Black Bullet was one of the many light novel adaptations that aired during Spring 2014. You might know the other ones as The Irregular at Magic High School, No Game No Life, and Hitsugi No Chaika. It started out okay, but got progressively weaker as it went on, before turning into an unentertaining show that turned out to be a rushed and half-baked adaptation. It is a shame, since it had potential to do way better!
Story
It starts off as any casual anime, the good guy being caught in the middle of a battle only to reveal that he is the only interesting character in the entire series, even he hardly had any character development in the end. Another thing to note is that the anime doesn't necessarily have a 'bad guy'. From the beginning it seems as there is one, but you are only lead by a false path and soon end up in a state where you see there is no bad guy, but rather a goal to defeat the Gastrea and protect the Tokyo District. Now for the actual story-line, A near future, where humans have been defeated by the viral parasites named Gastrea. They have been exiled into a small territory and live in despair, side-by-side in terror. In this world trapped in darkness - Rentaro, a boy living near Tokyo and member of the "Civil Security" - an organization specializing in fighting against the Gastrea - is used to accomplishing dangerous tasks. His partner is Enju, a precocious young girl. They fight thanks to their peculiar powers until one day, when they receive a special assignment from the government.
Characters
This anime had a very little character growth. It may be that the show's rushed pacing gave Rentaro very little time for introspection, or that the story is basically one crisis after another. Either way, every character got a dark back-story but that was pretty much it. So, let's go into specific details. Rentaro starts off as a mid-tier Promoter before he suddenly unlocks his potential and becomes ridiculously overpowered - except when he gets physically restrained by two guys right after a fight where he was demolishing concrete walls. He is always morally right and he demonstrates his superiority by triumphing over characters who hate him for very flimsy reasons. When a character unfairly persecute, something conveniently happens that removes the obstacle and increases Rentaro's prestige. Everyone in a position of authority acts like a retard just so he can show how clever and perceptive he is. Kisara is Rentaro's tsundere friend. Her family is basically the Rothschild of Japan except instead of banking, they teach their children absurdly overpowered martial arts and weapon techniques. You'll know this because the characters announce the name of the attack before they use it! Overall, the characters sometimes tended to prove themselves amazingly unnecessary. And to me some of them seemed to be introduced because the other person who, simply put, had exactly the same traits won't turn up again.
Animation and Sound
The artwork and animation was solid throughout the series - It felt very pleasant to the eye! In some area it delivered great artwork but in some it lacked a lot! Furthermore, there were some drops in quality here and there, but overall it was good.
For the sound, The openings were very good but the endings weren't so great. The background music was great and fitted with shows overall vibes and helped in constructing to atmosphere for the scene.
Enjoyment
As much as I've bashed on this anime throughout this whole review, must I say that I did after all enjoy the show regardless of the multiple flaws. But, I am easily entertained by action-packed series, so I don't know if you'll like it or not.
Overall, Black Bullet is very psychological in a way where you feel very disturbed in the scenes that happen. From dead loli bodies to a blind girl being ridiculed and almost beaten to death, I must say, this is one emotional ride. However I can also say that the ending was rather confusing and very rushed. You'd expect an epic fight where you see everyone charging at the enemy with the main character leading the fight, yes? Wrong. Instead the main fight finishes in a few minutes and we are led to completely unnecessary scenes that only lead the show to more confusion. But, if you want to pass time and you have still not found any interesting anime you should try it!
3 STAR ANIME.
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