Sven is your run-of-the-mill sweeper (a.k.a. bounty hunter) – down on his luck, haunted by the perpetual grumbling of his stomach and looking to make enough cash just to get by. When a damsel in distress enlists his aid, Sven crosses paths with the worst possible luck – Black Cat (a.k.a. Train Heartnet). At odds now with the branded assassin, Sven seeks to save a young girl before the unlucky Number can carry out his mission.
But fate has brought these three together for a reason, as Sven adopts two stray pupils – The former Chronos eraser Train and the young bio-weapon Eve. As these newfound companions seek out a new way of life, the past proves unwilling to let them go free. Sought by both the Chronos Numbers and the Taoist revolutionary group risen against them, the Apostles of the Star, their happy ending will require more than just luck…Black Cat (2005) brings together a trio of unlikely characters in an off-beat sci-fi comedy-adventure. Train Heartnet, The Black Cat, uses his superhuman speed and marksmanship as an assassin for the sinister cabal Chronos. Sven Vollfied, a perennially broke “Sweeper” or bounty hunter, talks his way into and out of adventures. This improbable duo collides when Sven tries to rescue Train’s next target: Eve, a little girl who’s been turned into a killing machine through illicit nanotechnology. A mixture of naiveté and murderous transformations, she’s another example of the deadly moppets in recent anime. The story initially focuses on Train and his decision to live his own life, rather than continue as a deadly puppet for Chronos. But the subplots proliferate, climaxing in a baroque scheme that pits Sven, Train, Eve, and their friends against a power-hungry gang armed with nanotechnology and Tao superpowers. Director Shin Itagaki uses fast cutting, unusual colors, and interesting camera angles skillfully: he keeps the story moving, even when it doesn’t make sense. Like Lost Universe, Black Cat shifts jarringly in tone from comic to heartwarming to dramatic. Voice actors Brandon Potter and Jason Liebrecht make Sven and Train an appropriately quarrelsome pair of buddies, but their voices sound too old for the characters, who look much younger than the designs inKentaro Yabuki’s original manga. The 24 episodes in this set could have easily fit on four discs. Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 14 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon
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May 2, 2010
#1
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,” all about the ex-Number’s adventures as a sweeper (bounty hunter) and his attempts to save the world from his former partner. The anime is a mixed bag — the overall story arc is scrambled up enthusiastically, but it’s full of action and wild comedy (the white cat and his kisses!) and some thoroughly likable anti-heroes out to pay the bills.
Sweeper Sven Vollfield is about to nab a notorious gangster when Train Heartnet, the notorious “Black Cat,” bursts in and kills the man and escapes before anyone can react. Elsewhere in the town, Train reluctantly befriends a perky young sweeper named Saya, who starts to make him change his views on killing and subservience. Just in time, since he’s been ordered to kill a human bioweapon — a little named named Eve, who Sven is determined to protect.
Then Train breaks away from Chronos, declaring that he won’t serve anyone. The Numbers attempt to kill him, and his ex-partner Creed attempts to lure him away — saying that he plans to rule the world instead of Chronos. And to get Train, he’ll kill the person Train holds dear.
Some months later, Train is roaming with Sven and Eve as a newly minted sweeper, hunting down assorted bad guys for cash (but never killing them). Unfortunately Creed’s organization “The Apostles of the Star” is giving criminals Tao water that gives them superpowers, and organizing a deadly company that is nearly unstoppable — they can breathe fire, manipulate blood/wind/gravity, regenerate instantly, splinter concrete, and even open rips in space/time.
But the mad Creed is still determined to have Train at his side. The Numbers and Train are both determined to hunt down and take out Creed before he can hurt anyone else, but the Apostles of the Star are a match for the Numbers. With his friends’ help, he’ll stop them.
“Black Cat” deviates pretty drastically from its original manga — the over-arcing storyline is scrambled up and parts are removed, the characters are given bucketloads of angst, Train’s motivations are dumbed down, the moral greyness is wiped clean, and the entire start of the series is radically different. And due to some random filler episodes (Train and Eve help a bunch of homeless kids?), the last fourth of the series unravels as it tries to cram way too much into too few episodes. And it even adds on an extra anime-only arc at the end, which is hideously anticlimactic and out of place — and changes the grand finale drastically.
Despite those flaws, “Black Cat” is a colorful action anime. There are brilliant acrobatic fight scenes, using weapon ranging from unbreakable guns to invisible swords, corrosive skin to a razor-sharp floating scarf — and these can be pretty harrowing when they’re personal for Train. The battles can get so explosive that one episode has an entire castle crumbling out from under the characters, but there are long stretches of contemplation and flashbacks.
There’s also a lot of angst in here, and a dark undertone runs through most of the series’ characters — even the perky ones have something unpleasant in their lives. Fortunately this is offset by a healthy dose of comic relief, usually from Sven or Train (“Everyone’s in a panic over a stupid pet lizard, DAAAAAAHLING!”), and some straight-faced humor from Eve due to her limited experience with… well, just about everything.
And the entire series is graced with shadowy, elaborate animation full of glowing roses, dark rooms, moonlit rooftops, harsh sunsets and rainy duels. Even dark nights include a luminous soft light.
Train is a hero with a mildly split personality, since he seems to be either the angsty abused-killer-since-he-was-six gunman, or a delightfully goofy bounty hunter who can easily eat his own weight in food and milk. Sven serves as a good counterpoint — an ex IBI agent with a magic eye and a perpetual ulcer over their bills. And the quiet, solemn Eve quickly grows from a “killing machine” to a naive little girl experiencing the world for the first time, along with enough books to overflow a library.
Creed serves as a pretty creepy villain — he’s megalomaniacal, arrogant, and has a massive gay crush on Train based on his prowess as a killer. The Apostles and the Numbers are patchily characterize, but some of them stand out — the elegant and smart Charden, teenybopper Kyoko, the flirtatious Jenos Hazard, and the beautiful master of disguise Lin Shaolee.
“Black Cat” pads itself with filler (why does Train’s background take seven whole episodes?) and then rushes through its ending, but it’s still an enjoyable action anime with some tragedy, comedy, and a little bit of romance.
May 2, 2010
#2
Pros: Great animation and action scenes. Nicely drawn and animated.
Cons: Lack in action and in honesty, it bored me so much I think I skipped a few episodes towards the end and watched the last two episodes. Watched the first 15 episodes and I couldn’t take it no more but I can’t just not watch the anime after getting it so I forced myself to finish it.
I admit it has good artwork and action scenes but the anime bored me near to tears. It was highly predictable and the ending so very typical. I was expecting a lot of action but was very disappointed.
This is just my personal opinion and as with all of my reviews, if you’re looking to get some sort of long essay of a review that gives you all the character names and what year they were born and how many eggs they ate for breakfast and such, I suggest you read on to the more long winded reviews.
I just find it boring personally, that’s all. Watch the first 5 or so episodes yourself, this is probably a hate it or love it anime. I just didn’t enjoy it much.
May 2, 2010
#3
The series starts off with loads of action and is basically revolving around main character, Train and his exploits with the Chronos organization that he works for. Throw in a couple characters (Sven, Renslet) that he comes to know and care for and an additional one that he likes but not really in that way. Things only get that much more interesting. It’s great to see Funimation and Gonzo come up with this excellent anime series.
Also of note is the character Eve as she is central to this story and comes into their lives after an accident happens. She grows to be a major addition to this cast of ecentric characters that also include other sweepers and numbers (numbered characters of the Chronos organization that Train is a part of).
Great start, middle and ending as well. It really makes for an all around, well rounded, hilarious yet touching series that should be watched as soon as you have the chance.
May 2, 2010
#4
I caught Black Cat on the funimation Channel. They play this anime 24/7. I’ve seen this series about 3-4 times now. I did enjoy watching Black Cat, it was a pretty good action anime, but it really has that run of the mill been there done that vibe to it. So let me break it down for you.
First you have “Train Heartnet” probably the worse anime name, but atleast his alternative is a bit better as Black Cat. Train is the typical gun slinging hero. He’s invincible when he has his gun in his hand, and no one can touch him. As soon as you grabs his piece and starts firing away nothing in his sights are safe. Hmmm this sounds like someone else I know… let me think… How about “TRIGUN!” Ah yes, I’ve seen this all before. There’s a gun slinging bad guy, and a specialized organization of marksmen and assisans with unique abilities are out to get the gun slinging hero. Yes, been there done that. Matter of fact there really aren’t too many differences. People in this anime are as scared of hearing the name “Black Cat” as people in “Trigun” were affraid of hearing “Vash the Stampede”. Too many similarities… just too coincidental.
Then we have the other characters.
EVE, who is the quiet put super powerful little girl. Now her character is kind of new because of her abilities, but the reserved quiet girl/ ultimate killer routine has been done over to death. Although the spin in black cat is that Eve does not want to fight, she just wants to be a normal girl. That is what sets the tone apart, so really she is a likeable character.
Then we have Rinslet Walker. She is the much done over materialistic glamour girl with a loud mouth and a passion for money. She is pretty much “Bulma from DBZ”, although she is a theif so she reminds me alot of “Rose Anderson” from Solty rei(wich is an awsome Anime btw!),actually she is alot like Rose only slightly less chatty.But, we have all seen this type of character before. Just because Rinslet is so cliche, her character is really predictable.
Next we have Sven Vollfied, Now he should be the main characters best friend and come to aid him with his gun (in this case a briefcase) when needed, but Sven is actually like a dual main character. I like Sven alot and he really makes the show worth watching. He is not as powerful as Black Cat, but he has 100% more personality which makes him that much more interesting to watch. It feels at times in the Anime that Black cat takes a back seat to Sven, which I think is a good thing.
Then lets add in Kyoko, She is the quirky girl with an rediculous crush on the main character black cat. She will stop at nothing to gain his love and affection. He is all she dreams of, and she will do anything to be by his side. Pretty much she is the “unwanted” admirer in any anime.
Last but not least the Evil Villian “Creed Diskenth”. This guy is every evil villian ever. He is a phsycopath, he has a passion/hate for the main character, he runs an organization that plans to take over the world, he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, which includes him expirementing on his own body. All I can say is seen it! seen it! seen it! Nothing is new about this guy. I can’t even hardly began to compare him to villians from other anime’s because the list would just be too long. He is that Cliche. The one thing I can say that’s different about him is that he has a sword with an invisible blade, but I’m quite sure someone on “Bleach” has the same thing.
I think by far the thing that mostly makes this anime easy to forget or look over is the fact that the characters or so very unoriginal. They really don’t stand out at all because you’ve already seen them in shows 100 times before. The only memorable characters that stands out is Sven & Eve. The only thing that sets this anime apart from being every other anime ever is it’s plot.
The plot basicly is another dual one. On one side we have the Organizations of Assasins trying to come after the main character because he left their group. They either want him to come back, or they will stop at nothing to kill him. SEEN IT!
Then we have the good guys rescuing a girl from the bad guys only to find out that this girl has been misstreated by life, so the good guys go out their way to show her how great life can be. SEEN IT!
How about this? There is an evil group of rebels with unique abilities that want to take over the world, and they are lead by a mentally unstable phsycopath. SEEN IT!
Ok, lets try this… The little girl they rescued isn’t just a little girl but she has a unique ability that the bad guys are after because her powers can be used to take over the world. I’m not even going to go there.
Now the new interesting element added to the plot is the heavy science fiction with the nano technology. That is something new and interesting, and does stand out quite a bit in this anime. I give Black Cat the points for doing something different along those lines.
Overall Black Cat is an OK anime to watch. It’s not bad, but it’s not exactly something new. It doesn’t really stand out, and there aren’t really that many highlights about it just because it’s ideas have been done to death. It’s worth watching if you come across it by chance. As far as buying it, if the price is right sure, but I wouldn’t go out my way to get it.
May 2, 2010
#5
Black Cat came as a huge surprise for me! I had just finished watching Deathnote and was in search of something new when I stumbled upon this… I figured I’d give it a try and boy was I glad I did… The storyline has several great plot turns and the humor is top notch! Overall one of the best series I’ve ever seen!