History
Originally, Black★Rock Shooter is said to be randomly created, which huke stated it in the June issue of Bijutsu Techou, 2011. huke created Black★Rock Shooter based on his personal preferences in a character design : a 15 year old girl with long black bunches, flat chested wearing a skimpy, yet simple bikini as clothes along with black jacket, short pants and long black boots. What's truly outstanding about the character is the color identity of the character and her long, huge cannon (which is later named “★Rock Cannon”). True to the namesake, her color identity is easily memorable : Black.
It is important to note that huke did not apply any concept in creating a battle girl, making her wield various weapons like swords later on.
From Submission to Popularity
The very first illustration of Black★Rock Shooter was submitted on December 26 2007, a day after Christmas, with the description : "Shooting rocks every 20 seconds. Submitting a huge size version of it as a test." (毎秒２０発の岩石を発射します。ためしにデカいサイズでＵＰしてみました。). The illustration was submitted in both his blog, and pixiv.
Six months later, ryo, the music composer of supercell, composed an original Hatsune Miku song (along with a PV) of the same name based on the huke's character itself. The song was submitted to Nico Nico Douga on June 23 2008, creating a huge response from the users and reaching 1 million views in the span of roughly 6 months until the end of 2008.
The song was then included into supercell's first album debut, and
Black★Rock Shooter continued to gain popularity, earning a 1/8 scale figure by Good Smile company. An OVA anime was later announced by Studio Ordet and was set to be released on September 2010 as a DVD with 6 different subtitles. The DVD was also sold as a bundle set for the Megami magazine and the figma and Nendroid versions of the titular character.
The expansion of the Black★Rock Shooter franchise continued with a manga serialization : Black★Rock Shooter -Innocent Soul- by Sanami Suzuki, and BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER THE GAME, an RPG game developed by Imageepoch. The RPG is notable for having a different cast of characters, with the absence of Dead Master and the design for Black★Rock Shooter was slightly altered.
The franchise then received a TV anime adaption which was announced on August 8 2011 and will be aired on Febuary 2012 under the Noitamina slot.
The Character
See also : Mato Kuroi
Black★Rock Shooter was initially created as a random original character, which later then expanded to what it is today. huke then created Dead Master, a rival character which is argued to be her evil sister but was never officially confirmed. Two more characters were later created as part of the cast : Strength and Black★Gold Saw.
Aside from the design characteristics, Black★Rock Shooter has pale white skin and scars can be seen clearly on her left stomach, presumably due to battles. Black★Rock Shooter's biggest characteristic is the blue flame that glows from her left eye, which is commonly seen when she is ready for battle.
In the OVA, she is seen interacting with Mato Kuroi, which is the only time where she actually speaks. Most of the time, she's actually a silent, emotionless character.
Black★Rock Shooter however is considered illegal to be posted on Piapro due to copyright issues. The reason was due to a misunderstanding where Crypton Media Future considered Black★Rock Shooter to be an original character which has nothing to do with Hatsune Miku. The restricted was then lifted after July 30, 2010 when the character is registered under the "Black★Rock Shooter" label.
As an original Hatsune Miku song, many have mistaken Black★Rock Shooter to be a variation of the Vocaloid due to their similarities.
The Original Song
Anime, Game Info
OVA Version release date : September 2009
PSP Game Version release date : August 2011
TV Anime broadcast date : January 2012, on Noitamina, Fuji TV
Voice Cast
Character Appearance (includes the OVA version, Game version, and the upcoming TV anime version
OVA VERSION
- Mato Kuroi (黒衣 マト Kuroi Mato)
- Black★Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター Burakku Rokku Shûtâ)
- Yomi Takanashi(小鳥遊 ヨミ Takanashi Yomi)
- Dead Master(デッドマスター Deddo Masutâ)
- Yû（CV:Kana Asumi）- Also known as Yû Kôtari (神足 ユウ Kôtari Yû) in TV Edition
- Black★Gold Saw
- Mato's Mother（CV:Kazusa Murai）
- Hiro（CV:Misaki Kuno）
- Detective（CV:Naoki Makishima / Takashi Nagasako）
- Strength
TV ANIME VERSION
PSP GAME VERSION
- BRS（CV:Mâya Sakamoto）
- GRAY（CV:Miyuki Sawashiro）
- WRS（CV:Mâya Sakamoto）
Apostles
- Mefe（CV:Mai Nakahara）
- Mzma（CV:Sugita Tomokazu）
- Szzu（CV:Yôko Hikasa）
- Ckry（CV:Yoshimitsu Shimoyama）
- Xnfe（CV:Asami Shimoda）
- Llwo（CV:Hiroshi Kamiya）
- Saha（CV：Yôsuke Akimoto）
Main Theme
OVA
Ending Theme
「Braveheart」
Composed, Lyrics, and Arranged by ryo / Vocals - THE GOMBAND
Related Illustrations
Related Tags
- THE GOMBAND
- Braveheart
- Hatsune Miku
- Original
- B★RS Y★RS
- Pixstory
- Everything Starts Here
- Black Hair
- Slender
- Bunches
- Bikini
- Huge Weapon
- Insane Black★Rock Shooter（IB★RS）
- Dead Master
- Strength（STR）
- Black★Matagi
- Black★Gold Saw
- Black★Devigirl
- White☆Rock Shooter(WRS) BRS（BRS2035）
- Black★Rock Shooter Beast(B★RSB)
- Kuroi Mato
- Yomi Takanashi
- Yuu
- Dead Black
- 2012 Winter Anime
