Black Bullet


Black Bullet is a Japanese light novel series written by Shiden Kanzaki and illustrated by Saki Ukai, published under ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story takes place during a parasitic epidemic, and follows Rentarō Satomi and [|Enju Aihara], two Civil Security workers who take missions to protect the Tokyo Area from destruction.
The series began publication in July 2011, and 7 volumes have been published as of January 2020. A manga series began serialization in August 2012 in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Maoh. An anime television series adaptation animated by Kinema Citrus and Orange was broadcast from April to July 2014, and was simulcast outside Japan by Crunchyroll. The Black Bullet franchise was localized in three countries by several companies: the anime was licensed by Sentai Filmworks for North America, Animatsu Entertainment for the United Kingdom, and Hanabee for Australia. Both the manga and light novel series are published in North America by Yen Press.

Plot

In the year 2021, mankind is ravaged by the epidemic of Gastrea, a parasitic virus, and is forced to live within the Monolith walls, which are created from Varanium: a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, children who were born with the Gastrea virus and obtained superhuman abilities as a result, are discovered and dubbed "Cursed Children". Due to the Gastrea virus' intervention, the Cursed Children could only be female. Civil Securities are formed to specialize fighting against Gastrea, operating with the pair of an Initiator, who are cursed children, and a Promoter, serving to lead the cursed children. Ten years after the epidemic, Rentarō Satomi, a high school student who is also a Promoter in Tendō Civil Security Agency owned by his childhood friend Kisara Tendō, along with his Initiator, Enju Aihara, conducts missions to prevent the destruction of the Tokyo Area and the world.

Characters

Tendō Civil Security

;Rentarō Satomi
;Enju Aihara
;Kisara Tendō
;Tina Sprout

Tokyo Area

;Seitenshi
;Kikunojō Tendō
;Miori Shiba
;Kagetane Hiruko
;Kohina Hiruko
;Shōgen Ikuma
;Kayo Senju
;Takuto Yasuwaki
;Kazumitsu Tendō

Four Sages

;Sumire Muroto
;Ayn Rand
;Arthur Zanuck
;Albrecht Grünewald

Third Kanto War Troops

;Tamaki Katagiri
;Yuzuki Katagiri
;Shōma Nagisawa
;Midori Fuse
;Nagamasa Gadō
;Asaka Mibu
;Hidehiko Gadō
;Kokone

Others

;Matsuzaki
;Sōgen Saitake
;Kihachi Suibara
;Hotaru Kōro
;Yūga Mitsugi
;Rika Kurume
;Jūgo Katake
;Shigetoku Tadashima
;Atsurō Hitsuma

Media

Light novels

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Morinohon was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Maoh magazine from August 27, 2012, to June 27, 2014.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation animated by Kinema Citrus and Orange was announced at Dengeki Bunko's Autumn Festival 2013 on October 6, 2013, and premiered in April 2014. The series was picked up by Crunchyroll for online simulcast streaming in North America and other select parts of the world. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for a digital and home video release in North America. Muse Communication licensed the anime to Southeast Asia and South Asia region
The opening theme is "black bullet" by fripSide and the ending theme is "Tokohana" by Nagi Yanagi.

Reception

had five editors review the first episode of the anime: Hope Chapman, while finding it watchable with its action scenes despite being another lazy light novel adaptation, found the female supporting cast reprehensible, singling out the portrayal of Enju Aihara as otaku bait; Bamboo Dong and Carl Kimlinger similarly praised it for being decently written and leaving enough room for story and character developments, the former saying that it might get better with later episodes while the latter criticized it for being the same as every other anime of its ilk; Rebecca Silverman said that the premise had intrigue with visuals that catch the eyes' attention but it needs to work on its pacing and story developments to reach its potential. The fifth reviewer, Theron Martin, while finding the story schematics generic and filled with otaku trappings was hopeful because of the technical aspects that complement the action scenes and the sense of intrigue throughout, concluding that "it looks like it could be an entertaining action romp, especially if the kinks get ironed out." Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis was negative towards the series, saying it had a good concept but was bogged down by an amalgam of genres that don't go together, follows a formulaic blueprint set by other anime series and is filled with plot holes that require a suspension of disbelief, concluding that, "In the end, I simply would not recommend Black Bullet to anyone. It's a mess of an anime." Allen Moody, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, was critical of the series' cliché harem aspects but gave praise to both Seitenshi and Enju, crediting the former's trait of being "gentle while still being strong and decisive," and the latter for her relationship with Rentaro being "emotionally deeper and more complex than a lolicon crush." Moody also gave praise to the action scenes for their mixture of both CG and traditional animation, and the "imaginatively conceived" designs of the Gastrea that occupy them.