, often stylized as ''Black★Rock Shooter'', is a Japanese

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

based on independent character illustrations created by artist Ryohei Fuke, also known as Huke. It revolves around its

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

character, a mysterious black haired girl with a blazing blue eye. The original illustration inspired a song of the same name by

Supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (su ...

featuring the

Vocaloid is a singing Speech synthesis, voice synthesizer software product. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project between Yamaha Corporation and the Music Technology Group at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. The s ...

Hatsune Miku , officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media. Its official mascot is depicted as a sixteen-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. Miku's personification has been marketed as a virt ...

, which gained popularity on the

Nico Nico Douga , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, according to Alexa Internet. ...

website. A 50-minute

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

based on the franchise was produced by

Yutaka Yamamoto is a Japanese anime director from Osaka Prefecture. He helped co-found Ordet (studio), Ordet. Biography As a member of Kyoto Animation, Yamamoto rose to prominence within the company after serving as an assistant director on ''Munto, Munto 2: ...

's studio

Ordet ''Ordet'' (, meaning " The Word" and originally released as ''The Word'' in English) is a 1955 Danish drama film, written and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. It is based on a play by Kaj Munk, a Danish Lutheran priest, first performed in 1932. ...

, written by

Nagaru Tanigawa is a Japanese author. He is a graduate of the law school at Kwansei Gakuin University. He is best known as the creator of the ''Haruhi Suzumiya'' light novel series, which was adapted into an anime television series and film, and for which he won ...

and Shinobu Yoshioka, and directed by Shinobu Yoshioka. A "Pilot Edition" was released on DVD and

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

in September 2009, before the full version was released on DVDs bundled with select magazines from July 24, 2010, subtitled in seven languages, followed by a retail release on December 17, 2010. An eight-episode anime television series, produced by Ordet and

Sanzigen is a Japanese animation studio specializing in CGI animation. The studio was founded in 2003, later becoming formally incorporated in 2006 by former employees of Gonzo, and has contributed to various anime series and films. Its name is derived ...

, aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

Noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji Television devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 0:45 to 1:15 JST. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical you ...

programming block between February and March 2012. A new anime television series titled ''Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall'' ran for 12 episodes aired from April to June 2022. The franchise has also spawned several manga series and a video game for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

titled '' Black Rock Shooter: The Game'', each set in their own universe.

Plot

While each piece of media takes place in its own universe, they each focus around Black Rock Shooter, a mysterious black haired girl who possesses a burning blue eye and a powerful cannon that can shoot rapid shots at high speed. Other characters also appear in more than one form of media. The OVA focuses on a girl named Mato Kuroi, who befriends another girl, Yomi Takanashi, upon entering school. As the two start to drift apart, with Yomi becoming jealous of Mato's friendship with Yuu Kotari, Yomi suddenly disappears. As Mato searches for her, she is taken to a strange world where she meets the mysterious Black Rock Shooter, who merges with her and helps her search for Yomi, fighting off the evil Dead Master who possessed her. The first television series uses the same characters from the OVA in a similar but slightly different storyline. As Mato enters middle school and becomes friends with Yomi, she soon faces personal troubles and the influence caused by another world where Black Rock Shooter fights other girls. The manga series, ''Black Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul'', follows Black Rock Shooter and her serpent partner, Ron, as they venture the Hazama, a world between Heaven and Earth where stagnant souls that have had regrets become trapped. Left alone, these souls can become demons that can pull in other souls, so it is up to Rock to stop them so they may ascend to heaven. ''Black Rock-chan'' is a comedy series following the everyday life of a chibi-styled Black Rock Shooter named Rock-chan and her babysitter De-chan. ''Black Rock Shooter: The Game'' takes place in the year 2051, where Black Rock Shooter, also known as Stella, is awoken from slumber and enters a futuristic battlefield where alien forces have invaded the Earth and have been terrorizing the planet for 19 years. She must fight off the

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

while also trying to regain her memories. The anime ''Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall'' follows a plot similar to the game. Black Rock Shooter, also known as Empress, awakens from slumber in 2062 and learns an AI called Artemis rebelled against humanity and terrorized the planet with an army of machines. She must fend off the machines while also trying to regain her memories and fend off attacks from her former comrades, Strength and Dead Master.

Production

Background

Original work and Supercell song

The origins of ''Black Rock Shooter'' date back to an original character illustration titled "Black Rock Shooter" by illustrator Ryohei Fuke, best known by his handle 'Huke', who posted it on his blog and the online artist community

Pixiv Pixiv is a Japanese Virtual community, online community for artists. It was first launched as a beta test on 10 September 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Pixiv Inc. is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya, Toky ...

on December 26, 2007. Ryo of

was inspired by the illustration and created the song "

Black Rock Shooter , often stylized as ''Black★Rock Shooter'', is a Japanese media franchise based on independent character illustrations created by artist Ryohei Fuke, also known as Huke. It revolves around its eponymous character, a mysterious black ...

" based on that character using vocals from the

singing synthesizer

. Huke joined Supercell and provided the illustrations used in the music video of the song, which was later posted online on the

video sharing An online video platform (OVP) enables users to upload, convert, store, and play back video content on the Internet, often via a private server structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally upload video content vi ...

website

on June 13, 2008, which as of August 2009 had over 2.2 million views. The song was later used as the opening theme for the 2012 anime television series. The song has also been included in '' Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F'' as a playable song.

OVA and pilot

Produced by

's studio

and directed by Shinobu Yoshioka, an

(OVA) project based on "Black Rock Shooter" and its music video was announced on August 22, 2009. The screenplay was written by

and Shinobu Yoshioka, and character design was done by Yuusuke Matsuo. The music was composed by Ryo and the ending theme song is "Braveheart" performed by The Gomband. A "Pilot Edition" of the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

was released on DVD and

(BD) on September 30, 2009, by

Good Smile Company is a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products such as the Nendoroid and Figma (toy), Figma product lines, as well as scale figures. In addition to production and manufacturing, its business includes design, marketing and distribution. Its product ...

. The pilot contains three short animated videos showing the same scenes from the anime while playing different versions of the song "Black Rock Shooter", much like in anime music videos. The first video uses the instrumental track from the original version of "Black Rock Shooter", the second video uses the "2M Mix" remix of the song with vocals using Hatsune Miku Append, and the third video uses the instrumental version of the "2M Mix". The DVD/BD also came bundled with an image booklet and a CD containing the vocal and instrumental versions of the "2M Mix". The full 50-minute version of ''Black Rock Shooter'' is subtitled in seven languages, and was released as a free DVD bundled with ''Hobby Japan'' magazine on July 24, 2010. The OVA also came with

Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales are reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces othe ...

's ''

Megami Magazine is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games, edited by IID and published by Gakken Plus. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the article ...

'' on July 30, 2010, ''Animedia'' magazine on August 10, 2010, and is also packaged with

Figma Figma is a collaborative web application for interface design, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for macOS and Windows. The feature set of Figma focuses on user interface and user experience design, with an empha ...

and

Nendoroid The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company since 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearan ...

Black Rock Shooter figurines. A retail version was released on December 17, 2010, in special (BD+DVD) and regular (BD) editions. Both editions feature a 30-second test short

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

video as a bonus featuring a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

of "Black Rock Shooter" by

Joe Hahn Joseph Hahn (born March 15, 1977) is an American musician, DJ, director, and visual artist best known as the DJ and creative director of the rock band Linkin Park, doing the scratching, turntables, sampling, and programming for all eight of ...

, the DJ of

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

, as well as its

making-of https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...

video.

Anime adaptations

''Black Rock Shooter''

An eight-episode anime television series of ''Black Rock Shooter'' was produced by Ordet with CG production by

, and was directed by Shinobu Yoshioka, with the script written by

Mari Okada is a Japanese screenwriter, director and manga artist. She is one of the most prolific writers currently working in the anime industry. She won the 16th Animation Kobe Award. Among her credits, Okada is best known for her writing and produci ...

, animation direction and character design by Yusuke Yoshigaki and CG battle direction by

Hiroyuki Imaishi is a Japanese anime director, animator and co-founder of Studio Trigger. His style is marked by fast and frantic animation combined with elaborate storyboarding and punchy direction. Prior to founding Trigger, he was an animator and director at ...

. Fuji TV, Good Smile Company,

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

, Mages,

Aniplex Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu'') is a Japanese entertainment company and a subsidiary of Sony, Sony Group Corporation, founded in September 1995 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company fo ...

Dentsu , simply known as , stylized as dentsu, is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan and the fifth largest advertising agency network in ...

and Ultra Super Pictures were involved in the production. The opening theme is by

, sung by Hatsune Miku, while the ending theme music is by Supercell sung by Koeda.

''Dawn Fall''

On September 16, 2021, a new anime television series titled ''Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall'' was announced. It is produced by

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the is a Japanese animation studio owned by Sega Corporation. TMS is one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, known for its numerous anime franchises such as '' Detective Conan'', '' Lupin the Third ...

under its UNLIMITED PRODUCE by TMS label, animated by

Bibury Animation Studios is a Japanese animation studio founded on May 1, 2017. History Bibury Animation Studios was founded on May 1, 2017 by Motoki "Tensho" Tanaka, an animation director and director of ''Kin-iro Mosaic'', the ''The Fruit of Grisaia, Grisaia'' series ...

and Bibury Animation CG and directed by Tensho, with scripts written by

Makoto Fukami is a Japanese manga artist, novelist, and screenwriter. He started writing manga in 1999 and since has had multiple of his series adapted into other media. In addition to manga, he also did screenwriting for ''Psycho-Pass'' and its first film '' ...

in cooperation with Ryō Yoshigami. Character designs are provided by Masayuki Nonaka and Yō Nakagawa, both of whom also serving as chief animation directors.

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

licensed the anime as one of its first in a move to release more Asian-produced content on its streaming platform

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. The opening theme is "Aseed" by Zaq, while the ending theme is "Before the Nightmare" by

Kanako Takatsuki is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Hyōgo Prefecture. She is previously affiliated with Amuse and her single is released under label Victor Entertainment. About Takatsuki was born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan Japan is an islan ...

Release

''Black Rock Shooter'' aired on

noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji Television devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 0:45 to 1:15 JST. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical you ...

slot between February 2 and March 22, 2012, and was being streamed in eight languages a day after its initial broadcast. The series was released on DVD and BD on June 22, 2012, in a box set containing the original soundtrack and an Insane Black Rock Shooter

figurine. The television series is licensed in Australia and New Zealand by

Siren Visual This is a list of anime industry companies involved in the production or distribution of anime. Japan-based companies Animation studios There are over 500 animation studios in Japan. Below are those notable enough to have an article. *3Hz * ...

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...

released the series in the United Kingdom as a subtitle-only DVD boxset on May 13, 2013.

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

licensed the anime in North America and released it with an English dub on July 27, 2021. ''Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall'' aired from April 3 to June 19, 2022, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and other networks. The international release dates on

vary between regions, beginning from April 30, 2022, in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand; May 25, 2022, in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Singapore. On October 18, 2022, the series was released on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in America and Disney+ in Canada.

Reception

''Black Rock Shooter''—the first season—was awarded for technical achievement in broadcast animation at the 65th Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan Awards in 2012.

Spin-off media

Video games

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

, titled , was developed by

Imageepoch was a video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was filed for bankruptcy in 2015, due to its declining sales and increasing debt. History The company was founded in June 2005 by Ryoei Mikage. Their first release was the tactica ...

for the

and was released on August 25, 2011. Set in a different universe to the OVA, it features animated cut scenes by

Ufotable is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 by former Telecom Animation Film producer Hikaru Kondō and located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works ('' Ninja Nonsense'', '' Futakoi Alternative'', '' Coyo ...

. The opening theme for the game is "No Scared" by One Ok Rock. A limited edition Premium Box of the game was released, bundled with a

figurine of the game's antagonist, White Rock Shooter. The game was published digitally by

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and '' Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' charact ...

via the

PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...

in North America on April 23, 2013, and in Europe on April 24, 2013. A browser game titled was released on

on March 9, 2011, featuring illustrations by CHAN×CO. Imageepooch are developing an

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

follow-up titled for release in September 2012. Various ''Black Rock Shooter'' elements have been made available for the Japanese

PlayStation Home PlayStation Home was a virtual 3D social networking, social gaming platform developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) on the PlayStation Network (PSN). It was accessible from the PS3's XrossMediaBar (XM ...

. Characters from ''Black Rock Shooter'' also appear in the PSP game ''Nendoroid Generation'', produced by

Namco Bandai (commonly known as and formerly Namco Bandai until 2015, also known as Bandai Namco Group,) is a Japanese mass media and entertainment conglomerate founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specializes in toys, video ...

and

Banpresto (formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Ba ...

, based on the

series of figures. The game was released on February 23, 2012. On September 27, 2024, Black Rock Shooter was added as playable character in the action RPG game '' Punishing: Gray Raven''.

Manga

A four-panel comic strip

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

titled , illustrated by Ringo, was serialized in

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

's ''4-Koma Nano Ace'' magazine from the April 2011 and March 2012 issues. The series features super-deformed versions of Black Rock Shooter and Dead Master, respectively, named Rock-chan and De-chan. A single ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volume of ''Black Rock-chan'' was released on February 4, 2012. Another manga by Sanami Suzuki, titled , was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's ''

Young Ace is a monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 2009. A spin-off web manga magazine titled ''Young Ace UP'' began publication in December 2015. Series ''Young Ace'' *''Akuma no Ikenie'' ('' Devil's Sacr ...

'' magazine from the July 2011 and June 2012 issues. Three volumes were published for ''Innocent Soul'' from November 4, 2011, and June 4, 2012. A manga adaptation of ''Black Rock Shooter: The Game'' illustrated by TNSK was serialized from September 2011 and September 2012 issues of Kadokawa Shoten's ''

Comptiq is a Japanese computer game magazine, first published in 1983, by Kadokawa Shoten. The name "Comptiq" came from combining the words "computer" and "boutique". Originally a PC magazine, its focus shifted from computers to computer games. As of ...

''. The first volume of ''The Game'' was released on February 10, 2012, and the second and last on September 26, 2012.

Notes

References

External links

*
TV anime official website
at

''Black Rock Shooter: The Game'' website

''Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall'' website

Original music video
* {{authority control 2010 anime OVAs 2011 manga 2008 songs 2008 singles 2012 anime television series debuts 2022 anime television series debuts Action anime and manga Anime series Anime with original screenplays Bibury Animation Studios Browser games Disney+ original anime Drama anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Hulu original anime Image Epoch games IOS games Kadokawa Corporation franchises Kadokawa Shoten manga Noitamina Ordet (studio) Sanzigen Anime and manga set in schools Seinen manga Shōnen manga Supernatural anime and manga Television shows written by Mari Okada Tokyo MX original programming TMS Entertainment