Black★★Rock Shooter BEFORE DAWN

Black★★Rock Shooter BEFORE DAWN (ブラック★★ロックシューター BEFORE DAWN, Burakku Rokku Shūtā BEFORE DAWN) is a prequel series of side stories to Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL. Written by Makoto Fukami and illustrated by Rui Tomono, BEFORE DAWN depicts the backstories and events leading up to the story of DAWN FALL, featuring characters who exclusively appear in the prequel series.

Development
Background settings for DAWN FALL were decided since the beginning of development, but as many backstories were set at different times and in different locations, screenwriter Makoto Fukami felt it was unsuitable to portray them in an anime format, so he incorporated them into a novel instead. BEFORE DAWN as a prequel would also serve to explain some of the technologies that play a role in DAWN FALL, specifically artificial intelligence and genetics.