Customer Reviews

Black Cat Starter Set

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I watched this series when it first hit the net in fan translations. Its a great show about an assassin for an organization that basically controls the world. It depicts his path as he leaves the organization for a life to be led as he likes it, and becomes what he calls a "stray cat".

When I heard it was going to be dubbed in English, I have to say I was ecstatic. And now that I have a copy, I realize that my expectations were met perfectly. The voices are some of the best that I've ever heard in a not-so-popular dubbed series and the lines are just as witty and interesting as the Japanese version. Everything falls into place perfectly in this dub.

The only real problem I have with this particular set (Black Cat Starter Set) is that I expected there to be the first volume of the manga inside with it, or at least a keychain. All that comes in the set is the DVD and open space to fill with the next 5 DVDs in the series. But luckily, this has nothing to do with the actual viewing of the show =)

All in all, this is a WONDERFUL anime that I wish could have been developed further, as it is only 23 episodes long. Although it is a little bit rushed this is an excellent addition to your anime collection.

I heard about this anime months before it was released, and instantly began hoping for a dubbed version to be released. Now that it's finally out, I felt strangely inclined to comment on it.

First off, and this is just my humble opinion, but I think the dub turned out rather well. The character's voices don't sound forced, or overacted, and seem to convey the emotions of each character rather well. At the very least, none of the lines made me cringe, which is always a good thing.

The plot doesn't develop very far in this first volume. It takes it's time developing, which is a good thing. I don't want to spoil too much of the plot that is there, however, so I'll be brief. What is shown in this volume seems like a fantastic start. From what I can tell, it looks like the anime will revolve more around character development and their relationships than anything else. The story has a serious tone to it, but this is anime, so expect to see a fair shair of silly humor as well. If the idea of a story of near super-naturally skilled assassins, and gentleman bounty hunters sounds appealing, this anime likely won't turn you away, nor should you turn it away.

The soundtrack is great, though I reserve final judgement. From what I have heard, I'm greatly impressed. The music sets the mood and tone rather well. Overall, it has a very Trigun-esque sound, but with it's own flair. The opening theme is a wonderful piece of music, and remains one of my favorites as far as anime opening themes go, or even music in general.

One problem I do have with the show is the ending theme. It's not so much that it's bad. Not at all. It's the fact that it tends to clash with whatever just happened in the episode. The song is just to light-hearted and comical sounding, and this includes the ending animation as well. I restate this thought, after seeing something serious, it seems to clash too much to go to something light-hearted. This however isn't enough to bring down the score for me, as if I don't like the ending animation I can just skip it.

One other problem that some people might see in the series is, as stated before, the fact that it emphasises character development more than anything else, and this means that the plot can seam rushed at parts. For instance, a character might decide to hunt down a bounty head for the reward. It will then skip to the confrontation with said bounty head. There's no detective segment to it, because the emphasis is on what the characters actually do when they find the guy, and not in finding him. This is something that might possibly turn people away, though I personally prefer character development over something slight such as that any day, and I doubt that this would bother anyone enough to avoid the show entirely, since the main plot still packs the punch it would otherwise.

With all that said, I'd recommend most anyone who likes anime. As to those who don't, I still say that you should check Black Cat out, but it's possible the somewhat fantastic, and unrealistic elements of the show might turn you away.

Naturally, there will be differences between a source material and reiterations of it. Black Cat suffers from being condensed into to short of a series. It falls into a weird placement, because two seasons is far too long for it, but it just doesn't seem to have the character depth that the Manga did, but hey- not everything is perfect.

Pretty good anime, doesn't follow the manga in the beginning. So watch first then read manga or read manga and don't watch the anime. I bought this so I could put my other Black Cat dvds in there.

I bought the Black Cat stater set mainly for the artbox. The box is sturdy, about a mm. While this is a Shonen Jump series. When I hear Shonen Jump, I think DBZ. BC is very interesting because you what to know what goes on in the next episiode. The vocie-acting is belivable and the animation is smooth. Well worth spending the money for the singles.

In a world that is just slightly different from our own, he's one of Chronos' Numbers, an elite assassin who's known for the XIII branded on his chest.

Kentaro Yabuki had a pretty cool idea when he used that for his action/comedy manga "Black Cat." And while the anime adaptation is not terribly faithful in its opener, "Black Cat, Vol. 1 - The Cat Out of the Bag" is a fairly decent opener for the series -- though rather slow-paced, it successfully introduces all the main characters, and sets up a complex, action-packed little storyline.

Sweeper Sven Vollfield is about to nab a notorious gangster when Train Heartnet, the notorious "Black Cat," bursts in, kills the man and escapes before anyone can react.

As he waits for Chronos to hand him his next assignment, Train encounters a quirky, upbeat sweeper named Saya on his apartment roof. Though he's usually alone, a friendship forms between him and Saya, and he even follows her when she pursues a lethal criminal whose bare hands can melt flesh. Along the way, she teaches him that a gun is just a tool -- and "its job is what its handler chooses."

Meanwhile, Sven is hired by a shady damsel to help her rescue a little girl from an infamous weapons dealer's mansion. Everything goes smoothly until he finds the girl Eve -- with Train's gun pointed at her head. Sven's determination to save Eve from Train and the weapons dealer is complicated by the fact that she's a living bioweapon who has no idea what the outside world is like. Can he possibly save her from an assassin who has never once failed?

Thieves, killers, nanotechnology, bounty hunters and a little girl who can transform her body parts. Yeah, it's a pretty thrilling little story. It's not entirely faithful to Kentaro Yabuki's original manga -- the first few episodes are very dark in tone, and focus on Train's life as a Chronos Number rather than a sweeper. But taken on its own merits, "Black Cat" is still a solid, action-packed story with some intriguing characters and lots of very odd humor.

The first three episodes are rather slow-paced, only to speed up in the fourth. They're all graced with shadowy, elaborate animation full of glowing roses, dark rooms and moonlit rooftop. And though there are some cute moments such as Sven treating Eve to ice cream, it's overshadowed by lots of fast-paced action sequences too, ranging from Train swooping around firing his enormous pistol to Sven's goofy assault on some street toughs.

And no matter how dark the story, Sven's offbeat way of handling things -- such as his catnip grenades or magic briefcase -- always brings a little comic relief into the plot.

Train Heartnet is still a bit unformed here -- he doesn't show much emotion, and usually comes across as rather numb. But we do see the inner Train at times ("You can tear my face off, but I'm not gonna lie to you!"), especially given his love of milk and kitties. And some brief flashbacks hint at a blood-soaked past that probably pushed him into the assassin biz.

And though he's responsible for most of the comedy, Sven is also a formidable and quirky character -- truly chivalrous and compassionate. Saya's too much of a flake to really be endearing, but there's definitely some promise in Train's partner Creed. Not only is he gorgeous, nutty and very vicious (cue gory death via boomerang), but he also has a glaring gay crush on Train. That ought to be juicy.

The four episodes on "Black Cat, Vol. 1 - The Cat Out of the Bag" are a rather slow opener for the series, but this action-packed anime has plenty of promise. Just don't expect strict fidelity.

Black Cat is an anime I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did. I bought all the six volumes at once and I never regretted it. I can simply say that it is one of the best Shounen titles out there. It is simply addicting that I finished watching it in a couple of days. I don't know what else to say but I assure you that you all will love Train, Sven, Eve, and Rin. I liked them all.

Highly recommended.

Be careful of what you are buying here. This is NOT a boxed set. It is simply Black Cat video #1 with an empty box to store the other videos in when you purchase them. There is NOTHING else included, so essentially you are paying an extra nine bucks JUST FOR A BOX!!