Black Rock Shooter – Episode 1: The Tiny Bird and the Colors
Now here’s something I’ve been really looking forward to. The Black Rock Shooter OVA is a classic favourite of mine for its simplistic storyline combined with a mix of real world and otherworldly elements. Years later, we’re finally getting a nice little 8-episode series that delves further into the world of Black Rock Shooter. Since this series is composed of two stories (one of which is portrayed in silence), I won’t be doing my normal overviews of the episodes. Instead, I’ll do semi-overviews whilst pointing out my opinions of what is happening. Ready? Let’s go.
She's back, and as badass as ever.
The episode begins with a poetic overlook of the entity known only as Black Rock Shooter. A nice amount of animation went into these sequences, but more of the benefits and cost of that later. In the opening ceremonies for junior high school, Kuroi Mato is introduced to us as a bubbly and observant character. Whilst staring off at the scenery, she’s accidentally knocked over by some passing students and is helped up by a girl by the name of Yomi. Mato takes notice of Yomi’s handmade bracelet and begins to take quite a bit of notice to her. Incorrectly reading her name on the seating list, Mato thinks Yomi’s name is “Tiny Birds’ Game”. We get a look at Mato’s good friend Yu as well, who made an appearance in the original OVA and played a decent role in.
Yomi makes it to her humble abode and picks up an old fashioned cup-and-string phone to seemingly report to someone. She mentions Mato and how colourful of a character she viewed her as, but the voice on the other side appears to be quite against the idea of Yomi getting attached to Mato. On Mato’s side, she’s busy rereading a childhood favourite of hers entitled “The Tiny Bird and the Colors”, which will later become an anchoring point for the plot. The following day, Mato learns Takanashi Yomi’s true name and upon hearing the meaning behind it, Mato only gets more and more interested in Yomi altogether. The same occurs from Yomi’s perspective as she keeps spotting Mato engaging in activities around the school.
Scary is the only word to describe Kagiri.
After school, Mato is on her cell phone when Yomi walks by and notices Mato’s “Tiny Bird” keychain. Having found a similarity in interests between the two, Yomi allows Mato to come by her place and see a first-release copy of the book they love so much. Mato enters the room and Yomi seems to be desperate to hide what is happening from the outside world. The reason becomes apparent when she receives a surprise guest named Kagari, who unexpectedly rolls in on a wheelchair before Yomi can stop her. Mato is quickly shoved aside by Kagiri when she is barraged with direct insults, and it’s clear that Kagiri does not want Mato around. Until she takes her unprecedented leave, Mato takes every negative comment with a bright smile and hides her tears away for when she’s at home. Her only means of comfort that night is from the apology text she receives from Yomi.
With all of the built-up emotions festering within the characters of the real world, we finally dive into the otherworldly scenes. If you haven’t pieced it together yet, Black Rock Shooter is the otherworldly representation of Kuroi Mato, and the conflicts she faces in this colourful world are nasty interpretations of the problems Mato goes through. Black Rock Shooter is heavily assaulted by a mechanical spider-like creature who leaves her lying on the floor and covers her in dirty macaroons (similar to the idea that Mato had macaroons thrown at her by Kagiri). Mato visits the counselor the following day to find an answer to this new problem known as Kagiri, and the very competent psychologist informs Mato that the pain she feels is endured by someone other than her. An entity, a force, an unknown being who exists to take all the pain in her place. Yomi stays late in the art club, where Mato finds her and promises that nothing will ever hurt her. With that promise, she hopes the two can remain good friends.
She may endure all of the pain, but not without fighting back.
In the final moments, Black Rock Shooter is truly the one who endures the pain for Mato. The mechanical visualization of the evil Kagiri puts her through some serious pain; a clear contrast between the two entities and their lives. The otherworldly scenes are definitely where most of the funding went into, as some of the real world animations are a tad lacking, for lack of a better term. Story over animation though, I always say, and you can absolutely colour me interested in what will happen next.
