Black Cat

Synopsis:

Train Heartnet, a lone assassin of a group named Chronos with only two thoughts in his mind, kill the target and show no mercy. Sven Vollfied, a sweeper (a bounty hunter of sorts) determined to bring his target to justice and make some cash while he's at it. On a job for his next target, a mobster Lib Tyrant that has been voted to governor, Sven encounters Train and realizes that both him and Train share the same target but for different reasons... Train intends to kill while Sven only wants to bring Lib Tyrant to custody. Unfortunately, Sven is no match for Train's skills and Lib Tyrant is killed. Later, while Train is wallowing in self thought on the roof his apartment building he encounters an odd woman named Saya Minatsuki that teaches him life is not followed by a set of rules and instructions but instead what you decide to make of it. During his next target, a young girl that is also a biological weapon named Eve, he encounters Sven again as they share similar objectives but Sven is determined to save Eve and again Train overpowers Sven but instead remembers Saya's words and decides to spare Eve's life and leave her in the care of Sven. With this, Train decides to leave Chronos and live life for himself but thanks to another twist of fate, Train finds himself actually pairing up with Sven and Eve as a sweeper instead of a heartless assassin...


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

In all honestly, I was avoiding this series mainly because it just didn't look that interesting but I gave it a go and to my surprise it was actually half decent. The show starts with a serious tone about being an assassin and the emotional impact it has on Train but after just a couple of episodes he meets Saya who teaches him basically, to lighten up and after about 4 episodes the show does a complete 180 and turns into a comedy that takes all these completely mismatched characters, Sven, Eve, and Train then pairs them up and sends them on some wild adventures. For a while the show becomes more of a light-hearted action romp, which is fine except that show tends to start spending more time on over the top battle sequences and begins losing focus on our heros. At some point you'll find yourself going through episodes in hope of some characterization but it just doesn't happen other than maybe the occasional 5 minute flashback which gives some explanation but at the same time feels more like a cop-out. The show also tends to send out an overbearing message about the power of friendship which is actually kind of nice when set amongst the chaos that is going on but it is kind of strange at the same time as everyone turns out to be friends with each other through some odd twist of fate. While this seems kind of hammy, it also gives the viewer an overall feel-good experience. The main problem with the show is that the ending is extremely rushed trying to tie all loose ends up in less than a half-hour. It's slapped together so quickly that character epilogues are actually being shown *during* the final battle which spoils just about everything as the episode begins.

The animation is decent and the plot is of the typical Gonzo fair. But, with it's brooding tale turned comedy, lack of any real character depth, and a story that practically flaunts itself by saying "look at me, don't be sad, because nothing bad will ever really happen!" Black Cat just wants to be a good time and succeeds... almost too much, leaving you with an 'okay' but somewhat lackluster experience.

Black Cat (opening)

Recommendation: |Average|


*Note - I don't know if it was present in the original source material or a decision by FUNimation, but this anime had some bizarre censorship in places that just makes you shrug your shoulders and ask... "why?" But overall, Black Cat doesn't deserve more than a rental so there's really not much of a point in dwelling on it. It's fun, but once the ride is over there's nothing to make you come back for a second trip.