How Much More Do I Have to Scream?

How Much Louder Do I Have to Shout? (あとどれだけ叫べばいいんだろう, Ato Doredake Sakebeba Iin'darou) is the first episode of the Black★Rock Shooter anime. It aired on February 3, 2012 (Japanese) and March 13, 2012 (English) and April 23, 2012 (French) and May 3, 2012 (Italian).

Synopsis

 * Spoiler Alert: This plot may contain major moments and ending details of the episode.

In a strange world, a a mysterious hooded girl sits... and fights alone against a foe unseen except for her fiery red eyes.

Mato Kuroi begins her first day of school. A little dazed from the surroundings, she trips and falls, and a kind girl helps her up. Mato comments on the girl's red bracelet, which the girl says she made herself in a simple chain stitch. Later, Mato looks up the class roster and finds that the girl's last name is "little birds playing".

After school, Mato meets up with her friend Yuu Koutari, and asks her about what game little birds would play; Yuu suggests a game where one would tie a red string on the birds' legs. Mato describes the girl, saying that she has pale white skin but the red bracelet suits her. Yuu asks if Mato wants to befriend the girl, to which Mato initially denies but eventually admits. Yuu remarks that Mato is weird.

The girl from before dejectedly returns home. She walks over to where one half of a cup-and-string telephone is located, and gives what she calls a "report". She states that she met an interesting girl who made lots of facial expressions, but the girl on the other end insists that she "must not".

Mato at home reads her favorite book, Li'l Bird Li'l Bird Colorful Colors, a book about a mysterious bird that takes people to worlds of different colors. As she describes the colors, the scene cuts to the strange other world, where its gun-wielding inhabitant resides.

The next day, Mato asks the girl, Yomi Takanashi, about her name, and remarks that it sounds "smart". She asks if Yomi wants to join any clubs, but Yomi immediately starts to feel awkward and leaves the room.

Mato and Yuu walk down the hallway and run into Saya Irino's "Dawn Counseling Room". Saya offers them coffee and tells them to come by if they have any problems. Mato says she doesn't have any, and Saya says that while it's a good thing, she can come by any time if she has any problems.

Mato and Yuu then go to check out the basketball club (of which Yuu is applying to be the manager of), and Arata Kohata, the captain, ends up making them sprint anyway. In the art club, Yomi spots Arata and Mato running, and calls it "beautiful".

When Mato is walking home, Yomi sees that Mato has a phone charm of the bird from Li'l Bird Li'l Bird Colorful Colors, and shows her that her own phone has a wallpaper of it that she drew. The picture, however, comes from an earlier edition of the book, and Mato says that she would like to see it. Yomi offers to take her to her house and show it to her.

Initially nervous, Yomi shows Mato her house, and the conversation turns from the book to Yomi's bracelet, which Yomi gives to Mato. The doorbell rings, however, and an extremely shaken Yomi protests as the girl from the telephone line comes in, named Kagari Izuriha, who is on a wheelchair. She immediately shows the two her doll, saying that she got it from Yomi.

The three sit down, and Kagari offers Mato a macaroon. However, she keeps feeding them to Mato even after Mato has only taken one bite of each, and then shoves a bunch at Mato, saying that she can have the "dirty colors". Yomi, extremely uncomfortable, says that Mato doesn't have to eat them, but Mato does out of politeness.

Kagari later gives Mato a doll, an extremely fat and deformed one. Kagari asks her doll, Mary, how long it will be before Mato goes home, and, acting as if she were Mary, tells Mato to go away. Yomi protests, but Kagari says that she's not saying anything, and it's just Mary. Mato leaves and says goodbye to a depressed Yomi. As soon as she is out, Mato runs away as fast as she can, thinking about how scary Kagari is, to the point where she refuses curry (her favorite food) that night and cries that night. However, she gets a text from Yomi, saying, "I'm sorry."

Yomi also goes to bed, and gets a cup-telephone message from Kagari saying, "I told you that you must not. You belong to me. You must take responsibility."

In the mysterious world, the girl there sees a strange green mist. She follows it, only to be startled by a burst of light and a strange plane in front of her. She walks around, hearing echoes of "Go away! Go away!" and seeing the remains of a warped toy ground around her. She is suddenly pursued attacked by toy-like robot creatures and brutally rammed by the wheels at the bottom of another girl who waves her hand to the tune of "Go away!" and looks much like Kagari, throwing macaroons at her face.

The next morning, Mato looks at the red bracelet Yomi gave her and sees Yomi behind her, dejectedly organizing her things. She denies an offer to go out with a bunch of the other girls in class because she sees Yomi's discomfort.

Mato goes to visit Saya and sees Arata complaining about love insecurities. Arata quickly runs out, giving Mato some time with Saya to discuss the issue. Saya says that Mato has beautiful eyes, eyes that have never hated or been hated by anyone else. She also says that having enemies is something that inevitably happens to everyone, so she should accept it, and that even if her heart hearts, someone else is enduring that pain for her.

Mato walks by the art room and sees Yomi working on a drawing all by herself. Yomi tells her that it's useless to try and become friends with her, but Mato immediately offers to take her to the festival. Yomi says that Mato will only get hurt, but Mato declares nothing will ever hurt her, and they should have lots of fun together. Yomi begins to cry.

In the other world, a "world of many colors", the hooded girl is pursued by a spider robot creature. She tries to fight it off with her rock cannon, but a girl who resembles Yomi suddenly appears and traps the hooded girl using chains. The trapped girl gets stabbed by one of the spider robot's claws and silently screams in pain...

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Black★Rock Shooter
 * Mato Kuroi
 * Yomi Takanashi
 * Yuu Koutari
 * Hiro Kuroi
 * Mato's Mother
 * Dead Master

New Characters

 * Saya Irino
 * Arata Kohata
 * Kagari Izuriha
 * Chariot

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is the first line in the first stanza of the song Black★Rock Shooter.

Referbacks

 * Most of the scenes in the human world have similarities to the scenes in the OVA. However, it is clear that many details were edited: for example, Mato's already-established friendship with Yuu, the first meeting between Mato and Yomi, and of course, the integration of new characters into the story.

Unanswered Questions

 * Who is the "red eye" that always follows Black Rock Shooter? Answer:  The red eyes are the eyes of Black Gold saw. The reasons why this is known are: Black Gold Saw is the only "other self" that has red eyes, and The first time the red eye is seen the weapon that Black Gold Saw wields is seen. (Much larger than in the OVA though.)
 * What is the connection between Kagari Izuriha and Chariot? Answer: Kagari Izuriha's other self is heavily implied to be Chariot, based on the echoes of "GO AWAY" in the Otherworld and Chariot throwing macaroons on BRS' face.