Black Bullet Blu-ray & DVD

Ten years ago the Gastrea — parasitic creatures capable of infecting and rapidly mutating any host — nearly wiped out humanity. The survivors of Japan retreated into cities ringed by giant Varanium monoliths, the only material capable of repelling Gastrea. The threat is diminished but never gone. When Gastrea breach the barriers, the government deploys Civil Security pairs: a Promoter, typically a human fighter, paired with an Initiator — a "Cursed Child," a young girl born of a Gastrea-infected mother, carrying the virus dormant in her blood, giving her superhuman abilities alongside a countdown she cannot stop. Rentaro Satomi is a teenage Promoter whose cheerful exterior covers a brutal past. His Initiator is Enju Aihara — ten years old, phenomenally capable, devoted to Rentaro with complete sincerity, and carrying the same quiet dread as every Cursed Child: the knowledge that the virus inside her is winning. When a plan to destroy Tokyo's monolith barrier is discovered, Rentaro and Enju are pulled into a war for the city's survival against an enemy that may already be too close to fight from the outside.

Black Bullet is a 13-episode science fiction action series co-produced by Kinema Citrus and Studio Orange — the first major collaboration between the two studios, who would later produce Made in Abyss together — directed by Masayuki Kojima and based on Shiden Kanzaki's light novel series published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint. It aired on Tokyo MX and other channels from April to July 2014. The score was composed by Shiro Sagisu — the composer of Evangelion, Bleach, and Macross II. Both a Blu-ray and DVD Complete Collection were released in North America by Sentai Filmworks on October 27, 2015, with an English dub produced by Sentai's Houston studio featuring Chris Patton and Luci Christian in the lead roles. A reissue followed on January 5, 2021.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Masayuki Kojima (Monster, Chaos;Child)
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Original Light Novel: Shiden Kanzaki (Dengeki Bunko label, ASCII Media Works)
Character Design: Senbon Umishima
Studio: Kinema Citrus & Studio Orange (later Made in Abyss)
Music: Shiro Sagisu (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach, Macross II)
Opening Theme: "black bullet" by fripSide
Ending Theme: "Tokohana" by Nagi Yanagi

Japanese Cast:
- Yuki Kaji as Rentaro Satomi (Attack on Titan — voice of Eren, Akame ga Kill! — Issei)
- Rina Hidaka as Enju Aihara
- Yoko Hikasa as Kisara Tendo (High School DxD — voice of Rias Gremory)
- Tomoyo Kurosawa as Tina Sprout
- Takahiro Sakurai as Seitenshi (Code Geass — voice of Suzaku, Chaos;Child — Takuru)
- Jouji Nakata as Kikunojo Tendo (Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom — Scythe Master)

English Dub Cast (Sentai Filmworks — Houston):
- Chris Patton as Rentaro Satomi (Princess Nine, Spriggan, Angelic Layer)
- Luci Christian as Enju Aihara
- Jay Hickman as Kikunojo Tendo
- Hilary Haag as additional cast (Princess Nine, Steel Angel Kurumi, Noir, Angelic Layer, Night Warriors, Akame ga Kill!)
- Brittney Karbowski as Tina Sprout (Akame ga Kill!, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom)

Blu-ray / DVD Features (Sentai Filmworks Complete Collection)

- All 13 Episodes — Complete Series
- Clean Opening & Closing Animations
- Japanese Promos
- Sentai Filmworks Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ブラック・ブレット (Burakku Buretto)
Runtime: ~325 Minutes (Complete Series, 13 Episodes)
Director: Masayuki Kojima
Blu-ray & DVD Release Year: 2015 (U.S. Complete Collection, October 27 — Sentai Filmworks); reissue January 5, 2021
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 8 – July 1, 2014 (Tokyo MX)
Publisher: Sentai Filmworks
Rating: 17+
Region: Region A / Region 1 (North America)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Drama
Themes: Gastrea Parasite Apocalypse, Cursed Children Initiators, Varanium Monolith Cities, Shiro Sagisu Score, Kinema Citrus & Orange Co-Production

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.