The eponymous character of the Black★Rock Shooter[note 1] series (abbreviated BRS) is depicted as a mysterious, pale-skinned, black-haired twintails girl with a blazing blue eye, and armed with a big rapid-fire cannon that shoots literal rocks.
Black★Rock Shooter originated from an illustration drawn by Huke and published on December 2007 in his blog and in the art sharing site Pixiv.[1] Inspired by the character's cool design, musician-songwriter Ryo of the group Supercell created a similarly-titled song performed by Hatsune Miku, which quickly gained popularity on the Japanese video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga.[2] Since the release of the music video, Black★Rock Shooter became a cultural icon in the otaku fandom, which has resulted in the creation of a multimedia franchise where each installment takes place in a different universe; thus, multiple versions of the character exist.
Black Rock Shooter made her anime debut in an OVA adaptation in 2010 and its related TV anime series in 2012, which shows the character as the parallel universe "other-self" of the protagonist Mato Kuroi.[note 2] In the story, Mato is an outgoing but meek schoolgirl who befriends the shy classmate Yomi Takanashi; Yomi also has an "other self" called "Dead Master". Over time, the pair's close friendship and actions as BRS and Dead Master start to have effects in the real world. Due to Black Rock Shooter's iconic popularity, Mato was entered as a competitor in Anizone's Korean saimoe tournament, and successfully qualified for three editions of the International Saimoe League from 2011 to 2013, making Mato the most popular version of the character.
Other Black Rock Shooter incarnations include Empress (from the 2022 Dawn Fall anime, perhaps the only other relevant entry in this wiki), Rock (from the Innocent Soul manga), Stella (from the PSP role-playing game), and Elishka (from the Fragment mobile game).
Icons
ISML[]
| ISML Profile Flavor Text | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original profile link in ISML 2013 Mato is an ordinary girl with perfectly ordinary problems. She wakes up early from excitement on her first day in junior high, only to nearly end up being late for the opening ceremony after she forgets about the time. Her favorite subject is PE, and she 'still hopes to discover her talent' for anything else. Mato is always energetic and optimistic, and sometimes more than a little ditzy. For Mato, junior high is a time to slowly grow as a person, find her strong points and gain the confidence she needs to succeed in life. But all that would be difficult without the support of a friendly shoulder. Finding the courage to speak to a girl from her new class, Mato establishes a bond that will bring her endless happy memories. But for a girl who is just discovering herself and the world around her, there will always be times when she does not know what to do and feelings she does not know how to protect. When crisis looms over her loved ones, Mato's new-found strength will be put to the test. Will what she has learned be enough to overcome fear, betrayal and the cage of loneliness? Mato does not think about such questions as she races ahead, going as fast as possible to save her friend. | |||||||||||||||||||
Saimoe Wiki profile displaying her appearance in the 2010 OVA
Black Rock Shooter was entered in ISML under her Mato Kuroi incarnation as seen in the 2010 OVA. While unconfirmed, it is assumed that Mato Kuroi is considered separate from her Black Rock Shooter alter-ego and other versions of the character, but a typical voter doesn't care about that since if they are a fan of BRS, they will vote for her regardless of which version she appears in.
Mato was a fairly popular competitor during ISML's Stella-Nova era, debuting in 2011 and then making the Nova division playoffs in 2012, the same year where the TV anime remake of the 2010 OVA was released. In ISML 2013, Mato was transferred to the cut-throat Stella division and struggled to gain footing in a league full of powerful factions and old enemies, only managing to get a measly 9 wins in the regular season. This is her last appearance in a main tournament as of today.
In 2022, a new Black★Rock Shooter anime subtitled Dawn Fall aired in Spring, marking her potential ISML return via the Spring seasonal. However, Mato will not appear in that particular show since it will feature a different BRS codenamed Empress. Hence, her identity is likely to be changed to that name should the character be successfully nominated. Nevertheless, the Saimoe Wiki will consider the 2022 results as part of Black Rock Shooter's overall contest history — neither of Mato nor Empress.
Main Tournament[]
Overall record
| ISML Main Tournament Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season, playoffs, and consolation 1v1 matches only. Preliminaries, gems, exhibitions, and approval / range voting rounds are NOT included. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Edition | Eliminated in | Final pos. | W | L | RS Record | ||||||||||||||
| ISML 2011 | Regular season | 29th | 19 | 30 | 19-30 29th | ||||||||||||||
| ISML 2012 | Division Playoffs | Nova 12th | 23 | 13 | 23-12 N-12th | ||||||||||||||
| ISML 2013 | Regular season | Stella 25th | 9 | 26 | 9-26 S-25th | ||||||||||||||
| Total W-L: 51-69 | Postseason: 0-1 | RS Record: 51-68 | |||||||||||||||||
| Opponents played in 1v1's: 74 | |||||||||||||||||||
Match history
| ISML 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations: 190 votes (41st / 96th) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preliminaries | |||||||||||||||||||
Phase 1 (triple threat group stage; top 1 qualifies)
Phase 2 (8-man bracket; winner qualifies)
Phase 3 (vote 3 per group; last girls standing qualify)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rd | Opponent | Score | VF% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 1 |  Holo
|
3554 - 3751 | 48.65% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 2 |  Laura Bodewig
|
3628 - 3338 | 52.08% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 3 |  Eucliwood Hellscythe
|
2753 - 4830 | 36.30% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 4 |  Yuri Nakamura
|
3026 - 4705 | 39.14% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 5 |  Kuroko Shirai
|
4163 - 4170 | 49.96% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 6 |  Shiina (Angel Beats)
|
4636 - 3878 | 54.45% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 7 |  Tsumugi Kotobuki
|
4539 - 4455 | 50.47% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 1 |  Kirino Kousaka
|
4040 - 3981 | 50.37% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 2 |  Saber (Fate/stay night)
|
3320 - 4338 | 43.35% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 3 |  Yui (Angel Beats)
|
3123 - 4652 | 40.17% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 4 |  Mio Akiyama
|
3096 - 5262 | 37.04% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 5 |  Golden Darkness
|
3861 - 4122 | 48.37% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 6 |  Ayase Aragaki
|
3727 - 3925 | 48.71% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 7 |  Last Order
|
4198 - 3913 | 51.76% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 1 |  Charlotte Dunois
|
3208 - 4324 | 42.59% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 2 |  Fate Testarossa
|
3477 - 3196 | 52.11% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 3 |  Nagi Sanzenin
|
2863 - 3371 | 45.93% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 4 |  Shana
|
2334 - 4277 | 35.30% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 5 |  Nagisa Furukawa
|
3210 - 3570 | 47.35% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 6 |  Lingyin Huang
|
3654 - 2613 | 58.31% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 7 |  Nadeko Sengoku
|
2815 - 4041 | 41.06% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 1 |  Sora Kasugano
|
3496 - 2761 | 55.87% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 2 |  Seraphim (Is This A Zombie?)
|
3499 - 2535 | 57.99% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 3 |  Louise de La Valliere
|
3148 - 2949 | 51.63% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 4 |  C.C.
|
3327 - 3307 | 50.15% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 5 |  Yuki Nagato
|
2042 - 4350 | 31.95% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 6 |  Haruhi Suzumiya
|
2408 - 4024 | 37.44% | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 7 |  Hitagi Senjougahara
|
3262 - 4215 | 43.63% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 1 |  Kanade Tachibana
|
2015 - 5019 | 28.65% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 2 |  Yui Hirasawa
|
2901 - 3667 | 44.17% | ||||||||||||||||
|
Eme 3 |
 Ui Hirasawa
|
3215 - 2943 | 52.21% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 4 |  Mafuyu Shiina
|
3234 - 2734 | 54.19% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 5 |  Hinagiku Katsura
|
2392 - 3434 | 41.06% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 6 |  Masami Iwasawa
|
3244 - 2600 | 55.51% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 7 |  Tomoyo Sakagami
|
3031 - 3673 | 45.21% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 1 |  Taiga Aisaka
|
2080 - 3902 | 34.77% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 2 |  Haruna (Is This A Zombie?)
|
2991 - 2537 | 54.11% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 3 |  Victorique de Blois
|
2639 - 3050 | 46.39% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 4 |  Azusa Nakano
|
2014 - 3725 | 35.09% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 5 |  Houki Shinonono
|
3179 - 2284 | 58.19% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 6 |  Mikuru Asahina
|
2813 - 3261 | 46.31% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 7 |  Kyou Fujibayashi
|
2534 - 3165 | 44.46% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 1 |  Index
|
2958 - 2854 | 50.89% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 2 |  Mikoto Misaka
|
1919 - 3615 | 34.68% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 3 | Kirino Kousaka
|
2483 - 3211 | 43.61% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 4 |  Ruri Gokou
|
1953 - 3670 | 34.73% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 5 |  Rin Tohsaka
|
2753 - 2646 | 50.99% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 6 |  Nymph (Heaven's Lost Property)
|
2988 - 2361 | 55.86% | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 7 |  Kagami Hiiragi
|
3860 - 3878 | 49.88% | ||||||||||||||||
| RS Record: 19-30 (29th, did not qualify) | |||||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Invite (Top 12 girls from ISML 2011 regular season who are not assigned to Stella - 8th / 12th) Anime: Black Rock Shooter OVA (2010-07-24) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nova Preliminaries | |||||||||||||||||||
Phase 1 (vote 2 per group)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rd | Opponent | Score | VF% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 1 |  Shouko Kirishima
|
4464 - 4091 | 52.18% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 2 |  Kanade Suzutsuki
|
4547 - 3491 | 56.57% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 3 |  Kanon Nakagawa
|
4255 - 3086 | 57.96% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 4 |  Elucia de Lute Ima
|
4196 - 3638 | 53.56% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 5 | Yui (Angel Beats)
|
3487 - 4765 | 42.26% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 6 | Charlotte Dunois
|
3893 - 3986 | 49.41% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 7 | Yuri Nakamura
|
3572 - 4992 | 41.71% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 1 |  Yozora Mikazuki
|
3812 - 3634 | 51.20% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 2 | Sora Kasugano
|
4653 - 3100 | 60.02% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 3 |  Kyouko Sakura
|
4709 - 2723 | 63.36% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 4 | Ayase Aragaki
|
3905 - 2950 | 56.97% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 5 | Victorique de Blois
|
3317 - 3666 | 47.50% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 6 | Kanade Tachibana
|
2250 - 5335 | 29.66% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 7 |  Erio Touwa
|
3773 - 3769 | 50.03% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 1 |  Mizuki Himeji
|
4014 - 3302 | 54.87% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 2 |  Yuno Gasai
|
4826 - 2403 | 66.76% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 3 |  Fear Kubrick
|
3898 - 2605 | 59.94% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 4 |  Haqua du Lot Herminium
|
3841 - 2931 | 56.72% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 5 |  Kobato Hasegawa
|
3518 - 3549 | 49.78% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 6 |  Homura Akemi
|
3615 - 3517 | 50.69% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 7 |  Kurisu Makise
|
4186 - 4140 | 50.28% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 1 |  Irisviel von Einzbern
|
3206 - 2854 | 52.90% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 2 |  Meiko Honma
|
3310 - 2464 | 57.33% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 3 |  Riko Mine
|
3217 - 2438 | 56.89% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 4 | Masami Iwasawa
|
3211 - 2737 | 53.98% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 5 |  Sena Kashiwazaki
|
2719 - 3399 | 44.44% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 6 | Ruri Gokou
|
2389 - 3792 | 38.65% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 7 |  Inori Yuzuriha
|
2956 - 3533 | 45.55% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 1 |  Shiori Shiomiya
|
3154 - 2421 | 56.57% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 2 |  Minami Shimada
|
3403 - 2228 | 60.43% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 3 | Haruna (Is This A Zombie?)
|
2811 - 2595 | 52.00% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 4 |  Subaru Konoe
|
2623 - 2278 | 53.52% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 5 | Kirino Kousaka
|
2268 - 3074 | 42.46% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 6 | Eucliwood Hellscythe
|
2466 - 3787 | 39.44% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 7 |  Aria Holmes Kanzaki
|
3319 - 3791 | 46.68% | ||||||||||||||||
| RS Record: 23-12 (Nova 12th, Qualified) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nova Division Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nova R1 | (N5) Yuri Nakamura
|
3141 - 5351 | 36.99% | ||||||||||||||||
| Result: Nova 12th, Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations: 1385 votes (11th / 47th) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stella Preliminaries | |||||||||||||||||||
Vote 2 per group; eliminate until 36 girls are left
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rd | Opponent | Score | VF% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 1 | Haruhi Suzumiya
|
4105 - 5805 | 41.42% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 2 | Taiga Aisaka
|
3311 - 6262 | 34.59% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 3 | Ui Hirasawa
|
4604 - 3501 | 56.80% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 4 | Mio Akiyama
|
3194 - 4786 | 40.03% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 5 | Hinagiku Katsura
|
3554 - 3755 | 48.62% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 6 | Nagisa Furukawa
|
3398 - 3770 | 47.41% | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 7 | Louise de La Valliere
|
4116 - 4332 | 48.72% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 1 | Yui Hirasawa
|
3869 - 4574 | 45.82% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 2 | Eucliwood Hellscythe
|
2540 - 5105 | 33.22% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 3 | Nymph (Heaven's Lost Property)
|
3485 - 3125 | 52.72% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 4 | Yuri Nakamura
|
3113 - 5047 | 38.15% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 5 | Yuki Nagato
|
3260 - 4961 | 39.65% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 6 | C.C.
|
3616 - 3418 | 51.41% | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 7 | Rin Tohsaka
|
3596 - 3905 | 47.94% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 1 | Nadeko Sengoku
|
3845 - 3812 | 50.22% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 2 | Azusa Nakano
|
2645 - 4319 | 37.98% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 3 |  Konata Izumi
|
3794 - 2998 | 55.86% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 4 | Kirino Kousaka
|
2572 - 4479 | 36.48% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 5 | Yui (Angel Beats)
|
2661 - 4137 | 39.14% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 6 |  Illyasviel von Einzbern
|
3299 - 3290 | 50.07% | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 7 | Charlotte Dunois
|
3544 - 3654 | 49.24% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 1 | Golden Darkness
|
3030 - 4417 | 40.69% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 2 | Ruri Gokou
|
2868 - 6777 | 29.74% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 3 | Holo
|
3740 - 3135 | 54.40% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 4 | Shana
|
3170 - 4700 | 40.28% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 5 | Tomoyo Sakagami
|
3866 - 3198 | 54.73% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 6 | Last Order
|
3832 - 3970 | 49.12% | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 7 | Victorique de Blois
|
3416 - 3397 | 50.14% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 1 | Saber (Fate/stay night)
|
5752 - 8721 | 39.74% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 2 | Kanade Tachibana
|
2554 - 5972 | 29.96% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 3 | Ayase Aragaki
|
3336 - 5126 | 39.42% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 4 | Mikoto Misaka
|
2925 - 5349 | 35.35% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 5 | Hitagi Senjougahara
|
3803 - 4583 | 45.35% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 6 | Kyou Fujibayashi
|
3559 - 4352 | 44.99% | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 7 | Masami Iwasawa
|
4091 - 4377 | 48.31% | ||||||||||||||||
| RS Record: 9-26 (Stella 25th, Did not qualify) | |||||||||||||||||||
Necklace record
- Appearances: 2 (including division playoffs)
- 2012: Ruby (8th), Sapphire (Nova 12th)
Exhibition gem record
- Appearances: 1
- 2012: Topaz earrings (4th)
Other tournaments[]
Korea Best Moe Tournament[]
Mato > Momo > Manami (172 - 138- 100)- Ruiko Saten @ A Certain Magical Index — 127 - 248
[]
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 ブラック★ロックシューター by huke - Pixiv (2007-12-26). Retrieved 2022-06-18
- ↑ Hatsune Miku sings us the original "BLACK ★ ROCK SHOOTER" - Nico Nico Douga. (2008-06-13). Retrieved 2022-06-18
Mirror links: YouTube (with English subtitles by soundares)
Beware of spoilers, pop-ups and advertisements.
- Wikipedia
- BRS Wikia: Original, 2010 OVA, 2012 Anime, Mato Kuroi, Empress
- MyAnimeList: BRS, Mato Kuroi
- Baike Baidu (Chinese): Original, Mato Kuroi
- Moegirl (Chinese): Original, Mato Kuroi
- NamuWiki (Korean): Original, Mato Kuroi