Black★Rock Shooter (original concept)


 * This article is about the character. You might be looking for the anime or the game.

Black★Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター, Burakku Rokku Shuutaa) is the titular character and main protagonist of many projects, including the anime OVA Black★Rock Shooter, the RPG of the same name, the upcoming anime series and the manga Black★Rock Shooter ~Innocent Soul~. She was an original concept created by huke who participated in the release of the song "Black★Rock Shooter" by supercell.

She is voiced by Kana Hanazawa in the OVA and by Maaya Sakamoto in the PSP game.

Original Concept
Black★Rock Shooter's original design is of a pale-skinned, blue-eyed girl, with black hair in uneven twintails; the right lock of her hair is shorter than her left. She bears two scars on her midriff. A blue flame shoots out from her left eye.

Her clothes consist of a string bikini top under a black jacket. The jacket has a white stripe running along the length of each of her sleeves and has a white star design on the front (left side) and back. She also wears a pair of tight-fitting shorts, gloves, and black knee-high boots.

Her weapons consist of a black-hilted katana later named as Black Blade and a large gun called ★rock Cannon.

OVA Adaptation
The OVA adaptation added some details to Black★Rock Shooter. Unlike in her original design, her eyes have a concentric circle pattern, a trait she shares with other characters in the OVA.

Black★Rock Shooter is also given a personality in the OVA. She is depecited as a calm and collected girl, not speaking at all until her confrontation with her "other self", Kuroi Mato, near the end of the OVA. She also does not focus on anything except the most important thing she has to do at the moment.

She is shown to be very skilled in fighting, despite being quickly taken down by Black★Gold Saw in her first shown battle. Black★Rock Shooter is able to fight evenly with Dead Master, despite appearing to try not to hurt her.

Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME
Black★Rock Shooter (referred to in the game as "Stella") undergoes another change of design at the release of the PSP game Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME. One noticeable change is that she now has a pair of metallic wings and a jet engine on her back portion, which allows her to maneuver through the air and cushion landings easily. Her skin color in game is less pale than her original design. Also, she experiences a wider range of emotion than her OVA counterpart.

Black★Rock Shooter ~Innocent Soul~
The manga Black★Rock Shooter ~Innocent Soul~ depicts the titular character with a poncho instead of a jacket to cover her upper body. Also, her ★rock Cannon and Black Blade are merged to form her constant companion, which comes in the form of a shapeshifting snake around her right arm.

Black★Rock Shooter OVA

 * see full article: Black★Rock Shooter (OVA)

Black★Rock Shooter is initially shown in her world, fighting against Black★Gold Saw for an unknown reason. Though the silhouette is unclear, it looks like Black★Rock Shooter is impaled by Black★Gold Saw and left to be crushed under falling rocks.

She later appears to be waking up and at the edge of a broken bridge. She is now wearing a long trench coat and sporting a new weapon, the ★rock Cannon, along with now displaying her well-known scars. She crosses many different scenes and finally ends up at a castle which turns out to be the residence of the Dead Master. Initially, her reasons for fighting or pursuing the Dead Master are unknown.

Inside the palace, Black★Rock Shooter finds her opponent; she holds out her hand, and the Dead Master responds by attacking. The two begin their fight, with Black★Rock Shooter igniting her eye and powers, both of them seemingly equal.

The Dead Master manages to ensnare Black★Rock Shooter in a web of chains, where she is apparently trapped. However, as Kuroi Mato comes to terms with her feelings, Black★Rock Shooter gains the strength to break free of her chains with her bare hands. Once again, she holds out her hand to the Dead Master. The Dead Master is confused, and when she falls off a ledge, Black★Rock Shooter pulls her up and embraces her. The Dead Master, unable to handle this, escapes from Takanashi Yomi's body and dissolves.

Black★Rock Shooter is then shown with Kuroi Mato, her human counterpart. She speaks for the first time to ask Mato if she wants to save Yomi. Mato answers that more than saving Yomi, she wants her back with her. Hearing that answer, Black★Rock Shooter and Kuroi Mato merge together. It is unknown at what point the merge was, but it is implied to have been before the Dead Master fight.

Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME

 * See full article: Stella



Black★Rock Shooter is one of the last residents on a dead Earth, joining the last stand of the remaining forces of Earth to fight against beings called the Seven Apostles. She is considered to be the ultimate weapon, whose abilities are the only hope to save Earth from utter destruction.

Prior to or during the beginning of the game, she seems to be in a tube of some sort, and in a state of stasis.

Black★Rock Shooter ~Innocent Soul~

 * See full article: Rock 

Black★Rock Shooter is tasked with the duty of maintaining the peace within a world between Heaven and Earth called the Threshold.

Black★Rock Shooter (2012)
She is seen in the Otherworld. After walking around, she comes upon some green mist, and is led into a strange area where she is tormented by mysterious spider-like robotic creatures and Chariot. At one point, she screams in pain as one of the robots stabs and drills into her stomach.

She is then accosted by Dead Master and is chained up, but she quickly reverses the chains. However, a horde of spiders surrounds Dead Master and carries her away, causing Black★Rock Shooter to pursue her.

She finds her in a floating house in the sky, hidden within a doll and chained up. She reaches for her but is stopped by Chariot and her spider robot. The robot begins to fire macaroons at her, but she takes out her gun and shoots at them; the robot fires a torrent of macaroons at her, and she upgrades her gun to a machine gun-like contraption that blows them all away and destroys the spider robot.

During that time Dead Master begins to break free from her chains, and Black★Rock Shooter gains the upper hand. The chains recede into the sky, causing the world to fall apart. However, this is driven to a halt as a large red blade is driven into the sky, stopping this and suspending the destruction in midair, as if time had been stopped for the destruction. She sees Black★Gold Saw on top of Chariot.

Black★Gold Saw cuts a fissure into the ground, dragging Dead Master into it and apart from Black★Rock Shooter, and vanishes. Chariot takes the opportunity to charge at Black★Rock Shooter with a blade, but Black★Rock Shooter quickly activates the blue flame on her eye and beheads Chariot.

Later, she breaks into Black★Gold Saw's lair, and causes rocks to fall onto the mysterious hooded figures that she has created. She shoots at Black★Gold Saw, who dodges and presumably escapes. She approaches one of the hooded figures, which resembles Arata Kohata, and holds a hand out to her. However, the figure recedes and trembles in fear, and in response, she ignites her flame, grabs the figure, and beheads it.

Trivia

 * Out of the &quot;other selves&quot; featured in the OVA, Black★Rock Shooter is the only one to be identified by name in the actual anime.
 * The actual length of the Rock Cannon is undefined, as sometimes it's shorter (in the song, OVA, and in the original illustration by huke) and sometimes longer (in a certain illustration and in the figma).
 * In the OVA, she is described as being 163cm tall (Mato is 155cm).
 * BRS is often mistaken as Miku Hatsune due to the fact that both have similar hairstyles and that it is common for the latter to have different costumes in many songs.
 * Black★Rock Shooter doesn't have a scar in the upcoming 2012 anime.
 * Her hairstyle in the Game is more apparent to Mato Kuroi, with a more spikier look.
 * In some illustrations, BRS has been shown without gloves and a different kind of choker.
 * BRS2012's new design seems to be inspired by the designs of WRS and BRSB, seeing her new jacket and boots has parts similar to both WRS' and BRSB's clothing.
 * In the 2012 anime, she wears her trademark hood more often than she does in other media.
 * The event exclusive RAH figure of BRS seems to be based on an illustration of BRS wherein she dons the same white attire used in that particular figure.
 * While fighting Chariot, Black Rock Shooter was seen using Black Blade again, only it has a different look.
 * The anime incarnation of BRS seems to be more brutal than ever, severing every head of her opponnents or an other self after each episode.
 * The gatling gun upgrade seen on episode 2 maybe inspired by one of her skills in The Game.

Official Sites

 * Supercell: Black★Rock Shooter
 * Official Site: Black★Rock Shooter Animation
 * Nico Video: Black★Rock Shooter Channel
 * Twitter: Black★Rock Shooter Project