Black★Rock Shooter (anime)/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


General Tropes

  • Crowning Music of Awesome:
    • The original song.
    • "NO SCARED", the opening for the game, is quite cool too.
  • Fan Dumb + Fan Nickname = Face Palm: This continues despite artbooks, figures, and titling by the creator himself displaying the official names for all to see. And it is not that these names are from the fandom community itself, it is people convincing others that these names are official.

Examples:

      • Strength (STR) has been called: White Rock Fist, White Rock Strength, and Black Rock Strength
      • Black★Gold Saw (BGS) has been called: Golden Rock Saw, Gold Rock Saw, and Black Golden Saw

Black Rock Shooter (noitaminA 2012 Anime)

  • And the Fandom Rejoiced
    • Reaction to the third trailer appears to be uniformly positive.
    • Disappointed that the OVA only had an instrumental version of the eponymous song? The anime has Miku Hatsune sing it for the OP.
  • Counterpart Comparison: Even though Black★Rock Shooter came first, comparisons with Puella Magi Madoka Magica were perhaps inevitable. The original OVA already had comparisons made to the Persona series, which are further amplified here.
    • Yuu even asks Mato to say Black★Rock Shooter isn't her.
    • Kagari is voiced by Eri Kitamura, who also voiced Sayaka in Madoka Magica. Like Sayaka she has relationship issues, questionable mental stability, and a an alternate persona associated with wheels. Amusingly, she ends up more like Mami Tomoe from the same series - Chariot, Kagari's other self who appears prominently in the promotional material, gets her head cut off in episode 2.
  • Die for Our Ship: Since Yuu's the main one getting in the way between Mato and Yomi, Mato/Yomi fans do not like her "interference". Even Yomi seems to feel this herself.
    • With Yuu getting a MAJOR Adaptational Badass in the anime, expect to see some Mato/Yuu shippers bashing Yomi.
    • The same thing happens with Kagari, with how she basically had Yomi on a leash. She made things even worse for herself when she tells Mato straight to her face that Yomi's heart is dead. She gets a nasty slap in the face for it.
  • Growing the Beard: The first two episodes were mostly narmy melodrama focusing on the creepy but oddly boring Kagari. After that she's Demoted to Extra and things start getting bizarre.
  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks: Some fans dislike the fact that the anime appears to be an expansion of the OVA.
  • Les Yay: Oh dear Lord, so much so than the OVA.
    • To begin with, the redesigned Dead Master is wearing a wedding veil, and the trailer has her wrapping up BRS in chains...
    • The website takes this Up to Eleven, ranting about their "bonds" together and even dropping the word "love" semi-vaguely in there.
    • And of course the anime just completely runs with it in the first episode with Yomi calling Mato "beautiful".
    • The second episode has Yomi's mother refer to Kagari as having always felt "love" for Yomi since childhood. Wonder what kind of love that is...
    • This exchange should pretty much sum it up:

Yuu: "Hey Mato, you want a boyfriend?"
Mato: (incredulous look) "Eh? Too soon!"
Yuu: (slyly) "I guess you have your Tiny Bird."
Mato: (flustered) "Don't make assumptions!"

    • Not to mention the whole "Mato and Yomi blushing at calling each others' first names", Mato and Yuu apparently the only ones to share a bed at the training camp, and the part where Yuu points out that Mato's been with her "Tiny Bird", Mato reacts all giddy and embarrassed.
    • Mato and Yuu may have possibly the sweetest moment in the anime (Episode 5), to the point where they almost kiss in the middle of a sunset.
    • And then we have young Saya's relationship with the real Yuu and a Counselor/Student Romance of older Saya and Strength.
    • And in the final episode, Yuu and Strength. Though that's practically Screw Yourself.
  • Narm: Most of the fight sequences are pretty violent and dramatic, but an unintentionally hilarious scene in Episode 7 has Strength grab BRS by the ankles and slap her against several walls like a wet towel (see page image for Amusing Injuries).
  • Nightmare Fuel: Kagari. Ye Gods Kagari.
    • The Dark World is pretty much nightmare fuel all the time when you think about the fact that this is where people's minds go to process PSYCHOLOGICAL PAIN.
    • "I'll carve the pain out of you."
      • The fact that the last thing we hear from Mato as she fuses with BRS in episode 5 is her distorted scream.
      • It may be not so much but Yomi's Creator Breakdown painting of Mato can be considered as one. See Episode 5.
      • Again in the same episode. Yuu is grateful to receive a bracelet from Yomi, only to find out later that it has some of her hair.
  • Ship Mates: Yomi/Kagari shippers and Mato/Yuu shippers.
  • Ship-to-Ship Combat: After Episode 5, Mato/Yomi shippers may have to deal with Mato/Yuu shippers. Or technically, Mato and...Strength.
    • Not to mention the Kagari/Yomi shippers.
  • Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped: It's okay to feel sad sometimes. You don't HAVE TO bear your sadness alone, after all.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks: The characters were redesigned between the OVA and the Anime, particularly Yomi and Dead Master. Some fans were displeased.
  • The Woobie: Arguably Strength, who, after developing emotions, realized the impact of the pain she was taking on from Yuu, was suddenly catapulted by her human counterpart to switch places with her and forced into the real world, had to adjust to the strange new world with no friends until Mato's appearance, and generally had to cope with not really existing to people. She only wants to help Mato and the other girls, but quickly ends up losing Mato to (Insane) Black★Rock Shooter, and when trying to save her and Yuu from a potentially horrible fate, ends up scorned by Yuu herself.
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