Black Cat: Top-notch animation but too short for its story

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on February 14, 2012 at 11:25 AM

As a true black cat… I’ve come to deliver bad luck.
Wait; wrong line. Let me start over.

“Black Cat” is an action-packed yet humorous anime, with a fast-paced and well thought-out story that’s easy to follow. At first glance, some parts will seem clichéd, but most of these clichés are turned upside down in quite unpredictable ways. However, the time frame is a tad too small for the plot, and in the last few episodes there’s too much to solve so they get really rushed, leaving a bad aftertaste in this otherwise excellent anime. Four, five, six more episodes and the story would truly have been excellent – but for some reason, I still have to encounter 30-episode anime.

The characters are individual, well thought-out, quite lovable and sometimes really humorous, and character dynamics are well developed – although personally, I find Creed’s infatuation with Train just creepy. ^^° Character development is well done, too; even the at the beginning cold and sad protagonist changes throughout the story. Again, the only problem would be the last episodes. The dialogue generally is quirky with some good jokes to keep you entertained all the way.

Genre-wise, “Black Cat” contains action, friendship, thriller, sci-fi, drama, humour, and a small touch of romance. It alternates between emotional, heavily action-packed, and funny, although to anyone used to mainly comedy anime, it will seem rather dark as its focus lies on underground movements, conspiracies, and the question of where exactly human rights and technology clash. (FYI: That last point, and perhaps the violence, is the reason this anime is rated “mature”.) Personally, I love how it can make you think, though if you happen to hate to be drawn into conflicting issues, you should think twice before deciding whether to watch this.

The animation is absolute top-notch, and although “Black Cat” contains quite an amount of violence, it doesn’t rely too heavily on gore (in fact, in terms of blood alone, it’s no worse than a normal teen-rated action anime). Battles are fast-paced and may be a tad hard to follow. Personally, I found the pace fitting since most fights are gun- instead of swordfights, but you will have to pay close attention. On a side note; I only recently started reading the manga, but so far I perceived it as a lot less chaotic than the anime, so for those with problems understanding the battles, perhaps the manga might be the better choice. Just saying. (For those interested, the manga scanlation is – still – at manga-access.com.) The artwork of “Black Cat” is well-done; facial expressions are pretty funny at times, though the overall tone is rather dark due to its themes. The music fits the scenes, though I’ll admit the opening and ending songs aren’t really my style.
(Side note: Do you know those theme tones that always appear in the midst of an anime episode? Well, the one of Black Cat got stuck in my ears a month ago and I can’t seem to get rid of it. By now it’s funny… ^_^)

Overall, a quirky and in a weird way realistic action/sci-fi/friendship anime with comedy, drama and a touch of romance that draws its viewers in and makes them think. I should utter a warning for violence (not gore) beyond teen level, and for conflicting issues – if you hate to be drawn into those, don’t watch. However, if you’re a mature and open-minded viewer looking for a well thought-out and very well-animated story with action, sci-fi, friendship, drama and comedy, and don’t mind a rushed end too much, I can only advise you to give this a try.