[Anime] Black Bullet

Illyasviel

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♥♥♥General info:


♥Series Name: Black Bullet
♥Year of Serialization: Spring 2014
♥Author: Kinema Citrus,Orange[Manga and Light novel by Shiden Kanzaki]
♥Artist: Tatsuhiko Urahata
♥Genres: Action|Mystery|Sci-Fi|Drama|Post apocalyptic|Pandemic
♥Current Status: Finished
♥Moment of Reviewing: End of the anime
♥Other Formats: Manga,Light Novel


♥♥♥Series Summary:


In the year 2021 humanity was ravaged by the epidemic of Gastrea,a parasitical virus.With most of the humans wiped out,the remnants are forced to live in small areas surrounded by Varanium monoliths,a metal that can subdue the Gastrea.Soon after the epidemic,some of the children started being born with the Gastrea virus and as such have superhuman abilities.These children,named "The Cursed Children"might as well be the only thing that can save humanity,however as they contain the virus within them,The Cursed children still face discrimination and hate from others.Civil security services are formed with their units operating in pairs,consisting of an Initiator-A Cursed Child and her(as all Cursed children are girls) Promoter.Ten years later,Satomi Rentaro,a young promoter working in a Civil Security Agency owned by his childhood friend,Tendo Kisara,along with his Initiator,Enju Aihara conducts missions to fight the Gastrea and prevent the downfall of the Tokyo Area and the world.


♥♥♥Critical Review:


♥Story|Alright first let's talk about the premise.For those who watched Attack on Titan,the premise might seem strikingly similar,so much that you might call it plagiarism.However after the premise,the stories of Black Bullet and Attack on Titan have almost nothing in common.And anyway that theme is really nothing new,it existed long before Attack on Titan.So while the premise itself lacks uniqueness,the story is well executed and I really see no problem here.
The story is extremely well paced with no dragging whatsoever.It progresses very quickly but everything is explained fairly well,with enough detail and characters get enough development in the process.At some point it might actually seem to go to fast as a lot of the story can be told at once however this is very minor and only in a few parts of the Anime.The series is paced much better than most shows with Emotional scenes lasting only as long as they should,not like in so many shows nowadays that drag those parts to no end.
The story is interesting and efficient,dragging the viewer into it in the very first episode.It also covers various side themes,like discrimination the Cursed children get even though,they are the ones that keep humanity safe from the Gastrea.The hate people direct at them gets really extreme and you can't help to question society along with our main character,Rentaro.It also shows that a human is helpless when faced against something like this virus.Towards the end it shows the madness into which people hungry for revenge fall and how their moral and mentality is deteriorated by hate.Throughout the series there are quite a few emotional climaxes that are engaging and pretty sad,although most of the actual deaths do happen of scene.The ending is most likely,the biggest problem of the series.And although it gives some satisfying closure as a major even has ended,there are many unresolved plot points and some themes that open near the end of the show,placing the show's ending as a big cliffhanger.I sincerely hope that we do get a second season.


♥Characters|The characters are a strong point in the series.Both the main and supporting characters get good development with an exception of those who got killed of rather quickly.They all have lot's of personality and cliches are avoided well.The main character Rentaro might appear to be dull at first but he develops well.Although his wishes to protect the ones he loves might seem generic,but in the end don't we all want that?And Rentaro is very realistic and know when things need to be done the hard way.He also becomes more interesting as his past gets revealed more,same goes for Kisara.Rentaro's partner Enju is a very complex character.She is 10,having usually a childish and cutesy personality.Most of the humor in the series comes from scenes in which Enju expresses her love to the much older Rentaro.However with all the things she had witnessed in life,Enju has a serious and mature side when it matters.The secondary characters as I've mentioned get developed pretty well too,each of them get enough screen time and contribute to the plot.Now,as in 90% of anime,my personal favourite character is an antagonist.And boy did I love one of this show's antagonists-Kagetane Hiruko.In fact gif's with a man in a red suit with a cool mask lead me to watch Black Bullet in the first place.He is an awesome,really badass villain who has clearly defined goals of fixing their imperfect world in his own way.He is a promoter with his psycho daughter being his initiator and for now,he is the most powerful character in the anime.


♥Animation|Black bullet was produced by Kinema Citrus,who produced Code Breaker I think.And I have no complaints on the Animation.It is above average and I think that this level of animation should be the standard for today's anime.All the scenery emphasizes the atmosphere and situation on screen.It is fluent with no poorly animated scenes,static frames,choopy movement and the bad stuff we get in a lot of shows.The characters are colorful and their facial expressions convey their emotions perfectly.The fights are well choreographed and animated,although they tend to be short.The 3D and CGI done for the Gastrea is on par as well and as I said I have no faults with the animation.


♥Sound|The soundtrack is of very high quality and has been done well.The sound effects are very lively and bring their world to life.The background music although it was good in portraying the emotions on screen,could be at times repetitive.The opening song-"Black Bullet" by Fripside is awesome,I could watch this opening for hours,although it is true that this happens with me a lot.But the opening theme is on point and very interesting.The ending song is also very adequate-"Tokohana" by Nagi Yanagi,the last episode uses "In Order to Not Forget" by Rino instead,that one is really nice as well.As for the voice acting,I've watched Black Bullet in Japanese,ofcourse.Sentai Filmworks has licensed the show for dubbing but as always,I recommend the subbed version.The voice acting was good.All of the cast portrayed their assigned characters lovely with the quality of the voices being on par as well.


♥Conclusion|Black Bullet is the last anime I've finished watching,yesterday actually.And I can say I really liked it,it wasn't boring at any time to me and I watched it quickly.The opening is going onto my top 10 list and Kagetane Hiruko is going to another top 10 list for sure.I liked the show and I think most people who decide to watch it will like it if it's an adequate genre for them.It isn't the best anime I've watched but with another season it can get closer to the top I'm sure.So I recommend it for everyone,you won't regret watching it.It is ungrateful to rate animes but I will go ahead anyway.I would put it at 7.5/10,however if a second season is to be announced,be it tomorrow or in 10 years that would automatically increase my score to 8.5/10.​

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Thank you for reading! :lawliet:
 
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wanderingcactus

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My first thought of this anime was that this is AoT in the future. I was right however thats what made it interesting for me.

In AoT, the problem could be easily dealt with with modern weapons but how about if it was set during modern/future time?

This was it.

The GoT-esque of storytelling is what made me cling for it the most.

They made you fall in love and they take it away from you in an instant. Thats how i loved AoT and this was also established in BB. Heart broken but addicted.
 
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