare with me. In comparable fashion, the incandescent, avant garde Dada movement was birthed by way of the antipodal reaction to the indelible horrors of World War Un. This international movement was embarked by a collective of adroit artists and poets consummately associated with the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. Dada rejected reason and logic, prizing a mélange of nonsense, irrationality and intuition. The origin of the name Dada is difficult to parse; some believe that it is a nonsensical word. Others maintain that it originates from the Romanian artists Tristan Tzara’s and Marcel Janco’s frequent use of the words da, da, meaning yes, yes in the Romanian language. Another paradigmatic theory states that the nom de plume “Dada” came during a confluence of the group when a paper-ladeden knife stuck into a French-German dictionary happened to indicate a sequence of letters spelling out ‘dada’, a French word for ‘hobbyhorse’. Their greatest accomplishment, however, was paving the way for Black Rock Shooter, and in turn, this highly intellectual essay I am writing.

In the avant garde tradition of dadaism, Black Rock Shooter tells the tale of budding young girls coping with the malaise of growing up by way of nigh-poetic alternative reality battle sequences. These obstreperous alternative reality segments, an oneiric substrate of the recursive subconscious, serve as a brilliantly heuristic amalgam: the asynchronous parallelogram that is the human mind is an esoteric and, at times, untenable beast; one that Black Rock Shooter, in all its thematic opulence, seizes magnanimously, spinning it’s own immutable and immaculate web that, while subtly didactic, masterfully explicates the manifold human condition on the precipice of the acquiescence of maturity with a very natural demure about it. In the words of Lester Bangs, “Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.” Well played, Mr Bangs. Well played.

And if you’ll bare with me for a bit longer, I’d like to expound upon what a “character” is before diving headfirst into Black Rock Shooter’s puissant ensemble cast. To cite wikipedia: “A character is a person in a narrative work of arts (such as a novel, play, television show/series, or film).[1] Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr, the English word dates from theRestoration,[2] although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749.[3][4] From this, the sense of “a part played by an actor” developed.[4] Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the theatre or cinema, involves “the illusion of being a human person.”[5] In literature, characters guide readers through their stories, helping them to understand plots and ponder themes.[6] Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase “in character” has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor.[4] Since the 19th century, the art of creating characters, as practised by actors or writers, has been called characterisation.[4]“

That is what a “character” is. Now you “know”.

Tu m’étonnes. And the “characters”, ahh the “characters”…!!! So many “characters”, so many “feelings”. As I consider it, nigh all of them are connected. In point of fact, the teacher is as well. Mato, a protean Humbert Humbert of sorts, is our intrepid protagonist. Feebly equipoised, Mato is a veritable “domino theory” of emotions. Everything from :D to >:O is covered consummately, leaving no stone left unturned, n’est-ce pas! In no other piece of fiction has the kaleidoscopic array of humanity been so thoroughly covered, and with such nuance to boot. Astute viewers will be on the edge of their seat as Mato confronts inherently relatable, quotidian issues, such as being dealt the “dirty colored macaroons” by a periphery, recalcitrant acquaintance; clearly a profound yet subtle metaphor for fate and one’s lot in life. This essayist is pleased to report that you can expect many more ruminations on life like this promulgated throughout. Case in point, Black Rock Shooter, Mato’s acousmêtre alter ego, is in constant conflict with an elusive, Kafkaesque clout beyond her control; a startling depiction bureaucracy that rivals such notable works as “1994″ and “Brave World” in its deft, metaphysical illustrations.

Black Rock Shooter truly is a psychologically variegated, ephemeral Musique concrète-esque urbane (to coin a neologism) tree-being-chopped-down-when-no-one-is-around-does-anyone-hear-it.!?!. It is a sterling example of anime’s edifying artistic potential and stands out sumptuously in the moribund, fetid, meretricious sea of ancillary noxious pabulum that is the anime industry. It is the vanguard avant garde artistic achievement we need. If you’ll excuse me for using a downright plebeian parlance of our contemptuous times, it is Absolutely Life Affirming: 10/10

Captain Beefheart would be proud. il y a quelque chose qui cloche métro, boulot, dodo Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.

Yuri factor, however, is a paltry 4.2793/10. Mere inklings of shoujo-ai allusions are all that await you in Black Rock Shooter, in terms of yuri. Don’t assuage, however. Abide. Besides, are yuri main for you?

PS: I don’t know why I said PS, but this is my maiden voyage review. CONSTRUCTIVE feedback is heartily encouraged. I’d say “Thanks for reading”, but let’s be honest, you should be thanking me for allowing you to read it. :3

Tune in next week for my review of Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara, faithful reader. Voilà

Now, I read a bit of user forum comments on this show before posting my review and I must say just one thing... so much nerdrage...
it's like ME3 all over again. -.-

Did you honestly think an anime based solely on a wallpaper would be the next messiah of the Japanese animation industry? I mean, after the terrible BRS OVA which was just fighting and eye-candy art with no explanations, my expectations, at least, were pretty low for this one. The 1st episode, however, was more intriguing than I ever thought it could be, and instead of just checking it out I watched the whole show.

Art & Animation: 6/10
Certainly the weakest part of the show, although I usually don't like to rate shows by how pretty they are.

- The real world characters are drawn in a really hurried low budget 2D most of the time.
- They use 3D MMD models for the parallel world characters, and the difference in animation quality between the two methods simultaneously used in the same anime is obvious.
+ Parallel world battles are interesting and unexpectedly well animated, however.

Sound: 7/10

Both voice acting and bg themes were just okay.

Story: 7/10
Ughh...
It's been a long time since I had such contradicting feelings on something.
In this show, the story is both the strongest and the weakest part of the whole.

The introduction during eps 1&2 is very promising, although show later takes a whole different direction than you'd be expecting. Basically, it shows real life problems of school kids mirrored in an introspective dream world, with symbolisms behind things and is relatively deep. If they had continued down this road, it might even have made an outstanding psychological anime, I'm not kidding.

Later on, show transforms into a complete mindf**k of unprecedented scale. It is possible to take guesses at what's going on but it's mostly pointless as it turns out that the writer is using this as a chance to move away from the initial premise we were lured in by culminating in a "parallel world" explanation that, truly, does explain everything up until now but also leaves a couple of plotholes behind...

Spoilers: Read this ONLY if you've seen the whole anime already.

Long story short,
+ Symbolisms
+ Well made introspection (at first)
+ Miraculously fast pacing for an angst anime
+ Mystery is actually properly explained

- This show seems much shallower after you find it all out
- Minor plotholes (I've seen worse.)

Character: 6/10

+ unlike in OVA, real world girls finally have distinct personalities of their own
+- yuri NTRing and emotional floods worthy of a genuine soap opera (+ or - depends on taste)
- parallel world girls still don't get personalities.

Value: 7/10
In the end, it was not that great, however it certainly wasn't bad, either.
It was a pretty memorable experience watching it, despite it being several notches away from being an actual gem.

As for the rewatchability, the couple first episodes do include some minor hints and subtle details you won't know or notice at first, similar to Madoka, indicating more work than for just 8 eps behind the scenes, however this will probably never be discussed or noticed as much. You will probably only rewind this for the battle scenes which were nicely done.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Despite the flaws, this is a somewhat fresh and innovative anime that is entertaining to follow unlike another generic crap. As a semi-experimental anime it was certainly one of the most interesting watches of the season if you're looking for something different. Fighting might not have been so necessary for the plot but it does add a lot for the overall enjoyment.

I personally had a good time watching this, even though I was not okay with how the story was developed later. The ending was... okay, just okay, but I'm also fine with it as so many animes I have watched have badly wrapped up endings or are straight out unfinished, plus it had a good and warm after-feel to it.

As for the unsatisfied Miku Miku fans.....

You do know that most of the Pixiv and NicoNico fanart is crap, right, but most still glorifies the music videos having the most developed indie animation and the fanart comics being in color? It is because among them all, one or some of them might be something especially just for your little throbbing heart.
But when it comes to an anime, the only thing that could satisfy them all would be a mystery box that would change its contents according to what each separate fan would have imagined for the anime of their ideal imaginary character to contain.

Black Rock Shooter began as a Vocaloid song, where Miku’s uniform was inspired by some illustrations made by a guy named Huke. An OVA was created in 2010 based on that song/illustration combo, which received a ridiculously huge hype by all the Vocaloid fans. Not a surprise since it was after all a fan catering title. Two years later (2012) NoitanimA decided to take this title in its timeslot and to expand it further, thus creating the current version.

Despite being only 8 episodes, it still feels longer than it needs to be. The plot is very simple; it is just about a bunch of schoolgirls going through an emotional maelstrom, caused by jealousy. The heroine Mato is looking for friends in her new school and befriends another girl named Yomi. This causes the other girls who were friends with to feel betrayed for loosing her full attention. While we watch the simple everyday lives of some normal girls, the plot will be going back and forth to an alternative reality, where we see them dressed in weird gothic clothes and fighting each other with fantasy-themed weapons.

The themes don’t need more than a few episodes to be explored. The alternative world where the action takes place in is a hellish place which represents their mentality. Them fighting is supposed to symbolize their emotions and their friendship being challenged because of jealousy. These parts are practically non-stop action with all sorts of over-the-top weapons and it looks like a fantasy videogame. It is very eye-catchy thanks to its weird imagery and fast paced action, and a contrast to the rest of the normal scenes. That is basically the main attraction and lure of this show. Watching some girls having an allegorical emotional conflict, made to seem in their minds like an all-out war in that other world.

Unfortunately there is nothing more beyond that, since there is no mystery or numerous characters going through similar situations. In this regard the show falls flat before Madoka Magica or the Persona series. It remains a shallow fan catering work, a simplistic concept presented in an extravagant way, that promotes the song/illustrations and intends to sell a lot to the Vocaloid fans, or anyone else who is into fighting lolis. Make that naked pseudo-lesbian lolis who have to embrace pain and keep going or some nonsense. When did we even see the girls trying to run away from the pain and thus excusing all this mess? Oh, right, we didn’t, the show didn’t bother to build up the conflict. That’s how much effort was placed on this anime.