Source: Pixiv by 水あさと
It’s not often I involve myself with online communities (not counting social networks like Twitter or Facebook), much less challenging their beliefs.
Before I start though, here’s the first part of the post, simple and sweet.
Danny’s going to bring along some exclusive B★RS footage with him to Anime Expo in Los Angeles. It’ll be 10+ minutes long (more than 20% of the OVA), which is pretty long for a preview.
The only thing I can say to this is why not us Singaporeans?! *sniff*
Anyway, on to the other topic at hand.
About a month or two ago, I looked up the Black★Rock Shooter page on MyAnimeList.net, and I was quite surprised by the synopsis:
The famous 3DPV by Anomaro-P gave Black★Rock Shooter a plotline and backstory, which involves her sister betraying her and turning evil and Black★Rock Shooter being forced to kill her sister to stop the destruction. This plot eventually became the inspiration for the upcoming 2010 anime.
I ignored it at first, since it didn’t seem like a trustworthy source to start quoting from. No other blog or site made any mention of this “fact” too. Eventually I forgot about it. At least, till I saw this same synopsis copy-pasted into a certain Wikia recently.
A few Google searches eventually led me to the source: the B★RS fanclub on MAL. Coincidentally, I happened be following the founder on Twitter too, so we exchanged a few tweets before agreeing Anomaro-P’s “version” of the story had little to do with the OVA’s.
Got that? Good.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Anomaro-P should be disregarded completely. I’m just saying a plot in which B★RS gathers her friends to take down Dead Master after being betrayed wouldn’t inspire another in which Little Miss Matou is searching for her best friend in a world where everyone is out to take her down.
Then there’s the argument about whether the PV gave B★RS a real plotline and backstory.
The problem is what you consider canon and ‘official’.
When huke drew Black★Rock Shooter, and ryo composed the song, they defined the character. However, while she wasn’t exactly a clean slate, B★RS was still very open to interpretation. When the song became a hit, the fans began to dream about the exact plot B★RS could be involved in.
I’ve seen a lot of their imaginings. An illustration in which B★RS was “swapping” between the human realm (coincidentally it was on the grounds of a high school) and the “checkerboard world”. A VN-style video (read: lots of text) in which B★RS chained up a human and brought him to her world for some reason. At least, that was what I thought it was at the time, since I didn’t bother to translate.
Anomaro-P’s PV is just another take of the B★RS storyline. So is Ordet’s OVA. Personally, I’ll be taking the OVA as canon from this point on, since huke himself is involved in the whole monopoly franchise. Unless of course the OVA sucks, or if a more awesome reboot is made.
In any case, I don’t hate the 3DPV; in fact, I think it’s rather awesome, down to the transforming bike. I do think the whole “gather all my friends to kill the Big Bad” theme feels a little overused. Like the whole schoolgirl theme isn’t overused, heh heh. >_>
It’s not to say that the MyAnimeList.net entry is totally inaccurate and useless though; it identified the “mystery girl” in the last trailer as “STR“, and described her pretty well. I knew huke would foreshadow it from one of his artbooks. And while Insane BRS is also our little fantasy, I haven’t heard anything about that either. :/
Despite the recent shortcomings, though, I’m still looking forward to the OVA’s release on DVD. =3
Sources:
Also, thanks to Panther and ANN for reminding me to post about this. ^_^;
7 Responses to “B★RS – Confirming a Rumour, Debunking a Myth”
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Ya I agree with you, WHY EVERYTIME THESE THINGS DON”T HAPPEN TO SINGAPOREANS?!
and why not Bruneians TwT
Insane BRS is not totally “our little fantasy”; huke has some drawings of her.
As for the “facts” on the Wiki… I’ve changed some details, including the fact that the plot is not yet revealed maybe until some footage from Danny Choo’s present from Good Smile Company. Thanks for noticing that.
The “fantasy” is I.BRS being in the actual OVA. It’s possible though; signs seem to point in that direction.
(that’s speculation btw)
Also, thanks for updating the wiki, I appreciate it. =)
Oh, the merge between Black Gold Saw and BRS? I forgot about that. XD
And why we Malaysians ;A;
Let’s just wish that they wouldn’t enforce region locks for the streaming.