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Black★Rock Shooter Lore

The Hollow World

The Hollow World (虚の世界, kyo no sekai) is the main setting of huke's artwork, and the secondary setting of the story of the Black★Rock Shooter OVA and Black★Rock Shooter 2012 anime. Black★Rock Shooter and other characters live in this realm, and the bizarre landscape is a witness to constant fighting between its denizens.

The world depicted in the 2012 TV Anime has several known names:

"Another World", "Other World" // (裏世界, ura sekai)

"Imaginary World" // (虚の世界, kyo no sekai)

Sky Gates

Black★Rock Shooter starts here at the beginning of the anime. The area matches the decor of the Otherworld in general and has pointed, deserted stones everywhere.

Black★Rock Shooter was attacked by a huge King Saw that shot out of the ground from Black Gold Saw's giant eye, which was shortly defeated by Black★Rock Shooter.

Chariot’s Land

Chariot seems to reside here. The pink-tinted area (rather than yellow-tinted) is full of robotic, toy-like creatures that have claws and drills. The background resembles a toy area with baby doll faces and colored blocks.

Inside is a house that floats in the air, suspended by strange string-like objects. Dead Master was dragged here by what were presumably Chariot's minion bugs and chained. Only a single doll covered this up.

Chariot and Black★Rock Shooter fought here until Black Gold Saw intervened and made a fissure, separating Dead Master from Black★Rock Shooter.

Black Gold Saw’s Battlefield

A gray-tinted area (rather than red-tinted), which seems to have ruined Greek-style columns, and multiple chains spread around.

Black★Gold Saw created the strange hooded figures here, and later fought Insane Black★Rock Shooter here using the same hooded figures.

Grey Area

A separate, gray-tinted area which is a vast expanse of land with chains in the sky, and a large hole leading to an abyss where many bodies of dead other selves lay in.

Strength was shown dragging the beheaded body and head of Chariot here, then throwing her into the abyss. She later dragged the body of Dead Master away from Insane Black★Rock Shooter and Black★Gold Saw's fight, presumably to bring her to this area.

Dead Master’s Lair

The strange, green-tinted place where Dead Master was chained might be her lair. In that place, there lies a hidden throne where the Dead Master sits for the duration of time while Black★Rock Shooter fought her skeletal minions. Skeletal columns and Greek-style pillars are scattered about and the entire battlefield has a green tinge.

Covering the floor of some parts of the battlefield is a strange, greenish liquid.

Unknown Battlefield

Until Dead Master was killed by Black★Rock Shooter, this area was Dead Master's lair. The trauma of killing Dead Master transformed Black★Rock Shooter into Insane Black★Rock Shooter, as well as transforming the area into a purple-tinted area filled with spikes and cannon-like objects, possibly meaning this area belongs to Insane Black★Rock Shooter. This is supported by the fact that the area bears an uncanny resemblance to the normal Black★Rock Shooter's realm.

Black★Gold Saw is shown fighting with Insane Black★Rock Shooter here, eventually moving their fight to Black★Gold Saw's own battlefield.

Strength’s Battlefield

Strength's field is like that of an orange rubix cube surrounded in gigantic barbed wire. She can easily change her position on the cube by slamming her fists in one of the blocks. She can easily move through the field from jumping or climbing from block to block. It also seems to react to her emotions for when she starts to go insane the field is engulfed in flames.

After saving Black Gold Saw in her own battlefield, Strength fought Insane Black★Rock Shooter here.

Black★Rock Shooter’s Battlefield

According to Mato and Insane Black★Rock Shooter, this is Black★Rock Shooter's world. However, she is never shown to actually reside here. The world is a wide, empty space with some ruins embedded in the floor. The ground has the typical checkerboard pattern of most locations in the Otherworld, but with a bluish tint. The entire battlefield seems to be surrounded by a black-blue rocky material that prevents those inside it from seeing the outside world. This battlefield resembles a cavern or a large hall. Unlike most of the other battlefields, it is practically empty except for some large, spiky objects stuck in the ground.

Mato Kuroi (as Black★Rock Shooter) fights Insane Black★Rock Shooter here. During the battle, stars begin to appear in the "sky" of the battlefield and eventually the worlds of all the different "other selves" combine with the battlefield, allowing Mato to summon a giant ★Rock Cannon, which she uses to defeat Insane Black★Rock Shooter, and destroy the wall of the battlefield, revealing white space behind it.

The Other Selves

An other self (思念体, shinentai) is an alternate counterpart to a human character that resides in the Hollow World. They are generally described as solitary beings who have the ability to defend themselves using their own weapons, seemingly reflecting the portrayal of the Hollow World as a place filled with dangers. As alternate counterparts, they possess an invisible connection with their respective human counterparts in the real world. The concept of other selves are prominently featured in the Black★Rock Shooter OVA, where they were first introduced, and Black★Rock Shooter 2012 anime. The concept of other selves in the Black★Rock Shooter TV Anime series is similar to that of the OVA's, carrying over the idea of other selves as "otherworldly beings that possess a connection with a human being". However, the anime portrays the connection between the two in a more evident way and expands upon the concept.

Other selves are alternate versions of their human counterparts, born of the Otherworld. They spend their entire lives fighting while bearing their human counterparts' darkest thoughts and fears for them until the bitter end, where upon the other self's death, their human counterpart forgets their pain and what was causing them to suffer, along with the feelings and memories associated with their pain. Other selves do not have emotions of their own, and their actions reflect the feelings of their human counterparts. Strength was no exception until she connected with Yuu Koutari for the first time, allowing her to feel emotions and sense how badly Yuu was suffering in the real world. Strength would come to understand why the other selves fight for their human counterparts, but also sympathized with how the other selves were suffering themselves in the face of constant battle, and agreed with Mato Kuroi disapproving of someone else "having to die for [her] to solve all [her] problems", saying that differences should be resolved directly by talking.

Saya Irino implied the existence of Mato's other self to her by explaining that there is someone out there who takes a person's pain from their hearts so that they will never feel physical pain when they are hurt. That someone is Black★Rock Shooter, who is particularly notable because she reflects Mato's self-sacrificing nature to an extreme, stopping at nothing to destroy other peoples' worst feelings, carried by other selves, without mercy. This resulted in her being as powerful as she is. As stated above, the death of the other self causes their human counterpart to forget their pain and the feelings and memories associated with it. This has been shown three times in the anime: the first was Kagari Izuriha forgetting her past feelings towards Yomi after Chariot's death; the second was Arata Kohata forgetting her memories of Taku Katsuchi after her other self was beheaded; and the third was Yomi Takanashi forgetting all about Mato after Dead Master was killed. All three of their other selves' deaths were at the hands of Black★Rock Shooter.

Since the other selves' actions reflect the feelings of their human counterparts, the battles between other selves also often reflect the experiences of their human counterparts in real time, as shown when Black★Rock Shooter fights Chariot at the same time that Mato and Kagari conflict with each other with Yomi at the center of their conflict. The outcome of these battles, as with the strength of the other selves involved, would also reflect the resolution of that conflict in the real world. At times, the real world can sometimes influence the Otherworld; the voices of human counterparts can be heard in the Otherworld, while a human's physical status may reflect in the Hollow World as well (for example, Chariot's wheeled legs reflecting Kagari's use of the wheelchair and the heart-shaped scar on Yomi's and Dead Master's chests).

It is later shown that human counterparts can enter the Hollow World by transferring their consciousnesses into the bodies of their respective other selves. How this is done exactly is unknown, but Yuu and Saya are capable of doing so, with Yuu even being able to transfer Mato's consciousness into Black★Rock Shooter. Under normal conditions, the human counterpart can return to the real world by waking up, but Mato became trapped within Black★Rock Shooter after her trauma caused the latter to transform into Insane Black★Rock Shooter. She was able to separate herself from Black★Rock Shooter (but still remain in the Otherworld) and Strength from Yuu by pleading to protect Yuu from Insane Black★Rock Shooter.

Despite the fact that other selves do not have emotions of their own, they have their own free will, and rather than being forced to, they choose to fight out of love for their human counterparts. Strength says that this is the reason the other selves could never fight for someone they hate, because regardless of their individual personalities, all the other selves have a deep and unconditional love for their human counterparts, whom they regard as the most precious person to each of them.

All the known other selves are distinguished by their shared characteristics: they have a concentric circle pattern in their eyes, a signature color theme, and blood that is both black and their respective signature color (for example, Black★Rock Shooter's blood is black and blue). They also each have a realm that belongs to them within the Hollow World.

Canon Characters

Black★Rock Shooter

Black★Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター, Burakku★Rokku Shūtā) is the other self of Mato Kuroi.

Black★Rock Shooter has blue eyes and long dark blue hair tied into spiky asymmetrical high twintails (the right being shorter than the left). She wears a hooded black trench coat adorned with single white stripes down the sleeves, a small white star in the front, and a larger star on the back. The tails of her coat are attached by three zippers, two horizontal around the waistline and one vertical down the lower half of her coat. Her open coat reveals a bikini top and a pair of hot pants with a black and white belt worn in a cross-shaped manner over another belt. She also wears knee-high boots with white soles, the underside of which has a star on the footprint.

As Mato's other self, Black★Rock Shooter represents her self-sacrificial personality to the extreme in the form of someone who takes the worst feelings of other people and strikes them down in cold blood. Whereas Mato sets aside her own feelings to help other people, Black★Rock Shooter stops at nothing to destroy the other selves of the people Mato comes into contact with, effectively ending the pain that those people and their other selves feel. Initially, Black★Rock Shooter reflects Mato's desire to help Yomi Takanashi become independent of her relationship with Kagari Izuriha by saving Dead Master from Chariot, though later she treats Dead Master the same as the other selves whom she stops at nothing to destroy.

Black★Rock Shooter understands her purpose as an other self very well. She believes Mato wanting to feel her own pain or claiming not to hurt people is hypocritical, because by hurting Mato to show her the pain that Black★Rock Shooter goes through on her behalf, she's only hurting herself. Nevertheless, Black★Rock Shooter has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts, and she vows to continue fighting and bearing pain in the Hollow World.

Dead Master

Dead Master (デッドマスター, Deddo Masutā) is the other self of Yomi Takanashi.

As Yomi's other self, Dead Master reflects her personal struggles in the real world, often wearing a melancholic expression on her face. In her first appearance, she is shown helping Chariot in battle by preventing Black★Rock Shooter from attacking her, but it is later revealed that she is forcefully bound by Chariot and kept away from Black★Rock Shooter's attempt to save her, representing Yomi's strained relationship with Kagari Izuriha and how she hesitates to truly be friends with Mato Kuroi because of it. Once Yomi manages to stand up to Kagari with Mato's encouragement, Dead Master breaks free from the literal chains that bound her then. Later, when Yomi's darker feelings begin to grow in the real world, Dead Master represents this by descending into a vortex of chains that gradually amasses, and emerging from the chains after her human counterpart snaps and breaks down.

Dead Master has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts.

Chariot

Chariot (チャリオット, Chariotto) is the other self of Kagari Izuriha.

As Kagari's other self, Chariot reflects many of her mannerisms, especially Kagari's initial hatred for Mato Kuroi in the real world. She has a cold gaze, is determinedly stubborn to keep things the way she wants them to be, and displays sadistic joy in brutally beating Black★Rock Shooter, but is also shown to panic when she starts losing control. Chariot also displays a silent yet apparent possessiveness over Dead Master, and even some control over her: the latter defended her and attacked Black★Rock Shooter for her, took her away to a house in the sky, and violently intercepted just before Black★Rock Shooter could reach out to Dead Master there.

She seems to be skeptical and untrusting of anyone willing to help her, though she takes advantage of the opening created by Black★Gold Saw as a last-ditch effort to stab Black★Rock Shooter. Chariot has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their counterparts.

Black Gold Saw

Black Gold Saw (ブラックゴールドソー, Burakku Gōrudo Sō) is the other self of Saya Irino.

Throughout her appearances, Black Gold Saw is shown to be very dubious. Whereas most other selves fight each other on instinct for their human counterparts, Black Gold Saw does not actively participate in battles, preferring to keep a close eye from afar on activity in the Hollow World, especially on Black★Rock Shooter in particular. Whenever Black Gold Saw does make a physical appearance, she tends to disappear soon after. Her overall behavior is likely a reflection of the purpose given to her and her human counterpart, Saya, to protect the Hollow World for Yuu Koutari's sake, who had taken Strength's place there. Black Gold Saw's only direct standoff was against Insane Black★Rock Shooter, who was capable of threatening the Hollow World and even destroying it.

Black Gold Saw has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts. She has the closest bond with her human counterpart, acting almost entirely according to Saya's will to protect Yuu in the Hollow World.

Strength

Strength (ストレングス, Sutorengusu) is the other self of Yuu Koutari.

In the past, Strength was no different from any of the other selves who fought each other purely on instinct, without any emotions of their own. When Yuu connected with Strength for the first time, she sensed how much her human counterpart was suffering, and it terrified Strength to the point that it forced her to feel emotions. Overwhelmed by the sadness she felt from this, Strength wanted to let herself die so she could take Yuu's pain with her, but was instead made to switch places with Yuu in the real world.

Strength's personality in the present time, as seen while she has taken Yuu's place, is that of a cheerful and supportive friend, especially to Mato Kuroi, whom she has been close friends with ever since kindergarten (according to Mato's memories). She teases her from time to time, especially poking fun about her friendship with "her tiny bird" at the beginning of the series. Mato was Strength's first and best friend, and the one who had taught her how beautiful the real world could be. She agreed with how Mato saw what the other selves go through for the sake of their human counterparts as wrong, which also showed how empathetic Strength was to the other selves suffering in their constant fighting. It was for this reason that she sent Mato's consciousness to the Hollow World to help her save Yomi. Strength is also close with Saya Irino, who was friends with Yuu in her youth and the only person in the real world who knew that Yuu and Strength had switched places.

Strength has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts. She has demonstrated this love the most with Yuu, whom she comforts and reassures that she would find friends and be supported by Saya and Mato in the real world, which she knew was wonderful. She tells Yuu this because she would never lie to someone she loves.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter

Insane Black★Rock Shooter (インセインブラック★ロックシューター, Insein Burakku Rokku Shūtā) is an incarnation of Black★Rock Shooter after having gone insane from being affected by Mato Kuroi's mental trauma.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter retains the personality of her normal state, but due to the immense power she has gained from going insane, she is much less affected by the pain afflicted to her, and even disregards the injuries she gives to herself, such as when she tears her arm off during her fight with Black Gold Saw and when she shoots herself in the leg to prevent Mato from hindering her. Even sustaining such severe injuries cannot stop Insane Black★Rock Shooter from pressing her assault against her enemies.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter is also notably more expressive than her normal state. She grins when she is about to strike Strength, when Mato stands up to her and brings out the ★Rock Cannon in its gatling gun incarnation, and shows surprise and fear when faced with the massive ★Rock Cannon that Mato summons. At the same time, when the battle is not particularly challenging for her, Insane Black★Rock Shooter maintains a blank expression.