Black Bullet

I got about two episodes in before quitting. The animation and voice acting are pretty good. The characters haven't been really developed by episode 2 so I have nothing to say about them. The main problem with this show is the awkward and clunky exposition that comes out of every characters mouth whenever it opens. They don't even try to hide the fact that it makes no sense for characters to be saying certain things to each other. Information is given directly to the audience nonstop. A lot of it is even repeated. Maybe once everything is set up it gets better, but with how much stuff is being set up, I don't see how it could really fit into only 13 episodes.

While it was a good idea to add a kid girl, a teenage guy and a smiley face mask villain with a kid girl dressing up as a lolita, the plot for me still didn't match what I wanted out of this anime. Ok, they are fighting bad guys and trying to save the cursed children from the government but I think there had to be more than that. I just felt the plot was unoriginal and just boring. I had to drop at 3 episodes, it just wasn't the anime I ended up liking, unfortunately. I really did want to like it since it had great English Dub voice actors but they weren't enough to keep me viewing more episodes I'm afraid....

Total waste of time.. Lazy stupid senseless story, It had potential but flopped from the start

I cannot, in good consciousness, recommend Black Bullet unless you simply want eye-candy. The production values are high, but if you're into animes for deeper experiences, stray far from this one.

At only 13 episodes, any anime that's filled to the brim with a lot of material is going to struggle. Black Bullet is many things: it's a social commentary on the ostracizing of a group, a romance, a comedy, and a tale of humanity's struggle to endure. On top of this, within its 13 episodes are 3 distinct plot arcs. Black Bullet tries to achieve so much in so little time, that it stands out only as a Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of None.

Taking place in a city where humanity is pitted against invaders known as the Gastrea, Satomi Rentaro is an officer who fights against this enemy alongside his young partner, Enju. However, Enju is one of many girls persecuted by much of society for being a Cursed Child. These are girls who have enhanced combat capabilities because they were exposed to the Gastrea infection before they were born. Cursed Children, despite being hated for what they are, often assist as members of the defense force.

As interesting as the premise seems, it's only a part of the greater, messy scheme of things. While all of that is going on, Black Bullet attempts to develop characters and a relationship and unravel plot details in an almost incoherent way with little devotion to any one particular element. For the first couple of episodes, you'll be trying to wrap your head around exactly what this anime wants to be, only to give up in frustration and try to just enjoy the ride. Sadly, all the way up to the final episode, you'll find that this is just one messy ride that can only be enjoyed for its pretty animations on screen with occasional flashy action sequences. So many times, I found myself wanting more of something the show offered, only to never get it because the writers wanted to show a little bit more of other things.

I have never seen a more jumbled up anime than Black Bullet. Do yourself a favor and watch a show that knows what kind of identity it wants to carve out for itself.

Maybe I'm just getting old, because I really liked this show, yet couldn't put it in the category of favourites like Elfen Lied or Claymore.

It revolves around Rentaro, a civil service officer in the Tokyo area of the near future. For the past 10 years Gastrea, man-eating monsters, have been constantly attacking humanity and are being just held at bay by huge monolith fortifications around the city made of Varanium, the only material that is impervious to their attacks. Rentaro is aided by Enju, one of the Cursed Children. These are all female girls with red eyes and extraordinary abilities, brought about by having part Gastrea in their blood. Eventually, the Gastrea find a way around or through the monoliths and someone needs to save Tokyo...

This show has great animation and characters with plenty of bloody violence, which I dig. Yet, I felt something was lacking, because I couldn't put it up there with my old favourites. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this stuff haha. Anyway, for you younger guys, check this out, it's fun!