Post by Gender on Jul 8, 2011 20:32:54 GMT -5
So while sitting in my room checking out the ending to the School Rumble OVA to see if it would elaborate the Manga's ending, I followed the random link to this AMV:
And I was like... "Damn that looks pretty interesting." If it was the character design, slick animation or awesome fight sequence that drew me in I did not know, but I felt compelled to watch and see exactly what this was all about.
So there began my journey as I sat there on youtube watching this 50 minute OVA titled Black★Rock Shooter, completely ignorant of this character's origins and creator.
Links to OVA on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWnnA93RL8k
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M69EoVasEoQ&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_532591
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL7gqXio-zo&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXLmXihADXM&NR=1
Story:
Feel free to briefly skim it since I pretty much say the entire story for this OVA. Albiet without anywhere close to the detail in the actual OVA.
Enter Kuroi Mato, a first year in highschool girl.
Mato seems like a normal teenager, concerned with her appearance, easily distracted, etc and for much of the film she is. She gets up early, eats her toaste, wakes up her little brother and jets off to school, nearly missing the train due to taking in the view. Alongside the story, we get brief images of a character Black★Rock Shooter traveling "Otherworld", including her seemingly defeat, if not Death early in the film at the hands of Black★Gold Saw. These scenes appear throughout the story, from what appears to be future events based off what happens later.
Now by the time Mato finds herself at the front gate of school, she notices and becomes captivated by a fellow classmate, a girl by the name of Takanashi Yomi, being dropped off by car at the front gate. After discovering they are in the same class room and her name through the seating arrangement, she strikes up a conversation with Yomi developing a friendship with her. Both end up joining sports teams, Mato the Basket Ball team and Yomi the Volleyball team, that pratice right next to each other in the same room. From here we view their friendship grow till the second year where they discover themselves in seperate classes, effectivelly cutting off the amount of time they have together. Mato makes a new friend by the name of Yuu. No not you, Yuu.
No not that yu, a much shorter female Yuu!
There we go. This Yuu was in Mato's class and on the basket ball team(can't remember what she did but I don't think it involved playing), taking care of her when she was injured. Gradually a rift seems to form between Yomi and Mato, who up to this point were extremely close, as Yuu takes up a lot of Mato's time and begins walking around with all three of them chattering with Mato leaving Yomi to follow behind silent. Some time later, Yomi completely disappears. At this point Mato sees the truth behind that expression of never really realizing how important someone is to you until they are gone. From this point, Mato's emails aren't being responded to, detectives are trying to find Yomi as her parents are concerned and all hope seems lost till a mysterious blank message is sent by Yomi to Mato.
Ending Spoilers INC:
Can Black★Rock Shooter save the day? The answer is yes.
So those scenes throughout the entire film with cool fight sequences aren't in Mato's head randomly or something whacky like that, they are happening. After getting the message, Mato rushes out the door of her home to the place she showed Yomi earlier, only to find Yomi's cellphone charm that Mato bought her on the ground. Mato craddles it in her hands, a light appears, with a star (an actual star shape) appears into the heavens drawing her off the ground, after another kickass fight sequence, we see what happens after Mato was drawn to said star.
She discovered her "Other Self" Black★Rock Shooter, who says how Mato cares deeply for Yomi and Yomi feels the same and asks if she wishes to save her. Mato replies:
"I don't want to save her!"
"I just want to walk with her again!"
"I want to laugh with her again!"
"I want to see Yomi again, right now!"
Then what you might guess happens.
"Who are you?"
"Who..."
"Who are you"
*FUSION!*
"I am..."
"Black Rock Shooter."
Black★Rock Shooter's fight we've been watching bits and pieces of finally wraps up with her rescuing Yomi from the grasp of Dead Master's control, returning life to something much normal, outside the fact Yuu now seems the third wheel, implying she's next for our Black★Rock Shooter to save the day from in "Otherworld".
There are a lot of things I did like here and felt that were done well. Outside the fight sequences and the animation. Like how well established the kind of character these characters are in such a short film. With rather subtle short little scenes.
For example:
Mato is depicted as someone that has a great deal of interest in her appearance. We can pick this up through her effort prior to going to the first day of classes, as she makes sure she looks the best she can before leaving her home. In particular when we see her go back to the mirror for another look at herself. Or even when looking at one of her main reasons for playing basket ball, to get taller and her interest in Yomi's height, wishing to catch up to her in that regard. She wasn't satified with her height. The same follows for Yomi where we have those scenes where she explains how her family moves a lot, explaining her somewhat distant nature till Mato brought about this friendship with her or her mentions earlier of being dropped off at school on the first day despite insistance to not do so.
Much like the depiction of their friendship, it's growth and inevitable weakening with the change of how things are with time and addition of Yuu. Much like Yomi's reaction to Yuu monopolizing so much of essentially her only friend's time.
The story itself isn't a bad one. It's a story about young girls becoming good friends and that friendship being testing by time, jealousy and parrel universes were kickass fights take place. But I do have my problems with it.
"Otherworld". This is essentially what this place these girls / other-selves were duking it out throughout the film. None of it is ever really explained, at all. It's just there. Much like we don't see Yomi's dissapearance only that Dead Master has seemingly fused and hijacked her mind due to her depression and tossing Mato's gift aside. Throughout the film I sat there questioning if it was even happening or if it was some elaborate fantasy world in Mato's head.
Much like the random fight where Black★Rock Shooter was killed and the character(Black★Gold Saw) who put her down remained a complete mystery to the story.
We get some idea that some sort of fusion between these "Other selves" can happen, allowing normal people to enter this other reality, thats about it. We don't know if it can be by choice or forced, which it seems like it could be more of a contract from Mato's experience. Theres also those dangling plotlines.
We have no idea who Black★Gold Saw is. What role Yuu's brief "other self" even appeared for. Much like Death Master hijacking Yomi, why did she do it? Or even if Mato is still fused to Black★Rock Shooter.
This stuff is something that another half hour could have been helpful to explain a bit. But alas, it was a short story, that while doing excellent with the normal characters, didn't do so well for their "Otherworld" counterparts. Confusion is only left for this stuff.
Outside that, I found the character designs interesting, the story a happy one and I'll likely grab the PSP game if it ever gets to the states. Hopefully it will elaborate more on this other world that I don't have a clue about. Looks cool enough:
And I was like... "Damn that looks pretty interesting." If it was the character design, slick animation or awesome fight sequence that drew me in I did not know, but I felt compelled to watch and see exactly what this was all about.
So there began my journey as I sat there on youtube watching this 50 minute OVA titled Black★Rock Shooter, completely ignorant of this character's origins and creator.
Links to OVA on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWnnA93RL8k
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M69EoVasEoQ&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_532591
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL7gqXio-zo&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXLmXihADXM&NR=1
Story:
Feel free to briefly skim it since I pretty much say the entire story for this OVA. Albiet without anywhere close to the detail in the actual OVA.
Enter Kuroi Mato, a first year in highschool girl.
Mato seems like a normal teenager, concerned with her appearance, easily distracted, etc and for much of the film she is. She gets up early, eats her toaste, wakes up her little brother and jets off to school, nearly missing the train due to taking in the view. Alongside the story, we get brief images of a character Black★Rock Shooter traveling "Otherworld", including her seemingly defeat, if not Death early in the film at the hands of Black★Gold Saw. These scenes appear throughout the story, from what appears to be future events based off what happens later.
Now by the time Mato finds herself at the front gate of school, she notices and becomes captivated by a fellow classmate, a girl by the name of Takanashi Yomi, being dropped off by car at the front gate. After discovering they are in the same class room and her name through the seating arrangement, she strikes up a conversation with Yomi developing a friendship with her. Both end up joining sports teams, Mato the Basket Ball team and Yomi the Volleyball team, that pratice right next to each other in the same room. From here we view their friendship grow till the second year where they discover themselves in seperate classes, effectivelly cutting off the amount of time they have together. Mato makes a new friend by the name of Yuu. No not you, Yuu.
No not that yu, a much shorter female Yuu!
There we go. This Yuu was in Mato's class and on the basket ball team(can't remember what she did but I don't think it involved playing), taking care of her when she was injured. Gradually a rift seems to form between Yomi and Mato, who up to this point were extremely close, as Yuu takes up a lot of Mato's time and begins walking around with all three of them chattering with Mato leaving Yomi to follow behind silent. Some time later, Yomi completely disappears. At this point Mato sees the truth behind that expression of never really realizing how important someone is to you until they are gone. From this point, Mato's emails aren't being responded to, detectives are trying to find Yomi as her parents are concerned and all hope seems lost till a mysterious blank message is sent by Yomi to Mato.
Ending Spoilers INC:
Can Black★Rock Shooter save the day? The answer is yes.
So those scenes throughout the entire film with cool fight sequences aren't in Mato's head randomly or something whacky like that, they are happening. After getting the message, Mato rushes out the door of her home to the place she showed Yomi earlier, only to find Yomi's cellphone charm that Mato bought her on the ground. Mato craddles it in her hands, a light appears, with a star (an actual star shape) appears into the heavens drawing her off the ground, after another kickass fight sequence, we see what happens after Mato was drawn to said star.
She discovered her "Other Self" Black★Rock Shooter, who says how Mato cares deeply for Yomi and Yomi feels the same and asks if she wishes to save her. Mato replies:
"I don't want to save her!"
"I just want to walk with her again!"
"I want to laugh with her again!"
"I want to see Yomi again, right now!"
Then what you might guess happens.
"Who are you?"
"Who..."
"Who are you"
*FUSION!*
"I am..."
"Black Rock Shooter."
Black★Rock Shooter's fight we've been watching bits and pieces of finally wraps up with her rescuing Yomi from the grasp of Dead Master's control, returning life to something much normal, outside the fact Yuu now seems the third wheel, implying she's next for our Black★Rock Shooter to save the day from in "Otherworld".
There are a lot of things I did like here and felt that were done well. Outside the fight sequences and the animation. Like how well established the kind of character these characters are in such a short film. With rather subtle short little scenes.
For example:
Mato is depicted as someone that has a great deal of interest in her appearance. We can pick this up through her effort prior to going to the first day of classes, as she makes sure she looks the best she can before leaving her home. In particular when we see her go back to the mirror for another look at herself. Or even when looking at one of her main reasons for playing basket ball, to get taller and her interest in Yomi's height, wishing to catch up to her in that regard. She wasn't satified with her height. The same follows for Yomi where we have those scenes where she explains how her family moves a lot, explaining her somewhat distant nature till Mato brought about this friendship with her or her mentions earlier of being dropped off at school on the first day despite insistance to not do so.
Much like the depiction of their friendship, it's growth and inevitable weakening with the change of how things are with time and addition of Yuu. Much like Yomi's reaction to Yuu monopolizing so much of essentially her only friend's time.
The story itself isn't a bad one. It's a story about young girls becoming good friends and that friendship being testing by time, jealousy and parrel universes were kickass fights take place. But I do have my problems with it.
"Otherworld". This is essentially what this place these girls / other-selves were duking it out throughout the film. None of it is ever really explained, at all. It's just there. Much like we don't see Yomi's dissapearance only that Dead Master has seemingly fused and hijacked her mind due to her depression and tossing Mato's gift aside. Throughout the film I sat there questioning if it was even happening or if it was some elaborate fantasy world in Mato's head.
Much like the random fight where Black★Rock Shooter was killed and the character(Black★Gold Saw) who put her down remained a complete mystery to the story.
We get some idea that some sort of fusion between these "Other selves" can happen, allowing normal people to enter this other reality, thats about it. We don't know if it can be by choice or forced, which it seems like it could be more of a contract from Mato's experience. Theres also those dangling plotlines.
We have no idea who Black★Gold Saw is. What role Yuu's brief "other self" even appeared for. Much like Death Master hijacking Yomi, why did she do it? Or even if Mato is still fused to Black★Rock Shooter.
This stuff is something that another half hour could have been helpful to explain a bit. But alas, it was a short story, that while doing excellent with the normal characters, didn't do so well for their "Otherworld" counterparts. Confusion is only left for this stuff.
Outside that, I found the character designs interesting, the story a happy one and I'll likely grab the PSP game if it ever gets to the states. Hopefully it will elaborate more on this other world that I don't have a clue about. Looks cool enough: