Black Rock Shooter (Season 1)

Black Rock Shooter (2012) is a Japanese anime series you can watch online on iFILM. On her first day of junior high, withdrawn Mato Kuroi reaches out to shy, guarded Yomi Takanashi, and a shared love of a children's picture book about birds turns into a fierce friendship.

There's a second layer to all of this. In a wordless parallel world of endless battle, the two girls exist as the gunslinger Black Rock Shooter and her rival Dead Master. Whatever happens in one reality ripples into the other. When Yomi vanishes, Mato chases after her — straight into a fight where friendship and a person's very self are at stake.

The show runs on contrast: our world is all feeling, school corridors and things left unsaid, while the alternate one is cold landscapes and brutal duels with oversized weapons. Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro and Kana Hanazawa, it's made for viewers who like teen drama hiding under sleek action. Stream Black Rock Shooter online on iFILM.