Black Rock Shooter (song by Hatsune Miku)
"BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER"(ブラックロックシューター), commonly abbreviated as BRS, is a character designed by Japanese illustrator huke (Ryohei Huke), which has since spawned a song, animation, and video game based around the character and her world. The song was released on June 13, 2008, and was written by ryo. Its official name includes the star (★). huke is now known for producing character designs for Metal Gear Solid and Steins;Gate.
Summary
huke published his original character illustration on December 26, 2017, onto pixiv as well as his personal blog. ryo, from the band supercell, was inspired by the character and created a song using the voice synthesis software Hatsune Miku. The video was released on the video posting website Nico Nico Douga on June 13, 2008, titled "Hatsune Miku sings the original song 'Black★Rock Shooter'". On Nico Nico Douga, the video had been viewed over 1 million times by the end of 2008, and the song received a great response for its music and the character illustration. The song was featured in supercell's debut album "supercell" together with the music video. Additionally, a PVC painted 1/8 scale figurine of Black Rock Shooter was then sold by GOODSMILE Company.
The animation was released in 2010, and a game was released on August 25, 2011, for PlayStation Portable. In July 2011, a monthly manga with original designs and stories was serialized in the Monthly Young Ace magazine.
Appearance
BRS is a 15-year-old girl with black hair in twin pigtails resembling Hatsune Miku, but with different lengths, as well as a blue flame that covers her left eye. She is equipped with a "★Rock Cannon" that can fire 20 rocks per second. There are also variations of illustrations and figurines with weapons such as a "Black Blade" sword, or even larger swords. Many fans believe BRS is a derivative character of Hatsune Miku. Reasons include the similar hairstyle to Hatsune Miku, as well as the song itself because it is sung my Miku, however, the Black Rock Shooter series is unrelated to Vocaloid.
It was originally drawn as an illustration without any particular meaning or setting, and was merely the concept of a girl holding a weapon that appeared cool to huke.
Song
The song "Black Rock Shooter" was created by ryo (supercell) who fell in love with the huke illustration. He used Hatsune Miku to sing the song and created it with the idea of "reading music that has treasured lyrics" in mind. The illustration used to accompany the song was also by huke, who was feeling down at the time but felt that this was a great opportunity to recover. He was surprised to see that the song was created according to his own image, with all the thoughts and backgrounds of the character reflected in the lyrics.
On June 13, 2008, together with huke, "Hatsune Miku sings the original song 'Black★Rock Shooter'" was posted to Nico Nico Douga and became instantly popular. At the time, Black Rock Shooter became famous for using the Hatsune Miku vocals. In order to deal with the misperception that users believed the character was a derivative character of Hatsune Miku, Crypton Future Media posted a message onto their piapro website labeled "BRS is not Hatsune Miku!". huke also posted similarly on his pages. Posting BRS illustrations to piapro was also initially prohibited as the site was originally designed for Vocaloid fanart in mind, however from July 30, 2010, the ban was lifted.
The song was re-recorded for supercell's major debut album "supercell" that was released by Sony Music Entertainment on March 4, 2009. A music video was also recorded alongside the album.
A Blu-ray/DVD for the pilot of the anime was released on September 30, 2009, titled "BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER -PILOT Edition-". It used Hatsune Miku Append, an additional Vocaloid library pack, for its audio and a music CD containing new recorded source material was also included. The same song was also used for the television commercial of the "Black Rock Shooter" figurine that was broadcast in April 2009.
In Taiko Drum Master, the song has been included but was recorded by a third party.
The song currently has over 7 million views on Nico Nico Douga.
Song Information
- ryo (music, lyrics)
- huke (illustration, video)
Lyrics
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ブラックロックシューター 懐かしい記憶 | burakku rokku shuutaa natsukashii kioku | Black Rock Shooter... Those beloved memories |
| ただ楽しかったあの頃を | tada tanoshikatta ano koro o | Those days were so fun |
| Lyrics: ryo | ||
| Composition: ryo | ||
| Published by Ikushii (Parent label: INCS toenter Co.,ltd.) 1st Division under JASRAC | ||
| JASRAC Works Code: 156-1823-4 |
Interpretation
The lyrics seem to indicate a longing between the singer and the character Black Rock Shooter. They had once shared a past together and the singer wishes to go back to those days. The general theme of missing your beloved friends is prevalent in the song. The singer misses whoever Black Rock Shooter is to them, whether a friend or more.
Links
HWB - huke's blog
Black Rock Shooter - Nico Nico Douga
Black Rock Shooter - Nico Nico Douga channel
Twitter account
Black Rock Shooter Official Fan Page - Facebook
Black Rock Shooter - WikiPedia