Insane Black★Rock Shooter (TV Anime Character)

"Asking to be hurt, or claiming not to hurt people... how hypocritical."

- Insane Black★Rock Shooter in Let's Go Beyond This World

Insane Black★Rock Shooter (インセインブラック★ロックシューター, Insein Burakku Rokku Shūtā) is the incarnation of the Insane Black★Rock Shooter character in the Black★Rock Shooter 2012 anime. She is Black★Rock Shooter gone insane from being affected by Mato Kuroi's mental trauma.

Appearance
Insane Black★Rock Shooter retains much of her original concept's design while also adapting parts of her normal self's design. She has black hair in spiky, uneven twintails, her eyes and flame versus that of her normal self are purple, and much of her body is encased in black armor. On the left side of her head is an asymmetrical crown-like adornment with three spikes and a white cross design. Her chest is partly covered with armor plating that has various designs, such as stars and a checkerboard. The string of her bikini top and her torn jacket are partly visible. Hanging off the left side of her chest armor is a white and black strap that wraps around to the corresponding section on her back. Her left shoulder has a plate similar to the crown on her head, but with one spike. Her midriff is exposed and lacks the scar of her original concept. She wears black shorts with two large light grey belts worn in a cross-shaped manner, and black thigh-high greaves.

Her purple eyes have a circular pattern with black and red pupils in them, unlike all other known other selves (including herself in her normal state), who have white pupils. While her normal state as Black★Rock Shooter ignites her blue eye flame only when she has killed or is about to kill another other self, Insane Black★Rock Shooter's purple eye flame is constantly active.

Personality
Insane Black★Rock Shooter retains the personality of her normal state, but due to the immense power she has gained from going insane, she is much less affected by the pain afflicted to her, and even disregards the injuries she gives to herself, such as when she tears her arm off during her fight with Black Gold Saw and when she shoots herself in the leg to prevent Mato from hindering her. Even sustaining such severe injuries cannot stop Insane Black★Rock Shooter from pressing her assault against her enemies.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter is also notably more expressive than her normal state. She grins when she is about to strike Strength, when Mato stands up to her and brings out the ★Rock Cannon in its gatling gun incarnation, and shows surprise and fear when faced with the massive ★Rock Cannon that Mato summons. At the same time, when the battle is not particularly challenging for her, Insane Black★Rock Shooter maintains a blank expression.

History
In Black★Rock Shooter, when Yuu Koutari sent Mato's consciousness to the Hollow World, Mato heard Black★Rock Shooter's voice (though she does not know who the voice is) ask her if she really wants to save Yomi Takanashi, for it means she must face all the pain and suffering she has run away from. Mato declares she wants to save Yomi and ignites a blue flame in her eye. Mato then finds herself within Black★Rock Shooter, and from her perspective, sees Yomi instead of Dead Master before her. However, she is horrified to find her stabbed before her eyes. Dead Master screams, causing the destruction of her world to swirl around herself and Black★Rock Shooter. As Dead Master's body slides off Black★Rock Shooter's blade and falls to the ground, Mato is traumatized by the sight, and her unconscious body in the real world cries. Yuu holds her hand and apologizes profusely to Mato, saying it was the only way. She then apologizes to Black★Rock Shooter, who is consequently affected by Mato's mental trauma. As a sign of this, the blue flame in her eye merges with a red flame and turns it purple. Spikes then penetrate into Black★Rock Shooter's body as she spills purple-colored blood and undergoes a gruesome transformation into Insane Black★Rock Shooter in the following episode.

What remained of Dead Master's world consequently transformed to reflect Black★Rock Shooter's new state, and Black Gold Saw, who had been in the area observing them, witnesses these events occur. She immediately takes a stand against Insane Black★Rock Shooter, who readies her Insane Cannon Lance in response. Black Gold Saw rushes straight for her and leaves a deep gash in her right arm. Mato reacts to this and writhes in pain, but Insane Black Rock Shooter is completely indifferent to the injury and rips her own arm off, causing Mato to scream and pass out from the pain. Insane Black★Rock Shooter throws her Insane Cannon Lance and fires an intense hail of bullets, forcing Black Gold Saw to shield herself using her King Saw.

Black Gold Saw manages to rush past the Insane Cannon Lance constantly firing and being tossed around by Insane Black★Rock Shooter's chain. The Insane Cannon Lance stops firing as it lands in the ground, and Black Gold Saw uses this opening to attack Insane Black★Rock Shooter again. However, the Insane Cannon Lance opens up a turret on its backside that fires that blasts off Black Gold Saw's right arm, causing her to miss her attack as her King Saw falls in front of Insane Black★Rock Shooter, and Black Gold Saw herself skids across the ground. Insane Black★Rock Shooter takes the King Saw with a chain and turns around to approach Black Gold Saw, who retreats by dissolving into the ground. Before the opening she leaves behind disappears, Insane Black★Rock Shooter drives the King Saw, her Insane Cannon Lance and Insane Blade Claw into the opening and pursues Black Gold Saw, finding her back in her own area of the Hollow World. Using her watering can, Black Gold Saw creates numerous Incomplete Girls armed with weapons to surround Insane Black★Rock Shooter.

The Incomplete Girls hardly slow down Insane Black★Rock Shooter as she slaughters all of them and closes in on Black Gold Saw. Just before she reaches her, Saya Irino connects with Black Gold Saw and tries to call out to Mato within Insane Black★Rock Shooter. The latter suddenly stops, unable to lower her arm to attack Black Gold Saw. A slight reaction from Mato is triggered, and Insane Black★Rock Shooter is sent flying back against a pillar, restrained by the invisible force of Mato's reaction. Seemingly under Saya's control, Black Gold Saw uses her watering can to create a surface akin to a mirror beneath her, where Saya relays the memories of her past.

After her memories conclude with Black Gold Saw's name being declared, Insane Black★Rock Shooter shouts and breaks free from her restrains. She rushes to attack Black Gold Saw with her King Saw. Saya makes one last plea to Mato as Black Gold Saw closes her eyes, seemingly accepting her fate, but the King Saw misses its mark as Strength suddenly appears to save her. She manages to catch Insane Black★Rock Shooter off-guard and sends her flying into another pillar. Insane Black★Rock Shooter wastes no time recovering and attempts to retaliate, but Strength breaks the ground beneath them and takes Black Gold Saw to escape to her area of the Hollow World. Insane Black★Rock Shooter gives chase until they all appear in Strength's realm, a Rubik's Cube-style world with the cube structure floating in mid-air. Strength sets the unconscious Black Gold Saw down, moving her elsewhere to keep her out of Insane Black★Rock Shooter's reach. Strength and Insane Black Rock Shooter then face off with each other.

In the real world, Yuu apologizes to Black★Rock Shooter, saying she forced her wish upon them. Insane Black★Rock Shooter fires her Insane Cannon Lance at Strength, who avoids the attack and tries to punch Insane Black★Rock Shooter with her Ogre Arm, but despite her missing, a block part of the cube structure knocks her away into the wall of another block. Insane Black★Rock Shooter retaliates with her Insane Blade Claw, but Strength simply grabs the sword and breaks it in half with her sharp tail. Now armed only with her Insane Insane Black★Rock Shooter tries to resume her assault, but Strength switches places with a block and attacks Insane Black★Rock Shooter from behind, crushing her against the block. The voice of Mato, who is still unconscious within Insane Black★Rock Shooter, says that she understands that she's been forcing the pain she has onto another girl, and that Black★Rock Shooter is there to save everyone from their grief. As Strength brings both of her fists down on a heavily injured Insane Black Rock Shooter, Mato's voice says that despite that, it's wrong.

<!-- However, Insane Black★Rock Shooter regenerates and overwhelms Strength. Due to her regenerative abilities and armour, she is able to withstand both Strength's machine guns and gatling guns. Eventually Mato manages to delay Insane Black★Rock Shooter, allowing Strength to wound her, but Insane Black★Rock Shooter manages to get her Cannon Lance in front of her leg and activate the rear vulcan, wounding Mato. Insane Black★Rock Shooter is not troubled due to her high regenerative capabilities. Insane Black★Rock Shooter regains control of the fight, but Strength suddenly seems to go insane and overpowers her, grabbing the Cannon Lance and throwing Insane Black★Rock Shooter away. The two have another shoot-out, vulcans against machine guns, and Strength is again overpowered. However, she seems to enjoy this and manages to grab the Cannon Lance and punch Insane Black★ Rock Shooter in the face. She commandeers the Cannon Lance and intentionally activates all the vulcans at once to wound herself. The world they are fighting in is consumed by fire and "Strength" reveals herself to be the real Yuu Koutari, who switched places with Strength in the Hollow World. Insane Black★Rock Shooter uses her Cannon Lance to propel herself over the flames to safe ground and charges at Strength, but Yuu activates several more Ogre Arms attached to her back and whacks Insane Black★Rock Shooter repeatedly on the block she is standing on and throws the Cannon Lance away. As Insane Black★Rock Shooter lies on the ground, Yuu and Strength recount their story to Mato.

Yuu continues to smash Insane Black★Rock Shooter on the block she is standing on. Insane Black★Rock Shooter attempts to retaliate, but Yuu overpowers her. However, Strength tries to destroy herself to stop Yuu, freezing Yuu in place. Insane Black★Rock Shooter pulls her Insane Cannon Lance back with her chain and goes in for the kill, but Mato refuses to let her do it. Mato's resolve causes the area inside Insane Black★Rock Shooter to fill with light and both Mato and Insane Black★Rock Shooter are transported to Black★Rock Shooter's world, with Mato in the normal Black★Rock Shooter's body. Mato apologises to Insane Black★Rock Shooter for making her bear all her pain and suffering. Insane Black★Rock Shooter speaks to Mato, saying the she is fine with accepting Mato's pain as her "other self". Mato tells her that she does not want to hurt anyone, not even Insane Black★Rock Shooter; she wants to be hurt by herself. Insane Black★Rock Shooter shows a slight unhappy expression, drops her Cannon Lance and begins pummeling Mato with her fist and knee, causing her to bleed red blood. Insane Black★Rock Shooter tells Mato that her wounds won't heal as quickly as the "other selves" would. Mato collides with the ★Rock Cannon, inexplicably embedded in the ground and Insane Black★Rock Shooter asks her why she won't use it. Mato says she never wants to use it. Insane Black★Rock Shooter attacks her again, forcing her to grab the cannon and block the attack. Mato continues to shield herself with the cannon, while Insane Black★Rock Shooter tells her it is "unfair" to get hurt without hurting others. Mato accidentally manages to non-fatally stab Insane Black★Rock Shooter in the side with the cannon, and feels the pain of hurting someone. Insane Black★Rock Shooter simply breaks the cannon on her knee and resumes her assault, injuring Mato severely and breaking one of her legs. While Mato struggles on the ground, Insane Black★Rock Shooter notes that the attack was "hardly anything" compared to the battles between "other selves". Mato still finds that she can't hurt someone. She reflects on the picture book she read when she was younger and how the bird in the book died. She has a vision of the bird regaining its colours and gathers her resolve, summoning the ★rock Cannon in its tri-barreled gatling gun form (as well as healing her damaged leg), and begins firing at Insane Black★Rock Shooter. Insane Black★Rock Shooter smiles sadistically and fires back with her Insane Cannon Lance. The two then start a massive shoot-out, but are evenly matched. Insane Black★Rock Shooter manages to destroy the ★rock Cannon again, but Mato, with the help from all the "other selves", summons a giant ★rock Cannon and aims it at her. As Insane Black★Rock Shooter looks on in fear, Mato fires a giant rainbow-coloured beam at her, annihilating her and her Cannon Lance. After Insane Black★Rock Shooter was destroyed, Black★Rock Shooter returns to her normal state. -->

Abilities
I.BRS may have great powers of regeneration as she was shown reattaching her right arm without any worries and uses it as if nothing happened to it at all; her arm can still pull the trigger of the Insane Cannon Lance mid-air even after being ripped off. I.BRS also doesn't seem to feel any pain, no matter how fatal the opponent's attacks are. I.BRS can also resist Mato's ability to control I.BRS to a limited extent enough to injure herself and thereby injure Mato.

As mentioned in the anime, I.BRS is said to be able to destroy the "other world" and the counterparts within it, thus making her the strongest antagonist in the anime series.

Her weapons of choice are modifications of Black★Rock Shooter's ★rock Cannon and Black Blade, named Insane Cannon Lance and Insane Blade Claw respectively.

Trivia

 * Her blood is purple, compared to her blue blood in her normal state.
 * Insane Black★Rock Shooter's appearance in the anime was first teased during Wonder Festival in February 2012. At the Wonderful Hobby Life for You booth by Good Smile Company and Max Factory, attendees could peel off tin badges made to form a giant "B★RS" logo. The removal of all the badges revealed Insane★Black Rock Shooter's design for the anime, as well as news that a figma of the character would be included in the limited edition Blu-ray & DVD box sets for the anime.
 * Insane Black★Rock Shooter's appearance in the anime was also foreshadowed in The World I Once Dreamt Of Closes, where Yomi repaints her original portrait of Mato to appear darker and distorted with purple tones.

Gallery

 * Full article: Insane Black★Rock Shooter (TV Anime Character)/Gallery