I think Yomi looks cuter with glasses, but they really shouldn't have also given them to Dead Master.

Can't say I enjoyed it that much.
Without motive or consequences, fights generally aren't that interesting.
unlike the original ova, Late into the first ep, they ellude to the possibility that all the fighting going on, might just be some imaginary representation of the things the real world characters are going through.
add on that the character of Blackrock shooter, and presumably the other characters, seem to be completely invincible, taking the full brunt of enemy attacks head on over and over and not being phased by it, it makes the fights become kind of pointless and little more than a spectacle, eye candy really.
almost like when criminals are shooting at superman, then toss their guns at him when they run out of bullets.
It makes me ask myself, why do they even bother fighting?

the whole thing at Yomi's home was almost funny, in how quickly it comes out of nowhere and rushed it all was.
all I could think was something along the lines of; lol, wtf?

I know it's a short series, but they really should have built up to the introduction of that character more, not just tossed her out into the scene, as she goes on about yomi being the reason for her apparent crippled legs.
quickly followed by her acting like a creepy nutjob.
where I come from, kids that act like that whenever company comes over, would get locked in the attic and only feed fish heads, so as to not embarrass their parents.
too much too soon, is all I'm saying here...

Post edited on 3rd Feb 2012, 10:33pm

I'm one of those who enjoyed the OVA: I liked better its character design; but I'm already loving this series... all of it: the fragmentary narrative, the fast pace, the creepy new character, the nightmerish art as battles of the mind and heart (I think the level of cruelty fits this greatly)...

So overall I'm positively surprised; I'll sure see how this develops. I even felt like getting myself another BRS figure...

Dead Master doesn't look very threatening at all anymore, really makes her look a lot more timid.
In a way, it almost feels like they're giving the fans a nice kick in the balls by changing the characters designs that have already long since been established, not only in tons of fan art work, but merchandise including a bunch of figures, a video game and of course the original ova.
there was no need to change them, clearly many people liked it the way it was before just fine, after all, this whole series is mostly just originally based on the character designs anyway.

I liked the first episode. Still have no idea what's going on over in BRS' world. We were just thrown into a mess of conflicts without even a little explanation. Quite jarring.

Why'd they have to give Dead Master glasses? She looks like a gothic librarian. The original character designs were better in general, now their heads seem a little too round.

>>8390
>there was no need to change them

Simpler designs are easier to animate, easier to draw in 3-d wireframes, and for that reason take less effort and money to accomplish.
Considering how well the OVA sold, I can't imagine the budget for the TV series being anything above abysmal.

Though with the main type of animation used in the first ep, with the vast majority of the actual motion in the character's eyes as everything else relatively motionless (the single cheapest way to animate stuff), the producers most likely thought the changes would be a bit more jarring if the designs weren't somewhat redone in addition to being heavily simplified.

In any case, I also strongly dislike how the changes went, in addition to just how much the animators used the eye trick to pass off some very, very shoddily drawn hands in multiple scenes.

As per most other noitamina works, there are some impressively drawn backgrounds...which only highlights how terribly low budget the character design and animation are when combined.

As another note, I didn't even recognize strength for 2/3 the episode due to how badly her design was butchered.

>>8432
>how terribly low budget the character design and animation are
yeah really, first thing I noticed was how all the characters in that other world place (whatever it's called) are all cgi, including the whole ED, which I think might become the op for the next for the rest of the show.
but you know, I think low budget designs and animation would be understandable to the fans and not -that- big of a deal, I mean, k-on still went over well even with it's fetus hands, which I think western viewers poked fun of a lot more than Japanese viewers, and I think that might be becuase 'QUALITY' as they put it, is something that can be fixed for dvd versions, overall character designs, not so much.

I know simpler designs are easier to animate, but the art was already pretty simple in that ova, it almost looks like they tried to make the designs look more detailed for the series, but the execution of it lead to something even less detailed than the ova's art.

Post edited on 6th Feb 2012, 6:45pm

>>8433
>it almost looks like they tried to make the designs look more detailed for the series, but the execution of it lead to something even less detailed than the ova's art.

They were changed to be more simple overall and have a stronger focus on the character's eyes, the only part of the characters that has anything resembling effort put into it. The eyes of the characters may have slightly more detail to them, but the entire point of the animation style used is to draw your attention to the eyes.
Everything else, from the character's hair to their outfits, were simplified to the point of being a single color with a bit of outline, and then a shadowed version of that color to make the thing not seem as flat.

>but the art was already pretty simple in that ova,

The art itself, mostly yes, but the animation was meant to be done in a similar method/style as K-on, with lots fluid movement and an emphasis on any and every part of the body moving, most notably the hair and clothing.

Looking at the scenes where they is little movement, there is a noticeable increase in the amount of effort put into the art. Instead of two levels for shading, there are three, and smaller details on the body are shown. It's most notable in the 3+ second long still pans in the BRS parts of the OVA, but calling the art overall simple wouldn't exactly be correct.

>>8434
>the character's eyes, the only part of the characters that has anything resembling effort put into it.
yeah when zoomed in sure, but they look kind of the same/normal to me when they're not in focus.
but that's just me, you seem to know a lot more about art and design than I do, so I wouldn't try to argue about it, since you're clearly right about them, and I was mostly just talking about their alternate forms anyway.
The 'other world' characters don't seem as if they were designed with animation ease in mind at all, being all computer models, which allows the animators to do almost anything they want with the characters.

>>8433
>all the characters in that other world place... are all cgi

I can't find but amusing the fact that, in there (and in some other anime series, by Gainax or Shaft), the imginary, fictional or inner world of these 2D characters is portrayed as 3D...
I guess it's just that they simply couldn't jump another dimension down, without ending with fucking Morse sequences onscreen.

>>8442
hehe, yeah it's a bit ironic now that you mention it.

IT BURNS!!!

OH, THE HUMANITY.

So this is gonna have a message for hikikomori, too...

I don't really give a rat's tail about anything other than the action and I have to say I'm fairly impressed. I love the fact that the cg is allowing action scenes with actual camera/scene panning, the one thing I'm usually disappointed with anime action.

>>8463
I, on the contrary, VERY rarely give a rat's posterior about action scenes... And these are good, indeed.

What the hell is going on, I don't even

>>8463
The action scenes are kinda ruined by Black Rock Shooter getting the blood drilled out of her a gallon a second while barely cringing.

>>8466
Exorcism.

>>8467
Indeed.
Action without consequence is inherently boring.

>>8467
>>8471
>>8387
the battles are symbolic of the mental and emotional chaos between the girls and their friendships, the battles are not going to be 100% accurate just as Hetalia isnt 100% accurate in how country battles are in approximating the battles in the world wars.

Honestly it wasn't forced in my opinion, I segued into it very quickly. I liked how it became so serious so quickly, there was not much character development yes, but the main points were done st a nice speed (and of course, the OVA set the precedent - originally I didn't like the change in plot but I grew to like it given it provides more detail, and how more serious it got.)

It probably helps that I started watching this at midnight my time, though even without that I'd likely still get into this a lot. This is really gripping as a show and I forget that they're middle-schoolers. I haven't felt this sort of feeling since watching Madoka last year.

>>8387
where are you from exactly?

>>8467
you do see her crying but that's obscured by the music played. And the action scenes are only a metaphor for the drama between the girlfriends, ergo it isn't as important IMO. Actually now the action is a bit secondary enjoyment to me now and that doesn't bother me. When Commie fansubs did the "english please" t/l instead of "japanese please" I was knocked out of suspension but got back into it when shit got serious with the crazy bitch, and Takanashi was proposed about friendship blatantly.

For the second ep, her waiting like that for hours was a bit odd for me, I'd just enjoy the festival and wait for the other people to come - then again it's a habit for mt to go to shit (cons, parties, parades) by myself - but still I could understand how she felt - I'd be a bit annoyed at being abandoned by someone in that way.

I think the fact that the black rock shooter segments are a metaphorical representation of the events occurring in the actual animated parts of the show, is more of a problem than a good thing.
The series is called 'Black★Rock Shooter' not 'Mato Kuroi', those segments are supposed to matter, that's what this series was built on.
yet it takes a backseat to the schoolgirl drama by having those segments just be a metafore for what's 'really going on', it makes those parts come off as tacked on and highly unneeded.
like something that could have easily been tacked onto virtually any anime.

I'm reminded of EF, (you can probably think of better examples, but this is just the first that came to me) the whole thing with Chihiro being chained in place and trying to escapade into the surrounding darkness was a metaphor, something to better facilitate the feelings of the character and what she was going through, what would otherwise be too hard to get across to the viewer.
you could say, it's a guide to help the viewers better understand the situation.

thing is though, the animated or 'real world' in this series doesn't need these representations, the messages and ideas get across just fine from the 'real world' characters, as such making the black rock segments truly unneeded and tacked on, add on to that the fact that they're poorly synced up to the 'real world' events.
The thing with dead master being chained up by Chariot coincides well with the events of the first half of episode two, but in the second half black rock shooter is the one fighting Chariot, where as in the real world it was Yomi that got to her.
an accurate representation of this would have been for black rock shooter to be separated from dead master and Chariot, but somehow managing to free dead master who would in turn be the one to fight Chariot, not black rock shooter as it was.
Then you get back gold saw showing up out of nowhere which just makes me wonder, what the fuck is this?
Her arrival in that scene makes me question weather or not it really is a representation of the events going on or not, because black gold saw's real world character was nowhere to be seen in that hospital scene.
which would make it just as the ova was, in which the blackrock shooter events all took place after the real world stuff.
better, but although that might have worked for the ova, I really don't think a direction like that would be well suited for a stretched out tv series, but that's just me, even thouse that doesn't seem like it could work, it's only been two ep so far, and if that is indeed what they're going for, they might be able to make it work.

why did Mato's feet get all messed up?
all she did was sit on the steps for a few hours playing with her cellphone.
as opposed to walking around for hours which she would have done if yomi showed up, which somehow wouldn't hurt her feet?
you'd think it would actually be her ass that would hurt from that situation.

Why can't they just go with the PSP environment/characters as a base?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_tZhDStpqM

The high school thing just doesn't mix imo.
I'm sure most people are watching this for BRS... and nothing else.

As a concept for an anime, this seems a ton more interesting.

>>8526
yeah really.
I shit you not, there is actually a released version of this anime that has the high school stuff all edited out.

yet they still prioritize the high school stuff in this anime....
That edited version actually comes out to a time of 7:26, not even half of the full length 22:55 ep, and that's with the op (which was the ed for the first ep)

>>8527

I'm not sure how the high school setting even passed the concept phase honestly. If people wanted that, they could watch one of the many similar kinds of series available.

Even the manga seems more interesting, though it has its grim moments.

>>8528
>I'm not sure how the high school setting even passed the concept phase honestly.

You don't watch much anime, do you?

the addition of the high school elements was added to make the anime more appealing to a larger audience, larger in terms of BD sales mind you. The middle/high school setting was set in stone even by the time the OVA was drafted.

Pure fantasy like Tower of Druaga or Book of Bantorra simply don't sell well, but put the fantasy on the side of an "everyday highs chool life" and you get series like bakemonogatari and NGE that print money, or simply just make botched adaptations sell well enough to break even or get additional seasons.

It's also the reason why several anime adaptations where several parts of the story are changed specifically to make the MC a "normal high school student", an example being kurokami (at least in the beginning, before the school part gets forgotten from the story entirely).

>>8531
The reasons for it are obvious, but I don't think that justifies it.
It's Black★Rock Shooter, It's a big name, and it doesn't need cheep gimmicks to sell.
you can't even say the high school elements were added or tacked on, because they took over the series, they're what the plot revolves around, not the other way around, as it should at least be.
and because of the brand being well established, I find it hard to believe that they had buget problems forcing them to make all the fantasy parts cgi.
that comes off more as lazyness, not just becuase all the fantasy characters are cg in the series, but the op also.
They really couldn't animate the characters for a short intro video that they're going to show over and over?
Not even just that either, but the promo artwork is also all cgi, why the hell would you need cgi for still images?!
Not even for the character sheets shown here >>8433

>>8532
>It's Black★Rock Shooter, It's a big name, and it doesn't need cheep gimmicks to sell.
The only gimmick is the title name and character models.
Everything else was done dirt fucking cheap to make a quick buck on a TV series with the name, expecting that the BRS name alone will sell it.

>you can't even say the high school elements were added or tacked on, because they took over the series, they're what the plot revolves around, not the other way around, as it should at least be.

While I agree with the sentiment of your statement, the execution of the directing and choreography for nearly all the CG fights was so terrible that I find myself much preferring the high school sections.

>and because of the brand being well established, I find it hard to believe that they had buget problems forcing them to make all the fantasy parts cgi.
Why bother with the budget when you are sure it will sell about the same regardless?

>They really couldn't animate the characters for a short intro video that they're going to show over and over?
>Not even just that either, but the promo artwork is also all cgi, why the hell would you need cgi for still images?!

At least this way the fans don't feel cheated.
Watch a few of the fight scenes in the TV series, then watch *one* fight scene from the OVA, then rewatch the TV fight scenes... as if they weren't bad enough on their own, when compared to each other the TV ones just look that much worse.

Yeah, this show is looking to be a steaming pile of shit.

So when do we get episode 3?

>>8534
yeah, you're right, it really does just come off as rushed out and half.
just to make a buck as you put it.

when it comes to those fights, for me it's not just about how bad they look, (and they certainly do look bad, like a 12 year old playing with a 3D modeling program, or a typical Garry's mod video.), but by having no consequences to the action, it becomes really dull, BRS can't die even after being run over by a tank thing, drilled into, sliced by giant saws, so what does any of it matter?
It's just a spectacle of how much abuse the character can take.
There's also very little reason behind the action, it's just action for the sake of action, and it has no baring what so ever on the plot.
It's ugly and pointless, but also frustrating to watch becuase that's what the show is supposed to be all about.

on another note, I don't think the non-fantasy stuff was done as well as it was in the ova.
Kagari's performance is waaay over the top, and simply isn't a believable character.
blaming Yomi for making her crippeled was retarded enough when it was reviled Yomi actualy had very little to do with it, but then it turns out she's just faking it, and Yomi doesin't seem suprised by it, it came off more like she was expecting it when Kagari said her arms don't work anymore either, ...which she used a few minutes latter as she got up and went psycho...
Yomi knows this over-acting nutjob is full of shit, how don't the character's parents?

The relationship between Mato and yomi to me appears really forced.
They go from strangers to best friends for life in just one ep.
The thing with keeping track of how many times yomi sent Mato text messages was probably meant to be sentimental, among a number of other scenes, but just come off more as obsessive.
I expect to be seeing some yandere style fanart popping up soon.
They've known each other for what, like two or three days by the end of ep 2?
The ova was much better in this department I think, although they didn't have a lot of time to work with, using that montague at least got the idea across that their relationship was something that they worked at and grew over time, not just slapped together instantly with a children's book as the glue.

oh, and one other thing, I think the color stuff is making mato sound seriously autistic.

>>8534
>>8538
Seriously? You guys think the cg action scenes look terrible? This is just going to have to be one of the times I throw my hands up in the air because I can't even begin to try to see things your way. I mean, I've yet to see better-looking cg action in any other anime tv series. If it's about maybe looking comparatively poorer, I will say in defense of TV series that the OVA had less than 5 minutes total for the action out of 60 minutes of an OVA production so I'd assume they'd have had more budget and time to work with. But even so, I think the action in the TV series holds up quite well. If it’s purely about the choreography leading to “hurr I can take all the damage in the world and it doesn’t mean shit,” then yes, I can agree that the action scenes have failed in creating tension for the audience. However, I think the actual movements themselves, as well as the camera/pov control, are certainly a far, far cry out from being horrible.

So is it merely the fact that cg looks too cg for you or are there aspects that you legitimately do not like about the cg animation? If so, could you care to point them out for me? I mean to assume no hostile stance, I'm just keen about learning how to judge animation and choreography better. If it’s hard to point to a single aspect, could you perhaps suggest changes to the animation that you would’ve made if you were in charge, or point me to another anime that has cg action scenes but done well?

>>8543
well, CG usually isn't something to be proud of using in anime.
It's kind of a cop-out that studios use when they can't or don't want to make something out of drawings.
usually when you see cg in anime, it's off in the back ground and hard to notice.
or at least used for inanimate objects like cars or robots.
This show actually had some cg in non-fantasy world, but no one has complained about it because of how subtle and hard to notice it is, (or maybe just no one noticed lol) but they're not even trying to hide it for those other world characters.
so one would think, if you're not going to hide it, why not go all out with it?
The models look like something from an old video game when in action.
I know this show doesn't have a big enough budget to make the cg look like that of big name cg movies, but they're the ones that chose to take the series in that direction.
and yeah, the animation can be a little weak at times, you might not always notice it becuase all the flying colorful garbage on screen is distracting, but the animation is very rusty at times.
There was one scene in the first ep for example, in which BRL is running rather fast while shooting her gun off, but her legs are barely moving.
ans at times it almost looks like they had frame rate issues with animating the characters in some slower moving scenes, with movements suited to rusty old robots.

yes, the “hurr I can take all the damage in the world and it doesn’t mean shit,” stuff does bother me a bit.
It's like playing a videogame with invincibility and all other cheat codes on, it gets boring because there's no longer any challenge to it.
just as a life or death situation becomes a lot less interesting when you take out the possibility of death.
and here in BRS, you have them actually flaunting the character's invincibility, she should have died something like four times in the first ep alone, and the OP shows what would otherwise be BRS getting killed, twice.
That only makes me think the creators enjoy abusing the character model.
If you notice, they removed the character's large scars on her waste for the redesign, although unsightly, they showed she wasn't invincible, one could interpret their removal as meaning the character can't even take a scratch anymore.
Even kids anime have characters that get a little dirty or something after a scuffle or challenge, but these characters always look perfect, even when bleeding gallons of blood(?)
and if they're not getting wounded, where's all that blood stuff coming from?

As a BRS fan, it's so frustrating how the anime is handled. Though it's the only BRS anime so I just have to deal with it.

Argh.

>>8531

This would be okay if the show was centered around BRS, but it isn't. It's about these high school girls and their relationship, and BRS is the "whipping girl."

I could understand if the MC turned into BRS or something, but she's a completely different character, while the star of the show is just a symbol of her relationship development.

It's like they're trying to piss off the fans.

>>8546
If enough people hate it, it might someday get a remake.

>>8548
B★RS: Hoshii no Umi OAD
NO CGI
NO high school/realworld setting
NO influence/directing from Hiroyuki Imaishi
Original Character designs only
FINAL DESTINATION.

>>8550
Never know dude, if 'Black★Rock Shooter' holds it's popularity after this, it could be considered a profitable enough franchise to warrant a remake.

Maybe it's just my wishful thinking, but episode 3 had improved art and story. I think we went overboard on slamming the show; it did just start after all.

>>8577
I'm starting to think a little bit of the same.

The third episode was a little odd, but it did give us some interesting questions to ask.

The anime really should've followed the OVA a little closer, though.

>>8577
>>8579
The third episode certainly took an interesting direction.
I can only hope they properly explain some of whats going on, because, well, this shit makes no fucking scene now.
Why did black rock shooter slaughter all those kid/doll things,(the only characters to have said a word in this mute world)then extend a hand to the one left alive, only to cut it down as well?
It's also way to soon for yomi to start going through the jealousy phase, I can't imagine they've known each other for more than a week or maybe two by the start of ep3, they really don't seem as if they know much more about each other and their relationship seems almost as forced as the counselor's performance in the 'everyone's laughing at you' scene.
also doesn't make a lot of since, since Yuu and Mato have been good friends since ep one, unlike the ova where yuu sort of stole mato from yomi.
But It's nice that they seem to be hinting at some sort of connectivity between the high school world and the world people actually care about.
and the reveal of what might be black gold saw, along with a possible motivation for her fighting BRS, or least would be if what happened there happened before ep2.

It still doesn't change most of the problems people have pointed out in this thread though, and they probably wont change.
Black★Rock Shooter universe is still full of and still takes a backseat to ridiculous high school girl drama with awful pacing, and nonsensical writing.

I still think mato should get some professional help involving her unhealthy obsession with a children's picture book, but at least they toned that down a bit in this ep.

>>8579

I'm having a hard time determining if she is pure evil, or enjoys helping people whilst having a sadistic mentality.

<----- Run, girl, run for your life! those guys' shit WILL fuck you up...

However: I do find their SoL+Seinen mix appealing, and it keeps developing; I've enjoyed the series from the begining and just keeps getting better.

>>8580
Concerning Yomi, you have to remember her background. She was chained to the psycho crippled lesbian for, what, almost as long as Mato been with Yuu? She had no friends that entire time, no matter how much she wished otherwise. Then comes Mato to the Little Bird's rescue. Yomi finally had a friend, and not just a friend: a BEST friend (also note they are in middle school, where friend hierarchies are taken seriously).

But the twist! There is another! Yomi is not Mato's only (and thus best?) friend! Yuu rides in on a hurricane right when Yomi was officially free to enjoy her friendship with Mato, who now seems to only be talking about her. To Yomi, it's "Yuu this" and "Yuu that". It's sorta like the case of the abused becoming the abuser. Kagari's obsession with having Yomi all to herself could have rubbed off on Yomi after all that time; that mentality was all she dealt with until recently after all.

For why BRS killed the kid... things then tried presumably saving another, it just so happened one survived. Hadn't done anything yet, so she probably figured she should rescue it, except it didn't want to be saved so she just said fuck it.

The counselor pulling that stunt, to me at least, was to incite a reaction from her (maybe for something Kyuubey-esque). She STRESSED how the basketball captain was now the joke of the whole school; she made sure to have her realize how AWFUL that was despite the fact that the cap'n wasn't very bothered by it. She has ulterior motives as possibly relating to Black Gold Saw. Did you notice how she gave a peculiar smile and looked at Mato (BRS) and Yomi's (DM) pictures which had marks beside them? Yuu hasn't been marked because Strength hasn't showed up yet. The counselor also started to cry right when BGS' last creation was cut down.

>>8585
That's certainly an interesting way to look at the Yomi situation, really changes how I see this version of her.

>it just so happened one survived. Hadn't done anything yet,
None of them did anything though.
That last doll looked to me like it was scared shitless, and who wouldn't be when some physico shows up out of nowhere and kills all your friends in cold blood.
>so she just said fuck it.
and killed that one too...
Are they trying to paint BRS as a villain here?

It's hard to say anything about Black Gold Saw at this point, the character is still a mystery.
although I'm kind of confused about one scnene that involved the counselor.
At the 12:46 mark they cut to what appears to be the counselor talking to someone, and says "it's nothing" before quickly cutting to the yearbook scene.
Maybe I misunderstood something there, but that almost seemed like a mistake done in editing of the episode, like something they accidentally put in from another ep.
It doesn't seem to fit the context of anything that went on in that whole episode.
All I can imagin from that slight smerk at the end, was that she was talking to herself and practicing lines maybe?
but even so, wouldn't she practice something she would actually say in that ep? such as "they where all laughing at you" something she repeated over and over latter, not "it's nothing" a phrase people say all the time without even thinking about it much.
or maybe she was talking to an imaginary friend?
either way, it seemed like very strange editing.

>>8586
The basketball team captain said that, remember? She was asked what the problem was and performed the same gesture you see a few seconds later. The counsellor was either mocking her or found the scene amusing.

>>8589
Oh you're right, I take back what I said about that.
I completely didn't notice.

Whelp, seems we know the reason for the character redesigns now.
(as if it wasn't already obvious.)

>>8592
If you had posted this an episode or two earlier I might have shook my fist at the sky and cursed human greed. Now I'm used to the designs (still hate Dead Master's, though). That just means the figures will be more accurate.

>>8594
It was unveiled more than a week ago though.
sort of old news by now I guess, but they were probably already working on the figs before the first ep aired.

Post edited on 19th Feb 2012, 7:01pm

I don't really care about BRS and I'm not following the show but since redesigns are mentioned in the last few post I've decided to look into it and...

>>8433

Holy shit, tthe new Dead Master looks HORRIBLE. It's bad and the designer should feel bad. Like I said, I don't care about BRS but I likted the old design enough to seriously consider buying the fig. New Yomi and new Mato look worse compared to the OVA designs, too.

The new BRS (as in the character) is a wee bit better than the old one, though.
... Wait, did they et rid of the scars? That's pretty stupid.

>>8602
They didn't just ruin dead master's design, they also made her kind of useless.
notice how they took away her weapon for whatever reason.

Well, the next episode should be interesting.

>>8609

Not entirely true.She gets it back when Yomi's mind breaks, as well as her sexy skull minions, and then a mountain of cannon fodder.
I just wish she wasn't so painfully pigeon toed in the front view while looking sexily normal from the side.

Hopefully BRS gets a scar or two carved into her next ep, but there's no point in getting any hopes up after the sawblade and blood splatter and not even a hint of clothing damage from the early episodes.

Ep.4 almost got me at the edge of myself...

Honestly, I don't get how you keep complaining about character designs and shit (even thought the current art is DAMN good in its own right) when the story/concept is developing so intensely, getting more and more sophisticated by the minute. It's like there might be something really worthy to grasp and cherish in there, but you keep just talking about the fashion.

>>8649
>Hopefully BRS gets a scar or two carved into her next ep, but there's no point in getting any hopes up after the sawblade and blood splatter and not even a hint of clothing damage from the early episodes.
I've stopped expecting anything from the animation, it's all just robotic movements with tons of shit flying across the screen for no good reason.
Chariot's perfectly clean decapitated body really drove home how bad this cg is, she literally looked like a broken doll.
but they might fix some of that stuff for a DVD release.

Glad to see dead master got her shit back, even if it's impossible to take her seriously anymore with the character redesign.

>>8651
I do believe we've talked about this, and the problem with the story, is that it's only the high school kids that gets the story.
The fantasy world is nothing but a few robotic emotionless girls fighting in outlandish environments for a few minutes every episode, it's the core of the series but plays second fiddle in it's own anime.

I think people aren't talking more about the exaggerated drama of the the high school girls because most many people just don't care about them.
but also because the fantasy world has barely any plot to it itself, pretty much anything that can be said about it, has been said.
and yes, some fans are still pissed about the design changes.

I've never been to japanese highschool, and wont pretend to have.
but don't they usually have a rather large problem with bulling kids who even slightly stand out?
All I know about about the subject, is what I've seen in anime and read about, but it sounds really harsh.
Some shows will depict it as being such a problem that it leads to kids being ostracised, or picked on to the point of killing themselves, or even arranging for classmates to get gang raped.
My point is, I find it kind of, strange, how the kids in the class treat the foul mouthed Kagari like an idol when she showed up.
Aren't they supposed to hate foreigners and be scared of people with blond hair?
It's not like this is a light hearted anime.
all these anime be sending such mixed messages...

>>8673
What they normally fear (in anime, of course) is the blond dyed dudes, cause they look delinquent; in this case, she looked more like a petite doll-alike transfer student who happened to be harsh, ergo, tsundere. About gang-rape: it always comes out of nowhere, so we never know.

>>8673
the reason Mato and Yomi are surprised was for that very reason.

They almost expected her to be a scorned and possibly bullied transfer student, with only Yomi and Mato being there for her as friends, but the exact opposite happened and left the two girls in a state of shock.

It was supposed to be a rather ironic scene.

complaints about the 3-d aside,

this ep was impressively good.

I'm so liking this.

Gritty aesthetic that talks about losing it, responsability, sucking guilt and wich seems to put psychoanalysts/counselors as the creepy motherfucker trash they are...

Much better than expected, for something that sprung merely from a stylish action-series idea (and it finally started making explicit the link between the worlds that some people kept demanding). Two thumbs up.

Post edited on 1st Mar 2012, 7:04pm

I personally didn't like the turn this episode took.

I have to say that I didn't expect to see any of the things that happened so far. This episode definitely brought up some interesting questions.

Maybe White Rock Shooter will make an appearance.

It is true...
Yuu casts no shadow.

>>8722
I have a feeling that's just bad production values.

>>8723

>>8723
there's also the part where nobody even remembers yuu, Saya-chan-sensei and mato being the exceptions

>>8726
I hate it when they say -chan-sensei. It's just a minor thing that bugs me.

>>8730

remind you too much of sawa-chan-sensei, or does the multiple suffixes irk you?

>>8731
The double suffix just bugs me. It gives me the feelings that they cannot communicate in normal manner and, although that was appliable to the characterization in K-on, it personally seems unnecessary in Black Rock Shooter.

Remember this?

The secret of the Other World: everyone is Jesus.

>>8737
Best explanation so far, considering all the gore they go through (enduring the consequences of other people's crap), their walking on water, their being represented by birds... their very light clothes...

Let's call them Jesus 2.0 (now hotter).

>>8737
After this last ep, I decide once it's all over, I would edit together a video showing every time BRS takes the brunt of what would normally be a fatal attack and walks away without a scratch.
Just so I can point to it latter whenever anyone tries to seriously defend this disappointing shit anime.
(unless they have a damn good reason for it in the end)

Why does BRS even bother to dodge attacks if nothing can kill her?

>>8742
It's been stated that they do suffer (for your sins of cowardy) and might even die. They just don't cry aboput it, like pussy action heroes, and rather endure it like the pretty little girls they are. So, to keep saying the entire thing's shit because of such a point, it's not just weak but a dead end; you'd be wating your time.

>>8743
They can say the characters can die all they want, but it means nothing if they're going to repeatedly do stupid crap like drop a hammer on BRS the size of a building.

>>8744

About that, it seems only BRS is invulnerable. Every other character actually gets injured or dies from a single hit from BRS's sword. No uniformly colored low, budget spark spray for everybody else, either.

And then there's the sword. Why does BLACK ★ ROCK SHOOTER even have a sword, let alone it being the main and so far single most powerful weapon that she owns?

>>8747
yes, I never said anything about 'they' I specifically said 'BRS', multiple times.

I find the inconsistency just strange.
DM stabs BRS in the face, but all that does is causes her to fire out black and blue fireworks, like every time she gets hit.
but it doesn't phase her one bit.

When Chariot's head got sliced off, there's nothing, it was like someone pulled the head off a doll.
DM's death took me by surprise, because it resembled a real death, with blood that actually looked like blood, and not something that looks like a roman candle going off.

>>8747
>Why does BLACK ★ ROCK SHOOTER even have a sword
Hasn't she always had it?

>>8749
I believe so.
A 12 foot long cannon is simply not good for close range combat.

>>8749
Indeed.

How delightfully evil she is.

A thought crossed my mind and now I'm wondering...
might be dumb questions, but what exactly is the character of Black Rock Shooter supposed to be?
Why does she do the things she does? what's her goal or motivation?
Where did she come from?
What are these places she explores?
Is fighting all she ever does?
why does she never talk in this anime?
Why is she a supporting character in a anime both named and based off her?

>>8771

>what exactly is the character of Black Rock Shooter supposed to be?
Up to this point, BRS is supposed to be some kind of emotional sponge for the MC... in that she fights to help her deal with her IRL troubles. Strange I know.

Her goal is to help Kuroi and her friends maintain emotional balance? It seems their emotions in the real world effect BRS's world to a large degree.

>Is fighting all she ever does?
So far... yes. Fighting is all she has done up to this point.

>why does she never talk in this anime?
I'm assuming the writers don't want to give her any kind of characterization. Which seems silly since she has a personality and dialogue in the PSP game and manga.

>Why is she a supporting character in a anime both named and based off her?
Because herp derp... I troll u.

I, for one, would like to see her actually animated and not in CG. Would also like to see her actually be the main character.

Well, this episode was pretty decent. It's nice to finally have a couple of answers. Things are still a little weird, though.

It's nice to see Strength fight.

To be honest, I wanted to see more YomixMato. I wanted to see them get as close as they did in the OVA because I like yuri and stuff like that.

Mmmh... I think I liked it a bit better when it wasn't entirely clear how much the fantastic(/BRS's) world was a metaphor/inner world or an actual place (like, say, the lonely girl's place in Clannad); but the Aesop seems still intact, up to now, and the art's always impressive so it's ok.

>>8777
>actually animated and not in CG.
...

I liked episode 6. It think show might actually be decent.

I thought it was interesting why Yuu was personafied as 'streath', which makes all the others seem very superficial
like, why does Mato become black rock shooter?
Mato doesn't seem particularly interested in rocks, guns, or the color black.
Yomi doesn't seem like she has any hidden desire to be a Gothic Lolita hipster.
Chariot might be more befitting if Kagari wasn't just faking being handicapped.
and Saya doesn't really come across as being a punk rocker.
anyway, I still think the whole shit with a another person taking their pain is just stupid and not nearly as meaningful as it could be, as with the case of Yuu.

Then theses this stuff about BRS going to destroy that world.
First off, why do they give a shit, and more importenly, why should we give a shit if a world devoid of life gets destroyed?
There's only five emotionless mute people in this whole world and they're only interested in killing each other, who cares if it gets destroyed?
They don't even know what the place is called and yet they seriously consider killing real people to protect it.
It's a stretch, but I can only guess after this last ep that yuu created the world, and since yuu seems to be a ghost or some shit, it might be the only thing keeping her undead, but why she would need someone to protect her, or why they would invite in others who could destroy the world is beyond me.

Second, yet again, but more so than before, we see strong implications that BRS is a villain and threat in this story, which she might very well be for all we know, since none of the characters ever talk in that fantasy world place, all they ever do is fight for no good reason in their own context.
Which wouldn't be a bad thing in it's own rights, but mato doesn't seem like a bad person at all, so why would BRS be?
It's been said they're fighting on behalf of their other world counterparts, but it's also been established that they're very loosely connected and seems they don't really connect until the other world character is awoken, so before they get woken up, how do they know who and why to fight? Some are working together after all, are the characters in this other world even aware of the high school girls?
Why are they even trying to awaken these characters? what the fuck does that even mean?
Is it required for them to be woken up so they can be killed and stop the crazys on the real world sided?
Didn't look like Kagari's alter ego personal Avatar digimon whatever thing woke up when they killed her crazys.
Why was it okay for the teacher to awaken dead master by driving yomi to insanity, but not okay for yuu to do the same with mato?
How does Saya even know black rock shooter is going to destroy the world? did she watch the yet to be released dvds? and why not just tell yuu not to wake up black rock shooter, so she wouldn't have to bitch slap her after she wakes up black rock shooter.

....Why do I get the feeling some of these girls are cutters?
You know what, all this shit could have been avoided with some good old fashioned medication.
That's what all these crazy bitches really need.

Don't listen to the voices in your head girls!
silence them with pills!
or hell, some alcohol could take away all that pain for you, without the need for the small rooms with padded walls.



Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place
Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place
Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place
Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place
Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place Go to your happy place

>>8811
Maybe you're reading it at a far too literal level, like shitty protestant (american) christians read the Bible (whose myths and illogical tales have nothing to do with our world and lives, either). That's a rather poor way to aproach not only this piece or anime in general, but any other work of art (commercial or not); try, first of all, to give it some time and listen: let them finish their argument/story, at their own chosen pace, before judging it with insufficient paremeters; most of all, try aproaching it at an allegorical level, and you may see it at a different light... or not; maybe you'll keep filtrating with emo references, since they're all you have ready at hand or willing to invest, in this case (I don't know).

>>8812
Sorry, I'll be sure to shut up and just turn off my brain for the remaining episodes while I enjoy watching the kool fightin and kawaii moe batshit-insane killer lolis.

WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY MEDS?!

>>8814
>turn off my brain
Because I told you to suspend judgement? on the contrary: that's in order to "awake" alright, at least goodly enough to identify our own interpretation bias when coming to terms with anything (google: epoché). But do as you please.

>spoiler
Good luck with that, I guess.

Wow, I really liked this episode.

It's really good to see that Deadmaster isn't permanently dead, which might also go for Chariot.

I really like Yuu and Strength.♥

I thought it was hilarious how they cut to documentary style character interviews.

It's a shame that the anime was done so poorly. It's like they just made it up as they went along or they just made the story as an afterthought.

>>9015
>or they just made the story as an afterthought.
might be becuase they really did?

I think the possibility for a decent plot was lost when they were forced shove in the cute high school girls.

If they really HAD to include the real world crap, they could have possibly gone in a Mahou Shoujo root with it, with the girls turning into the other world characters, or something like jojo where they fight side by side, or persona or countless other ways of going about it, but they went about it in the worst possible way.



Between the lazy CG animation, the shoehorned in high schools (obviously they think BRS can't stand on it's own in spite of having a established fan base), the calculated changed character designs (for new toys, since the old designs have been exhausted, and easier animation in the case of the HS girls), the pointless action that adds very little to the story, and the weak plot that barely connects the two worlds, let alone explain what we're watching.
To me, The way they went about this anime sends the message "we don't care about this crap, we just want to to get paid"
and while all anime is inherently a businesses, it's also an art form, and what makes a series good is when the makers have a story they want to tell and try to make something good out of it, not just something people would want to see, but something that can connect with people and really move them, certainly not just a soulless rushed out product designed to cash in on a established franchise.

>>9017
You're right.

I really wanted to be optimistic about this and wanted to see it as good.

I guess I still have to think about it but, from first impression, this was about like other acceptable/good series I've seen from the last years:
- Hooky starting
- Good/remarkable development
- ???
- Dissapointing/Meh/Ambiguos ending

Anyway: saved.

>>9017
>lazy CG animation
You talk like if it was a magic box or something, that didn't imply a great deal of talent, technique mastering and effort that effectively did showed at the result... and as if you have anything, remotely comparable, to offer yourself (I dunno, of course).

>To me, The way they went about this anime sends the message "we don't care about this crap, we just want to to get paid" and while all anime is inherently a businesses, it's also an art form...
Well, as you then proceeded to describe it, your parameters for what is art/good-art are rather vulgar/conventional; that is: romantic and outdated, wich is rather poor if you ask me (but you didn't); maybe, for example, you wouldn't consider this good music at all, since its structure/message isn't all that explicit, it does not aim to induce people into any given feeling but into certain ideas, and so common people can't readily relate with it from just a first encounter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xp_vOlRPM8 ...However, by your definiton, the series was rather good for me: it hit straight home, at certain moments.

>You talk like if it was a magic box or something, that didn't imply a great deal of talent,

That's because it is.
3D animation used in anime is a cop out.
Animating a 3D model is by far much faster cheaper and more easy to do than traditional frame by frame animation.

spend some time on YouTube if you don't believe me, independently made animations using 3D models are a dime a dozen.

The end at last. At first the show was shit, but it was able to pull itself together around the third episode. From there it only got better. I enjoyed this little series, especially the ending. Don't think I'll ever get over the character design for Dead Master, though.

I'm confused. Is this a sequel? I remember watching something with the same name a while ago.

That was an OVA, that most of us thought will open the path a future series... and it did, certainly, but with some changes; so no: it's not a sequel of the OVA, but a re-take on it.

Post edited on 24th Mar 2012, 2:26pm

I'm going to marathon this after dinner tonight.

Little excited, but I'm worried I might hate it. Then again, if I do hate it, I'll just have to stick it out.

Seems like something I'd enjoy, though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

>>9029
It has some badass moments, but it's outweighed by the fact that they don't really take much damage or suffer any sort of penalty from the actions that they take.

My favorite part was when Black Rock Shooter started beating the shit out of Mato. Then it went back to being what it was and started disregarding a couple of things that the anime had already built up and made up it's own ending.

>>9029

It's shit.

>>9029

I liked it.

>>9053
This

It was okay.

Not too good, but not "shit". Sort of reminded me of Mai-Hime in a way. Totally different from how I was expecting it to be.

why did the counselor say she was stressing the kids out to help them and what not, but seemed to clearly enjoy doing it earlier into the show?
like, when she was making fun of yumi in privet for example, how would making fun of someone behind their back and alone serve any purpose other than self gratification?
when she was going over the yearbook (again alone) she didn't looked bothered by having to do what she had to do, she looked like she was enjoying it.
but then latter in the second half, we're lead to believe she was doing it all to help the girls?
and in the end, what purpose did fucking with the basketball captain serve? for that matter, why didn't she have a alter ego avatar thing? she seemed to have just as much emotional baggage as the other crazy bitches, at least for a while there.

well what do I know, maybe this show is too DEEP for me and went over my tiny little head.

>>9063
>why did the counselor...
Because she's a counselor. Those people suck in any context.

>why didn't she have a alter ego avatar thing?
She did: it was the already broken one, from all the pain she was sucking, that BRS just finished.

>>9067
all the characters were 'sucking pain' that was part of the main plot, but it doesn't explain why she was different and didn't get a kool killer loli alter ego to take her pain or whatever.

and that's a horrible explanation for the counselor.

Post edited on 27th Mar 2012, 1:21am

>>9068
I'm just gonna go ahead and guess that they're infants, not fully developed other world characters.

....why the fuck couldn't they give black rock shooter's world a name?

>>9063

There's really nothing DEEP about the show. It's just a toy fig commercial.

Why do people like this character design so much. It looks retarded as fuck and I'm sick of people going crazy over every rehashed BRS figure.

>>8751
Only thing good about Black★Rock_Shooter is the charcter design...

>>14025
well that is what it's all based on when you get down to it.

you only bumped this thread becuase you saw it was the oldest thread on the board, didn't you?

there are older threads than this already on the board's top segment, 14026-bo

This anime was a disappointing piece of shit, stop bumping it already.

The only thing related to Black Rock Shooter that is any good is Black Rock Chan, and that's not even canonical.