Black Rock Shooter: TEH ANIMU

[Inugami]

Black Rock Shooter goes crazy from the lost of her waifu

Which is ironic, considering she's the one who murdered her.

Honestly, there doesn't seem to be a difference between the normal BRS and the Insane BRS -- either way, she's trying to kill any Otherself in sight. It's just that now Mato is trapped inside of her.


So, anyway. Yu and Strength were apparently the first, and Strength was born from Dissociative Identity Disorder; an alternate persona that Yu created to distance herself from her pain. How Yu got in contact with the Otherworld is unknown -- it certainly isn't normal.

She's the catalyst who creates Black Gold Saw or otherwise wakes Saya up to her existence. Then Yu and Strength apparently switch places.

Even as Strength, Yu doesn't want to fight, so she appoints Black Gold Saw to protect her in the Otherworld. While Black Gold Saw gets into fights and otherwise meddles in things, Strength keeps far away from anyone. The only thing she does is haul away Othercorpses, until she rescues Saw and starts fighting Insane BRS.


Was Black Rock Shooter the reason why Yu wanted protection in the Otherworld? Was Shooter already going around killing Otherselves? If not, why were she and Black Gold Saw fighting before Mato and Saya ever met?

Why did Strength, posing as Yu, seek out and befriend Mato? Odds are, Strength singled Mato out specifically because of Black Rock Shooter.

Was Strength hoping to stop BRS by putting Mato in control?

What about Shooter's own motivations? Why is she killing Otherselves even when Mato explicitly doesn't want her to? When Shooter spoke with Mato, was she lying to her real self, tricking her into a trap that would grant BRS more power?


Why do Otherselves leave corpses, anyway? In a world like the Otherworld, wouldn't the corpses vanish just like landscapes without owners?

And why does Yu bother disposing of them? Would they rot, or spoil the environment? Why should she care? Is it not a sort of mental world where space and location are mere suggestions? She has her own territory and the territory of every other mind in the world and whatever common ground exists between.

[ChiakiKakumei]

Real Yuu is batshit. Fights were awesome. Some of it was overkill but I like it. And Dead Master evolved to ZOMBIE MASTER! *shot*

EDIT: Made an error. I meant to say Real Yuu is Batshit.

[Fangstrike]

@Inugami - all good questions and the same things I've been wondering too. Too bad it's only an 8 episode anime, and that it had such a slow start. There's just so much room for expansion.

Real Yuu is not batshit. Fights were awesome. Some of it was overkill but I like it. And Dead Master evolved to ZOMBIE MASTER! *shot*

Yeah, though since this is the Insane Black Rock Shooter, I was hoping for it to be a little more epic. Doesn't seem like she got much of a power up, though the sword-surfing was pretty cool.

I'm just hoping Dead Master will get a chance to bitch slap Strength/Yuu and tell her to get away from her waifu. Probably won't happen exactly like that tho...

[ChiakiKakumei]

Well. BRS ended pretty well and everyone is happy. The ending is a bit corny but it's still good. The fight scene was also epic and the "TASTE THE RAINBOW MOTHERFUCKER!" cannon was awesome but I feel like the fight and the drama in the last episode were a little rushed.

But overall, the Anime is good.

[I3uster]

It was average.
I expected more since this brand is pretty much printing money tbh, but it was no disaster.

[Satehi]

RAINBOWS

MOTHERFUCKING RAINBOWS

CAN YOU TASTETHEPOWEROFTHIS RAINBOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Inugami]

I DO love the contrast of the rainbow's spectrum against solid black. I had a jacket and baseball cap with that color scheme, once.

Hmm. Kagari loves Yomi, Yomi loves Mato, Mato loves Yomi and Yu... The solution is obviously a big ol' lesbian polyamorous pile. With Saya.



However, a LOT of shit made made no fucking sense.


1) My thoughts on the nature of Otherselves remain unchanged, even though these last two episodes seem to imply that Otherselves are more plentiful or natural than I claim. Which is bullshit, because amnesia is not that commonplace. I'd be willing to accept that THAT particular school is some sort of zone that creates Otherselves in the students who attend, but that doesn't explain Black Rock Shooter or Chariot, both of whom existed before their real selves ever set foot on that campus, and it doesn't explain why Kohata didn't have an Otherselves before God Saw tried to create one for her.


2) Yuu didn't trade places with Strength until after Strength got real feelings. Strength didn't get real feelings until she met Black Rock Shooter... but consider the age difference between Mato and Saya. Remember that Saya and Yuu were the same age. Mato was not in school with the two of them. Hell, Mato might not have been old enough to be in elementary school, considering that Saya had enough time to graduate middle school, high school and college!


3) What possible, internally consistent reason is there for Yomi and Kagari to start recovering their lost memories? Are we just supposed to accept that Deus Ex Machina because it allows for a Feel Good Ending? That's bullshit. Try harder! At least half-ass a reason!


VERDICT: Overall, a mediocre anime. Even the fights scenes can't bring this anime up to "good", since they're always being interrupted, there are often too many visual details flying by too quickly to see, and the REASONS for the battles are totally unclear.

The interpersonal interactions also cannot bring the story up to "good", because of unexplained, unnatural bullshit that overcomplicates the situation, which is already complicated enough.


And how many damned times do they need to repeat that Bird of Many Colors stuff?

[Satehi]

I dunno about you, Inu, but I enjoyed it, even if it never really made much sense.

[Inugami]

Without sense, how can anything have meaning?

Without meaning, how can anything have worth?

[Laith]

Without love it cannot be seen!

...I'll see myself out.

[Satehi]

You can't just enjoy nicely animated fight scenes and good music for what it is?

[I3uster]

Why do you seek both in what is essentially a figure commercial?

[Inugami]

You can't just enjoy nicely animated fight scenes and good music for what it is?

I already said why I could not.

The visual designs are too busy, and the action is constantly broken up with non-action sequences.

Plus, a fight scene is more engaging when you know what the stakes are. What does each fighter want to accomplish? What do they stand to lose?

Why do you seek both in what is essentially a figure commercial?

Why should this have been nothing but a figure commercial? Are you saying that it couldn't have been more?

[Leary]

The OVA was better. Even the fighting jived better with me in the OVA.

I'm sort of with Inugami. If this was the best they could do with the Otherworld stuff than they may as well have left it completely unexplained like in the OVA.

But sure, toy commercial, whatever. I heard once upon a time the game was licensed by NIS for localization in the US. Maybe that will provide a more fulfilling experience.

[Laith]

Just don't go onto the game expecting high school stuff. There's girls being emotional tho.

[Inugami]

Okay, so looking back on the series...

Saya was never evil. Black Rock Shooter was the bad guy. Gold Saw was protecting Yu (posing as Strength) from Shooter.

Doesn't quite explain why Gold Saw tried to rescue Chariot, especially since Saya had never met Kagari and might not have even known she existed.

And what the fuck was Saya even trying to accomplish with Kohata and Yomi?

[Leary]

Saya wasn't a good guy either. Screwing with all those girls was to give BRS otherselves to stomp other than Yu. Maybe she wanted to save Chariot to keep BRS busy for longer?

[Inugami]

Seems plausible.