Black Cat 1-4
Take a sullen protagonist with a tragic past, a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, a gun-toting girl in a kimono, a master thief with a trick or two up her sleeve and a timid girl with a terrifying secret…and you have a premise such as that of Black Cat. What is immediately apparent is that this is typical of so many other series we’ve seen in recent years – whether I’ve been watching too much anime lately or whether it really is a show that treads a well-worn path in action thrillers I don’t know, but I got that dreaded ‘seen it all before’ feeling. That is not to say it’s not enjoyable though: it kicks off as a fast-paced bit of fun that, given some solid writing and characterisation as the episodes progress, could fare quite well indeed.
Got milk?
The sullen protagonist is Train Heartnett, an assassin working for the secret society Chronos. Denoted as Number Thirteen by the organisation but known only as Black Cat by others owing to his ability to kill quickly and silently, he carries out his duties without remorse. This all changes when he meets Saya, a bounty-hunter or ‘sweeper’ who teaches him the value of individual lives. Also crossing paths with the Black Cat is Sven, another sweeper whose gentlemanly behaviour is matched only by his lack of income, and Eve, a mysterious girl who has been created by an arms dealer as a living weapon.
