Apart from some really energetic action pieces, not all that much else. Black Rock Shooter is a 50 minute long OVA released in 2010, directed by Shinobu Yoshioka and produced by animation house Ordet, based on a song of the same name by Supercell and its accompanying music video which featured illustrations from Huke.
Right. In other words, a story based on a song, which means there isn’t much to go on in terms of material then. The OVA tells the story of junior high school student Mato Kuroi, who befriends a girl name Yomi Takanashi. The story follows their daily lives in school as well as at their respective clubs, with Mato having joined the basketball team and Yomi the volleyball, as well as their ever increasing friendship as time passes.
In between the daily slice of life stuff, we get treated to a number of high energy, mysterious clashes between silent and unknown entities, in this case Black Rock Shooter and Dead Master, in a twisted world that is certainly not our own. These inter-spliced sequences continue until just before the end of the OVA, when after realising that their friendship is starting to drift apart as new friends get added into the circle, Yomi simply disappears.
An emotional Mato sets off to find her, and the tie to the mysterious Black Rock Shooter world is finally revealed.
There are enough visual clues to give you an idea of how the story might end, and outside of the exploration of the friendship between the two girls, there really isn’t all that much here. The fantastic encounters between Black Rock Shooter and Dead Master are silent and although the OVA concludes its story in a fairly satisfactory manner, it really won’t be begging you to come back and watch it again.
As for the animation, Ordet have done a fantastic job, churning out some beautiful scenery and character designs, switching effortless between our vibrant world and that of the oppressed and desolate world of Black Rock Shooter. The animation is fluid and energetic, and as a whole, everything just looks fantastic.
Similarly, the voice actors all do a great job and mention must be made of the fantastic soundtrack, from Ryo of Supercell, that accompanies the story, effortlessly controlling the pace and emotion of the scenes with each and every track.
In summary, stylistically Black Rock Shooter is a winner, delivering some great battle sequences, slice of life moments and of course a fantastic soundtrack. But outside of the visuals and the experience, there really isn’t that much there, and it is definitely not a story that you’ll be missing out on should you give it a skip.
So worth picking up in other words, but not something you should beat yourself up over should you not get around to ever checking it out.
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rock_shooter