It has been announced today that Black Rock Shooter will be getting a TV anime series for the Winter 2012 anime season and will be part of the noitaminA anime programming block.
I’m actually quite interested in the series. I think Black Rock Shooter is a very cool character design and I’d love to see what an anime series of 12 or whatever episodes can do with the character and the world around her. The art style just in the top picture alone is awesome looking, and I really liked the animation of the OAV. Considering the reception the OAV got, however, people might be concerned about how good Black Rock Shooter can be in an episodic format.
Who’s on Animation & Why on noitaminA?
The answer to the first question remains to be seen. Ordet animated the OAV, and they have done some assistance with noitaminA alum Fractale, so it’s possible that they will be the production staff on the TV series. I really liked the art they did for all of the scenes with Black Rock Shooter & Dead Master and wouldn’t be surprised if they are at the helm of the TV anime. It’s also unknown if Kana Hanazawa and Miyuki Sawashiro will provide voices for the series.
noitaminA is certainly a surprise spot for this show to air on, for it is well respected within the anime community for having a pretty good track record choosing strong shows with interesting plots and characters. Considering how popular Black Rock Shooter was, how the figures are a big sell and how popular Black Rock Shooter is just as a character, it doesn’t seem to fit within what most people would consider “noitaminA” worthy. The closest comparison might be the Spring 2011 anime [C], which had a lot more action than a typical series in the noitaminA time slot. I’m a little odd about it myself, but if anything, the simple fact that noitaminA has selected this for a timeslot has me even more intrigued about the series than if just any other station chose to air it.
OAV
The OAV (which I’ve reviewed here) was a 50-minute tale of parallel universes that connected Black Rock Shooter and her rival Dead Master to two girls in a human world, Mato & Yomi, respectively.
In a 12-episode format, there’s more time to make this plot device work. There’s more opportunities to explore the characters in the human world and make things tie together in an interesting way. They could expand from the way the OAV ended and delve further into the parallel universe concept. There’s also more characters to meet like Black Gold Saw and Strength. However, the one thing that bugged me about the OAV was how doing what it did created a divide between boring and exciting moments. I hope they ignore what the OAV did and give Black Rock Shooter and all her other enemies/friends voices and we get to see more of the dark, grungy world that I liked a lot in Black Rock Shooter.
*Of note, the OAV’s director, Yutaka Yamamoto, has already stated on his twitter account that he is not involved in this project.
Plenty of this in the anime, please.