“Black Cat” disappointed fans of classic shonen anime such as “Bleach” and “DBZ”

The mid-2000s were a golden age for shonen anime, with shows like Naruto, Bleach, and Dragon Ball Z dominating the genre. It was in this era that Black Cat, a manga from Weekly Shonen Jump, received an anime adaptation. However, despite having a similar feel to other classic shonen anime, Black Cat failed to impress fans of these iconic titles. Released in 2005 and airing through 2006, the Black Cat anime was based on the manga of the same name that was published from 2000-2004.

Black Cat is an action manga-turned-anime that follows a pair of bounty hunters called the “Sweepers”, consisting of protagonist Train Heartnet and his partner Sven Vollfield. The duo eventually becomes a trio as a young girl named Eve joins their ranks, with resident cat burglar Rinslet showing up enough times to be considered an honorary member. The series follows the Sweepers’ adventures as they travel around wrangling up bounties and making enough money to get by.

The show’s reception was mixed, with some critics comparing Black Cat directly to the likes of Bleach and Dragon Ball Z. However, it never really found its footing with this era’s fans of action/adventure shonen titles. As a result, it failed to make much of a splash. But why? Did the story not resonate with viewers, or were the characters not compelling enough?

As it turns out, a mixture of factors stopped Black Cat from reaching the potential success of its illustrious shonen peers. While it had a lot of the trappings found in other popular Shonen Jump manga that should have guaranteed its success, such as a cool and likable protagonist, a ragtag group of characters who give off a strong found family vibe, and a batch of equally cool villains who frequently face off against the heroes, it may have relied too heavily on the same tropes as other titles of its ilk. Fans familiar with the demographic were likely to pinpoint every type of character archetype and plot beats before they even happened, making the story somewhat predictable.

Another factor was the quality of the anime adaptation itself. While the voice acting and soundtrack fit the series and its characters well, it ultimately wasn’t enough to carry Black Cat past the idea that it was fun but forgettable. The animation, while passable at the time, hasn’t aged well past the mid-2000s. Additionally, the anime had story rewrites that weren’t entirely necessary, and the final arc left fans scratching their heads as it was completely anime-original and retconned aspects of Eve’s backstory.

Despite its lackluster reception, Black Cat’s creator, Kentaro Yabuki, has continued to work on other successful manga series such as To Love-Ru and Ayakashi Triangle, which also received an anime adaptation earlier in 2023. While it’s unlikely that the Black Cat manga will ever get a revival, a potential anime reboot isn’t completely out of the question, provided there’s enough fan demand and interest for it.

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